Super Smashburgers
Although the rise of the “smash burger” started in the late 2000s, this style of burger has had a significant increase in popularity in the last couple of years in New York City — allowing new restaurants and chefs to open up and show off their style to burger lovers. There are raved-about spots in NYC that people claim offer the “best Smashburger,” so we tried the top three most talked about within the NYC food scene. These are our honest opinions.
7th Street Burger
If you’re a burger fanatic, you’ve probably already heard about the iconic smashburgers from 7th Street. Started in a small shop in East Village, 7th Street’s popularity skyrocketed as the “best-drunk meal” or “late-night snack”. Their smash burgers are simple — American cheese with either a seasoned single or double-smashed patty with crisped edges, grilled onions, and pickles in between a buttered potato bun. Their wrappers and bags are always oily but when you receive your order, you’re already salivating. They offer loaded burger fries if you’re feeling extra hungry but their fries aren’t the greatest alone - seasoned well but a bit soggy. You just get fries because it’s the combo to go with your burger. 7th Street is open till late with super chill, friendly service, and multiple locations around the city— who wouldn’t love them? Once you get a bite of that salty but juicy smashed burger, you’ll understand why they are truly a crave-able chain.
Gotham Social Club Burger
Once a pop-up that traveled NYC for three years, Gotham Burger finally planted its feet at a permanent location in Essex, allowing its fans to indulge whenever they want. Their classic smash burgers are different from the rest - they add pickled jalapeños, pickles, mustard, and ketchup on top of their stack of smashed patties and American cheddar. Their patties were perfectly cooked and mixed well with the accompaniments, making each bite “the perfect bite”. Their fries were fresh and made to order-- oh so salty and finger-licking delicious. Just because we were curious, we also got their chopped cheese taco (which reminded us of elevated tastier versions of childhood lunch tacos but elevated) and their frickles (fried pickles). Get their ghost pepper ranch to dip your frickles in — game changer.
Hamburger America
Step into an old-school diner in the heart of NYC; decorated with yellow tiles and with an open kitchen surrounded by a 15-stool counter. By the counter, you can watch burger after burger being freshly prepared with a quick hand. To start, we got the most raved menu item: The George Motz’s Fried Onion Burger. We got the double patty which comes with caramelized onions and American cheese served on a plain buttered bun. When we took a bite, we both agreed that this tasted good but not the best. We found the patties in the burger a bit dry (but well seasoned) as there was no sauce to help elevate the moisture. We also agreed that the flavor of the caramelized onions was almost nonexistent. However, we did hear about a secret menu item called the Chester Melt which is their version of the patty melt. We found this simple sandwich of cheese, smashed patty, and toasted sliced bread so much tastier (actually delicious) than the burger itself. The fries were dry and hard, unpleasant to eat, and coated unevenly with salt. This is a great fast food spot for whenever that burger craving hits but we wouldn’t claim it as the best.
Although we already have the best-of-the-best options lined up for us, the search for the best smash burgers doesn’t stop here. I’m excited to see what the people of NYC will bring us and our taste buds next.