Mini Burger

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
March 6, 2007

STAND
24 E 12th St
(5th Ave & University Pl)
New York, NY 10003
212-488-5900

Do you ever go through phases when all you want to eat are burgers? Well, the past two weeks I’ve been on a burger binge, eating them more frequently than is advisable. It started with a late night run to Burger Joint — a classic favorite — after a movie. Since then, I’ve had five other burgers: Stand (twice), Employees Only, Rare and McDonald’s. (None of which satisfied me the way Burger Joint did.) I should be embarrassed because as you can see, it’s been a downward spiral. Not only is my waistline expanding and my cholesterol rising, but I really crossed the line ordering a Mickey D’s quarter-pounder with cheese. Hi, my name is Celia and I’m addicted to burgers.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in passing that I liked Stand but hadn’t found exactly what I liked on the menu yet. Since then, I’ve been back four times. Today I finally found something I wanted to talk about: the mini burger.

The burgers and food in general at Stand is very fresh. A glance at the menu shows interesting condiments like onion marmalade, hard-boiled egg mayo, porcini sauce and green peppercorn sauce. Clearly, this is another “fancy” burger joint. But I wouldn’t dismiss it on those grounds alone; after all, fancy or not, I like a burger as long as it tastes good.

For me, there’s something really carnal about eating burgers. When I’m done, I want to feel satisfied, like I just tore through an animal. But until the mini burger experience, none of the burgers I tried at Stand — the classic, house, hamburger and cheeseburger — had given me that kind of carnal satisfaction. For example, the hamburger with green peppercorn sauce is delicious, but it reminds me more of meatloaf with gravy on a bun than a real burger. So maybe it’s not that the food is too fancy, but that the pairings weren’t working for my taste buds.

Today, I lucked out with the three-ounce mini burger. It was cooked perfectly medium-rare, and, severed on a brioche bun, with pickles and homemade ketchup — it was just right. Its simplicity worked.

Stand opened at the end of December 2006, so it’s still figuring things out. The staff is friendly and open to suggestions — I kept my mouth shut, I swear! I thought the cheeseburger would be my favorite: sesame bun, onion marmalade, lettuce, and a choice of blue cheese sauce or Cheddar cheese sauce and/or slices. About a month ago, when I first ordered it, the Cheddar was a sauce — which I didn’t realize. I was disappointed. When I want a cheeseburger, I want slices of cheese. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way since the waiter today told me that they now offer slices of white Vermont, with the Cheddar sauce still as an option. The blue cheese sauce is still available.

Part of my fear of going to “fancy” burger joints is that they are going to be pretentious. Stand is not. As with the cheese situation, it’s trying to figure out what works best.

When I go, I always sit at the bar, and I like the regional draughts on tap. I’ve tried most of them now and it just makes the whole burger experience more fun. It’s no Cedar Tavern, but for the next couple of years while Cedar’s under renovation, Stand may substitute as my neighborhood joint.

Also in American, Burgers, Greenwich Village