7th Street Burger East Village
Kenny Yang on the build:
Roughly-chopped onions are pressed into a beef patty as it's smashed with a spatula, resulting in something that'll remind you of a White Castle slider.The cheeseburger cost $6.50 when he reviewed it in April 2022, and there is nowhere inside to sit.
Why go
Four things are on the menu: a cheeseburger, a double, an Impossible burger, and fries.1 The cheeseburger runs a 75/25 patty from Schweid & Sons under grilled sweet onions, one pickle slice, American cheese and a house sauce, on a Martin's potato roll that Yang says arrives super greasy.1 The fries come out past golden brown and crunchy, and Yang has them thick and never lacking in salt.
1 The Infatuation's own best-burger guide opens on Red Hook Tavern in Brooklyn, a sit-down room with a thick, tender patty and a two-week booking window, which is the other end of this argument entirely.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: two cheeseburgers. Yang:
The cheeseburgers aren't that big, so maybe order two right off the bat.
1 - Order: the chopped beef fries, which are off the menu. Everything from the cheeseburger goes on a basket of fries, and Yang says to ask for the spicy sauce and bring a fork.1
- Avoid: the double if you like the bread and the beef in balance. Yang says the extra patty costs you
the ideal meat-to-bun ratio that we love about the single cheeseburger.
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What locals & experts say
- Kenny Yang, The Infatuation, 22 April 2022, 7.6: the cheeseburger,
with its gooey yellow American cheese, is an unapologetic salute to salt and fat. Even the grilled Martin's potato roll comes super greasy.
1 - The same review, on the queue:
When you see a long line, that doesn't mean you should automatically join and spend the next unknown amount of time guessing words or crushing candies on your phone. But in this case, it does.
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Good to know
- The door: this page is 91 East 7th Street. The name now trades at other addresses and The Infatuation reviews the Madison Square Garden branch separately.
- Seating: none inside, and somebody else usually has the few outdoor tables. You eat standing on East 7th Street.
Verdict
could-visit — That $6.50 is four years old and 7th Street Burger has opened doors across the city since, so treat the price as a floor and this shop as the original. Whether the shop Kenny Yang reviewed in 2022 is the one you walk into is the open question on a chain growing this fast. Get two singles, eat them on the street, and pick another address if you want to sit down.