Does The Smith Offer The Best Burger In The City?
One of my favorite foods is a burger. It’s my ‘you can only eat this food for the rest of your life’ food. A good burger is easy to come by, in fact it’s hard to find a bad one. But that’s not what I’m searching for. My quest is to find the best burger in New York City. So many people have their opinions on the subject, and they’re all staunch supporters of their choice and why shouldn’t they be. Like I said, good burgers are easy to come by.
The first suggestion that came to me was through the grapevine. My girlfriend was interviewing a notable TV personality and chef from a Netflix show and asked him what his favorite burger was in the city. His answer: The Smith.
For those out of the know, much like I was, The Smith is an American bistro style micro-chain resturaunt. It’s got 4 locations in NYC, one in Chicago, and one in D.C. One thing to note about The Smith is it isn’t cheap. That should be expected considering the location, you’re hard pressed to find places in New York that don’t hurt the wallet, but this is stretching it. The burger costs $23 which I think is the most I’ve ever paid for a burger in my life. It does come with fries which I can’t say for every resturaunt, so I will give credit where it’s due.
When I first got the burger I was a little taken aback by its size. For the price I was expecting something much larger. The burger is no bigger than a Shake Shack one. It comes topped with bacon shallot jam, American cheese, crispy onions, house pickles, and TSB sauce. The bacon shallot jam worried me, I’m not much of a jam guy, but you really can’t taste it too much.
I’ll be the first to admit it, it’s a good burger. I questioned the size at first but it’s plenty. Coupled with the fries you definitely won’t leave hungry and the burger itself satisfies that craving without overstaying it’s welcome. It’s not too messy which can be the downfall of some burgers and it’s got a unique flavor profile. I’d actually recommend trying it at least once if you’re a fan of burgers.
But is it the best burger? Tastewise it’s a top contender. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s what I get everytime I go. If this were soley decided on taste, out of all the places I’ve been so far, it might even win. Unfortunetly taste isn’t the only factor. I still can not get over the price of the burger. It hurts me everytime I have to dole out that much. While the quality is vastly different I keep telling myself I could buy 20 McDonalds burgers for the same price. I know prices will be higher for artisanal burgers but it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.
Another thing is the burger is overshadowed by a different menu item. The Smith’s sticky toffee pudding is honestly one of the best desserts I’ve ever had in my life. It’s so delicious and surprising because I hate dates but made like that it’s on a whole different planet of delicious. And for me that’s a problem. I have to imagine that when I have the best burger it’s going to blow me away and I won’t be so caught up on the dessert. The only reason I go to The Smith is for that dessert.
So to answer the question that is the title of this article, no. It’s a top contender for sure and it does taste great, but it’s price is too much for me and it’s not the star of the show. As such, the quest continues. Feel free to follow along on my journey as I eat my way through NYC.
Also follow my tiktok if you’re more of a visual person — https://www.tiktok.com/@davewastaken
Here’s the one about the Smith — https://www.tiktok.com/@davewastaken/video/7060961360594881838?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
