Burger 38: Lido Kosher Deli's The Pastrami Burger

Lido Kosher Deli, located in Long Beach, New York has been in business for almost 60 years.  The deli, which doubles as a restaurant serves many specialty dishes, and they also serve the staple which Americans crave.  The meat patty between two buns that makes the salivary glands of millions water.  The sandwich known as the hamburger.  Then, you take this monstrosity of a burger and add on more meat? I like it. Mazel Tov.

The Pastrami Burger: 12 ounce Angus beef patty topped with thick sliced pastrami on a kaiser roll

The Beef:  The Beef of this burger was very under-seasoned.  While juicy and tender, it was very bland to the palette and needed a few spices in there to give it a taste.  2 out of 4.

The Bun:  The bun was toasted but it was a kaiser roll.  I get my turkey sandwich from the deli on the corner on a kaiser roll.  These rolls are not made for hamburgers, and it took all the taste out of the already bland burger.  The tasteless beef turned into bread flavored beef.  2 out of 4.

The Beef to Bun Ratio:  The ratio on this burger was exactly what you needed with a bun so large.  A 12 ounce burger to put between the buns.  If not for this monster burger, the ratio would have been dismal, but the guys in the kitchen know how to handle their ratio and for that deserve a 4 out of 4.

The Presentation:  The sliced pastrami was placed delicately over the burger, and the bun off to the side.  The presentation was normal for ordering a burger at a restaurant, nothing too extravagant.  3 out of 4.

The Cheese:  Now I know it is not kosher to mix meat with dairy, but Burger Bill says it is NOT kosher to not put cheese on a burger!  Was the pastrami supposed to replace my cheese?  Do they serve cheese in this place?  They don't.  If I brought my own cheese in here would they object to me putting it on?  They would.  I'm not here to mess with religion, but if you're going to take the American (quite literally) out of the staple food, don't put it on your menu.  N/A out of 3.

The Sear: The outside of this burger glistened with lines that sang, "We are delicious, we want you to bite us." The inside was gray, and although cooked medium, I didn't really find any pink inside.  2 out of 3.

Overall Taste:  The pastrami was the main focus of this burger, and the burger was delicious.  And if you are going to not allow me to put cheese on a burger for a religious reason, at least make it the best burger I have ever eaten.  Come here for the pastrami, not for the burger.  3 out of 5.

BBSR: 16 / 24 (no cheese)

Burger 37: Speakeasy Prohibition Burger

Speakeasy, located in the West End of Long Beach is a local bar and restaurant that is themed around the prohibition era.  The decor reminds you of an old speakeasy, with brick walls, and decorations that are relevant to that time in history.

This burger was very plain jane, and it was called the Prohibition Burger.  The only thing prohibited about it was the toppings.  The burger came as bare as you can imagine.  No cheese.  No bacon.  No onions.  Nothing. Bottom bun.  Burger.  Top bun.

The Beef:  The beef was underseasoned and tasted like ground beef, not really a burger patty.  It was very appealing to the eye, but did not do much in the way of appeal to my taste buds.  There was no "wow".  2 out of 4.

The Bun: The bun was a smaller than small potato roll.  It was toasted but in accordance with my other ratings, a simple potato roll is worth the simplest amount of points.  1 out of 4.

The Beef to Bun Ratio:  The BTBR on this burger was great, but that was because the bun was so small.  There was definitely beef for every bite of bun, but at the same time there were some bites that had no bun at all.  Where I come from, we call that a meat-wad, not a burger.  3 out of 4.

The Presentation: The burger was simply plated with fries, and a side of ketchup.  No lettuce, tomato, or anything came as even a garnish.  2 out of 4.

The Cheese: n/a

The Sear: This was a redeeming quality as there was a nice sear, however, as I stated before there was no seasonings to be tasted along with this beautiful sear.  2 out of 3.

Overall Taste:  Overall a burger named after prohibition must mean its a burger of stuff you cannot have.  You cannot have seasoning, you cannot have lettuce, you cannot have tomato, you cannot have cheese, you cannot have anything except the burger and the bun.  Everything else is prohibited.  3 out of 5.

BBSR: 13 / 24*

*No cheese rating

Burger 35, 36: Keith's Grill at Citi Field

The New York Mets, the love of my life, play at Citi Field in Flushing, New York.  Enter Citi Field and take the escalator up through the Jackie Robinson Rotunda with hundreds of Mets fans surrounding you, talking about who will be starting for the game today, current injuries, and news about the team.  Take a left as you get off the escalator and walk straight through the field level seating, until you reach the left field reserved seats.  Behind the left field seating sits a small food kiosk called "Keith's Grill".

