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While we wrap up the unofficial “summer of the hot dog” we’re still simultaneously celebrating smash burgers, a movement which has gathered some traction in NYC in recent years. The delectable burgers, which get pressed down and mixed with caramelized fix-ins are as crisp and flavor-packed as you can imagine. Drawing inspiration from Los Angeles’ thriving smash burger scene, it’s only right we uncover some of the best that have creeped their way into NYC’s food scene…one patty at a time.

1. Gotham Burger Social Club, Lower East Side

This insanely viral smash burger spot has been blowing up ever since finding a permanent home in the LES earlier this year, and it’s deserving. Gotham Burger Social Club started as a pop-up during the pandemic by restaurant owner Mike Puma as a hobby, and now it’s maybe the buzziest spot to grab beef in Lower Manhattan.

Their signature Gotham Smash just oozes flavor, a nostalgic smash burger smothered with grilled onions, housemade pickles, jalapenos, club sauce, ketchup, mustard, and melted cheese on top. Plus, they toast both sides of the bun for that extra buttery crisp. It’s running the show right now.

Where: 131 Essex St

2. Hamburger America, SoHo

Since opening up last year and becoming one of favorite new restaurants of 2023, George Motz’s Hamburger America gives that old classic diner feel to the smash burger space. Plop a seat at their yellow-and-white lunch counter and dig into the speciality George Matz’s Fried Onion Burger which will run you $7.25 for a single and $11.50 for a double patty. Don’t forget about the shoe string fries, milks, and sweets too.

They even got a Monthly Burger Special as well, with this month’s being The Theta Burger (from Oklahoma City, OK…a griddled patty on a seeded, toasted bun with shredded American Cheese, dill pickle, mayo, and authentic Johnnie Sauce)

Where: 51 MacDougal St

3. Smacking Burger, West Village

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One of the newest entries into the smash burger world, Smacking Burger is serving their patties out of…an NYC gas station?! That’s right, this Mobil station in the West Village is flinging both single and double smash patties with various toppings and a special “secret sauce.” Order one of their more popular options like The Oklahoma (double patty, caramelized onions, American cheese, horseradish) or All The Way (double patty, caramelized onions, pickles, lettuce, tomato, American Cheese, Bacon, SMACK Sauce) and enjoy it at a picnic table outside.

Where: 51-63 8th Ave

4. The Happiest Hour, West Village

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How about an adult happy meal during happy hour?! The Happiest Hour in the West Village is serving one of the best smash burger deals right now on Sunday — Thursday, and Friday — Saturday until 7 pm! For $22 you get one of their specialities The Happiest Smash (special blend grassfed beef patty, bacon umami, onions, American cheese, special sauce, pickles), fries, and any cocktail, beer, or wine. It even comes with a little hamburger toy too just like McDonald’s!

Where: 121 W 10th St

5. Harlem Shake, Harlem

Harlem Shake is most certainly worth the trip uptown, and diving into one of their smash burgers is something you’ll be telling your friends about for weeks. Using Pat LaFrieda signature blend, “smashed and griddled to perfection” you can order a few different options including the standard Harlem Classic (American cheese, onions, pickles & special sauce) or their more unorthodox “Hot Mess” (added pickled cherry pepper & bacon relish) or “Harlem Jerk” (added jerk fries and jerk mayo) which is pictured above.

The retro-diner space is equally awesome to enjoy it in, and if you have a craving they also have a Park Slope location and pick-up only location in LIC.

Where: 100 W 124th St

6. KO Burger, Chinatown

Right in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown sits KO Burger, a new-ish spot that’s got some mouth-watering concotions you’ve got to try. Once you walk right up and hit the doorbell, you can have a go at one of their few menu items which are all incredible smash burger variations. Their signature “KO Burger” is pretty solid (American cheese, onions, K.O. Sauce, mustard, pickles, pickled jalapeños), but we recommend one of their specialities like the “I’d Hit That” (Potato roll, smashed burger, white American cheese, black truffe Mayo, onions, pickles) or the holy grail in our book, the pictured above “Meaty Boy” (Potato roll, smashed burger, American cheese, chipotle mayo, Applewood smoked bacon, onions, pickles).

Where: 1-3 Eldridge St Store B

7. Smashed, West Village

For a no frills smash burger, Smashed in the West Village really never goes wrong. Their wide ranging menu has a load of options to choose from, and get pretty tasty too like the Truffle Burger (Double Burger, Tartufo Shepard Cheese, Onion Jam, Truffle Aioli, Shaved Black Truffles, Crispy Onions on a Brioche Bun. Seasoned With Truffle Butter and Truffle Salt) and Chili Cheeseburger (Chili, Beef Patty, Cheese, Pickles, SMASHED Sauce on a Potato Roll).

