Waterfront Ale House

A strong showing this week. The Waterfront Ale House is a pub on the corner of 30th and 2nd, boasting bad food, warm beer and an ugly owner. The burgers were so good they can easily get away with this.

It seemed to be full of regulars, mostly having an after work drink, indulging in (at least) one of the nineteen beers on tap. I'm always a little intimidated by beer menus of that stature...which to pick? I want to try them all, but I know I shouldn't and they probably won't let me.

The Ale House appears to be a standard pub, but between the beer selection and the burgers it is anything but. The service was very quick, we received our burgers much faster than expected. A stunning array of condiments, including home made hot sauce, home made barbeque sauce and something called "sauce" line the windows and ledges. The burger is served with waffle fries, lettuce, tomato, and a pickle. The bun is a tasty, flaky brioche. You can a variety of cheese, fried onions and chili to your burger. I can't resist fried onions and this is the cheeseburger society, so a melting of cheddar was in order.

The burger was a great ball of beef. They cooked it medium rare when medium rare when asked and cooked it more when (for reasons I cannot understand) asked. The burger was very juicy and had it's own distinct taste that was complimented, not overpowered by the cheese and onions. A quality that I've only really come to appreciate recently is the burger staying-togetherness. The Ale House burger stayed together better than any burger the society has tried yet. Few things are disappointing the way getting to the end of your burger, only to find it's a tomato stub, wilty lettuce and ketchup in a giant hunk of burger bun is. Each bite of this burger was tasty and balanced. This was a very satisying burger.

The Waterfront Ale House really delivered. The quest to find the greatest burger in New York may not be over (it may never be over) but I know we've gotten very close.

Royale

The best part of Royale burger? You get to order a Royale with cheese, eating it just isn't as much fun. The patio is nice. The beer was cold. The ketchup came in a squeeze bottle and the burger was juicy with mediocraty.

After the screaming success that was Corner Bistro, we opted for another inexpensive bar-style burger joint. Well reviewed and often compared to Corner Bistro we were excited for a repeat. Maybe it's because Corner Bistro kept you waiting in line or maybe it's because they got you drunk while they did; but by the time you finally get your prize you think it's one of the best damn burgers you've ever eaten. But maybe, just maybe, that's because it is one of the best damn burgers you've ever eaten you and everybody else waits in that line, hoping to be at the pinnacle of celebratory drunkeness by the time you're seated, knowing it's just a few minutes more till you're chomp chomp chomping those burgers down.

There was no line at Royale (there was a softball team of accounts, who, I'm certain the three of us could have slaughtered in a friendly game of softball, football, bowling, curling, standing, or any other competition othar than being an accountant). Medium rare was medium well. The buns were good, covered in a sesame seeds and a little flaky. The fries went well with the burger in that they looked good, but did not deliver.

Royale has been very well reviewed. I read a great reveiew in the times and dozens of reviews online. It reminds me of something George Carlin said, "Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider".