By Nathan Storey
Every New Yorker boasts of a favorite burger joint but there’s a new trend changing the ground beef game — the luxury burger. With ingredients like truffles and Wagyu beef and sky-high prices, these aren’t your fastfood patties.
The $81 Burger
No, that’s not a misprint. The Old Homestead Steakhouse has unleashed this delicate Japanese take on the American classic. Each burger is made with 14 ounces of Japanese Kobe Wagyu beef and 4 ounces of barely-seared sirloin Wagyu medallion tucked inside. It comes laced with executive chef’s Oscar Martinez’s own sake onion ketchup and miso and ginger aioli. The 81 bucks will get you some tater tots too. (See photo above)
The 21 Burger
The ‘21’ burger at the ‘21’ Club is the definition of a white-tablecloth burger. Chef John Greeley includes unique ingredients like duck fat and fresh thyme and cooks it to a medium-rare glaze. Green beans, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions and choice of potato compliment the burger, which goes for $30.
The DB Burger
From star-chef Daniel Boulud comes the DB Burger, an excessive, but delicious burger served at DB Bistro Moderne. The succulent, fragile burger is composed of an exterior of ground sirloin with a filling of boned short ribs braised in red wine, foie gras, black truffles and a mirepoix of root vegetables. The homemade bun is topped with toasted parmesan and layered with fresh horseradish mayonnaise, tomato confit, fresh tomato and frisée lettuce. The cholesterol clogger comes with pommes frites at lunch and pommes soufflés at dinner and goes for $32. If you happen to be enjoying the DB burger in the truffle season — November through February — you can add 10 grams of truffles for $75 or 20 grams for $150. (pictured below).
What Does a $32 Burger Taste Like?
Daniel Boulud, owner of DB Bistro Moderne, and Marc Sherry, owner of The Old Homestead Steakhouse, have been battling for bragging rights to the high-end burger. Boulud dropped the $28 burger — a delicate meat masterpiece — first. Then Sherry one-upped him with the $41 kobe beef burger.
The burger war escalated when Boulud added extra black truffle shavings for a $50 burger. Then, this month Sherry unveiled the $81 burger at the Old Homestead Steakhouse. The beefy behemoth is made with 14 ounces of Japanese Kobe Wagyu with 4 ounces of barely-seared sirloin Wagyu medallion crammed in the middle.
At Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne, at this time of year, the only burger option is the regular DB Burger — an exterior of ground sirloin with a filling of boned short ribs braised in red wine, foie gras, black truffle and a mirepoix of root vegetables. The homemade parmesan bun is lathered with horseradish mayonnaise, tomato confit, fresh tomato and frisée lettuce. During truffle season — November through February — you can add 10 grams of truffle shavings for a $75 burger or 20 grams for $150.
DB’s burger was stacked tall with a couple of DB initialed wooden picks holding each half of the burger in place. It’s not the easiest task to get command of the thing but once you have a firm grip and lay into that first bite, it becomes apparent as to why they sell about 100 a day. The meat is delicate and practically melts in your mouth. This is definitely not your typical run-of-the-mill burger. The toppings compliment the meat perfectly and the pommes frites are crunchy and tasteful.—Nathan Storey
