The Bedford

let's play some stomp clap in this bitch

I don't know what I've done to deserve two burgers served on planks in such rapid succession. Sure, I remember 9/11 and I have seen Girl Talk live but ultimately this particular millennial quirk is something I thought I lapped many moons ago.

a collection of meals from the subreddit r/WEWANTPLATES lmaoooo

I guess I also should have seen this coming when the menu item itself at The Bedford in Williamsburg was called the Plank Burger.

My friend Susana and I planned on hitting this burger mostly because her friend gave it a vouch but partially because they had tiny tinis during happy hour.

We both ordered our Burgers en Plank ($18) and our small bevs. The burgers came out on their titular boards on house baked brioche buns topped with caramelized onions, garlic aioli, a smoked tomato jam and lettuce. They came with fries that were just kind of scattered on the board, loose.

I'll start with the positives: the bun was excellent. Brioche, as I've written before, can be divisive. Even in my own experiences I've had great and not-so-great brioche buns but this was a great one - not too sweet, not too plush and structurally sound. Another win: they had the correct amount of aioli on the burger which in my opinion is “A Lot.”

The tomato jam was great in theory. I love a savory jam on a burger (bacon, pepper, tomato) but here there were already so many creamy/savory/sweet elements that it felt gratuitous.

The burger itself was cylindrical as hell. Stocky and tall patty piled with toppings and a fluffy bun. The burger was juicy but ultimately unremarkable, relying on the toppings to add the pizazz. And the board.

Altogether the burger just had a little too much mush for me, even with the lettuce, and I needed a snap. I would’ve swapped out the carmelized onion for a quick pickled red onion. A bright acidic crunch could’ve been a great way to cut through the richness of the other toppings and the thick patty here.

I will say between the two burgers I've eaten off of planks this one is superior to The Baroness which I had in Long Island City a few weeks ago.

The Baroness

I rank the plank burger at 29 between Hamburger America and Moonburger. Have you had any good burgers served on not-plates? Let me know in the comments below!