Up Market

Market Café
496 9th Ave (b’twn 37th and 38th)
New York, NY 10018
(212) 967-3892
[map] [subway directions]

Rating: 4/5

Notes:

- Burger: Quality ground beef grilled up plump and juicy and cooked just the way we ordered. There was a really nice charred flavor on this patty, but not a lot of seasoning.

- Bun: A slightly chewy kaiser that outsized the burger a bit more than we would have liked, but the extra bun held the sandwich together well.

- Garnish: Crispy romaine, tomato, thinly sliced red onion and a pickle spear. We both opted for cheddar cheese which was plentiful and well melted.

- Mess factor: Juicy, juicy. Only one additional napkin was necessary though.

- Fries: Fried nicely, deliciously salted and sprinkled with a bit of chopped parsley.

- Price: $10

- Bordeaux: We paired these juicy burgers with a tasty 2004 Tempranillo Rioja from Biurko. This was a smooth, easy-to-drink wine with a nice hint of cherry that was a bit too soft to stand up to our big, juicy burgers. This was a delicious wine that we would definitely recommend with a less flavorful meal.

- Atmosphere: You could take a girl there.

- Overall: By day, Market Café is a bright, white tiled and quite busy lunch spot. By night, the atmosphere is more subdued with most of the light coming from the table candles. There is a lunch counter that sort of doubles as a bar lining one wall. The art normally showcases one artist and is changed every so often. We’ve consumed many a burger at Market Café over the years. They have changed their bun choice a few times in the past. In our opinion, the brioche style buns they were serving a few years back were superior to the current offering. The constant at Market has been the really meaty, well charred patties and the well seasoned fries. This is a burger consistently good enough to make up for a less than exciting bun.

Add comment February 5th, 2007