5 Napkin Burger = Burger Heaven on the Upper West Side

I rarely venture to the Upper West Side.  Not because I dislike this area of town.  Quite the contrary; I love the vibe of the neighborhood.  It's just relatively inconvenient from Roosevelt Island by subway.  (Transfer from the F downtown across the platform to the B or D uptown at Rockefeller Center, then when you get to Columbus Circle, you run like hell to catch the 1 train that is inevitably pulling away from the station...BLAGH!)

Nevertheless, the burger I had last night was worth the hour it took to get from my place to 5 Napkin Burger at W 84th and Broadway.

5 Napkin Burger is known for having some of the best burgers in the city.  (They have sushi on the menu, too.  But when you're at a place called 5 Napkin BURGER, what fool orders sushi?  Am I right?)  Anyway, the fact that they can wear the crown for having one of NYC's best burgers is saying A LOT, considering how many contenders there are.

5 Napkin also has some of the BIGGEST burgers I've ever found at a restaurant.

Just how much cow do you get?  Try 10 ounces of premium ground chuck.  That's more than HALF A POUND of meat for the metrically-challenged, completely grilled to perfection with a nice char on the outside and meaty juiciness sealed within.

Specifically, I went with their signature 5 Napkin Burger, which is topped with Gruyere, caramelized onions, and a dollop of rosemary aioli.  The Gruyere provides a little earthy gooey-ness, compared to the old standby, American cheese.  Then, the caramelized onions bring a sweet note to everything as you get little hints of rosemary from the aioli.  I also snuck a little Grey Poupon onto mine, because I can't have a burger without a little mustard.

But the single thing that makes this burger so good for someone with gluten allergies is the Gluten Free BUN.  Yes, I said BUN.  If you're like me, you've accepted the fact that most restaurants that offer a Gluten Free burger are going to serve you a lonesome patty and your toppings, sans bun.  Occasionally some chef will feel a tinge of pity and plop it all on a bed of lettuce as a consolation prize.

But at 5 Napkin Burger, you get an actual BUN that has an amazing mouthfeel and texture.  It was so good, in fact, that we decided to flag down the manager and have him verify that I'd actually gotten a Gluten Free bun.  (It was.)

While we had him at the table, he ran through a list of what could and couldn't be prepared Gluten Free.  Apparently, any burger--except the Turkey burger, which contains breadcrumbs, and the Ahi Tuna Burger, which is marinated in a ginger soy sauce, can be made Gluten Free.  Same goes for the sushi, which is all Gluten Free and can be paired with tamari instead of soy sauce.  (He actually kept calling it "tahini," but I got his drift.)

My only criticism would be the fries.  They're alright.  But, they're like McDonald's fries--thin, shoestring potatoes that go a little limp after they've been sitting there on your plate for a while.  They also tend toward being a little greasy for my taste.

But, I consider this a minor infraction in light of how good the burger was.  It also might have been the batch I was served.  (I'll have to go back and Quality Test the fries again, I guess...)

The atmosphere is fun and a little up-market, with the decor hearkening to Manhattan butcher shops of the 30s and 40s: shiny white tile, a big chalkboard, meat scales, and, umm...meat hooks hanging from the ceiling.  Probably could have done without that last design touch, but it lends to the authentic feel.

The place appears to get very crowded very quickly.  We went without a reservation and got seated inside immediately at 8pm on a Saturday night.  Total luck.  Because we no sooner slid into our booth that we looked up and saw a line, 10 people deep at the door.  So, do make a reservation well in advance.

Seating is a bit tight and the noise level loud, but if you're in the mood for a fantastic burger, don't hesitate.  5 Napkin Burger is your Gluten Free Burger Mecca.

2315 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
(212) 333-4488
http://5napkinburger.com/upper-west-side-new-york

There is such a thing as a (Gluten) free lunch in Chelsea...

In the short time that I have lived in New York, I've been told by at least a dozen people that Chelsea Market is, without question, THE place for food and foodies in the city. So, like some foaming-at-the-mouth tourist looking to catch a glimpse of Alex Guarnaschelli or Anne Burrell fresh from a Food Network taping, I decided to hop on the F Train late on a Sunday morning and go in search of Gluten Free goodness.

If you've not ventured to Chelsea Market, go. The place is like nothing else. Around every turn in this awesomely restored building (which formerly housed the Nabisco Bakeries) are purveyors of gourmet eats. Butchers. Fishmongers. Bakers. Green grocers. Chocolatiers. Gelato-ers. (Gelatorians? Gelatarians??)

So, I wasn't shocked to run across Friedman's Lunch, an unassuming eatery with a clever name (a nod to free-market economist Milton Friedman's famous quip that "There's no such thing as a free lunch"), great comfort food, and a TON of gluten free options. We're talking 75% of the menu can be prepared gluten free. Even the sandwiches.

As much as I kept eyeing the Reuben featuring house-made pastrami on Gluten Free bread (I vow to go back and try this), I was in a brunchy-eggy-cheesy mood.

