My burger tour around New York started at JG Melon, known to be one of the finest burger joints in town. A place where usually people stand in line for a table. Burgers, fries and sandwiches.
JG Melon doesn't accept credit cards so be prepared to pay cash.
The restaurant looks old, a dark space covered with dark brown wood and decorated with dozens of paintings and pictures. A long bar on the left side, an open kitchen with musical the symphonies of grilling and high chairs where an accustomed clientele seems to come here often. I loved the red ceiling, yellow lighting and music box.
Pictures of watermelons decorate all the walls.
They're famous for burgers, so I ordered a bacon cheese burger and fries. I was looking at the tables surrounding our table when a bowl of salad arrived. It was one of those old molded faux wood bowls we had in our houses years back in Lebanon, so a mix of lettuce and tomatoes mixed without complication seems to satisfy the hungry. Anyway, who would come here a salad?
More fries and burgers were coming here and there, rich aromas and smells, burgers which looked American and fatty... I was so excited to try them.
A good burger! A small plate that didn't look too appetizing landed in front of me but it had a rich smell I liked. On the plate were fresh vegetables next to a burger, two buns flattened and buttered to soaking limit with a thick shining meat and a layer of yellow cheese. On top, a mountain of crispy bacon strips cooked to perfection. You bite into it and change your mind about the first impression. Amazing to say the least, a sensation you'll feel as you sink your teeth into it. A thick 225 gram super juicy meat exploding with hot juices and pleasant fat inside a sticky bun, crispy bacon in a sandwich not requiring any sauce, ketchup or whatever one would normally add to a burger. A bite, another, a third, I couldn't stop.
Then I added all those vegetables with ketchup and the burger couldn't taste any better. My recommendation is to eat it as is, without any additives.
I loved the fries. Round shaped, sliced thin, cut and fried to crunchy perfection and a warm heart. I loved them.
That's not a usual burger, that's not a burger you'll eat at McDonald's but a connoisseur, kind of heavy and fatty, one that any meat lover would adore!
That's my kind of burger.