Double smash patties are around $14-17, or you can opt for the $12 Smashbox Special (Main Burger, American Cheese, Griddled Onions, Raw Onions, Pickles, SMASHED Sauce on a Potato Roll) on Monday – Friday from 12 – 3 pm.

Where: 516 Hudson St

8. 7th Street Burger, East Village

Although now a recognizable brand name and mini NYC chain, the superiority of 7th Street Burger still remains true, especially at their flagship joint in the East Village. Their menu is quite literally as simple as it gets—single or double patty smash burgers—which get topped with loads of American cheese, grilled onions, pickles and house sauce. The “basic-ness of the menu” adds a bit a charm in the way, and makes it easy to grab a bite quickly (especially at 2 am since it’s open so late).

Their loaded beef fries are pretty experimental too if you want to go for something different, and they have veggie patties too. It’s a household name you should try at least once.

Where: 91 E 7th St (but has multiple locations around NYC)

9. Butter Smashburgers, Greenwich Village

If an influencer opened up a smash burger shop in NYC, it’d probably look like Butter Smashburgers. Now that’s not to say it’s bad…because it’s actually pretty damn good. When you walk inside their super modern shop you’ll understand right away…the aesthetic branding, the ultra-metallic seating and menu accents, and cute merchandise.

The food itself is equally as pleasant, the House Cheeseburger coming with cheese, onions, pickles, and house sauce. This is the kind of place you can show off to your girlies on Instagram and then stuff your face shortly after.

Where: 106 MacDougal St

10. Handcraft Burgers and Brew, Midtown

One of our hidden gems in Midtown (we know, that sounds not typical) is Handcraft Burgers and Brew, whose got a grand selection of smash burgers to pick from. They range from the classic “OG” to more elaborate recipes with the likes of umami truffle sauce and roasted hatch chile, avocado, and lime aioli. Or opt for their “Burger of the Month” which is currently the The Perfect Pear (single smashed beef patty, gruyere cheese, glazed pears, pickled red onions, balsamic glaze).

Where: 110 W 40th St

The post 10 Tasty Smash Burgers In NYC You Need To Devour Right Now appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

Whoever said New York isn’t for dogs isn’t looking hard enough. While we may be a concrete jungle, there are plenty of places around New York to explore with your four-legged friend, from a luxe stay at a pet-friendly hotel to a sprawl of dog parks across all five boroughs. And yes, there are even spots to get reiki with your pet. And while there are a number of dog-friendly restaurants you can bring your pup to, this dog food brand is bringing us a restaurant weekend that both man and his best friend can enjoy.

RECOMMENDED: The best spots for pet and dog adoption in NYC

This weekend, Cesar kicks off with the first-ever Cesar Restaurant Weekend. Coming right on the heels of another successful New York City Restaurant Week, this dog-friendly restaurant weekend will be held Friday, August 16 through Saturday, August 17.

For the inaugural event, several restaurants around the city will offer a unique, pet-friendly meal featuring a full lineup of Cesar branded products, including Cesar Wholesome Bowls, Cesar Simply Crafted and Cesar Filets in filet mignon flavor that would warrant a pinky up if dogs had fingers. Staff from the dog food brand company will be onsite at each restaurant, ready to give complimentary belly rubs to your pet (free of charge) plus doggy swag bags filled with bandanas, food bowls and more. Don’t worry humans—each venue will be offering restaurant week deals so all can eat and enjoy.

Here’s the list of participating restaurants:

• Torch & Crown (Soho and Union Square locations)
• City Vineyard at Pier 26 (Tribeca)
• Miriam (Brooklyn)
• 1803 (Tribeca)

Check out Tripadvisor Restaurant Guide to plan your doggy date.

* This article was originally published here

Few public art pieces have been discussed as much as The Portal in recent months. 

The art project—basically a giant screen connecting NYC and Dublin with a 24/7 live video stream—was first installed near the Flatiron Building on May 8. Following a pretty tumultuous three months, The Portal will officially be removed from its current location on September 2. 

“Since the launch of The Portal, we have witnessed the profound connections that innovative art can foster within a neighborhood,” James Mettham, the President of the Flatiron NoMad Partnership, said in an official statement to Time Out New York. “New Yorkers and visitors alike embraced the Portal, doubling foot traffic in our district’s public spaces and enhancing the vibrancy of the Flatiron South Plaza. As we continue to innovate and create dynamic experiences in Flatiron & NoMad, the Portal, always planned as a temporary installation, will be removed on September 2 to embark on a new phase in its journey with an exciting destination to be announced soon.”

Although New Yorkers at large were excited and curious about the project when it first debuted, its trajectory has been bumpy to say the least. 