Right there, smack dab in the middle of the brunch menu, the Truffled Cheese Grits called to me: Hominy grits with a hint of cheese and truffle oil with grilled asparagus, mushrooms, prosciutto, and poached eggs.

Even though my native Manhattanite dining companion warned me against ordering grits north of the Mason-Dixon, they were wonderfully creamy with just a little tanginess. Each forkful had bite size, perfectly tender asparagus tips and sauteed mushrooms. Then every third or fourth bite, the prosciutto would pop up and make a cameo appearance.

I'm not usually a huge fan of poached eggs. I tend to like my eggs scrambled or sunny-side-up for that bit of crispiness to offset the gooeyness. But, this was like a perfect little pillow of egginess perched atop the dish, with an ideal amount of liquid yolk to mix with the grits.

A big A+ for the food.

I also have to give them props for the atmosphere. The service is very good--attentive and friendly without being obnoxious. Repurposed wine bottles are refilled with filtered tap water every few minutes by affable servers in jeans and t-shirts who swing by and ask "How's it going?"

On that note, the overall vibe is very casual and relaxed. Seating in the front half of the restaurant is at a tall communal table, which very much lends to this feeling. (Side note: I've been to some restaurants in the city where the communal thing feels overly trendy and forced. But, sitting shoulder to shoulder with fellow diners as you nosh on comfort food feels very natural at Friedman's.)

Seriously, Celiacs and fellow gluten intolerants: Friedman's is a treat. You have to try this place.

75 Ninth Ave
inside Chelsea Market

(212) 929-7100

www.friedmanslunch.com

Not So Wild Ginger - Gluten Free Vegan Pan-Asian in Brooklyn

Okay. As much as I like Brooklyn Heights and Boerum/Cobble Hill, being stuck there on a rainy Tuesday for a pep rally-like sales conference is not my idea of fun. In fact, on a professional note, it was an all around awful day for reasons that I won't get into here.

Anyway, rain and my awful employment situation be damned, I took a stroll down Court Street to take in the neighborhood. As dusk began to creep, I realized that I hadn't eaten anything in about 8 hours and was in need of sustenance. But, in this neighborhood that is somewhat known for its pizzerias, finding something that I could eat--save trolling the aisles of the sexy Court Street Trader Joe's for Gluten Free snacks--was going to be tricky.

After some searching, I ended up over on Smith Street near the Bergen subway stop at a place called Wild Ginger.

Their MO: Vegan Pan-Asian cuisine (think: tofu done 50 different ways), served in a dimly-lit, semi-trendy atmosphere. Now, you might be thinking, "Hell, that sounds like an all-veg PF Chang's." And, you wouldn't totally be wrong about this. But, it is small touches--like the soundtrack that eschews Asian pop music or even--shudder--the faceless trip-hop that is cranked out at so many other trying-too-hard-to-be-hip eateries in favor of surprising choices like Gene Autrey or the Dap Kings wafting through the air--that make it feel un-vanilla and very Brooklyn-esque. (Note: There are other outposts of Wild Ginger on Broome St and in Williamsburg, too. And I refuse to refer to the latter as Billyburg. Not happening.)

My first issue was that, as you enter the place, there's no clear indication of what you're supposed to do or where you're supposed to stand. You're just sort of...there.

It also took a good 5 minutes before some guy (he might have worked there, he might have been a regular from the neighborhood, who knows), grabbed a menu and seated me toward the back. The good thing was that he didn't flinch when I asked for the Gluten Free menu. In fact, the GF menu is its own separate menu--not just a back panel on the "regular" menu or some afterthought on copier paper. I have experienced the latter with dread at other eateries here in NYC and elsewhere.

The bad thing about the GF menu: Prices were not accurate. My entree ended up being $2 more than what was listed. The dish was, however, listed correctly on the "regular" menu, which I consulted before paying the bill.

Demerit #2.

Now, for the food. I ordered Sauteed Vegetables and Tofu in a brown kung-po sauce. It was nicely presented and looked very appetizing. The vegetables, which included carrot, celery, zucchini, snow peas, broccoli, and cauliflower, were done nicely: tender, yet still crispy and flavorful. In other words, the carrot was still recognizable as carrot, and not as a pale, floppy imitation of its former self.

The tofu was just...okay. Not amazing, but not inedible. It lacked any kind of seasoning and didn't really add anything, except maybe protein and chewiness, to the dish.

But the real fulcrum of the dish was the kung-po sauce--the thing that would make it work or fail. Unfortunately, it just didn't deliver. I was expecting some sort of nuance--maybe a hint of ginger or five spice to go along with the flavor of sauteed garlic--that would give my palate something to hang its hat on. Although not totally unpleasant, garlic and tamari were the only two flavors that really stood out.

C- for the dish.

All in all, the atmosphere was nice enough to warrant another visit. And the rain and my grumpiness no doubt colored my view of things a bit. So next time I'll seek out something with a little more flavor on Wild Ginger's Gluten Free menu.

Wild Ginger
112 Smith Street
(718) 858-3880