Putnam's

Venue: Putnam's Pub

Location: 419 Myrtle Ave., Brooklyn, NY

Date of Visit: Monday, April 23, 2012

Burger: Lunch Burger

Average Score: 6.4
Price Range: $$$$$

Mike:  Putnam’s Pub is a relatively new addition to the quick thriving neighborhood of Fort Greene in Brooklyn.  It’s a large place, by the area’s standards, with a decent food menu and an even more decent whiskey menu.  Putnam’s serves up three different burgers from three different menus: the Brunch Burger, the Lunch Burger, and the Sirloin Burger at dinner.  We arrived mid-week around noon, hoping to sample the Brunch Burger, which comes with a sunny farm egg, applewood bacon, and American cheese.  They must only serve brunch on the weekends because we had no choice but to opt for the Lunch Burger instead.

            The Lunch Burger is pretty much the same burger as that of the brunch variety; only it comes without the egg.  I should also point out that romaine lettuce, tomato, and fried onions come standard on their burgers as well.  As I normally do, I ordered my burger medium-rare; to my displeasure, it arrived just a tad past medium.  Perhaps this would account for the lack of flavor and considerable dryness of the meat.  Additionally, the size of the patty was not proportionate to that of the bun.  No one likes their last bite of a burger to be only bun; however, it happens and we move on.  But, the last two bites?  Don’t get me wrong, the bun was tasty, fresh, and held up its integrity throughout consumption; but, it’s a burger, where’s the beef?!   

The toppings were the saviors of this down spiraling sandwich.  The romaine and tomato were both fresh, adding a cool crispness and a bit of moisture to the arid mound of beef.  The fried onions and applewood bacon rescued this burger from a flavorless pit of despair while adding the perfect amount of crunch to complement the other textures held within.  The American cheese added very little, if anything, to this burger.  American cheese is like vanilla ice cream or white bread; it lacks enthusiasm and imagination.  If you put cheese on a burger, make it something with some flavor.

Overall, the Putnam’s Pub Lunch Burger fell way short of my expectations.  If it weren’t for the toppings, I might have deemed it not worth writing about.  This is a case that confirms my suspicions about bacon on burgers; its a sure-fire coverup.  After all, bacon does make everything taste better.  I wonder if the egg would have improved this burger much, as with the Brunch Burger.  I really have no desire to find out.

Overall Rating: 6.4

Kenneth: This isn’t my first time trying one of Putnam’s burgers; but this is the first time trying their lunch burger.  They serve different burgers depending on the time of the day or day of the week it is.   On the weekends, there is the Brunch Burger at lunch, during the evenings there is the Dinner burger, and during lunch, so creatively named, there is the Lunch Burger.  The Lunch Burger is by far the simplest of the three burgers, which is served with applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, and fried onions and comes with either a salad or fries.  Oh, I forgot there is one more bonus; there is the beer and lunch burger deal for an extra two dollars.

On this day, I ordered my burger medium with French fries.  When the burger arrived, its presentation made my mouth water; that is, until I bit into it and found it had been slightly over cooked.  Within that first bite, there were a lot of different flavors and textures, mostly coming from the toppings, particularly the applewood bacon and the fried onions.  The patty on the other hand, was juicy but lacked its own unique flavor; and as much as I like American cheese, it did nothing for the patty’s flavor.  Overall, it satisfied my hunger, but the lunch burger didn’t do much for my palette.  I wouldn’t mind trying the dinner burger, which has avocado and dill pickles, and brunch burger, which has a fried egg.  

Rating 6.9

Jeff: The decor of Putnam’s is nice. It has a rustic, old time bar type feel that’s bright and airy, with out door seating albeit Myrtle avenue. Myrtle is somewhat in a state of limbo. Running along Fort Greene Park, Myrtle spans new high-rise condos, public housing, 99 cent stores, a few eateries of varying quality, your typical New York Chinese take out places, Pratt Institute, and car services that may or may not be in business.

          I ordered Putnam’s Lunch burger medium rare. Upon arrival it looked appetizing, but upon eating, it too seemed to be in limbo. While the bun was tasty, really tasty actually, I wasn’t feeling the American cheese. I'm not a fan of American cheese. Regardless of the Kraft singles commercials with smiling kids, I will never like it. Restaurants or pubs of this type may feel like they're bringing a sense of home to their customers when they place it on burgers, but they're doing their customers a dis-service. They should stop it. A decent cheddar cheese would have been great with the bun and bacon. The folded strips of bacon were pretty good. A little too good because they provided more flavor than the beef they were adorning. Speaking of beef, my patty was unevenly cooked. It was a thick patty, not Dumont thick, but thick. There were maybe four other people dining when I arrived. Why my patty was prepared unevenly I don’t know, especially because it took a while for it to come out. I don't even think it was seasoned with salt or pepper. It was bland. The tomatoes were fresh and tasted good, and the shredded fried onions were really good, but that put me at odds with the burger even further. What, no pickle spear either? What a ho-hum experience. 

          I’m surprised really. I’ve ridden past this place numerous times and seen it packed. Maybe its packed for the bar libations.

Overall Rating: 5.9