i think i'm going to take that first
bite just naked
oh my gosh
[Music]
there are great burgers everywhere in
nyc but only a few special ones deserve
the title classic
today i'm on a mission to track down two
of new york city's best and most iconic
burgers that have stood the test of time
one from an old school tavern and the
other from a storied steakhouse
and i'm linking up with my friend and og
new yorker adam richmond to show me what
these legendary burgers are all about
adam
bro come on dude
last time we linked up we explored the
idea of the baller bird all the burgers
yes got any idea of what we're gonna do
today i'm a classic man
now i'm a new new yorker uh-huh you're
an og new yorker loyal to the soil yeah
what makes an iconic new york burger to
me i think the place plays a major role
like the place has to have history
i think generally in new york
the classic burgers are the ones that
are like the least adorned but like have
really good ingredients right now we're
in the upper east side correct and then
we're gonna go to your borough brooklyn
a burger can put a burrow on the map a
restaurant can put a neighborhood
you know and give it kind of cultural
significance or culinary significance
whereas otherwise people wouldn't go i'm
pretty excited are you pretty excited
man
all right well let's crush these two new
york legends i'm ready let's do it
the j and the g stand for jack and
george my husband and his partner and
they opened melons in 1972 when they
first
took the space there was a watercolor of
a melon behind the bar and then people
just started bringing in pictures
drawings a lot of people that come here
say they feel like they're coming home i
think it's because of
us it's an iconic new york landmark if
you come to new york you go to jg melons
it's about relating to people i've been
coming here since i guess 79.
and uh i met my husband in 84 and we
used to date in here margie used to wait
on us i'm bobby
and what i do that's the often asked
question i've been here to i tell girls
over 30 years it's actually over 40. i
feel like the key for the commission's i
feel like joe valachi
you know i've had customers come up and
say you know how do i get a plaque up
there i don't know that you really want
one
because these were customers that have
passed away the first one started with
the one over table one steve's table i
get attached to my customers i really
feel uh
like we talked about steve
i mean
i think you're going to have me here for
a long time
i'm having issues i don't know if i'm
able to like be mellifluous or funny i
just still want to bite it
i don't know i think i'm kind of
worthless i apologize to everyone at
first we feast
i knew i was hired to be sound by
machine but all i want to do is kind of
steal from my buddy eric beanie i just
kind of want to this with my face
sorry ah yeah sorry we're walking into
jg melon we're in the upper east side
just looks like an average irish bar but
it's burger mecca everything is
beautiful mahogany old world
green gingham tablecloth
watermelons everywhere everywhere red
ceiling classic bar that has every
whiskey you can imagine and then boom
this thing arrives in front of your face
what are you feeling right now man cause
like for me i'm not i'm only i've only
been in new york for three years but i'm
giddy like a child right it is nostalgia
like i do remember like i had a hookup
here and i had a breakup down at that
end of the bar real talk this is very
comforting to me because this was the
burger i had before i had a career in
food before i ever know the kitchen
it's like it's like biggie it's like air
force ones it's like it was awesome 30
years ago and still
hot as today let me put on uh me
for sure the first two and that's about
it pickles
for sure 100
all the time i love that they do the
cottage fries still instead of surprise
guys it's like ruffles on steroids yeah
word that's a very good explanation i
think i'm going to take that first bite
just naked oh i just want to eat my
feelings like a cathy cartoon
oh my gosh
it's amazing it tastes like a steak in a
bun and every time i come here i'm
amazed because i see one tiny griddle
they're doing so many burgers i think
like 600 burgers a day it blows my mind
that they could keep the thing hot
enough to get a a sear this well it's
incredible this is damn near perfect
this is like a 99 pointer you know what
i mean the technique i mean that's the
thing right it's like it's not a cheese
it's obscure you can't name it i started
jam made out of something that's not
commonly made into a jam
and i think that's the thing and i'm
never the dude who's like i don't want
to add ketchup and stuff i'm a condiment
hoe but like this one i really it's one
of those things that like the cheese and
the juiciness of the meat almost make
its own condiment it's delicate it's a
delicate patty even though it's thick
it's almost like you're chewing through
like a beef croissant it's like layers
it falls down like like it crumbles in
your mouth i'm a big fan of picasso and
i know you said uh younger artists were
trying to do crazy after he did and
he said you know you have to learn color
theory composition brush strokes before
you can start deviating from it and i
feel this is the form upon which the new
burger place is freestyle we just had
the platonic idea of a new york city bar
burger oh yeah
now we're off to your borough
bk all day we're gonna get a burger in
the most classic steakhouse in all of
new york let's do it i'm super excited
finishing this first though yeah
let's get it
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
yeah
all right now this is an honor because i
respect you and i've got to eat with you
in new york but never in brooklyn and
neither one of us has had the burger
before i've never had the burger i've
come here
so many times they're known for dry age
porterhouse and the dry it which you can
smell from the moment you walk in it's
the first thing that hits your nose dude
it's always been share the fillet a
piece of the porterhouse they run it in
the vitamins which they then drizzle it
on top we can't taste the burger
without having to first taste this dry
age steak this beautiful piece of meat
i don't even think you need a knife for
that that's ridiculous
sear is great
it's seasoned perfectly
and
it's melting in my mouth and it
maintains its crunch through the bite no
matter how juicy it gets
peter lugar was founded as coral luger's
cafe in billiards in 1887. the last 69
years it's been in my family's business
our hamburger is really an exercise in
simplicity if it ain't broke don't fix
it this staff who've made their careers
with us they really form the fabric of
the restaurant their people have been
with us for upwards of three decades
four decades my name is catalina bretton
and i've been working for pitaluga for
four years now and
i'm having a lot of fun it is an
institution and i'm very proud it's like
a family we feel like you know it's a
second family my name is carl tartler
i'm here for 35 years
yeah it is a family that's why everybody
is here for for many many years oh yeah
but people propose all the time here you
know they put the ring in the cake they
wanna put them in the steak and all the
stuff you know it happens all the time
here
it's the purest dream
talk about meat cheese bun
peter luger's lunch only burger dude
[Music]
seeded bun dry aged beef blend american
cheese whole section of onion i love it
it's like the primal burger this makes
me want to go on like a viking raid with
like a mace in my hand you know
when we were walking in they had those
broilers
they didn't have a griddle they cook
these burgers on the same broiler like
as they cook their steaks same same way
and like you get that almost like
chip sear
on the steak you get the same thing in
the burger
and it's just it's lights out i just i'm
really i'm not manufacturing this i'll
look you in the eye the cameras i'm
looking you man-to-man as a friend yeah
i'll tell you we don't talk i am blown
away
[Music]
so i have to
do the traditional move
you know
throw on the bib
and just
and just go
but what i took away from the day
what i've learned
about our our like iconic new york
burger journey
is that in new york yeah it's all about
the beef it's all about the thick patty
the steak flavors the steak vibe like
your blend yeah your blend awesome blend
it's not just chuck a burger with
pedigree bro yeah cause like you know my
boy seth rogen was like
thick patties are for
[Laughter]
i'm honored to represent the classics of
my city
to you and thank you for taking me on
this journey
thanks for coming with me of course yo
don't get it twisted i'm still eating
after they wrap cut this
[Music]
what's up burger fam it's alvin kailan
from the burger show
thank you for your continual support
make sure you hit that like button smash
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burgers please and thank you