Survey
The best reason to visit this new upscale Hell’s Kitchen diner is spelled out right there on the awning, and it may be the only good excuse to make a special trip. A partnership between restaurateur Simon Oren and chef Andy D’Amico, this spacious patty joint looks suspiciously similar to the high-end steakhouse Quality Meats, with light fixtures dangling from meat hooks and glossy tiled walls. The namesake burger, which has been on the menu for years at the partners’ uptown bistro, Nice Matin, was presumably so popular that it deserved its own restaurant. The sandwich, much less messy than the name suggests (you can probably get away with two napkins), is a delicious Franco-American handful featuring sweet caramelized onions, Comté cheese and herb-infused aioli. Served with top-notch golden fries, it anchors the sprawling menu—an odd kitchen-sink collection that includes big salads, overstuffed sushi rolls, pasta and barbecued ribs. The inside-out “southwestern” roll, combining pallid yellowtail with tobiko and sliced jalapeños, was too cumbersome and too spicy (and way out of sync with the setting). Unfortunately, the more suitable starter of warm artichoke dip was bland and soupy. Even the steak Diane, the sort of entrée you’d expect given the butcher-chic decor, fails to deliver (the meat was too chewy, the sauce thin). In other words, you’ll have to edit—stick to the burger and to all-American desserts like the rich and generous caramel-brownie sundae—because management certainly didn’t.