As first reported by the New York Post a mere four days after the installation first went up, people in Dublin almost immediately started flashing swastikas, their own bare bottoms and even more unbecoming images that went viral from the Irish side of The Portal, forcing authorities to shut the whole thing down temporarily.

The Portal opened up again on June 6, albeit with more restrictions in place and amid a collective local sigh. As our Things to Do Editor Rossilynne Skena Culgan mused at the time: have we ever really been ready for The Portal’s “pure window” into different cultures?

“I was also worried that it might interfere with my dream of having Portals in all countries around the world,” the artist behind the project, Benediktas Gylys, said to Time Out New York at the time. “We still want to make sure that it’s a pure window into different cultures. So the question is probably to all of us humans: Are we ready to have this pure window together? Maybe it’s not the time. Maybe 20 years will be the right time to have it. So we are making subtle changes. Trying not not to stop the concept of the pure window, trying to find the sweet spot where it’s working.”

Alas, that’s probably how Gylys still feels considering that The Portal is set to invade some other town in some other country in the near future, although details about the project’s next destination have not been disclosed yet. Here’s to hoping that whoever the upcoming recipient of the public art piece is will do a better job at respecting all that The Portal truly stands for.

* This article was originally published here

“Let Me Tell You” is a series of columns from our expert editors about NYC living, including the best things to do, where to eat and drink, and what to see at the theater. They publish each Tuesday so you’re hearing from us each week. Last time, Food & Drink Editor Morgan Carter introduced herself.

For one of my first assignments working at a food magazine in Colorado, I stood in a massive warehouse with a hair bonnet over my head. About a 20-minute drive from Denver, I found myself in a spice manufacturing facility ready to learn about the ins and outs of the modern-day spice trade. During our tour, the guide talked about his relationship with suppliers, showed us the bottling plant, and opened various containers of freshly ground spices, wafting the lid to let the scents of oregano, cumin and paprika hit the air.

Years later, one of the biggest lessons I took away from the tour was that spice is like any other ingredient in the kitchen—freshness matters. While a number of whole spices can last up to a year or two, ground spices are the freshest within the first three months and often don’t last past six. And while most of us are quick to throw out food that’s turned, that same thinking doesn’t follow when it comes to our spice rack. Shriveled avocado on the counter? Throw it out. Chips that lost their crunch? In the bin. A three-year-old oregano bottle that’s more dust than anything? Well … you never know when you’re going to need it.

I’m here to free you from your pantry a la Marie Kondo—if it doesn’t spark joy, you can let it go. But before you overhaul your spice cabinet at a big box retailer or worse, Amazon, we recommend heading over to Kips Bay to visit one of the oldest spice purveyors in town: Kalustyan’s (Lexington Avenue between 28th and 29th).

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Since 1944, Kalyustan’s has served as a bustling hub for chefs, chef enthusiasts and home cooks alike to source anything and everything for their kitchen needs. And by everything, we truly mean it. We are talking dried whole and sliced fruits in jars, a wall of nuts ready to be scooped by the bag or bought by the pound, salts of every texture and grit, oak and mesquite wood chips for smoking, and ice creams churned with saffron and rose. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface—if we tried to list all the products here, this article would be a dictionary.

All of this is thanks to its current owners Sayedul Alam and Aziz Osmani. Purchasing the shop in 1988, the duo decided to build upon the spice shop established by Kerope Kalustyan in 1944. What started as a single level now sprawls over three floors, housing over 10,000 products from across 80 countries. A favorite to home cooks and high-profile chefs alike, you may just find April Bloomfield, Madhur Jaffrey and Martha Stewart perusing the aisles. 

Now, I’ll admit a first visit to the store can be overwhelming. When I first opened the door, my senses were overwhelmed with notes of black pepper, curry and cardamom on the nose. With 6,500-square-feet of spices, condiments and syrups to explore, it was a bit dizzying to decide if I should grab a bag and get my fill of dried apricots or stare blankly at the imposing wall of hot sauces. Luckily, the workers here, armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of the space, are always happy to help. During my interview with Osmani, he quickly rattled off where a customer could find dried black limes (on the basement level on a bottom shelf). The store’s operations manager—also known as the oracle of Kalustyan’s to regulars—Dona Abramson tells us she’s helped plenty of customers who come in only with a grocery list. She also said it’s not uncommon for people to show up to the store with a packet of spice from their most recent travels, hoping to find a dupe. And if somehow you can’t find what you are looking for, (which is a rarity) just ask the staff and they may just introduce it to the shop.

So make a list and make a visit to one of New York’s oldest spice shops. And don’t forget to get a fresh baklava (or three) from the pastry counter on the way out. Your spice rack—and your tastebuds—will thank you.

* This article was originally published here