New Jersey Hamburgers...where?

Hey, Ted Steak!
after hearing your report, I doubt I'll be trying Jersey Burgers in Belmar..

When I went by a few months ago, it was creepy just seeing that one car there...

something is "off" about that place, huh

Hey, DOG BOSS,
I went to BLITZBURGER twice, in North Brunswick (it's in the Shop Rite plaza)  Lilked it much more the 1st time, though..
 

I'm surprised there's no mention here of Liberty Tavern in Fords. Is it that it's unknown or doesn't meet your high standards?

steveg5489


I'm surprised there's no mention here of Liberty Tavern in Fords. Is it that it's unknown or doesn't meet your high standards?

Tell me more about the place, SteveG...
Flat top grill, or charbroiled?!?  Frankly, charbroiled excites me a lot more..
(although a flat top burger can be seared nicely, and have good crust)
 
The Liberty Tavern is unknown to me...
I may have to check it out and see if it "meats" those high standards of mine...
 

 

..

 
Hi Ellen.
 
Charbroiled, 1/3 - 1/2 lb, on perfect crusty roll. I like mine medium with raw onions. A great deal as well.
 
Other eatery features:
 
The other night I had a fine lobster and an ear of corn for $10.95!
 
Liberty is reputed to be the originator of the pizza burger. If you order this put fork and knife at the ready, there will be no picking it up.
 
Speaking of pizza it's reputed to be the best in Jersey. I recently had a bar pie (~$5.00), it was terrific and enough for 2 people to share. Dough was freshly tossed as I saw with my own eyes.
 
OK, it's not the 4 Seasons for location and ambience. But the staff is attentive and friendly and the clientele are focused on one or two things only: Eating and/or drinking!
 
Best,
Steve
 
 

steveg5489

..

 
Hi Ellen. 
Charbroiled, 1/3 - 1/2 lb, on perfect crusty roll. I like mine medium with raw onions. A great deal as well. 
Liberty is reputed to be the originator of the pizza burger. If you order this put fork and knife at the ready, there will be no picking it up.
 
Speaking of pizza it's reputed to be the best in Jersey. I recently had a bar pie (~$5.00)

Charbroiled, huh?!? You've piqued my interest, Steve!
I googled it, and see that it is right near one of my favorite places, HAROLD'S DELI !!!
So , hopefully within  the next bunch of weeks, I can do a "Roadfood run" and hit both places!
 
Gosh , it's been ages since I had a pizzaburger!
But I'll probably stick with the regular burger and that $5.00 bar pie... My BF would really love the idea of that bar pie, as he loves good pizza, and he loves good value...
 
Oddly enough, there are hardly any reviews I could find on the place... I did find one on Yahoo....(it shows 7 reviews, but only one came up, and it spoke fondly of their pizzaburger)
I guess no news is good news, in this case?!?
 
At least no one is allowed to smoke in there (anymore)..
It's not the kind of place where I have to dodge lots of old drunks, is it?!?
I hope people are doing as much eating as they are drinking!
I occasionally take out food from Pistol Petes, in Pleasantville, near me, (AC area), and I seem to be about the only one eating!
The food is "okay" to decent there, depending what one orders...
 
Looking forward to that Liberty Tavern, Steve!!!
ellen
 
p.s. Have you tried that Pollo Tropical on Rt. 1 in Metuchen / Edison?  I've been there a few times, plus their locations in Florida!
But we better not talk too much about chicken here on the burger forum!!
(or else the Roadfood police might come get us)

 

ellen4641

steveg5489

..

 
Hi Ellen. 
Charbroiled, 1/3 - 1/2 lb, on perfect crusty roll. I like mine medium with raw onions. A great deal as well. 
Liberty is reputed to be the originator of the pizza burger. If you order this put fork and knife at the ready, there will be no picking it up.
 
Speaking of pizza it's reputed to be the best in Jersey. I recently had a bar pie (~$5.00)

Charbroiled, huh?!? You've piqued my interest, Steve!
I googled it, and see that it is right near one of my favorite places, HAROLD'S DELI !!!
So , hopefully within  the next bunch of weeks, I can do a "Roadfood run" and hit both places!
 
