Buffalo 6.6

Venue: Crooked Knife

Location: 232 W. 14th St., New York, NY

Date of Visit: Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Burger: The Bison Burger

Average Score: 6.6
Price Range: $$$$$

Mike:  A little over a month ago, I was wandering around West 14^th Street when I passed the Crooked Knife. Out front, they had a sign posted that read “Try our Bison Burger, the best in the city!” Ok, so maybe I didn’t remember exactly what it said, but it was something to that effect. Now, I don’t know much about the Crooked Knife; but what I do know is a challenge when I see it! After discussing the matter with my Burgerler cohorts, the next destination was set with our sights firmly locked on the Bison Burger.

We were seated outside in the establishment’s new covered patio, equipped with four (perhaps six?) large, wooden picnic-style tables, suitable for all of your primitive, communal feeding needs. It happened to be raining that night, so the pitter-patter of rain drops on the tent overhead and the aroma of newly-cut timber really set the ambiance for dining on some fresh buffalkill. It was something straight out of Oregon Trail; the only thing missing was a warm fire and the smell of recently spent gunpowder. Fortunately, no one was dying of scurvy or dysentery on this trip.

The Crooked Knife serves up their bison on a pretzel brioche roll, topped with tomato, red onion, and romaine lettuce with a side of steak fries, a pickle, and a serving of ketchup. I must confess, when I saw the menu I was none too thrilled about the pairing of steak fries with the burger. Frankly, I don’t like to see steak fries paired with anything, but I’m not one to judge. Actually, that’s not true; but I digress.

I ordered my bison medium rare. The patty was fairly spot-on. It was cooked as ordered; maintaining the tenderness and subtle flavor that is characteristic of bison meat; and the size was more than sufficient in satisfying my expectations. The pretzel brioche was likely the best part of this sandwich, at least in the flavor department. It brought a unique essence to the burger without overpowering the nuances of the meat. While fresh and flavorful, the size of the brioche was a bit disproportionate to the patty and quickly lost integrity in its lower portion. This is most likely due to their failure to give it a light toasting, which usually will help prevent disintegration by over absorption. Might I add that a light toasting also adds a bit of crunch, which can go a long way. All of the condiments on this burger were fresh and crisp, but one cannot rely on the texture of crisp vegetables, alone, to drudge their way out of the trenches of the mundane.

I feel compelled to justify why the steak fries were a poor choice to accompany this burger, specifically. As one might gather from reading thus far, the burger, itself, was lacking in texture. An appropriate side item in this situation should offer something that the burger is devoid of; ergo, onion rings might have served better. The steak fries did not provide the much-needed respite from the lifeless sandwich that sat in front of me. The ratio of inner-potato to surface area of a steak fry is all wrong, making it virtually impossible to achieve the necessary crunch that this meal was missing.

Overall, this experience was rather forgettable. Thankfully, I take good notes! Though I walked away feeling satiated (a couple steak fries can make the hungriest person feel full), I’d be hard-pressed to recall an instance where I was more bored eating a hamburger. “Best bison burger in the city,” huh? I can neither confirm nor deny that statement; but if it’s the truth, I might as well call it quits right now.

Overall Rating: 6.6

Kenneth: Bison Burger? Yes! Juicy? Yes! The Crooked Knife served up a lightly seasoned Bison Burger on a pretzel brioche topped with romaine, red onions, tomato and pickles. Their unique burger construction placed the red onions under the patty, away from all the other toppings above the patty. The fresh toppings only added to the experience of my medium-well bison burger, which was lightly charred on each side and cooked to perfection while remaining consistent with every bite. The pretzel brioche performed well and maintained its strong support position by not falling apart from the bison juices and my thin coat of ketchup. Overall it was an average burger experience, but what could be worse than an average burger? An average burger accompanied by a weak side. The steak fries were far from the best and they were possibly spawned from a frozen bag.

Overall Rating 6.8

Jeff:  It’s not often a restaurant offers a bison burger, let alone claims it to be the best.  New York is good for places claiming “The best ______” or “#1 ______”, so I was looking forward to another burger option.  The space is nice enough; you step down off of 14th street into a space that shields you from 14th’s hustle.  It was a Sunday evening and I was sure the place would be busy with holiday shoppers coming in to dine, but maybe people were still feasting on Thanksgiving leftovers.  I saddled up to the bar and ordered the bison burger medium rare, no cheese, no bacon, my mistake.

A mound of steak fries accompanies the bison and I cracked my knuckles in preparation.  The bun was toasted nicely, and quite tasty the pretzel role is; more places should consider such options.  Fresh tomato and romaine lettuce made my eyes smile and my mouth salivate.  Wow, how bland can a burger taste? I’ve had bison before, years ago, and remember it having a subtle flavor but this was just plain bison.  I like clean tasting meat, organic, grass-fed, and the like; but this lacked flavor. The pickle spear didn’t help either. The burger was prepared well.  It was juicy, warm, and on all accounts it was filling.  It just didn’t satisfy my taste buds.

I took a few bites of my fries and was further let down.  I like steak fries, or frites as some say, but they must be prepared right; otherwise, you have a hard under-cooked potato shard to bite in to and it just doesn’t taste good.  Crispy outside, fluffy inside is how they should be.  Bake then fry, or just bake, either way these were under cooked.  I should’ve gotten the salad but who really wants a salad with their burger in November on a brisk chill night in NY? Not I, not tonight.

I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again, a little pepper and salt would have done a lot with this.  If you need a little flavor for your burger you’ll want to add bacon, a sharp cheddar, or blue cheese to top it with.

I rolled solo on this excursion, without my two burger cronies.  I'm glad I did, or a solemn bunch we would have been, if together.   The Crooked Knife needs to straighten up.

Overall score: 6.4