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| - OK... so much potential, so little delivered.
I wouldn't have stopped here under normal circumstances. It's the burger outlet of New York Fires aka NYF, which has no affiliation with NY, NY, not actually a city or state known for it's french fries, so that might be good after all. I find NYF's fries an unmitigated disaster. They might be hand-cut, but then they're routinely destroyed by hand too, by a cheap single fry that's often underdone and greasy or overcooked and dry. Not to mention what they call poutine! No wonder the Francophones want to leave the country.
I stopped because they flame broil their burgers! The best burger is a flame broiled burger! How bad could it be if they flame broil? I should have known that an internal dialogue like this was not going to lead to a brilliant decision.
First, it's really a tarted up Harvey's process. You order your patty and cheese/bacon option, and then you're given a round tray (reminded me a little of a large dog dish) which you drag down the counter past a toppings bar where another server assembles the burger to your order.
A couple of things...
Harvey's has the good sense to not top your burger until there's a patty to dress. It makes more sense that way. The burger is there, I make my decisions, the focus is on the burger and it's wrapped once dressed and I take it away.
Here, they dress your bun. Admittedly, you have a choice of bun: white, whole wheat, even gluten-free, but it's a guy reaching into a plastic bag and dragging out a bun. A bun that they do not toast... Your bread is then paraded down the cold table and they dress it... then you wait... and you wait... and you wait, as they apparently flame broil your patty. More on that later too... In my case, I was invited to sit down and have the finished burger brought to me. All in all, it was very anticlimactic. I could have just told the guy at the cashpoint what I wanted on it, some guy in the back could have dressed the bun in the back, and I could have been sitting the whole time.
Now here is where the paradoxes start. They have a lot of great toppings and condiments, you can have Chevre, but they use them like everything is in very very short supply: a leaf or two of lettuce, a slice of tomato, a dollop of ketchup or mustard, a smear of guacamole (since when is a green smudge a serving of guacamole?), a soupcon of peppers. The stiff is fresh and looks good, can I have some please? Now, remember that this is all happening on just a bun, the meat, the star of the show... it's still flame broiling... more on that later. I asked for Dijon horseradish mayo... I could taste neither the tart winey region of France or the spicy root so favoured by the English.
Because it was getting awkward for all of us to be standing around a bun with a few leaves of lettuce on it and a few smudges of sauce, I was told that my meal would be brought to me, and it was... by a very friendly young man. He exchanged my empty dog bowl for one with my burger and side of onion rings in it (more on the onion rings later). And again, the paradoxes continued. The patty looked thick and juicy! Oh my! I took one bite and realised... (1) it was obviously machine formed, upscale burgers are not machine formed - it's just not right, and (2) it was so slowly flame broiled that it had none of the caramelisation that you look for when flame broiling.
A quick aside, a flame broiled burger is usually better than a flattop fried burger because it develops that caramelised crust that makes it so good! You know, the kind you get in the backyard when you're distracted by conversation and beer, or on an open campfire, because you can't control the heat. In-n-Out is about the only burger chain that manages it, and they do it on a flattop. These guys have flames! I saw them! But the burger had none of the contrast in texture or bits like the yummy ends of a good roast that's supposed to come with flame broiling! It was cooked. It was acceptable. Was it premium hamburger like the price implies? Heck no!
Then there were those onion rings... I give up! Apparently, NYF, a company that fries things to make money is incapable of frying anything. After learning that they can't do fries, I've discovered that their fryers are the WMD of all food. My onion rings came the colour of Italian roast coffee, rings that dried out my mouth and destroyed any sense of taste I might have been left. Even after over-frying, they managed to leave a noticeable slick of oil in the bottom of the container. I know it's not health food, but it shouldn't be the Exxon Valdez either. The pity is that the batter seemed to be this crispy tempura that if fried hot and fast, would have probably knocked my socks off!
Unfortunately, the South St Burger Co. is very much like it's decor... a lot of veneer and not much substance. I will say that my Lipton Green Ice Tea was exactly how I expected it to be though, so kudos on that!
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