Gosh , it's been ages since I had a pizzaburger!
But I'll probably stick with the regular burger and that $5.00 bar pie... My BF would really love the idea of that bar pie, as he loves good pizza, and he loves good value...
 
Oddly enough, there are hardly any reviews I could find on the place... I did find one on Yahoo....(it shows 7 reviews, but only one came up, and it spoke fondly of their pizzaburger)
I guess no news is good news, in this case?!?
 
At least no one is allowed to smoke in there (anymore)..
It's not the kind of place where I have to dodge lots of old drunks, is it?!?
I hope people are doing as much eating as they are drinking!
I occasionally take out food from Pistol Petes, in Pleasantville, near me, (AC area), and I seem to be about the only one eating!
The food is "okay" to decent there, depending what one orders...
 
Looking forward to that Liberty Tavern, Steve!!!
ellen
 
p.s. Have you tried that Pollo Tropical on Rt. 1 in Metuchen / Edison?  I've been there a few times, plus their locations in Florida!
But we better not talk too much about chicken here on the burger forum!!
(or else the Roadfood police might come get us)
 

 

Ellen you truly are a bad bad girl----breaching the forum dictum ----what is the world coming to-----------Russ

 

uh, oh, don't tell anyone, Russ...

It's not the kind of place where I have to dodge lots of old drunks, is it?!?
I hope people are doing as much eating as they are drinking!
 
Ellen, I'm not promising you a Rose (Beer?) Garden.  I can tell you customers there are serious about both eating and drinking. The demographics of the clientele are as varied as Central Jersey. To give you an idea, the other night I met my brother there for dinner and a fellow across the bar recognized him and came over to talk. It turns out it was his Somerset next door neighbor who, by the way, is a Metuchen restauranteur! He was there for the pizza.
 
Anyway, if you're not a bar stool type, there are plenty of tables off to the side of the bar.
 
Enjoy!
Steve
 
 

Regarding the Inkwell in Long Branch--- it's not fancy at ALL. It's still cool and dive-y. Cool place to hang out. As for Boom Burger... it's OK. It's really not that awesome. And their owners are effing ANNOYING.

Oh and I'm not sure if you guys know about yelp.com but that's where i go to find all the best places!

Zeppelin Hall Beer Garden in Jersey City has a pretty good burger.  Little Pricey, but so are all the burgers in this area.  The one I like is the "Hot and Spicy" burger.  It is a burger with Andoullie Sausage and Pepper Jack cheese. 

http://www.zeppelinhall.c...urgers-and-sandwiches/

Krug's Tavern in the Ironbound section of Newark.  Best burger you will ever have.

ellen4641

steveg5489

..

 
Hi Ellen. 
Charbroiled, 1/3 - 1/2 lb, on perfect crusty roll. I like mine medium with raw onions. A great deal as well. 
Liberty is reputed to be the originator of the pizza burger. If you order this put fork and knife at the ready, there will be no picking it up.
 
Speaking of pizza it's reputed to be the best in Jersey. I recently had a bar pie (~$5.00)

Charbroiled, huh?!? You've piqued my interest, Steve!
I googled it, and see that it is right near one of my favorite places, HAROLD'S DELI !!!
 
 
The Liberty Tavern, burger and pizza has been a staple in the area for a long time(not bad), father spoke of it many times from his hopping around skills of the sixty's and seventy's...................... Harolds is less then 2 miles down King George Road.
So , hopefully within  the next bunch of weeks, I can do a "Roadfood run" and hit both places!
 
Gosh , it's been ages since I had a pizzaburger!
But I'll probably stick with the regular burger and that $5.00 bar pie... My BF would really love the idea of that bar pie, as he loves good pizza, and he loves good value...
 
Oddly enough, there are hardly any reviews I could find on the place... I did find one on Yahoo....(it shows 7 reviews, but only one came up, and it spoke fondly of their pizzaburger)
I guess no news is good news, in this case?!?
 
