BY CAROLYN ONOFREY

Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien
119 W 56^th Street
Midtown West
212-708-7414/parkermeridien.com

Cheeseburger at burger joint

Nestled down a short, unsuspecting hallway in the lobby of the Le Parker Meridien; identified only by a neon sign depicting a hamburger, stood Burger Joint.  Walking into the place for the first time, I really didn’t know what to expect.  In fact, I wasn’t really expecting anything.  However, I was still surprised to find a cramped room filled to the brim with suits, scarfing down burgers and fries like it was their job in digs no fancier than your average dive bar.  The place even had a kind of ‘surf shack’ appeal to it, with light wood paneled walls and a counter-service only policy.  Lucky to find a table, my boyfriend and I held our spot with our coats and stood in line to order.  The directions were simple (as a hand written sign so aptly instructed), hamburger or cheeseburger, with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, mayo, or ketchup.  If you wanted it all, just say “the works”.  Easy enough.  Of course, there were also French fries, milk shakes, and Sam Adams on the menu, but really everyone was just there for the burgers.

I ordered my cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and ketchup, and added an order of fries to the mix.  We paid, sat down, and about five minutes later our name was called.  My boyfriend brought over two burgers wrapped in white paper and a greasy brown bag of fries.  I unwrapped the burger with zeal and uncovered what seemed to me to be the perfect burger; a white bread bun with bright green lettuce and ripe red tomato, in the middle of it all, a perfectly charred burger with white American cheese melted over top of it, peaking out just enough to tease the senses about what was to come.  I tasted the fries first to prolong the anticipation of the first bite of burger.  The shoestring style fries were fried and salted to perfection.  Bringing back memories of summers at the beach, I knew that they were going to be the perfect accompaniment to the burger I was going to sink my teeth into.

There’s nothing wrong with a little grease… Bag of French fries at Burger Joint

The first bite of burger was just as delicious as the last, every mouthful a plethora of textures and flavors.  The lettuce and tomato were crunchy and cold, and the meat warm and juicy.  The ingredients, namely the meat, were high quality.  I felt good after I ate the burger, not stuffed and pukey like I often find myself after a hearty dose of ground beef.

Cheeseburger at burger joint

Overall, the entire burger joint experience was a great one (if I had arrived about 15 minutes later I may have been singing a different tune, as the line was out the door).  I will be back to burger joint, for a quick, cheap bite in the area, or even to bring a visitor who wants to see The City the way it was meant to be seen.  Either way, this gem may not be so hidden any longer, but it is still a diamond in the rough.

Tags: Burgers, Midtown, Midtown West, Reviews // Add Comment »