50 Burgers or Bust The story of two burger fans and their journey.

Angel:
Feb 10th was the Chinese New year and Feb 12 was Mardi Gras.

Which do we celebrate? BOTH! Well, sort of.

Our first stop wasn’t quite Chinese food (we are burger lovers, after all), it was an American pub grub with an Asian flare, Social Eatz. It’s a small midtown spot with a small beer selection, but a burger that is hard to compare to.

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Sean:
There entire menu sounds both delicious and intriguing as it was the bar food we knew and loved, but each had their own Asian twist to them. With more time to spare and perhaps another person there to share the food with, we would have eagerly ordered a decent sampling, but, since we were set and focused, it was just a burger to split between the two of us.

Every so often, a burger comes around that opens your eyes and completely changes the way you look at food. Social Eatz’ Bibimbap Burger is one such burger. Topped with a 60-minute egg, sriracha sauce, sliced vegetables that could only be described as a cross between kimchi and American coleslaw, and mayonnaise, it is anything but typical and nothing short of a miracle in cuisine.

Simply put, the Bibimbap Burger was easily one of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life, but I do have to add one caveat. Even though, at it’s base, it is the same ground beef nestled in between two halves of a bun, it was unlike any burger I’ve had. If you’re in the mood for a basic burger, this is not the stop for you.

Now, if you’re looking to wow your taste buds, expand your palate, and blow your mind, I can not recommend their creation any higher. With each bite, there are mind shattering levels of complexity in texture and flavors. The soft but hearty sesame roll with a slight sweetness starts the journey from both ends. From there, things begin to go wild as you experience the gooey and delectable 60-minute egg as it seeps and coats everything with it’s warmth on the top while the crunchy, tangy and slightly spicy sliced vegetables assault from the bottom. Between it all, the reason it’s called a burger, the juicy meat nestled between everything fully rounded it out.

In keeping with the Asian twists for the Chinese New Year, this burger celebrated the concept of yin-yang as the spicy and snappiness of the vegetables on bottom were elevated by it’s polar opposite in the velvety and soothing egg on top.

As we each finished our halves, we were kicking ourselves for not ordering a burger for each of us, and, while we were tempted to order another, we decided to not overdo it… especially when we had another holiday to celebrate.

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Angel:
From there, we moved on to celebrate Mardi Gras at the Bourbon Street Bar & Grille, but, since lines aren’t our thing and theirs continued around the block, we ended up at the Blarney Stone at 307W 47th.

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Sean:
…which was as far away as one could get from Mardi Gras, but there was no line and, after seeing the wild crowds outside, it was nice to duck into a quiet setting.

Walking in, I had completely forgotten that I was in the middle of Manhattan and would have sworn I was at a quaint local bar somewhere outside of Utica. Gone were the fancy surroundings and replaced with old, worn wood and a gritty atmosphere.

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Angel:
After Social Eatz, the burger at the Blarney Stone wan’t really on the top of my list (for once), but, still hungry, I broke down and ordered it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised that, although you couldn’t get a more basic burger (thick sesame seed bun, tomato, lettuce, American cheese,, the flavor was good and juicy.

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Sean:
Before we ordered it, I was thinking the same thing… that I didn’t want to ruin or somehow tarnish the recent memory of the Bibimbap Burger with something sub-par and undeserving, but, once it arrived, I was singing a different tune… or rather, once we sliced it in half (since it looked ordinary from the outside), I was singing a happy song.

The outer shell of the burger had a nice char, the insides a bright and juicy pink, and, all combined, this burger was a full two-hander. This was the pub burger I was missing.

Rather than soil the image of the amazing burger before it, it added to it by being everything a basic pub burger should be. It was the perfect counter to the earlier Bibimbap Burger.

We might have not celebrated the holidays in the traditional sense, but we can’t ask for anything  more after two enjoyable burgers.

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Lesson learned: It’s not always what you celebrate, but HOW you celebrate.