At least no one is allowed to smoke in there (anymore)..
It's not the kind of place where I have to dodge lots of old drunks, is it?!?
I hope people are doing as much eating as they are drinking!
I occasionally take out food from Pistol Petes, in Pleasantville, near me, (AC area), and I seem to be about the only one eating!
The food is "okay" to decent there, depending what one orders...
 
Looking forward to that Liberty Tavern, Steve!!!
ellen
 
p.s. Have you tried that Pollo Tropical on Rt. 1 in Metuchen / Edison?  I've been there a few times, plus their locations in Florida!
But we better not talk too much about chicken here on the burger forum!!
(or else the Roadfood police might come get us)

 

what happen to me response ?
 
 
 
 
 
LIBERTY TAVERN been around for a while , my father must of had a few nights there in his day,(alway's had something to say about the Liberty from the west coast). Harolds is about 2 miles down the road from the LIBERTY. ( KING GEORGE ROAD ) Burgers and Pizza are fine, no real WOW  factor, but good..................................

Hey, DOG BOSS,
I went to BLITZBURGER twice, in North Brunswick (it's in the Shop Rite plaza)  Lilked it much more the 1st time, though..
 

 
my second trip was interseting also, a little old man was making noise about a bug or a hair in his burger. he had to be helped out with his walker and very dark wrap around sun glasses, you know that type.......................... oh yeah, that's happened as he finished his burger.........

Encouraged by this review in the Star Ledger a few weeks ago:

http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2009/10/elevation_burger_in_montclair.html

I made my way to Elevation Burger for lunch today.

Not a whole lot to report. The burger was OK, but not quite as good as Five Guys which to me it resembles. (Not that Five Guys is the best I've ever had either).
 
It's cooked on a griddle and wasn't very big. I got a single, having first made a stop at Nicolo's bakery (as long as I was driving up to Montclair...) for some sausage bread, so I wasn't starving.

http://www.nicolosbakery.com/bakery.htm

I really should have got a double. The smallish patty (1/4 lb before cooking?) was totally overwhelmed by the lettuce, tomato, pickle, onions and "Elevation Sauce" (reminded me of Russian dressing). It was tasty, I'd give it a "B" if I had to rate it. The bun could have been better too, it seemed to be standard-issue, and did not hold up at all.

The fries are shoestring type, cooked in Olive Oil (not a good idea IMHO, they don't get crisp enough) and like the burger, good, but not as good as Five Guys.

The burger, fries, and fountain soda (free refills) came to a little over $9. About what I would expect, considering the hype.

Oh, one other thing, they built the burger upside down, meaning the burger was at the top, with the lettuce, tomato, etc underneath. Easily enough solved by turning the bun upsde down, but why??

If you're in the area it's worth a stop, there's nothing similar in Montclair, but it's not worth a long drive.

I guess I'm the only one still looking for new places to try NJ Hamburgers, I see my post in November is the last one in this thread.

Anyway, Elevation Burger in Montclair now has competition, Smashburger has arrived, just aboout 1/4 mile down the road at 15 Bloomfield Ave:


http://www.smashburger.com/menu_newjersey.php

Smashburger wins hands down, no contest. This was one fine burger. I got the 1/2 pound Classic Smashburger and Smash Fries. The burger was nicely charred (cooked on a griddle though) and very tasty. It's a very large thin burger, which I actually prefer to a fatter burger (as long as the amount of meat is the same). I wasn't real fond of the fries, the olive oil seasoning just didn't seem right, but it's probably a matter of taste. I'd rate them a notch below Five Guys.

The help was also much better than at either Elevation or Five Guys. Very pleasant instead of indifferent. At the "ambiance" is better too, it's still a fast food motif, but with comfortable booths and tables and not-so-loud music.

All in all, Smashbuger gets my vote as the best fast food burger in NJ.

As with all these places, it was not cheap. My burger fries and soda (free refills) came to a little over $10. 

One more thing, they have regular and Italian Hot Dogs on the menu, and they use Best's Hot Dogs from Newark, so even though this chain is in several states, they do have a good local touch.

If today was any indication, they are also doing much better than Elevation. Smashburger was just about full at 12:30 PM. I walked up to Elevation and back to walk off the lunch, and there were just a few customers there. 

