Where It Really All Began - Genesis

The City so nice they named it twice. New York, New York is home to roughly 14 million people (with illegals, trust me I did my own census), 385,000 pot holes, 459 different languages, 32 variations of the cockroach, and a plethora of restaurants claiming to have the BEST burger that your burger buying dollar can buy.

Surely there are many competitors that are worthy of this title and when it's all said and done, it's hard to truly say that one burger is distinctly better than another. What can easily be said is whether a specific burger/burger joint is worth your attention.

Now, here's a surefire way to tell if a burger joint is just a bunch of hype - you can't have it your way. If they ask you how you want it, and you are me, and you ask for medium rare and they say, "we only cook medium and higher for health/safety concerns." Walk away. Just get up and leave. They are not worth your time, money, energy. If you want a rare burger, get it rare. If they can't/won't do it, say goodbye and go someplace that will.

That said, our quest begins at Genesis. Located in the heart of NYC at 1708 2nd Ave, the Genesis Bar and Restaurant features a great burger that will surely make mouth happy. My judging criteria for many bars that also serve food is simple, give me good wings to start and you've already made friends with me. That said, Genesis serves up a healthy portion of wings (good size and good flavor) for your money. The particular night we dined here, my buddy and I ate outside and the photo at left was taken just before a bird dropped a 2 bombs on the plate. While I appreciated said bird's aim it made me even happier when the manager replaced the 3/4 done order of wings with another full order, no questions asked.

Next on the menu was the burgers. Did Genesis deserve the hype it has already received as one of the very best burger spots in NYC? The short answer is without a doubt. The burger was cooked to order, fresh meat, thick, seasoned properly, and the bun matched the burger. My burger adventures always begin with a plain burger, no cheese, no katsup, no toppings. I enjoy all that stuff when I get my second burger but for the first go-'round I want to taste the meat and solely enjoy the flavor of ground beef.

For those that are  more adventurous  or wanting to dive head first into something that more suits their needs, check out this bacon cheeseburger. Baconator? You got nothing on this. Stay tuned as my own culinary travels throughout NYC for the elusive "best burger" will be highlighted right here.

Rating - 5/5 - UES Burger Nirvana! This is a must have!

Where It All Began

The idea of doing a blog has been kicked around for too long but I’ll get into all of that later. Recently, in an effort to have a birthday that I would consider to be memorable, I was fortunate to have enough friends join me on a pilgrimage to Clinton, NJ. For all members of my posse, Clinton was a minimum of one hour and in some cases it was at least a 3 hour trek.

But why? Well, Clinton is home to the Clinton Station Diner which is home to the Mt. Olympus, which for some time was the World’s Biggest Burger. The mission was simple - go to Clinton Station and tame Mt. Olympus.

Ok, so our party was a bit smaller than anticipated so we needed to adjust – enter Zeus.

I have envisioned this day for quite some time but still was not fully prepared for what Zeus had to offer – 7lbs of beef, 12.5 total lbs of dinner.

If I had to rate the experience it was perfect. Great times, great crew, and a damn good burger. The bun, though handmade on premises, was a little too thick and dry for my taste.

That’s my plate….so I guess I can’t complain about the bread too much.

In closing – there’s all sorts of good reason to make the trip to Clinton, if for no other reason than to see this burger with your own two eyes. Also, there’s been a lot of hype lately about the world’s largest burger coming from some shop in Michigan. Don’t believe the hype, Clinton Station is serving up 212 lbs of beef (total weight of 269) that dwarfs the competition. 

Rating - 4/5. They get lots of style points. The burger is too big to serve anything but well done and that just aint my thing. Hit up western NJ with some friends and you've got photos and stories for a few years to come!