Lamb burger at The Breslin
Tits and ass is the killer combo that many males love. Another combo that guys (and gals) love is burgers and fries. And yes I just started this post this way just to put T&A into the beginning of this post. Few weeks ago, Grub Street did a french fries post with Alain Ducasse and he listed The Breslin as having the top fries. I went to check out the burger this week because sometimes the only way to feel alive is make sure you're full and content after being satiated by the wonderful combo of tits and ass burgers and fries.
First thing's first... the burger and fries combo at The Breslin is $17 dollars. After tax and tip it's definitely not very affordable to be eaten on a consistent basis. The meat in the burger is lamb, and maybe they cook it to temperature but the server didn't ask. I ate at the bar area so maybe he wasn't accustomed to asking for burger temperature... either way, it came out medium. It's served on some sort of bun that's like a country bread with nice hole structure. Really I'm not sure what kinda bun it was...
What I do know is they didn't toast it. The hefty bread is probably to soak up the juices of the lamb burger. The burger was moist, but not juicy in a way that turns the bottom bun into a beef juice bread pudding. I'm not even sure if that's good or bad. The burger is topped with some un-melted cheese and a thin slice of red onion. Overall it's a very filling and expensive burger. April Bloomfield serves a good burger at The Spotted Pig supposedly but I haven't tried that. I'm inclined to believe the version at The Spotted Pig is better than the version at The Breslin... just speculation though. It'll be interesting to see if people come out really crazy for this burger.
The fries on the other hand... oh the fries. Much like the vaunted combo of T&A, the combo of burgers and fries sometimes can be so nice that it's worthy of praise by itself. Normally I'm a McDonald's fries kind of person. Give 'em to me thin with lots of crunch. Usually thick cut fries lack the kind of crispness that I prefer in fries. Some people really love to taste the potato, but most of the time I really could give a flying fuck. The Breslin somehow combines the best of both worlds. On the menu, these are listed as "thrice cooked chips" and it's easy to believe they've been fried three times.
The crunch that you get from a bite of the fries is just phenomenol. Although I haven't eaten every single fry in New York, these have to be some of the best fries I've ever had. The fries are thick cut and golden on the outside. When you bite down for the first time it's just amazing the dichotomy between the outer shell of the fry and the soft innards. Really, when's the last time someone told you a french fry exhibited a 'shell'? That's how serious the crunch was. When you get the burger and fries, it comes with this cumin mayo. Dipping the fries into the cumin mayo and taking a bite... man, my mouth waters exactly the same way when I think about T&A.
I'm not sure how many people want to spend over $20 (after tax and tip) for lunch. It definitely gave me pause. Honestly, the only reason I ate it was because it seemed like a good blog post. This place will definitely do great business and I'm sure if you stop by at night in the coming weeks, it'll be rocking. Another weird thing is that usually when I eat Chinese food, it feels alright to tip 15 to 20% because the food is not that expensive. Even on the occasions when I spend like $20 on a family style Chinese meal, it feels like lots of food that's a good value. When it's a burger for $20, such as the case at The Breslin, my tip didn't even hit 15%. I tipped 13.5%. And you know? I don't feel bad. I feel like at places like The Breslin, people like me come in once just to see it, and never go back. If I became a regular and tipped at 13.5%, that would be kinda shitty. But since the burger was expensive, I just didn't want to tip that much.
Will The Breslin do great? Yes. Will it be hard to get a seat for dinner? Probably. Do you like $20 dollar burgers and other more expensive dishes? Well, that's for you to decide. Maybe you're a baller. Since the restaurant is nested inside of The Ace Hotel, I think they'll always be in touch with some clientele that can afford the food. Maybe that's the crowd that's into the unbeatable combo of T&A, and they don't blink at prices. Maybe you're part of that crowd.
The Breslin
20 W 29th Street.
New York, NY 10001
212-679-2222
Sir, you are a whineypoo complainer. I do not fault you for not liking emoticons, though. That's a plus.
Margot Darby
July 20, 2010 4:44 pm
Those burger pics are so good, I'm too distracted to read.
Jason Lam
February 16, 2010 2:41 pm
Your Flickr photos don't show up in my RSS reader?!
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
donuts4dinner
November 6, 2009 1:59 pm
I would understand if you said that you tipped less because the server didn't ask you how you like the burger... but to tip less because the food is expensive? That's kind of shitty because servers make money on tips. Most places pay like $2 an hour and they have to make up the rest with tips.
Ang
November 7, 2009 1:49 pm
@donuts4dinner,
Sadly, that's be design... :( I'm trying to work on some new stuff for the site before end of the year, and I'll try to add something that'll add the headlining picture into the RSS feed. No promises though...
@Ang,
This is true, and I also don't plan on going back. I don't know, when things are cheaper I feel great about tipping like normal people. When it's overpriced, it's hard to do.
Danny
November 10, 2009 4:48 pm