Don't Wait, Go To Schnipper's!

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LIKE MANY OF YOU, PEOPLE who are into food and the next great spots to eat have a number of resources to gather such information. And I, like them and you, have email subscriptions to Zagat's and Eater and Grub Street and Midtown Lunch flooding our inboxes with scores of new restaurants and shops and pop-ups and joints to try, or old ones to catch up on.

The now globally ubiquitous Shack Shack empire is largely responsible for this must-know/must-try ideology, which has ultimately served as a blessing and a curse. Yes, it has (re)ignited an excitement about food culture that this city hasn't scene in a few decades, but it has also used its hype to shepherd its fans into a herd mentality.

And like cattle—even several years in—people, as I saw this afternoon during an oppressively hot and humid NYC afternoon, the long-line throng of group-minded non-individuals suffering the heat for up to an hour, at the Shack's Madison Square Park location, for what is still is an only decent burger.

As opposed to, more smartly, just walk away across the street from the park to the excellent Schnipper's Quality Kitchen—homey, roomy, and air-conditioned!—for an equally satisfying, if not more so, burger. The cheeseburger, which I ordered (still in the throes and pangs of National Burger Month), had a great tasty RETRO BURGER (all cooked medium unless otherwise specified) which boasted great flavor, a juicy, crumbly interior, and was conservatively salted, topped off with properly fresh and firm tomato, punchy red onion, thick, more-tart-than-sweet pickle slices. The only negative, and it was—and is—a major one, is the lack of caramelization or slight char on the patty's exterior. I always look for that extra layer of texture in the bite and slight smokiness in the taste. It still deserves an HONORABLE MENTION, though, in my ever-updating list of Top Ten Favorite NYC Burgers (So Far).

Some have lamented the burger's small size; it's about 4 ounces, yet at five bucks is more than a fair price for a burger that is not only by definition bigger than, let's say, a Quarter Pounder, but also uses Pat Lafrieda meat, was never frozen or nuked, and, still tastes better. And even though I hear they do get some lines during the lunch rush, for me, getting this burger and some very decent hot, crispy fries within 4 minutes of my originally ordering, taking my time and enjoying my excellent early lunch, and getting out for under 10 bucks—and all in a third of the time people were still standing in line outside at Shake Shack!—would make Schnipper's my preferred recommendation over standing in line for any other burger!

Schnipper's Quality Kitchen

Cheeseburger & Fries | Schnipper's Quality Kitchen

Fries | Schnipper's Quality Kitchen

Schnipper's Quality Kitchen

Bun Apple Tea!

KACnyc

Kerry Alaric Cheeseboro