The month of May is jam packed with American holidays: we’ve got the festive fetishization of Mexican culture known as Cinco de Mayo, the plea for maternal forgiveness for adolescent transgressions called Mother’s Day, the unofficial start of swimsuit season that falls over Memorial Day weekend, and my birthday — a national holiday in its own right. Perhaps the most exciting celebration in May is a little known foodie fête that takes up the entire month, so grab a milkshake and cram some crispy potato wedges into your fry hole, because May is National Burger Month!
I’ve eaten a lot of cheeseburgers in my day, but I can hardly call myself an expert on flame broiled beef patties and their accouterments. I can, however, fill you in on where to get the finest cheeseburgers in New York. So, according to my taste buds, here are the five best burgers in NYC (in no particular order, because I don’t want to hear any backlash if a reader’s favorite spot isn’t number one):
Shake Shack
I guarantee that the moment you bite into Shake Shack‘s signature ShackBurger, you will have such an intense mouthgasm that you won’t even care about the stream of meat grease and special sauce oozing between your fingers and down your forearm. Opened in 2004 by famed restaurateur Danny Meyer in Madison Square Park, Shake Shack has branched out to other locations all over New York to bring their burgers, fries, and frozen custards (all made with fresh, local ingredients) to the hungry masses.
And don’t worry, no one will judge you if you lick that stream of burger fluid off your arm.
Featured Image courtesy of Rex Roof via Flickr
Photo courtesy of scaredy_kat via Flickr
On the next page: Let’s get organic.
veggie burger from Zaitzeff. Literally what my dreams/tears are made of