Somebody tell me something about this place, please. George Motz is that guy.
by SasquatchPatsy
19 Comments
TheBrooklynDiet
It’s fine. A casual spot with friendly service and decent smash burgers but a lot of hype. Not worth waiting in line for more than 15 min
DinerEnBlanc
I really enjoyed their onion burger, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it again. Great ambience though. I see burger joints like these on the west coast pretty often, but rarely here. I went on an evening of a Thursday and was immediately sat at the counter. Also went at 4pm on a Saturday and sat at the side tables without much of a wait. It would have probably taken awhile for the counter though. I’d say it’s worth going to once cause it really is a fun experience, and if you pick a good time, there won’t be a wait. But if you’re just craving a smash burger, you probably have access to a good one nearby.
sir_topham_biff
Looks like an awesome place.
I hate the idea of waiting on a line for something. I waisted like 4 years to try the Cronut. Now there’s line back at that damn bakery.
blandscapegrool
I’ve been there before and let me tell you, their burgers will blow your mind. And yes, George Motz is the man who knows his meat!
cal_oski
I need to go back and try it again on an empty stomache.
The first time I was coming off of a massive meal at L’Industrie just an hour before and probably not the smartest thing to do. I had room for a Chesterfield single and a coffee milk, both of which were ok.
It was around 2pm and there was a 10 minute wait for one of the side tables. George was working the counter.
burnshimself
Incredibly average burger for all the hype. 7th Street is a better version of the same thing with none of the wait or pageantry.
Think about this: George is a food critic, not a chef. He’s an incredibly nice guy and I appreciate his editorial content, but he is not a chef by trade. It is then unsurprising that he doesn’t cook the best burger in New York – in fact it would be an insult to the culinary profession if he did. You wouldn’t see Pete Wells try to become executive chef somewhere, right?
laughingwalls
I’ll try it once I go to the west village without plans. I am not one who pays too much attention to celebrity chefs, so I didn’t even know who this guy was. I like his attitude and have watched a couple of videos about him starting this place since its been mentioned so much here.
He strikes me that his agenda isn’t too make some elevated burger, but rather to celebrate the casual American burger that’s eaten all around the country and execute it well. Just like smash burger places (I know ones on his menu) its not really worth waiting in line for any of them. It is worth trying all of them if your burger fan.
superangry2
I live around the block. The entire block smells like burgers during business hours LOL. It’s good and he’s cool. You have to have your expectations in check though. It’s an $8 burger.
virtual_adam
It’s pretty good when I’m in the area. I don’t think Motz actually has a permanent residence in NYC. I haven’t seen him there since the opening weeks. He’s also constantly on his book tour
So really on the longer term it really depends not on him but on the team he chose to run the place in his absence. Like any other celebrity chef restaurant
jrappsnyc
It’s very solid. Cheap. Could use salt. Loved the Chester.
WredditSmark
Seems like they paid the top 50 NYC influencers to talk about it non stop for a week and then I haven’t heard a single living soul mention it that wasn’t paid for the advertisement since
ABananaDolphin
I went a few weeks ago and was underwhelmed. Motz wasn’t at the grill, so maybe that had something to do with it. Onion burger wasn’t as onion-y as I expected it would be and didn’t have the crust of a good smash burger. It was fine. Fries were good. I went right when it opened & didn’t have to wait so no complaints. But not planning to go out of my way or wait in line for it in the future.
DMmepicsofyourdog
It wasn’t anything spectacular. I think some people hype it up too much. I wouldn’t go again.
yjeffw
It’s good, but not worth waiting in line for. If you can go weekday off hours, go for it. Otherwise, plenty of other spots where you don’t have to wait.
Oklahoma burger is solid, if you like onions. Would recommend a single, as the double is a bit too much. Classic smash is great and has more lace. If you’re a huge fan of grilled cheese, get the Chester. I’m not, so I tried it and would much rather have a classic. Fries I thought were fine, but mostly forgettable.
Italophobia
Good but overhyped, not worth waiting for a seat
karl666hungus
Went to a LOT of his pop ups before he opened HA and have to say the quality of the onion burger was better before he opened the restaurant. It was fine but the earlier versions were just made better.
Khal-Stevo
Loved it, don’t disagree with people saying it’s not worth waiting for, but definitely a really good no frills burger
dannydevitosmanager
I went there and Gotham Burger on the same night (gross, lol) and thought Hamburger America was very under seasoned. Double onion burger at both places for consistency.
i-keeplosingaccounts
It’s ok.
