It Takes Chutzpah not to like Zaitzeff's Buxom Burger

After coming across a promising article lauding downtown burger spot Zaitzeff, I was eager to go see for myself. So I walked over to Zaitzeff's second location (the original sits on Nassau street downtown) humming quietly on the southern fringe of the East Village on Avenue B.

With a candlestick and a plate of crack-them-yourself nuts at each table (the hazelnuts take a little practice), my initial reaction to this place was "Wow, the burger has got to be good here". The menu is what it should be: simple and to the point, featuring as you would expect...burgers. Yours is a simple choice between 1/4 and 1/2 lb patties, of either sirloin or American Kobe beef. All burgers are served with lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions, and you can of course, add cheese for a buck or two.

My medium rare, 1/2 lb. patty was thick, wet, and covered in sweet caramelized onions. This was without a doubt one of the juiciest burgers I've ever rolled around my mouth, arriving as a plump and bloated chunk of meat nestled comfortably on a super buttery, toasted Portuguese muffin, that is almost pastry-like in texture. This was an outstanding burger because it allows you to enjoy the high quality beef, and fresh veggies. No special sauce, no super-salty pickles, no bacon, just top-quality meat and a bun to contain it. Why can't all burgers be this simple?

Zaitzeff's skillet-borne house-cut sweet potato fries were soft, mildly seasoned, and not the least bit greasy. These were sweet potato fries that actually tasted like sweet potato and were by far, the best I've had in quite a while (good SPF's are hard to come by).

Zaitzeff's tearfully juicy burgers and natural guilt-free fries inject a much needed dose of class and culinary cache into a downtown burger scene that can get a bit too bohemian for me at times. At $9.00 and $13.50 for the 1/2 and 1/4 lb patties respectively, these buxom burgers do not exactly come cheap.

Be that as it may, one chin-wetting bite into this painfully honest homage to an American staple, and you'll realize that in New York City, sometimes you actually do get what you pay for.


(pictures to come on second visit)
Zaitzeff
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Food: A (this burger holds its own)
Ambiance: A (classy and mature without being pretentious)
Service: A (attentive and friendly)