Grounded

Burger Joint, the upper middle class of all burgers

THE BURGER, once food for the lower class, took off when the meat grinder was born and butchers found a way to milk leftover grits. It pretty much remained as cheap and cheerful fast food. For a long time, nobody wanted to pay premium prices for something McDonald’s sold. By and by, hipsters, foodies and urban elites started driving the demand for premium burgers. So chefs today have carte blanche to pulverise a perfectly gorgeous side of beef into mince.

It’s perfectly reasonable. If you want to serve up the best tasting burger, you have to do it right. Gourmet burgers that fly off the grills of Potato Head Folk and Relish have sated cravings and heightened hunger pangs, and they have been anything but cheap. Then there’s Burger Joint. It may not serve the sluttiest burger in the world, but as far as affordable, honest and simple burgers go, they’re on cue.

Right from the lobby of Le Parker Meridien Hotel in New York, Burger Joint has taken shelter at Gemmill Lane, hidden well behind massive red velvet drapes. Inside, find it patrolled by younglings (some with a little attitude) and yuppies obsessing over which burger or milkshake to get. You pay a decent $13.80 per cheeseburger. The beef is delivered chilled from the same Nebraskan farm that the chaps in Burger Joint New York use. It is then ground and cut fresh daily. Construct it with the works (lettuce, pickles, tomato, etc), but the patty here is the undisputed star. Well-ground, smoky and not overly seasoned. Ed’s note: Hannah isn’t slut-shaming burgers. A slutty burger is one that flashes plenty of skin and dripping all sorts of delicious juices you’ll want to lap up, according to Reddit.