Thanks Ken. I've heard about Smashburger and talked to someone working there. The dogs are natural casing Best's; I don't know what size. They got a good review from Serious Eats recently. I hope to make it there this weekend. Love to see how it compares to Five Guys.

I went to Frankly Burger in Freehold today for lunch. I had previously written about it poorly (the food, not my writing) and definitely have to change my opinion. The burger was great. I had a griddled pizza burger cooked medium rare. Nice and juicy considering that it's certified angus beef and that brand of beef doesn't usually have a great meat to fat ratio for a juicy burger. The burger was quite tasty and I would go back. I also had a grilled hot dog with chili but that my friends is for another thread.

Dave

I'm also disappointed to report that Jake's Hamburgers on Rt 35 in Ocean Twp is closed. Although it's a small chain and not technically roadfood, I did prefer their burgers to 5 guys.

Dave

Had a couple Jersey burgers recently: 

Arthurs Steakhouse - Morris Plains - 1/2 lb. Huge. Just a huge burger. Requested it cooked medium and got it medium-rare, just as I wanted it. For some reason this works more often than not, and not just at Arthurs. It was delicious! To be honest I completely forgot to ask for lettuce and tomato, and the waitress didn't ask if I wanted them. Didn't miss them one bit! It was amazing! The bun was great, a nice kaiser roll that was very fresh. All for $6? I definitely robbed them. And I'd do it again. 


Smokehouse BBQ - Hackettstown - Wasn't too hungry so I ordered a 1/4 lb bacon cheeseburger. Came out cooked very nicely, and the bacon was cooked alright as well. I am no fan of improperly cooked bacon. Tasted good but was easy to tell the burger was prepared and sitting in the fridge for a little before I ordered it. No biggie. The big problem was the bun. Not sure how you can serve a serious burger on a wonderbread-like bun. It fell apart over the course of eating it. 


Edit - Also enjoyed a double bacon cheese burger from 5 guys burgers and fries. It's a chain, but, damn. That's a good burger :-) 

Last week I went to Smashburger for the first time. I returned yesterday for another burger and also to try their hot dog. The burger is easily one of the best I've had. I love Five Guys, and Smashburger is right up there with them. Fresh quality beef used at both places, cooked fairly well done, but juicy and flavorful. I might be in the minority, but I like burgers prepared this way as long as they aren't dried out.

See here for a review and pictures: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/01/smashburger-review-montclair-nj.html

As for the hot dog, they use a natural casing 6 to a lb beef dog from Best Provisions in Newark. Most of the other Smashburger locations in other states use Hebrew National. The dog is split and griddled just like Five Guys. It's then put on a poppy seed bun. I ordered my dog with just mustard, which is Heinz yellow. I prefer brown, but no big deal. The dog was a bit of a disapointment. I love Best's natural casing beef dog, but this one was barely warm. I could hardly taste the dog as they put too much mustard on it. Although I prefer Best's to Hebrew National, the dog at Five Guys, which is the same size and also split and griddled, is much better. It's always hot, even when I take it home, and they leave it on the griddle for a sufficient amount of time.

If you decide to order a dog, I would request them to leave the mustard off so you could apply it yourself. And ask for it to be left on the griddle until there is some char. Or just say well done. As for splitting the dog, I don't mind it on a skinless dog (Five Guys), but prefer a natural casing dog to be left intact so as to enjoy the snap.

Smashburger makes an excellent burger but I would pass on the dog. Or at least insist that they prepare it better.

Has anyone tried Buffies in Cedar Grove? From the pics in their gallery I'd say it's a shoe-in as far as being roadfood-worthy. 

http://www.buffiesbabyburgers.com/

I feel this is the right thread to mention/ask this, rather than "Where Should I Eat?": We're thinking very strongly of going to the Montclair Art Museum on Sunday. I love museums, and Montclair is one we've wanted to check out, but I'm almost using this as an excuse for us to try either/or Smashburger or Elevation Burger. And I know Montclair/Bloomfield (we'll figure it out) is the only Jersey location for these two much-discussed places. Now. The question: Do we do the Smashburger/Elevation Burger Challenge/Comparison/Throwdown, as it were? Or do we forget about one and just do the other and save our money? Or do we try both and really check them out? Which of the two has the best fries, by the way?We know how to eat sparingly if more than one place is involved at one time (thank you John Fox and of course Ellen!).
 
