The best burger in the city

I just watched an entire episode of How I Met Your Mother devoted to the grail like search for the best burger in the New York. Marshall so eloquently described his quest to find his long lost love, the perfect burger joint, sampled once when lost in the city and never found again despite years of lusting. It was a sad tale, not because of the years he lost without the dietary treasure of good burger, but because he had the place all wrong.

A couple weeks back my wife and I went to a party in jersey (shudder). Another Manhattanite said his favorite thing about living in the city was that every person living there is convinced that the best burger joint, coffee shop, pizza place, flower shop, Starbucks, etc are all located within a two block radius of their apartment. It doesn't matter the neighborhood or intersection you pick, the local citizenry will be outraged that you haven't tried 'the best' whatever in town.

That is why I after living here for a year and a half it didn't shock me to hear that Marshall and Regis Philbin had the burger place all wrong. This is something I have indeed done extensive research in, exhausting the possibilities of the diners and haunts surrounding 79th and Amsterdam. I've dragged my wife to EJ's and the Westside Brewery and a host of other options within short walk of our place. We stood in line at the Shake Shack for 20 minutes without moving before realizing the place was closing in a hour and we were too far from the front (a fact which disqualifies the Shack in my opinion). I've sampled sweet potato fries and onion rings and slopped down buckets of grease in the name of finding the perfect burger.

I can tell you with complete sincerity that while there are many burgers in this city up to the task of filling a belly none does the job quite as well the restaurant closest to my front door. Situated nn the corner of 79th and Amsterdam and part of the Hotel Lucerne is a nice French restaurant named NiceMatin. The breakfast served is as fantastic as the service is lousy and on weekend mornings the uptown brunch brigades fill the restaurant and sidewalk. But if you can be tempted to come back after dark when the brunch crowd has left please try the 'Five Napkin Burger.' For the hauty price of seventeen dollars a plate you can sample the burger topped with carmelized onions plated next to a picture perfect pile of delicous pommes frites.

I will concede that the price is a tad steep for backyard grill type food but it is well worth it at least once. I believe and mantain that each visitor to my neck of the city should try it, if for no other reason than to call me a fool and tout up their own neighborhood restaurant.

EDIT: The Shake Shack just opened on 77th and Columbus. This post is rendered moot and irresponsible.