Radius burger wins top honors
has anyone tried the burger at Radius? It won the burger competition beating out the Shake Shack among others at South Beach food and wine festival yesterday.
http://eater.com/archives/2008/02/sob...
Should we be talking about this burger in the same breath as Bartley's, O'Sullivan's, Bristol, Cantab, etc? (insert your burger of choice here).
cambridgeMike
Feb 22, 2008 10:12AM
The Cantab doesn't serve food anymore. Or so I heard. I wish what's his name would just buy some hole-in-the-wall and open a new Tim's Tavern.
Speaking of burgers, I'm going to be in NYC the weekend of March 14, and plan to make a long day of it at Peter Luger. Start with their amazing burger (which they stop serving at 5:00 I think), then it's time for "steak for 4," even though there'll only be three of us.
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Hats off to you..:) sounds like a great day!
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I do remember enjoying the Radius burger some time ago but IIRC, it's one of the more expensive ones around. I still think I prefer the one at ESK or 75 Chestnut.
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I have not tried it, but I did walk by Radius the other day, and someone in the window seats was eating one. Man, it looked good. I definitely want to try it. Yes, I predict it will be in the upper teens.
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It's my favorite burger in the city, hands down. I always get beat up by 'hounds for saying that, though.
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How much does one of those glorious burgers cost? I'm a two minute walk from there, and never carried enough coin to set foot in that place.
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You know, it is 17 bucks. But the thing is, like, two inches thick, and the beef is top-notch. They'll cook it as rare as you want.
Schlow's whole shtick (Schtick?) is to cook everything at a low temp, so I think they brown both sides, then shove it in a low oven for 20 minutes, so it just gently rises to the temperature you order. Comes out unbelievably juicy, and you kinda trust the med-rare meat. Served on a toasted bun with just four things: the meat, some melted Cheddar (the aged stuff, so it separates nice and greasy), a huge mound of frizzled onions (think a greasier, slightly softer version of that French's casserole topping), and a creamy horseradish sauce. There's a nice photo of the thing in Schlow's cookbook ("It's About Time"?), if you happen to be near a bookstore.
Served with a tiny copper All-Clad mini-saucepan full of handcut fries.
Yes, it's more expensive. But it's a nice way to take in the Radius ambience (I sit at the bar, or the communal table in the dining room), order a beer or a nice cocktail, without spending the usual $40+ on an entree.
Give it a try. Not when you're in $10 mode, but when you're feeling slightly flush but not too fancy.
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Seventeen dollars for the "Best Burger" might be worth it.
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I don't think it would be fair to put it in the same category as Bartley's, Bristol etc. There's probably a significant cost difference.
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I have not had the Radius burger, but have had my fair share of Shake Shack burgers. That Radius beat out Shake Shack is not all that impressive.
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Hate too break it to everyone but Bartleys burgers are patties from a meat company (Kinneally) meat co.). In fact I know of a couple of other places that use the same exact burgers, I know, I was shocked as well.. You cannot compare a hand made seasoned burger from Radius to a punched out pattie from bartleys...sorry :)
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The patty is the least of Bartley's problems, but hand-formed patties are not automatically superior to pre-formed. There are applications for both.
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Kinnealy is the brand of meat they sell at Dewar butcher shop - pretty high quality even if preformed.
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Is it really fair to compare Shake Shack to Radius?
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Long ago and forgotten post re the same superior burger http://www.chowhound.com/topics/156358
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It would be interesting to compare the Radius burger to other Boston fine-dining burgers: The Bristol ($19), Cafe at the Taj ($16, allegedly Kobe), Abe & Louie's ($12), Union ($15), Pops ($12), ESK ($12), KO Prime ($14), Boston Public ($23, also allegedly Kobe), Harvest ($13), and Neptune Oyster ($13). I imagine there should be some other nominees.
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In recent memory i have done Bristol, Abe and Louis , Union , ESK .Haven't done Taj since it flipped from Ritz. Still vote for Radius and I am not a big fan of Radius (of late) otherwise .
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Bonfire has a surprisingly good one, come to think of it. There's truffle oil involved, and it's gigantic.
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I love the burgers at the Met Bar in Natick. The truffled mayo is delightful with the french fries.
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I ate there recently and was actually disappointed. I ordered the Kobe burger ($14, I believe). Should I have ordered just a regular burger? I also thought it was outrageously priced. The meal for my wife and I with tax and tip came to $90. We did each have an appetizer but she only had a turkey burger for her main course. For drinks, she had one glass of wine and I didn't have any drinks. Seemed about $20 or so more than it should have been.
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My current favorite, Washington Square Tavern ($13).
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Fireplace in Washington Square for lunch has the best burger/best value - about 8.50, on a wonderful brioche-like bun, served with excellent fries. I don't go there for dinner but I think their lunches are amazing good value. For dinner burger, i vote with maillard for the Washington Square Tavern though when they have their quail small plate i usually opt for that!
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I was excited to try the Radius burger after it won the South Beach competition. I headed to the restaurant the same night that the results were announced. During dinner I took down some tasting notes. Please keep in mind that they reflect my preferences and are no substitute for first hand experience.
The Radius burger is thick and topped with horseradish and onions. The meat is high-quality and prepared with the care that comes from a fine restaurant headed by a talented chief.
I enjoy onions and horseradish, but they are strong flavors that need to be balanced by other ingredients. In the Radius burger, the onions were slightly burnt, making them bitter, and the bitterness was intensified by the horseradish. While some people might like that effect, I felt that the burger could have been brightened and balanced if the onions were sweet and lightly sauteed, and if some cool, fresh lettuce and tomato were added. I've eaten and enjoyed burgers without any produce, but in those cases, I've omitted the onions and horseradish. Alone, they're too bitter and one-dimensional.
I'm a fan of thick burgers (the one complaint I have about In-and-Out, which I share with Frank Bruni, is that the patty is too thin). On the other hand, if the patty is too thick, it's not only awkward to eat; the meat becomes denser and the burger feels heavier in your mouth. The Radius burger could have have been about 25% thinner for the best mouth-feel and ratio of beef to bun.
Overall, I can't help wondering if competitions favor strong-tasting entries. There must be some palate fatigue after trying 12 varieties of the same dish, so an entry needs to stand out in some unusual way. An exceptionally well-balanced burger doesn't present a sharp contrast, but a horseradish and onion burger does. In a small sample, as part of a tasting, a bitter burger might be welcome. As a main course, in a single dinner, it may not play as well.
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