Double Windsor

Venue: Double Windsor

Location: 210 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY

Date of Visit: Saturday, November 10, 2012
Burger: Burger and Fries

Average Score: 7.5
Price Range: $$$$$

Mike: The latest Burgerler episode brought us to Windsor Terrace, in Brooklyn, to sample the burger at The Double Windsor.  We were a man down, but as they say, “the show must go on.”  With views of Prospect Park, an inviting atmosphere, and an extensive craft beer menu, this was a fine place to settle in on a Saturday afternoon.   According to their menu, this burger is Creekstone Farms Beef, courtesy of Pat LaFrieda, on Amy’s Bread bun, whatever that means!  So, I had to do a little research after the fact to find out.  Basically, its Angus beef on, from what I could tell, a brioche bun.  It also came with red-leaf lettuce, tomato, diced onion, and pickle slices.  I walked up and ordered one medium-rare, then went over to the bar to grab a beer and waited.

            When the burger came out, I was both surprised and dumbfounded by the diced onions that lay upon my tomato.  This had to be the first time I’ve seen this on a non-fast food burger.  Secondly, I noticed the single, flimsy piece of red leaf lettuce.  It was tissue-paper thin and all but hidden by the massive tomato slice.  Strangely, I noticed the meat last, especially considering it accounted for about 85% of the burger’s total volume.  Don’t take this as a slight; as a matter of fact, I found the patty to be the perfect size.  It matched the diameter of the bun to a T, and had an appropriate thickness that when prepared, it achieved a savory char on the exterior, while maintaining the mid-rare interior to lock in the flavorful juices. 

            The next-best part about this burger was the bun.  There wasn’t anything exceptional about the bun, itself.  As I mentioned, it was from Amy’s Bread, which holds little meaning for me.  The significance, however, had to do with the hint of sweetness the bun possessed. This bit of sweet paired magnificently with the savory of the meat.  Not to mention, it held up quite nicely to the onslaught of juices that were discharged.  Though there were a mere three of them, I had to give honorable mention to the pickles.  I like pickles on a burger, and these ones didn’t disappoint.  They provided a tanginess to rein in the trifecta of flavor profiles for this burger.

            Though the tomato slice was a tad thick and the diced onions were annoying and kept falling off, I thoroughly enjoyed The Double Windsor’s burger.  For me, it came down to the preparation and flavor of the meat and its perfect union with the bun.  The pickles gave this burger a third dimension that caused its shortcomings to fall not so short. 

Overall Rating: 7.9

Jeff: A number of my friends have mentioned that I should try the Double Windsor burger. I’m always open to burger suggestions and having been a patron of the bar in the past, I thought why not.

            First off, the flavor of their beef was really good. I didn’t notice any seasoning, it might have had some salt and/or pepper sprinkled onto it while cooking; but if that was the case, then it was minimal. The flavor of their grass fed beef was truly delicious. The brioche bun, while tasty, could’ve been toasted a tad longer or at least warmer. I’m not sure why so many places serve their burgers on cold buns. And while the bun here tasted good, a little toasting or warmth would’ve made it just that much better, as it’s flavor did work well with the patty. Toppings wise, the burger was a mixed bag. While I appreciated the thick, hand cut tomato, it totally dwarfed the lack luster red leaf lettuce. Red leaf lettuce, although preferred over iceberg lettuce, is really too thin in it’s leaf to compliment the tomato and patty, in the case of the Double Windsor burger. Had they used a butter bib or romaine, or added more red leaf, then I’m guessing the outcome would be better suited for the patty, bun, and tomato. The most surprising thing about this burger was the diced onion. Why on earth they would put diced onions on this burger is beyond me, especially with the bun and beef being as flavorful as they are. All the diced onion did was slide out onto my plate, causing me to think about the use of sliced red onion instead.

           I’m going to return to the patty; it really stood out. It was one of the finer examples of a kitchen serving a medium patty that I’ve had. The outside had a balanced, soft, yet firm texture. The inside of the patty was a nice hue of pink and brown-gray cooked beef, and it was juicy. I’m not sure what color one attributes to medium cooked beef, but whatever it is, the cook at Double Windsor has it down. Again, the flavor of this beef patty was really good.

         Later that week, I told one of my friends of my experience.  It was said that what they had when they went was actually a special that the Double Windsor was offering, versus their regular burger. Don’t get me wrong, the burger here tastes good; there are just a couple of things (literally) that they could change that would change it from good to great.

Overall Rating: 7.1