Burger Joint

It’s not that easy to grab a burger at Burger Joint. This speakeasy-ish spot, which looks like countless divey places in college towns all across America, is hidden behind a red velvet curtain just off the lobby in the Thompson Central Park New York hotel in Midtown. The only way in and out is through a narrow hallway, and there’s usually a long, slow-moving line. The burgers here used to be worth the wait. They’re not anymore.

The burger here is like an NBA legend who’s suddenly getting smoked on every play because they’re closer to 40 than 30 and decided to spend the whole offseason in Vegas rather than the gym. You typically want a combo of grease, juiciness, beefiness, and at least some salt in your patty. Inexplicably, there’s none of that here.

You could get your burger with “the works” (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayo, mustard, and ketchup) to compensate for the lack of flavor, but the patties are so thick that the beef still dominates each bite (which would usually be a good thing). As for the fries, they look like the ones from McDonald’s, and they do come out hot and crispy. But, again, they have zero salt. We had no idea fries could taste so bland. The nicely-charred and seasoned Beyond burger is unexpectedly the best thing to order here. We’re going to guess that’s not how the team behind Burger Joint wants people to think of this place.