Take Me Elsewhere

Who would've thought that you could find such a chic and intimate burger-serving restaurant west of 9th avenue? Well, we've found it - Elsewhere at 43rd just west of 9th is serving up one-of-a-kind burgers.

Yes, the atmosphere is upscale and yes, they have bone marrow on the menu, but let's just say that all the fancy-ness does not compromise the quality of the ground beef. Let me walk you through the meal...

1st Course: Bacon Butter Popcorn
I think this bears repeating. Bacon. Butter. Popcorn.
This is hands down the most intriguing appetizer that this BURGER CLUB has ever experienced (and that list includes fried pickles). How do they make it taste like bacon without making it heavy and greasy? I HAVE NO IDEA. But I highly recommend it - one order was enough to tantalize the appetites of five.

2nd Course: Biscuits with Brown Butter and Cracked Pepper
Apparently I was the last one in New York to hear of the biscuit-pepper combination, because since enjoying this delight, I've suddenly seen it all over town. That said, the sweet dough soaked in brown butter literally melts on the tongue. It took a very serious kind of self control to save room for...

3rd Course: THE BURGER
Easily at least 1/3 lbs of ground beef encompassed by a warm and crusty ciabatta-style bun and topped with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, and 5-spoke tumbleweed (cheese). So here's the downside: this is too tall for the mouth of even the typical New Yorker. The size and juicy-ness of the burger overwhelms the sandwich to the point that the other condiments don't exert much flavor over the meal. The upside: the burger tastes so good that I didn't even care.