Can't take pictures at ALL in the museum, but I do plan to take food pictures with my new camera.
 
It's a bit of a hike for us, but this may really turn out to be totally worth it for our first Spring Sunday daytrip.
 
Any and all suggestions are MOST welcome. Satisfying burgers are definitely on this agenda.

Hi Harriet. If you look at my post about 2/3 up this page, you'll see that I MUCH preferred Smashburger to Elevation. Of course your mileage may differ, but in addition to a better burger I found Smashburger to have it all over Elevation when it came to attitude and service.

PS: You'll like the Montclair Museum, and Montclair is a great town to walk around in. There's also a neat little garden walk at VanVleck Gardens if you're into that sort of stuff. It may be too early in the season for anything spectacular but it's a nice walk anyway:

 http://www.vanvleck.org/

Hi Ken!! How've you been? Van Vleck sounds RIGHT up our alley! We're both into it; love gardens. And the fact that it's free makes it even more appealing. We talk about Longwood Gardens, but the entrance/ticketing structure seems so like you have to jump through hoops just to get in there. Plus it's $16. So we keep putting it off. I've been reading about both burger places, and I think Smashburger's gonna be it. And then I made the mistake of looking at the dining part of Montclair's visitor site, and seeing ads for The Wood Pit, and thinking, "Hm. BBQ". Then I saw the ad for Toast, and I thought, "Hm. Brunch". I don't believe either one of us has been to Montclair, so we're ALWAYS excited to discover a new place. I know we have to eat before we get there, though, because it looks like an hour and a half, easy, from my place. Problem is it doesn't take long to get on the NJT once we're on 73 North...and the only thing on the way is Sage Diner (Mt. Laurel) and I REALLY don't feel like waiting for service, though it's a great diner.
 
Anyway, thanks for your input, really! Hope to see you again soon one of these days!
 
 

Hi Again Harriet. I was at the Wood Pit once, with my son, maybe a year ago. We both had Brisket sandwiches. They were excellent, but quite small (we wound up ordering another one to split, which made the meal somewhat expensive). I don't recall if we had sides or not. I do remember the lady in charge was very nice.

Your call, of course. You could do take out at one place and eat at the other. I've been known to do that when I can't decide.

Yes, good to hear from you.  

PS: I don't want to misrepresent Van Vleck as anything like Longwood Gardens. It's kind of small, but nice for a 1/2 hour walk.

A little expensive but still a great burger can be had at the Capital Grille in Cherry Hill--chopped sirloin, onion, bacon and Havarti cheese.

YIMSTRIP


A little expensive but still a great burger can be had at the Capital Grille in Cherry Hill--chopped sirloin, onion, bacon and Havarti cheese.

I'll have to try it next time I'm at the Cherry Hill Mall...
(I went to Capital Grill last year there, and enjoyed their steak and homemade potato chips from the lunch menu..
I sat at their nice  bar,  enjoyed watching the stock market news on the TV, and got excellent , polished service...
and on top of it , the steak was real decent...(although it came with an unexpected mushroom sauce; would've got it on the side, if I knew beforehand)
 
I've enjoyed the ELEVATION burger in Wynnewood, (PHILLY suburbs), and NEED to try SMASHBURGER !!

I went to the Smashburger in Montclair with my family yesterday. My son liked his burger better than Five Guys. I think I might also. It's very good. Juicy and delicious. This time the dog was excellent. Prepared better than last time, it was hot and left on the griddle long enough. A great place for a burger and a dog. The women had salads and chicken sandwiches which they liked.

A video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/15/smashburger-review-hambur_n_577669.html

I was in Belmar last weekend and Boom Burger is no more. There's a BBQ place, Jersey Shore BBQ or something like that in the storefront now. I'm going to have to try the BBQ place sooner rather than later. It doesn't surprise me about Boom going out of business, it was a very weird place. The burgers were good, but small and very expensive. Maybe they just couldn't survive in this current down economy?

Dave