The Best Burger in CNY?
In the summer of 2011 my mother, daughter, and I set out on a quest to
find the best burger in central NY. I
don’t recall how we decided to do this because anyone who knows me, knows I’m
not that big a fan of burgers. Having
spent approximately eight years of my life eating burgers almost every Monday
for dinner because that was my (ex) husband’s night to cook and that’s all he ever
wanted to eat (or knew how to cook).
So, when we’re in the mood for a burger and the weather is good we head out in search of a new place
for lunch or dinner and try the burgers.I will give each burger a score of 1-10 and let you know a little something about them.
Some of the places we have been to:
The Glenwood Pines,
Ithaca, NY (Tompkins County) http://www.glenwoodpines.com/new :
8
A friend suggested we try the Glenwood Pine for good burgers
so we headed over there one day after going to the farm for our CSA share one
Tuesday afternoon. This is a very casual
establishment overlooking Cayuga Lake and was pretty busy for a day in the
middle of the week so far out on route 89.
I ordered the Bacon Pinesburger and a side of potato salad. The burger was served on fresh French bread
(which I believe is purchased from Ithaca Bakery daily http://ithacabakery.com/) and cooked
exactly how I wanted it. I’m a
“well-done” girl and I know that will make some of you cringe but I dislike
pink burgers, I can’t eat them. So, that
being said when I can get a burger well done that is still moist and has a ton
of flavor then I know I’m at a place that knows how to make a burger. The fresh grilled meat, bacon, lettuce, and
tomato (also not a big fan of raw onion on my burger), mayo or Thousand Island
dressing (I’ve had this burger both ways) and the French bread was near
perfection. I almost considered ending
my search here! My suggestion would be
to skip the salad and just have the burger with a local Ithaca Root Beer or one
of the many selections of bottled beer they carry. A perfect lunch with a great view.
The Bacon Pinesburger:
Johnny Angel’s
Heavenly Burgers, Skaneateles, NY (Onondaga County) http://www.johnnyangels.biz/images/Menus/menu_november_2011_test.pdf
3
While we were in Skaneateles one afternoon we decided to try Johnny Angel’s Heavenly Burgers, the name alone you would think was a
guarantee of a perfect burger, right?
Hmmm…not so much. I ordered the
Guacamole Burger. Seriously, who doesn’t love guacamole? So, I’ll start off by saying the nice things
about this burger…the toppings, YUM. The
creamy guacamole matched with the pepperjack cheese and bacon was divine. However, that’s as far as my compliments go
on this burger and had the toppings not been so delicious it would not have
scored a 3. The burger was big and
thick…like hockey puck thick and it had about as much flavor. I can’t recommend this place based on the
burger I had because they don’t season their meat, it’s bland and
tasteless. Had it not been for the
toppings I would have only tasted bread and a lump of some sort of warm
indescribable substance. How many times
does Emeril have to say it…season your meat…on both sides, it won’t season
itself! The roll it was served on was
also plain and mushy...nothing too exciting there.
Maybe the bacon pinesburger on fresh French bread has spoiled me in that
area.
Also need to mention that when we were there the place was
not very clean and the “topping station” (where you stop if you’ve ordered a
bland plain burger for things like ketchup, mustard, etc…) was a mess.
Guacamole Burger:
Centro’s Hotel
Restaurant and Tap Room, DeRuyter, NY (Madison
County)
8.5
I have friends that eat at this joint on a regular basis but
until recently I had not made the trip to DeRuyter to try their food. How foolish had I been? Although I don’t recall the name of the
burger(BBQ Bacon Burger?) I had and I can’t find an online menu I can tell you what was on it (and
I have a photo as well). This burger was
really big, much like the Johnny Angel burger however, this had great flavor…at
Centros they know meat needs to be seasoned!
I ordered the burger with cheese (cheddar or pepperjack, I can’t
remember which), bacon, fried onion straws and bbq sauce. Yum!
This burger was juicy and full of flavor. I left thinking we definitely have to come
back here…and soon
Centro's Mushroom Burger:
Connie’s Diner,
Waterloo, NY (Seneca County) http://connieswaterloo.com/index.php
Connie’s is a 50’s style diner with mini juke boxes at every
table so you can take a leap back in time to enjoy a piece of the past with
their food and a little music. So, I need to ask, how much do you love
gravy? Do you remember when gravy rather
than ketchup on French fries was a big thing?
Me either, but it’s a past time tradition that should never be
forgotten. If you love gravy and especially
love it on your fries, why not try it on your burger as well? If this appeals to you then a Connie’s
Quickie is a must try. This is a cheeseburger and
fries smothered in beef gravy and it’s delicious. Throw on your bobby socks and saddle shoes, head
over to Connie’s, order a malted milkshake or a root beer float with your
Quickie, then play a little Elvis on the juke box and you’ll feel like you just
stepped back in time…or not. Point is,
Connie’s is a cool place and the Quickie is a tasty burger.
The Three Bear Inn,
Marathon, NY (Cortland County) http://www.threebearinn.com/Restaurant.html
7.5
Three Bear Cordon Blue Burger: I liked this burger. It had really good flavor, topped with thinly sliced ham and Swiss cheese. The burger was well done but still juicy. I would definitely order this again.
The Burger Joint,
Syracuse, NY (Onondaga County) http://www.theburgerjointsyr.com/menu
5
That's it for now...will keep adding as we try new burgers....