Keith's Grill, named for legendary Mets all-star, Keith Hernandez, only serves two menu items...the Gold Glove Burger and the Mex Burger.  Each burger, made with Pat LaFrieda beef, is cooked right in front of you on a flat iron grill.  Opened in 2009, with the suggestions made by Keith himself, this place always has customers devouring these two burgers.

The Gold Glove Burger: Exactly how Keith eats his burger: A six ounce LaFrieda burger on a toasted sesame seed bun with cheddar cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato, two dill pickles, raw onion, mayo, and extra ketchup on top, mustard spread on the bottom bun.  

The Mex Burger: Created by Keith & the Citi Field culinary team, a 6 ounce LaFrieda burger on a toasted sesame seed bun with cheddar and jack cheese, topped with bacon, guacamole, chipotle aioli and jalapenos.  

With the exception of the toppings, the two burgers were exactly the same, so I will be rating both burgers together.

The Beef:  The Pat LaFrieda 6 ounce patty was probably the best tasting beef patty I have had at any ballpark, basketball arena, or sports stadium.  The beef was juicy and tender and was a perfect size for sitting at a baseball game and eating a burger.  3 out of 4.

The Bun:  The bun, toasted on the same grill surface that cooks the beef, enhances the taste of the toasted edges by absorbing some of the juices and then locking in those juices by searing the edges of the bun. 2 out of 4.

The Beef to Bun Ratio:  A 6 ounce patty on a toasted sesame seed bun, yielded a great ratio.  Every bite contained a generous portion of beef on each piece of bun.  3 out of 4.

The Presentation:  The presentation for a ballpark burger was very well organized.  As the man grilled the burgers before me, the woman organized the toppings on each bun and set up each persons burger with a tootsie pop and a bag of chips as well.  The construction of the burger was not rushed, and again, for a sports venue, it was very nicely presented.  3 out of 4.

The Cheese: The combinations of jack and cheddar cheeses perfectly melted made a nice addition to each burger.  Before the cheese was placed on the burger it was actually placed directly onto the flat iron surface and melted a little before then being placed on the burger for more melting.  2 out of 3.

The Sear:  Each burger had a great sear from the flat iron which could be seen and definitely tasted.  The only thing being cooked all night on the flat iron are burgers so there are no tastes except the beefy amazingness on this sear.  2 out of 3.

Overall Taste: Overall between all the toppings and tastes there are certain things I enjoyed about each burger.  First, Keith is a genius for separating his ketchup from his mustard on the top and bottom bun.  It really brings out the taste in each condiment and is well worth trying.  The chipotle aioli was pretty awesome as well.  When topped with jalapenos and guacamole, this burger really was an unexpected delight.  4 out of 5.

BBSR: 19 / 27

Burger 34: Corry's Ale House Bar Burger

Corry's Ale House, located in Wantagh, New York, is a simplistic pub and restaurant that features hand-crafted burgers on its pub oriented menu.  The six different types of burgers all make each other unique in taste and size.  Corry's offers a smaller 4 ounce burger, and also a larger 8 ounce burger.

I went to this location after work one day (yes, Burger Bill does work, he just doesn't work out) with a co-worker who told me that this burger was a must have.  He ordered the burger for me in advance so I had no choice in the burger.  Had I offered my opinion, I would have ordered the Corry's Ale House Burger (since it is named for the establishment), which is an 8 ounce burger stuffed with bleu cheese and scallions.  Instead, I was ordered the 8 ounce cheeseburger with a double slice of American cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

Regular Burger (customized): 8 ounce lean beef grilled to your taste...with American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato.

The Beef: The beef on this 8 ounce patty was tender, juicy, and cooked medium with a little bit of pink in the center.  The quality was higher and would be classified with higher end burger meats.  3 out of 4.

The Bun:  This bun was strange.  The bottom bun was toasted nicely but the top bun was borderline stale.  It was not toasted, instead it tasted as if it was left out overnight and served with my burger the following day.  1 out of 4.

The Beef to Bun Ratio: Another golden ratio was found on this burger.  Every bite contained an inch high of beef, with a perfect ratio of beef to bun.  The bun covered the beef and the beef covered the bun in every spot possible.  4 out of 4.

The Presentation & Cheese: It wasn't very appetizing.  The cheese looked as though they chose to melt a piece of yellow plastic over my burger.  The entire burger was covered in this hard shelled, plastic, double slice, of American cheese and no burger was visible.  The plate was a plate of mediocrity.  2 out of 4, presentation.  1 out of 3, cheese.

The Sear: The sear had flavors and a noticeable texture.  It was worthy of earning points for sear, but not all the points since it was the mediocre sear.  2 out of 3.

Overall Taste:  Overall, this burger was mediocrity to a "t".  3 out of 5.

BBSR: 16 / 27