FIVE NAPKIN Burger... and other Burger Favorites

My boyfriend and I are searching for NYC's best hamburger.  I have shared with you the wonders of The Smith, and of Bill's Bar & Burger.  But I need to update you on other places we have tried in the past few months.  Today, I will focus on Five Napkin Burger, a popular spot in Hell's Kitchen.

I made an opentable reservation for Five Napkin Burger two weeks in advance.  I called the day of to switch the time for 15 minutes later, and they said they had no availability.  Five Napkin Burger fills up FAST.  And they have a very limited number of reservations available on opentable.com. 

Please NOTE for future opentable reference: just because there are no reservations available on opentable.com does not mean that the restaurant does not have tables available.  Restaurants grant opentable a certain number of reservations.  Sometimes a lot, sometimes just a few.  A place like Five Napkin Burger gets a lot of traffic from people walking past on the street.  Therefore, they do not take a lot of reservations because they want tables for the passerbys.

So I arrive a few minutes late, since I coud not change my 6:00 p.m. reservation, and the restaurant is HOPPING!  Appetizers?  Nope.  The burger requires FIVE NAPKINS so I thought an appetizer would be overkill.  But the appetizers otherwise are standard wings, spinach and artichoke dip, soups and salads.  Other than burgers, this menu offers an extensive sushi roll list (strange?), sandwiches, mac and cheese, and a hot dog.  But we wanted burgers.

The waitress came over and asked for our order.  We had only been there for five minutes and I wanted to linger over the menu a little bit longer.  We order sodas instead.  We look at the burgers, and we see that we have EIGHT options.  Ok.  Must. Pick. The. Right. One.  Four of them are not in the ham category - lamb, turkey, ahi tuna, and veggie.  The turkey burger was Italian, and sounded great.  The Ahi Tuna burger sounded extravagant, which came in at $15.95. 

As for the hamburgers, one is a "burger for two." You get two side dishes, two patties, the works, for just $22.50.  Sounds great!  This was NOT on the menu when I visited.  The inside out burger was a hamburger without a bun, wrapped in lettuce.  A little bit healthier, but I was not shopping for healthy.  We are down to two burgers.

1.  The Original Five Napkin Burger (what I ordered):  10 oz fresh ground chuck, caramelized onions, gruyere cheese (o yes), rosemary aioli, soft white roll.  $14.95.

2.  Bacon-Cheddar Burger (what bf ordered): 10 oz fresh ground chuck, sharp cheddar, bacon, raw onion, lettuce & tomato, white roll.  $14.95.

As for the prices of the other burgers, they come in at $12.95-$15.95.  So these burgers come with a price.  Now, they do come with fries, so not to worry.  And I guarantee that this will really fill you up, so you won't be disappointed.  As for what we thought of the burgers, my burger with the gruyere was incredible.  Alex enjoyed his too, but liked my gruyere burger better.  The fries were excellent, and we really enjoyed sinking our teeth into this meal.

Now remember what I said earlier - this place gets crowded and they take a lot of passerbys from the street.  So, they want you in the restaurant, chowing down, and they want you out.  Even with lingering, contemplating the dessert menu and passing, we were in and out, check paid in 1 hour.  Keep that in mind if you are looking for a longer dining experience.  Or if you make a reservation for this place before an 8 p.m. show, the earliest you need a reservation is 6:30 p.m.  I promise you will get out of there on time.

http://www.fivenapkinburger.com/index.php

Have a delicious day!

NYCMenuGirl