New York Burger Week: The Best Burger In NYC? Jeez, That's A Difficult Question.
When you're in a new city and want to find the best burger, there's nobody better to ask than the locals. To find out where notable New Yorkers find their favorite burgers, we reached out to a cast of artists, writers, designers and others.
Chuck Close, Internationally acclaimed visual artist
"Once a year, well, sometimes twice, I treat myself to a Big Mac. It's a tradition. I ask my assistant to drive me to a McDonald's in Manhattan and we share a couple Big Macs. That sauce is magic. Sometimes though, the burger gets stuck to the roof of my mouth, which is irritating. Another dirty secret is my love for the hot dogs at Grays Papaya, but only the location on 72nd Street. Though that's a tale for another time..."
Jami Attenberg, author of three novels, including The New York Times bestseller, The Middlesteins
"Over here on the Southside of Williamsburg we have lots of great burger options. Diner's is pretty great, so is grabbing the lunchtime burger at Peter Luger's. But DuMont Burger is hands down my favorite. I get the mini burger, and I get the onion rings, because that's all you need. Blue cheese. I might do blue cheese too. The bun to burger ratio is perfect. Juicy, soothing precision."
Michael Harlan Turkell, cookbook photographer and host of The Food Seen on Heritage Radio.
Who knew a Basque joint in Chelsea would make a burger that's twice that of any other?! Txikito's "El Doble," two patties, smoked sheep's milk cheese, pickled onions and salsa especial, may be small in circumference, but it's big in flavor. It may even make you want two! DOUBLE DOBLE!!
Angela Miller, literary agent at Miller, Bowers, Griffin — a Manhattan agency specializing in cookbooks
The medium-rare burger at our local joint, the flagship 5 Napkin Burger on 45th and Ninth, is a packed lunch and dinner scene from Andy D'Amico and company. It is greasy, hands down the best and the Miller, Bowers, Griffin agency's commissary for succulent beef patties — as well as veg and fish burgers — several shameless lunches each month. Our clients and guests love getting down to the gluttonous experience of burger eating and wiping mouths and fingers with five and often more snowy white napkins. For eating only; too raucously loud for closing deals.
Edith Zimmerman, writer and founding editor of TheHairpin.com
I don't eat a lot of burgers. But if I have to pick, Two8Two Burger in Brooklyn is the one. Specifically, their two8two burger is a hamburger with roasted poblano chilies, cheddar cheese and two8two sauce. Drippy, spicy, melty, messy. Very good. Fries are good, too. That probably wasn't incredibly convincing, but whatever; it's a good burger.
Khoi Le, a Vietnamese-born designer who specializes in luxury leather goods and accessories and founder of the eponymous leather brand, Khoi Le.
My favorite burger is at Cocotte in Soho. Although the restaurant specializes in French Basque cuisine, they do make a mean burger, with a fresh focaccia bun, Basque guindillas, idiazabal cheese, arugula, and smoked bacon. It has a nice spicy bite that works well with the smoky meat.
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