Review of a "burger" place in Bloomingdale's - written by a "man" with
a hyphenated last name...this ain't no hamburger


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/di...r=1&ref=dining

Flip, 1000 Third Avenue (59th Street), (212) 705-2993, which is vying
to be New York’s most comprehensive hamburger restaurant. It’s already
the most improbably located: go to the lower level, one below street
level, of Bloomingdale’s, then turn left at Helmut Lang.

This is a serious-minded place, where the plates are rectilinear and
the manager is in a suit. You start by choosing between a short rib
mix ($12), brisket ($12) or fatty Wagyu ($15).

Then you select one of 6 different kinds of buns, 12 sauces, 8 cheeses
and 4 toppings. Even the sides gang up on you. There are three
different shapes of fries ($5), skinny, steak and crinkle-cut. And
sweet potato fries ($5). And onion rings ($5).

It took me a few burgers to arrive at a superior combination: short
rib on a plain brioche with caramelized onions and garlic aioli. That
combo, rich and beefy, gave me new respect for the department store.

In article
>,
"The Cheesehusker, Trade Warrior" > wrote:

> Review of a "burger" place in Bloomingdale's - written by a "man" with
> a hyphenated last name...this ain't no hamburger
>
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/di...r=1&ref=dining
>
> Flip, 1000 Third Avenue (59th Street), (212) 705-2993, which is vying
> to be New York¹s most comprehensive hamburger restaurant. It¹s already
> the most improbably located: go to the lower level, one below street
> level, of Bloomingdale¹s, then turn left at Helmut Lang.
>
> This is a serious-minded place, where the plates are rectilinear and
> the manager is in a suit. You start by choosing between a short rib
> mix ($12), brisket ($12) or fatty Wagyu ($15).
>
> Then you select one of 6 different kinds of buns, 12 sauces, 8 cheeses
> and 4 toppings. Even the sides gang up on you. There are three
> different shapes of fries ($5), skinny, steak and crinkle-cut. And
> sweet potato fries ($5). And onion rings ($5).
>
> It took me a few burgers to arrive at a superior combination: short
> rib on a plain brioche with caramelized onions and garlic aioli. That
> combo, rich and beefy, gave me new respect for the department store.

(Sigh) Trendoid dining has gone beyond parody. When did the restaurant
business become part of the fashion industry?

Don Martinich wrote:
> In article
> >,
> "The Cheesehusker, Trade Warrior" > wrote:
>
>> Review of a "burger" place in Bloomingdale's - written by a "man" with
>> a hyphenated last name...this ain't no hamburger
>>
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/di...r=1&ref=dining

<snip>

> (Sigh) Trendoid dining has gone beyond parody. When did the restaurant
> business become part of the fashion industry?

But it is the definitive parody of both industries, much like the
"reality" fashion designer and chef competitions that run on Bravo.
Every so often, you can still find some of Bravo's flagship programming
like "Inside the Actor's Studio" playing, but even THAT is a parody
(unintentionally so, but it's a parody never the less). It could all be
found in an Ab Fab script... in fact, hasn't it been?