For smash burgers, Gotham burger is much better, Burger by day is much better
Motz, in this case, is more of a Ronald McDonald character who stands by the door in his chef whites and greets people. I did not see him touch any of the food without a camera rolling.
It’s a slightly inferior white manna clone for people who can’t or don’t want to get to NJ.
19 Comments
It’s fine. A casual spot with friendly service and decent smash burgers but a lot of hype. Not worth waiting in line for more than 15 min
I really enjoyed their onion burger, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it again. Great ambience though. I see burger joints like these on the west coast pretty often, but rarely here. I went on an evening of a Thursday and was immediately sat at the counter. Also went at 4pm on a Saturday and sat at the side tables without much of a wait. It would have probably taken awhile for the counter though. I’d say it’s worth going to once cause it really is a fun experience, and if you pick a good time, there won’t be a wait. But if you’re just craving a smash burger, you probably have access to a good one nearby.
Looks like an awesome place.
I hate the idea of waiting on a line for something. I waisted like 4 years to try the Cronut. Now there’s line back at that damn bakery.
I’ve been there before and let me tell you, their burgers will blow your mind. And yes, George Motz is the man who knows his meat!
I need to go back and try it again on an empty stomache.
The first time I was coming off of a massive meal at L’Industrie just an hour before and probably not the smartest thing to do. I had room for a Chesterfield single and a coffee milk, both of which were ok.
It was around 2pm and there was a 10 minute wait for one of the side tables. George was working the counter.
Incredibly average burger for all the hype. 7th Street is a better version of the same thing with none of the wait or pageantry.
Think about this: George is a food critic, not a chef. He’s an incredibly nice guy and I appreciate his editorial content, but he is not a chef by trade. It is then unsurprising that he doesn’t cook the best burger in New York – in fact it would be an insult to the culinary profession if he did. You wouldn’t see Pete Wells try to become executive chef somewhere, right?
I’ll try it once I go to the west village without plans. I am not one who pays too much attention to celebrity chefs, so I didn’t even know who this guy was. I like his attitude and have watched a couple of videos about him starting this place since its been mentioned so much here.
He strikes me that his agenda isn’t too make some elevated burger, but rather to celebrate the casual American burger that’s eaten all around the country and execute it well. Just like smash burger places (I know ones on his menu) its not really worth waiting in line for any of them. It is worth trying all of them if your burger fan.
I live around the block. The entire block smells like burgers during business hours LOL. It’s good and he’s cool. You have to have your expectations in check though. It’s an $8 burger.
It’s pretty good when I’m in the area. I don’t think Motz actually has a permanent residence in NYC. I haven’t seen him there since the opening weeks. He’s also constantly on his book tour
So really on the longer term it really depends not on him but on the team he chose to run the place in his absence. Like any other celebrity chef restaurant
It’s very solid. Cheap. Could use salt. Loved the Chester.
Seems like they paid the top 50 NYC influencers to talk about it non stop for a week and then I haven’t heard a single living soul mention it that wasn’t paid for the advertisement since
I went a few weeks ago and was underwhelmed. Motz wasn’t at the grill, so maybe that had something to do with it. Onion burger wasn’t as onion-y as I expected it would be and didn’t have the crust of a good smash burger. It was fine. Fries were good. I went right when it opened & didn’t have to wait so no complaints. But not planning to go out of my way or wait in line for it in the future.
It wasn’t anything spectacular. I think some people hype it up too much. I wouldn’t go again.
It’s good, but not worth waiting in line for. If you can go weekday off hours, go for it. Otherwise, plenty of other spots where you don’t have to wait.
Oklahoma burger is solid, if you like onions. Would recommend a single, as the double is a bit too much. Classic smash is great and has more lace. If you’re a huge fan of grilled cheese, get the Chester. I’m not, so I tried it and would much rather have a classic. Fries I thought were fine, but mostly forgettable.
Good but overhyped, not worth waiting for a seat
Went to a LOT of his pop ups before he opened HA and have to say the quality of the onion burger was better before he opened the restaurant. It was fine but the earlier versions were just made better.
Loved it, don’t disagree with people saying it’s not worth waiting for, but definitely a really good no frills burger
I went there and Gotham Burger on the same night (gross, lol) and thought Hamburger America was very under seasoned. Double onion burger at both places for consistency.
It’s ok.
For smash burgers,
Gotham burger is much better,
Burger by day is much better
Motz, in this case, is more of a Ronald McDonald character who stands by the door in his chef whites and greets people. I did not see him touch any of the food without a camera rolling.
It’s a slightly inferior white manna clone for people who can’t or don’t want to get to NJ.