People have become too powerful in their quests for viewership and engagement, by which I mean restaurant TikTokers have become very fond of making 12 slide photo posts and so you have to swipe through the whole thing for the name reveal.
I fell victim to such a post in January, outlining the perfect spot for a girls night catch up, complete with a sizable burger. I knew a gab with my friend/start up survivor former coworker was overdo so we went to Virginia’s
Caitlyn and I snagged a table in the dimly lit wood-accented bistro on 3rd and B. We settled into our seasonally appropriate drinks (a winter negroni with spiced orange vermouth for me, a hot toddy for Caitlyn) on the balmy 16º night.
We both went for the burger - $20 each and did NOT come with a side of fries, but we split a side of those and the little gem salad. I know this is a newsletter about burgers but I want to make sure I shout their dressing out - a tahini green goddess that I’m dedicated to replicating.
Onto the burger - the plates came out and I knew it was going to be a winner just from the sight of it. Don’t judge a book by its cover but do judge a burger by its patty-to-bun ratio. The Virginia’s burger comes on a brioche bun with Cabot cheddar, onion marmalade and marrow aioli, with a cup of pickles on the side.
The bun was reminiscent of Rolo’s, in that it was charred on both sides. I know a lot of people are anti-brioche burger bun, but I think that the way it’s prepped cuts the sweetness and would win you over!
Caitlyn isn’t a pickle fan so I got to double up on mine. I could tell they were made fresh - sliced thick, good snap and a bright flavor.
They worked really well against the rich onions and aioli. The former was a delicious sweet treat, but since they were on the bottom of the bun and served pretty hot, there were spots where the marmalade more or less melted through the bread. The marrow aioli was salty, smokey and rich - I just wished there was more!
The patty itself was cooked to a juicy medium and was not quite pub-thickness but still hit on the craving I had for a non-smash burger. Altogether pretty drippy but not a huge mess and not greasy. On the cheese front, Caitlyn reported that the cheddar was a bit overwhelming and felt more in competition with the other toppings than complementary - so even if you’re not a cheese-free queen like me, maybe you can pass on this topping.
I’m glad I listened to the TikTok girlies because I was really won over by this burger. So much so that it’s officially ranked in my top 10 - the Virigina’s burger comes in at number 9, between the Chop burger at Stranger Flavor (8) and Leo’s (10).
There are some heavy hitters coming soon, including Peter Luger’s and the Black Label Burger at the iconic Minetta Tavern - stay tuned!
looks like a brioche a brioche hater like me could get down with