Gramercy Tavern

one for the road

Of the 54 burgers on my ranking, only eight have been around before your author was born, and Gramercy Tavern makes it nine. Opened just two years before my debut, this Danny Meyer/Tom Colicchio collaboration aimed to marry high and low dining concepts along with the high hospitality standards that have become somewhat of a calling card for all of Meyer’s ventures under Union Square Hospitality Group.

My work team frequented Union Square Cafe for our special lunches, another USHG spot, but for my farewell lunch, I requested we go just one block further to have the oft-hyped GT burger.

Sure enough we arrived and there was a table of 6 or 7 guys all eating their own burgers (dudes rock). Our group of four was sat at a corner booth and our very kind waiter asked if we were celebrating anything and we said no but when he walked away I muttered that it was my last meal before I was getting put down. Sorry! It’s true! This was my pup cup <3 It was 1pm on a Tuesday so I also ordered a strong martini in honor of being a businesswoman for four more days.

All of us ordered the burger and were also treated to a beef carpaccio on the house (again…getting-put-down vibes).

Soon enough all of our burgers left the kitchen - smoked onion aioli, bacon, all on a sesame-seeded brioche bun with potato chips for $35. My fellow diners all opted to get cheese on their burgers, a Shelburne cheddar. But there was something that caught me off guard - the burger was already cut in half.

The burgers at Gramercy Tavern are all cooked to medium rare by default, which means in order to get clean cut, the burger needed to sit for a spell while the juices redistribute. I’m not opposed to cutting your burger in half once it hits the table - still hot, eaten almost immediately.

The texture that this pre-serve cut produces bordered on gelatinous. I also typically relish in that first bite - crusty, juicy, steaming and I felt robbed of this experience, which was a shame! It really detracted from the otherwise solid profile, with that smoked onion aioli taking centerstage. Think fancy French’s onion dip. The bacon was also a great cut - not too thick and buttery like the slices that top the Au Cheval burger.

I was also pretty happy with the bun. I suppose one upside to having the burger of this size rest and then cut is less potential for a bun meltdown.

woman laughing at Burger ™

Ultimately I’m ranking the Gramercy Tavern burger at 39, between Corner Bar and Nowon. If anyone wanted to foot the bill, I’m interested in returning and requesting the burger stays whole and reassessing accordingly.