Venue: Whitman's
Location: 406 East 9th St, New York, NY
Date of Visit: Wednesday, Aug 29, 2012
Burger: Juicy Lucy
Average Score: 7.8
Price Range: $$$$$
Price Range: $$$$$
Mike: After having failed
during our last Burgerler episode with the Plan B Burger, we were looking for
stuffed burger redemption. For that, we
went straight to the source, Whitman’s, to try the famous “Juicy Lucy,”
herself. Their version of the Lucy that
is juicy consists of a beef short rib blend patty stuffed with pimento cheese,
topped with caramelized onion, Bibb lettuce, tomato, spicy pickles and special
sauce atop a sesame seed bun.
When my burger came out, the first thing I noticed was
the tomato slice; this thing was huge!
It was like Saturn’s rings, if this burger were a planet. So, in contrast, the tomato made the patty appear
even smaller, which was already somewhat dwarfed by the bun. Albeit, the patty did have a hefty girth,
being that it was stuffed with cheese and all. After I topped off my burger with the upper
half of the bun and took my first bite, any reservations I had toward the size
had immediately left my mind. This
burger really packed in the flavor, let me tell you! The blended beef short rib was savory on its
own; but the melted pimento cheese packed inside took it to a new level. The caramelized onions brought forth a touch
of sweetness, along with the tomato, that gave the burger more dimensional
flavor. If that weren’t enough, the
spiced pickle and special sauce combination rounded out the flavor profile with
perfect completeness. Additional kudos
to the chef for placing the lettuce beneath the patty; therefore, preventing
the juices from destroying the lower half of the bun. Speaking of the bun; it was a sesame seed
bun, but because of all of the excitement that was happening in between, the
somewhat monotonous nature of the bun wasn’t a critical factor.
Overall, Whitman’s “Juicy Lucy” was a home run! Okay, maybe
it was an inside the parker or a ground-rule double. After all, it was a bit on the small side and
didn’t fully satiate my appetite; but, my taste buds were satisfied. And, if I had ordered a side of fries for
myself, rather than to share, I’m sure my appetite would have been fully
satisfied as well. Plan B, take a
lesson!
Overall Rating: 7.5
Overall Rating 7.9
Kenny: August 2012 is now the month of the stuffed burger. This brought us to Whitman’s to try their
famous Juicy Lucy, which on paper seems to be a step above the Plan B
Burger. Their Juicy Lucy is created from
a beef short rib blend stuffed with pimento cheese and topped with caramelized
onions, lettuce, tomato, spicy pickles and their special sauce. Let’s not forget the warning label on the
menu: Caution: Juicy Lucy is VERY HOT in
the middle and might squirt. That
got a giggle out of me. Before ordering
the waiter comes by to state the specials, wings and a "Bluesy," a Juicy Lucy with
Blue cheese. The Bluesy sounded
interesting but we were here for their flagship, which I ordered medium like
everyone else.
About ten minutes later the waiter came up the stairs with a
few small plates and a bowl of sweet potato fries, and yes, we roll that
way. The Juicy Lucy was served on a small white plate that appeared very comparable to the size of the burger without
making it look small. The patty is about
the size of my palm, and what was that, the largest tomato slice I have ever seen. It was slightly bigger in area than the top of the
sesame seed bun. Under the large tomato slice was a light spread of their special sauce with three of their
spiced pickles, and below the patty was the lettuce; this was a very pretty
composition. After inspecting the
burger, no squirting had prematurely occurred, so I went in for my first bite.
This bite was full of all types of flavors and textures all
mixing together. First, the meat was
seasoned well and had a good mixture of grease with flavor and texture. Then there was the mixture of the meat with
the warm pimento cheese, which was delicious and maybe my first experience
with this kind of cheese. The special sauce was
like every other special sauce, but the spicy pickles brought a little bit of
heat with them. The onions added a
sweet flavor and contributed heavily to the overall texture of burger. There was only one thing I wanted, the
patty to be a little bigger. Don’t get
me wrong, I was satisfied with the burger and a few sweet potato fries, I just
wanted a little more meat.
Overall Rating 7.9
Jeff: This would be our second go at a cheese
stuffed burger; and with a name like Juicy Lucy, it better not disappoint. The
burger is made with a beef short rib blend and stuffed with pimento cheese. The
day we arrived, they were also offering it with blue cheese. I’ve never had
pimento cheese but was game to try it, so I ordered mine in it’s normal fashion. Whitman’s shows a small looking burger on it’s webpage, so when the Juicy Lucy
arrives, you will see a familiar site. This thing is small. Kudos to Whitman’s, though, for serving it on a plate that compliments the burger's dimensions. Oddly
enough, emphasizing the burger's smallness was the massive tomato slice that, not
only dwarfed the width of the patty, but extended out past the bun as well.
What’s going on here?
I’ll tell you what’s going on, flavor.
My god, this is one of the best tasting burgers I’ve had yet. The moment you
bite into the burger, the flavor of the beef short rib shines, and you know
everything else you’ve ever had is just ground beef, probably purchased at your
local Associated Grocers. Seriously, if more burgers were made with ground
beef short rib, then more places could actually claim being the “best burger” of whatever
year. Well, maybe they’d have to do more than that, but it would at least help
in that proclamation.
Now, once you get over the taste of the
beef, you have to recon with the caramelized onions and the pimento cheese. Are
you kidding me!? This is a win-win combination. Both of them compliment each other, yet neither overpower or are unjustly affected by the light spread of special
sauce that’s on the bun. The sauce has a slightly sweet flavor that works well
with the onions and the tanginess of the cheese. I’m still not sure what
pimento cheese is, but after this, I think I’m going to seek it out. Even after
having cheese ooze out the back of my burger, it still had plenty within the patty. That’s how you stuff a burger. Stuff it! Speaking of the bun,
it’s nothing special. It could be your generic store bought sesame seed bun, and
maybe that’s the perfect pairing. In this case, the bun is only there to hold
everything in place. Yes you’ll taste it, but it’s presence, I feel, is really to
let the flavors of the beef, cheese, onions, tomato, and butter bib lettuce
shine through. Well played Whitman’s, well played.
One thing, I have to return to is the size of the burger. It is small, and at
$10 you may feel as though you’re paying a lot. I am the first to show disgust
at overpriced burgers in New York, and let’s face it… New York has a lot of
them. Here, however, we have a truly flavorful beef short rib burger and a balance of ingredients
that work very well together. Considering the oversized, mediocre burgers
costing the same, or more, with lame fries, I will gladly pay $10 for the Juicy
Lucy.
They say big things come in small
packages, and oh, what a punch the Juicy Lucy packs.
