a.k.a. Fat Burger
Alias Restaurant
76 Clinton Street (@ Rivington)
New York, NY 10002
(212) 505-5011
[map] [subway directions]
Rating: 5/5
Notes:
- Burger: A fat, fat burger, maybe slightly more than a mouthful. Very reminiscent of a homemade–and therefore hand formed–patty. No indication of over-seasoning whatsoever. Very, very juicy.
- Bun: An excellent bun in the brioche style. Toasting the bun on the grill added a nice charred flavor but the size and juiciness of this burger might have been asking a bit too much of the slightly delicate brioche dough.
- Garnish: The traditional lettuce, tomato, and raw onion garnish are nowhere to be found on this plate. Instead, the Alias burger sits atop a thick slice of grilled onion and is topped with an extremely flavorful Russian dressing. The sharp Vermont cheddar cheese is highly recommended here. Its sharpness adds to the experience. Further, if you are not adverse to pork products, this is a great burger to add some bacon to.
- Mess factor: The sheer girth of this burger adds to the mess factor quite a bit. Not having additional layers of lettuce and tomatoes helps, but the juice and Russian dressing send this into “two napkin” territory. Thankfully, Alias provides nice, cloth napkins, so only one is really needed and an experienced burger eater should escape without too much embarrassment.
- Fries: Awesome! Fried up just right and nicely seasoned with salt and pepper these steak fries were a perfect accompaniment for this burger. There is a heavy bias towards shoestring fries on this site. So for some fries of the steak variety to warrant an awesome description, they must really be something; these were.
- Price: $9 (fries add $3, cheese adds $1, bacon adds $1)
- Bordeaux: Alas, Alias has no Bordeaux on their brief wine menu, and the South American wine that they describe as a classic-Bordeaux style was unavailable the night of our visit. We opted for a 2004 Bourgogne Pinot Noir from Domaine Joseph Voillot. This wine had not matured enough to be very interesting yet. While it was drinkable, we wouldn’t order it again – or recommend it to anyone else.
- Atmosphere: You could take a girl there.
- Overall: This was the result of a second visit to the restaurant and it was really worth the trip. The menu calls this sandwich a “mega burger” and the first bite was pure heaven. All of the ingredients combine to make for a really wonderful hamburger experience. Granted, this is a very juicy burger, but the intense flavor experience is certainly worth a little mess. As for the restaurant itself, it is a cozy little place on Clinton Street with nice large windows overlooking a quiet corner of the Lower East Side. The dining room has a modern feel to it with exposed brick walls and a nice wooden floor. We visited on a Wednesday evening and found the dining room comfortably sparse. On a Friday or Saturday evening, the tightly packed tables might seem a little too close for comfort.
1 comment October 4th, 2006