DBGB (the burger review)

299 Bowery
Nee York, NY 10003
(212) 933-5300

On my way to meet Mr. Dogz for drinks at The Randolph at Broome, I decided to stop by DBGB for a burger. The weather was perfect, if actually on the slightly chilly side and there were plenty of seats open seats outside. Inside, the place is huge, but dark and why anyone would choose to sit there like a bat in a cave when you can sit out in the sunlight is beyond me. Perhaps all those diners inside knew what I was to learn: that the folks outside are oft forgotten.

After telling the hostesses just inside that I'd like a table outside, they simply pointed at the window. "Sure go pick a seat. We'll send someone out there." Ahh, service. Ten minutes of sitting quietly later, someone came to give me a menu. Even then, he stopped on the way to talk to other people. This was not boding well and the omen of disinterest made its way into the food as well.

I ordered DBGB's standard cheeseburger, the Yankee Burger with cheddar for an extra $2 and don't see myself ordering it ever again. To be blunt, it stunk. I asked for it to be cooked medium. It came out well. It was heavily salted for some reason. It was merely warm, bordering on cold, like it had been sitting for fifteen minutes next to an air conditioner. The chef put shredded lettuce on it like it was a taco. Who puts shredded lettuce on a hamburger? Even Wendy's uses the whole leaf. And relative to the other burger restaurants out there in the city, it's small. I've never come so close to sending food back that didn't have hair in it.