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"The burger is omnipotent and irresistible, it can never be weakened, it can never be slowed down, it can never stop its ever increasing growth in popularity. It is the single most powerful force in the food universe." —Josh Ozersky My dearly departed friend Josh Ozersky, who left us far too early this year, knew the power of the hamburger better than anyone. It is the most dominant menu item in the nation and while some once argued that the ascendance of the hamburger in NYC over the last decade was a "trend" or "fad," it is clear that burgers are an indelible thread in the dining fabric of our city. A hamburger on the menu no longer defines a restaurant as strictly American, but it can define a restaurant as one from NYC. Take this year's list as an example: we have two French restaurants, a Portuguese one, a cozy East Village New American, a Brooklyn seafood shack, and a Brooklyn pizzeria all serving burgers worthy of high praise. Here then, in alphabetical order, are the best new burgers of 2015: It has been quite a year for Black Tap, the little Soho burger bar that could. After opening the first Black Tap in March, a second location was added October, which was also the same month that the team won the People's Choice Award at the NYCWFF Burger Bash. The menu is tightly focused on burgers with a variety of options paying lip service to different regions — Texas, Mexico, etc. But the All American ($14) — the most elemental of offerings — is also the best. Jason Atherton continues the trend of British chefs serving top-notch burgers in NYC started by April Bloomfield. At The Clocktower he serves up a plump and juicy dry-aged burger topped with stiff planks of bacon, a blanket of cheddar, a special sauce variant called "Churchill sauce," and a tangle of red onions, lettuce, and pickles ($24). It comes on a perfectly molded white bun that does a good job of corralling the copious fillings and torrent of juices that gush from the patty. Although it was introduced in 2014, the burger at Emily has evolved over time and the final component (and most salient feature) — a funky dry-aged blend from DeBragga — debuted this year. The burger has developed a cult following and chef Matt Hyland has incorporated the flavor profile into pizza, dumplings (with the help on Mimi Cheng's), and even stuffing for a turkey dinner as an homage to the fabled White Castle slider recipe. Full review. Erin Norris's Grindhaus, once a bastion of tweezer food which received a glowing two star review by Pete Wells, underwent a revamp late last year following the departure of chef Aaron Taber. The new incarnation has transformed the restaurant into a friendly neighborhood joint with hospitality to match — it feels almost like one is eating dinner at Norris's home. But the best change is arguably the double-stacked burger that new chef Joe Macchia developed. It is a love letter to Red Hook using meat from neighbors Fleishers Craft Butchery including a small amount of pork belly that is smoked over at Bill Durney's Hometown Bar-B-Que. Cooked in Grindhaus's impossibly small kitchen over electric burgers the burger is a study in the layering of flavors and texture. The beef has a sweetness tempered by the subtle smoke from the belly, and the buttered and griddled Big Marty's bun has plenty of crunch to match that of the patties (a double is recommend). The viscous mass of American cheese holds things together and bring a creaminess to the affair. The result is a wonderfully synergistic experience. Legendary Upper East Side watering hole J.G. Melon is of course hardly new, but when a second location sprouted downtown in August, bringing the famed cheeseburger right along with it, there was one significant difference: the burgers downtown are aggressively seasoned with salt. Any burger aficionado worth their salt knows how much a difference this can make. Of course nothing can beat the ambiance of the original, but pound for pound the downtown version wins. Full review. I have to admit that I welcomed the fact that there was no hamburger on the menu when La Gamelle opened in April. I liked the purity of the restaurant's vision as a French brasserie, and delighted at the faithfulness of the cooking. But the reality of running a restaurant on the Bowery is another matter, and perhaps inevitably, chef Mathieu Palombino succumbed to market forces and added a burger to the lunch and brunch menus ($14). The patty is a hearty short rib blend from Pat LaFrieda topped with sautéed onions and gruyere. But the star of the show just might be the house-made potato bun that ranks as one of the best in the city. George Mendes's Flatiron Portuguese restaurant Lupulo serves a lunch and late-night burger featuring a flame-grilled double patty stack that evokes Burger King's Whopper. The meat is cooked on a massive charcoal-powered Grillworks grill, which puts a hellacious sear on the beef and adds a pronounced smokiness to the double patty stack. Full review. Eater NY Editor Greg Morabito recently described the soon to move Union Square Cafe as a "country club restaurant," one that occupies a different, and broader, cultural space than the ones we at Eater tend to obsess over in 2015. I think the same is true of The Polo Bar, a restaurant that might be dismissively thought of as vanity project, but that actually serves food that is really rather good. Take the cheeseburger. This eight-ounce patty is fabricated from a bespoke beef blend from DeBragga, and it's classically attired with Nueske's bacon, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. The stylish golden domed bun is lavishly studded with sesame seeds. The result is a flavor profile as classic as the Polo label, and it's arguably the best country club burger there is. Membership has its privileges, and also its expenses — it costs $28.
