BurgerClub

Blue Ribbon Bakery

33 Downing St. NY, NY

Maybe it was due to the cozy private room, the bloodies, or the chorizo mash, but Blue Ribbon Bakery didn't make me feel like i was in a burger joint, and judging by the deliciousness of the chow, they knew it. It was like a cool tapas joint, or your rich friend's wine cellar in the South of France, replete with the ceallar and stone walls and busy but affable staff.
The fries were right on, standard bistro frites, and a good partner to a good Gruyere cheeseburger.
The patties were a little thinner than i expected, and was cooked to medium ( i prefer and ordered medium rare), but the crisp texture of the outside of the patty was in perfect concert with the juicy inside. Just the right amount of dressings. the bun was toasted perfectly. There was no juice streaking down my grubby little mitts, but the juice was there, none-the-less. I ordered Gruyere, and that's a first for me, and i was not disappointed.
I gave the Blue Ribbon burger a "B", but it's all relative. The burgers were very good, but not astounding. i don't know what was missing, but maybe a little more thickness in the patty, and a perfect medium rare may have convinced me to give a higher mark. Gruyere was a good call.

When Pastis couldn't accommodate our group this past sunday, the group came up with a Plan B... B for Blue Ribbon Bakery.

I was pleased to find our group would be seated in the underbelly of Blue Ribbon where all the fresh dough is toasted to perfection... and also where the wine resides. A private nook... just don't break a bottle Goldie. This table would be perfect for that special dinner gathering if you don't go over 10 peeps.

The food at Blue Ribbon Bakery all sounded like it would pleasure a foodies palate... we were there for burgers, so aside from the delicious Chorizo we had as an appetizer, that review will have to wait. Maybe when BurgerClub sponsors "Fried Chicken" or "Tongue Sandwich" events.

In general, I don't have any problems with the burgers here. Yes, mine too was a bit over cooked... and yes, if it was a bit more rare I would have probably enjoyed it more and given it a slightly higher mark... but with previous "better" burgers it's hard to give anything an A unless it touches the beef perfection we have tasted in the past.

So with that said, Blue Ribbon still makes a darn good burger. For starters, the cheese selection is tops. They have fine cheese plates, so the ability to have one of the finer cheeses on a burger gets some bonus points. I went with cheddar (white which was a nice touch) but our gang had some nice Gueyere and Brie burgers. The taste of the Blue Ribbon Burger takes you to an outdoor grill. The outside has a nice char and the flavor is smokey. The iceberg is always a good touch for crispness, and the thinly sliced tomato and red onion were well enjoyed partners. Juicy goodness was present and it held together well... I used my napkin enough times but didn't make a mess of my shirt. The bun was toasted well and had a few sesame seeds.

You might say, "hey burgerseeker, this sounds like a pretty good burger... what's with the B?" And I would again say, with our list of eaten burgers growing, the grade a burger gets becomes relative to other burgers... at least for me. Is that a fair way to grade? I think so. Blue Ribbon does make a good burger, but not as good as some of the others we have tried... 3 come to mind... Luger, PJ, and Fanelli... now those had all the goods this guy had but took it up a notch... Bam!

The ambience of this particular BC meeting played a vital role in the burger experience, as we were tucked away on a rainy Sunday in the dimly-lit, aromatic wine cellar of Blue Ribbon bakery. Yummy bloodys in a cozy setting set the mood immediately...then came the chorizo appetizer, which was perfectly spiced, and extremely delicious. It was a treat to be given such a large selection of cheeses to choose from...I personally went for the gruyere, and it made for a darn good burger. I was a little disappointed that mine arrived a bit more done than i would have liked (my medium rare leaned more towards medium than rare as well) although the overdone edges did create a nice, smoky flavor. I was especially impressed with the neatness of the overall burger...although the patty was a juicy one, i left without any stains on my sleeves, and the bun to meat ratio was perfect. Although the circumference was large enough, the patty itself was not very thick...which also made it more manageable. I probably would have given it a higher grade if the burger arrived more red inside, but we've tasted higher qualities of meat at other locations, and I can't say I was totally blown away...it was more the overall experience of Blue Ribbon that I was pleased with.

Blue Ribbon is this place where they use to secretely make burgers during the Great Burger Prohibition...at least it looks like it. The cript-like basement seem to be home to ancient recipes and one would except something pretty special from a Blue Ribbon burger. But no matter how tasty were those mouth-watering chorizo slices teasers, or how incredibly italian was this Vesuvio wine, the 'piece-de-resistance' was still missing: there are no kept-secrets at Blue Ribbon, no burger tradition to speak of. Only your imagination could make you think that something special is happening there.. Inevitably, i ended up slightly disappointed, in burger terms speaking.
A sweet straight burger, or simply put, a burger which could set up the Minimum Burger Standard Agreement. Mine was not cooked right, and by that i mean not even close to rare, as requested. This shows an obvious lack of interest in the kitchen for burgering correctly. The cheese selection looked attractive at first, with the prospect of a fresh mozarella burger very seducing. But again, the kitchen could not make up its mind wether they had fresh mozz, or gruyere, or brie, or a simple slice of Land'o Lakes american cheese. What came out of that was still good, not too fullfilling, which is probably a good thing on a sunday morning, but not a single taste developed into something strong enough for us to take notice of it. I'm afrait to report that Blue Ribbon is not a place where the Burger spirit is proudly celebrated. It's a B+ burger, which is now my MBSA note.

Definitely something to be said for eating a gourmet burger in a wine cellar with the smell of fresh bread baking beside you , and let's not even go into the wines we consumed and the bloody mary's - it was all about the experience here.