Prune has a killer burger
Lately I eat a lot of hamburgers. It just sort of happened. Burgers make you feel good about yourself you know. They have this magical power to heal your soul or something, together with freedom fries, life seriously becomes a fairy tale. Prune is this little restaurant in this area that is technically NoHo, but really it is just kind of in the middle of nowhere, across the street from a playground. If you ever walk by on a Sunday during brunch hours, just forget it because the wait just looks insane. They also pack you in like sardines, but if you go during lunch time and you go early, you can score a seat. If you do get a seat, get a burger.
At Prune, they serve up the burger on this platter with fries. You can see from the following picture that my burger has the exact right amount of pinkness for medium-rare. They skip a traditional bun and instead go with toasted English muffins. This is a genius move because the muffin can get really toasty and crunchy. At Broome St. Bar, the untraditional bun of choice is the pita, but I think Prune trumps BSB (not the backstreet boys) because you cannot get a pita to be crunchy like the English muffin.
The burger is nice and substantial. Juices readily flow out of the patty as you bite into it, and each bite leaves you aching for another. The texture contrast between the 'bun' and the beef was phenomenal. Supposedly they add lamb to the burger and maybe that is where all the magic occurs. At $12 dollars, this burger easily beats the Ruby Tuesday burger. You really cannot go wrong with this choice.
The french fries are pretty delicious too. They are like McDonald fries on crack, which means ten times better. I like my fries salty and you can see the little specks of salt on the fries. They do a good job with that and they even give you a little dish of salt at the table. I really recommend this place if you ever want a burger fix during lunch, good luck getting a seat though.
Prune
54 E. 1st St.
New York, NY 10003
212-677-6221
mm, that looks good. even though it looks like a raw meatball. guess there's no room for lettuce and tomatoes.
Ang
November 13, 2007 11:41 pm
Lettuce and tomatoes just get in the way.
Danny
November 14, 2007 2:09 pm
Was the burger salty enough? I hate it when it tastes like a giant hockey puck (even if it is cooked well and juicy).
Ang - burgers are the best when raw and meatbally in the middle ;)
Barb
November 14, 2007 5:56 pm
how is it you keep going to the restaurants i think about?
Jonathan
November 14, 2007 9:02 pm
how do you get your mouth around a "burger" that looks like a baseball?
Ang
November 14, 2007 10:55 pm
Barb,
Yes the burger was salty enough. It had good flavor for sure. I definitely recommend.
Jonathan,
I have these super powers! muhahahaha! Oh, is there anything you are curious about? I can go make visits.
Ang,
I have special skills, but this is rated PG.
Danny
November 14, 2007 11:28 pm
I've always been interested in trying Prune, but now...
I REALLY NEED BURGER. (And those fries!)
Is that just a lunch thing? I'd rather go for dinner, but if I have to go for lunch I can swing that someday...
Robyn
November 15, 2007 12:49 am
Having just eaten this burger, I am pretty sure part of the reason it's so good (it's amazing) is that they slather the English muffin with an absolute ton of herbed butter before they put the burger on it.
Coles
November 15, 2007 9:34 am
Robyn,
Yes! Totally go! I think it is only for lunch, but that is based on what menupages has listed. It might be a good idea to double check though.
Coles,
You are right and I think that definitely contributes to the effectiveness of the English muffins.
Danny
November 15, 2007 11:08 am
Yay! You've eaten the awesome Prune burger! It's like a Shake Shack burger on steroids or something...(and a bit more expensive).
Anyways, if you ever go there for brunch, you must try their Monte Cristo. Think of a savory-sweet French toast that's fried and stuffed with ham and cheese. It sounds bad (I'm talking about taste) it's really, really good. Though it might cut a few years off from you after consumption.
Tina
November 15, 2007 10:35 pm
Tina,
You are so right, it is like a Shake Shack burger on steroids. or HGH or.. nevermind. I will try the Monte Cristo next time, but getting a seat is tough!
Danny
November 16, 2007 12:38 am
Ate at Prune on Monday, 5/12. Aweomse burger. Fries...mediocre at best.
Todd
May 14, 2008 12:48 pm
I meant "awesome burger..." ;-)
Todd
May 14, 2008 12:50 pm