Better Burger: Organic Burgers & Baked Fries
Better Burger
265 W 19th St
on 8th Ave
212 989-6688
After waiting for my bf to get off of work, I had a strong craving for burgers and fries. Luckily there was a burger joint that’s just a few blocks away, ’cause otherwise, I’ll have to settle for McDonalds, and I’ll be damned if I have to do so. Mind you, I’ve never heard anything about this place and just charged right in. =P
*I apologize for not taking a picture of the front of the fast food restaurant. There was a gigantic round orange sign in front with their logo on it, but I figure since it’s on their cups, it’s pretty much the same.
Upon entering the restaurant and staring up at the menu above the cashier counter, my eyes widened when I saw the price of their cheapest burgers -$5.95,1/3 lb meat for their classic burger. Yeah $6 for a Burger? Man it sure as hell better be the biggest and best dam burger ever. At Micky’s, I can get 6 burgers for that price! Then I ordered an order of small “air baked” fries for $2.95. Oh man, it’s either the whole neighborhood or rich, or this place is dam pricey, or I’m just cheap. Whichever the case was, I wanted to try it regardless.
So I later learn from reading the rest of the menu that the reason why their burgers cost so damn much is because they’re organic. Organic? Whaa? This means their meat doesn’t have any antibiotics, injected hormones, steroids, drugs, or any other chemicals that might induce the size of the bovine. Plus they say it’s actually 100% meat, since they claim that most burgers have fillers. Ok. And with their fries, it’s air baked, so it’s not fried up in a gallon of oil that makes it fatty. Sound very wholesome and healthy! But anyways, the burger is pretty good. The meat was very moist and clean. It needed some ketchup in there, but otherwise, it wasn’t bad. I actually liked it because I didn’t feel guilty eating it. It left my mouth with a grease-less taste. Yay!
What’s great about this place is that they give you a whole bunch of sauces for your fries. I believe they have honey mustard, dijon mustard, chili, ketchup, and something else. I picked the honey mustard because it’s just simply irresistible. I can tell you this much, organic fries can’t ever beat the crunchy goodness of the deep fries version. Don’t get me wrong, this is still very good, but it was a little sweet for my taste. The thing that I liked about this is that there’s a lot of potato in there. Sometimes I forget that I’m eating fries, but really, it has that awesome potato kick that I miss with deep frying fries.
I would definitely recommend this place when you see one. I heard that they make kick ass smoothies too! I can’t wait to try it next time.
Recommended!
Rating: 4/5
BETTER BURGER
265 WEST 19 STREET, MANHATTAN 10011
212-989-6688
Current violation points: 12/28
Inspection Date: 05/22/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Single service item reused, improperly stored, dispensed; not used when required.
2.) Canned food product observed severely dented.
3.) Evidence of flying insects or live flying insects present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
Corner 28 Chinese Restaurant: Peking Duck Snack
Corner 28
40-28 Main St
(Corner of Main St and 40th Rd)
(718) 886-6628
In this Chinatown off in Flushing, Queens, there’s a little hidden treasure on Main Street, across from the Caldor as you can see on the reflection in the above picture. Here on this corner of 40th road and Main Street are two windows that sell ice cream, and other for peking duck. Yeah you say Peking Duck, what’s so freakin’ special about that? Hold your judgement until I tell you this: THEY SELL IT IN PIECES. That’s right, they sell it in pieces.
I just rather find it quite fascinating that you can buy Peking Duck in pieces. Why you ask? Because most of the I can’t finish a whole peking duck or that I don’t have the funds for it. Peking Duck is definitely not as cheap as regular duck, and it can cost you up to $26 for a whole one, while a regular one is about $18. Huge difference.
As my bf and I approach the nice lady at the window for some duck, we realized that she spoke only of Mando. So folks, you better brush up on your mando, especially the numbers, because this woman does not understand cantonese or english. Here, my bf is telling this woman 10 pieces, “sup gor,” that we wanted. This lady thought we wanted 4 pieces. So here’s a picture of her setting up our 4 pieces:
When she was done, we were like, that sure as hell wasn’t 10. Then I told her, “su! su kway!” Then I held up my fingers and she held up her fingers and we got 10. Ahhh, so funny. Yeah I should be embarrassed, but I’m sure as hell not.
I apologize for the picture. This is the only picture I have of the Peking Duck because I was too hungry to take the picture when I got back to my bf’s place. But hey, I made this picture just a little bit bigger just for you.
Verdict:
*Let me tell you, if it’s cold by the time you bring it back home, heat the dam thing up. The duck becomes hard to chew because it gets hard and very thick.
And as far as the taste is concerned, the meat of the duck is very moist and succulent and the skin is nice and crispy. It compliments well with the garlic chives (cantonese: gow choy), Chinese barbecue sauce, and the bread. I can’t stop popping these little sandwiches in my mouth because it’s that good. Remember, if it’s not hot, it definitely isn’t as good.
Price: $0.75/piece, w/duck bone $2.00/piece.
Rating: 5/5 – Recommended!
Let’s see how clean the city’s health inspector thinks about them!
CORNER 28 INC
40-28 MAIN STREET, QUEENS 11354
718-886-6628
Current violation points: 24/28
Inspection Date: 05/01/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
3.) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
4.) Hot food not held at or above 140°F.
Corner 28 Chinese Restaurant: Peking Duck Snack
Corner 28
40-28 Main St
(Corner of Main St and 40th Rd)
(718) 886-6628
In this Chinatown off in Flushing, Queens, there’s a little hidden treasure on Main Street, across from the Caldor as you can see on the reflection in the above picture. Here on this corner of 40th road and Main Street are two windows that sell ice cream, and other for peking duck. Yeah you say Peking Duck, what’s so freakin’ special about that? Hold your judgement until I tell you this: THEY SELL IT IN PIECES. That’s right, they sell it in pieces.
I just rather find it quite fascinating that you can buy Peking Duck in pieces. Why you ask? Because most of the I can’t finish a whole peking duck or that I don’t have the funds for it. Peking Duck is definitely not as cheap as regular duck, and it can cost you up to $26 for a whole one, while a regular one is about $18. Huge difference.
As my bf and I approach the nice lady at the window for some duck, we realized that she spoke only of Mando. So folks, you better brush up on your mando, especially the numbers, because this woman does not understand cantonese or english. Here, my bf is telling this woman 10 pieces, “sup gor,” that we wanted. This lady thought we wanted 4 pieces. So here’s a picture of her setting up our 4 pieces:
When she was done, we were like, that sure as hell wasn’t 10. Then I told her, “su! su kway!” Then I held up my fingers and she held up her fingers and we got 10. Ahhh, so funny. Yeah I should be embarrassed, but I’m sure as hell not.
I apologize for the picture. This is the only picture I have of the Peking Duck because I was too hungry to take the picture when I got back to my bf’s place. But hey, I made this picture just a little bit bigger just for you.
Verdict:
*Let me tell you, if it’s cold by the time you bring it back home, heat the dam thing up. The duck becomes hard to chew because it gets hard and very thick.
And as far as the taste is concerned, the meat of the duck is very moist and succulent and the skin is nice and crispy. It compliments well with the garlic chives (cantonese: gow choy), Chinese barbecue sauce, and the bread. I can’t stop popping these little sandwiches in my mouth because it’s that good. Remember, if it’s not hot, it definitely isn’t as good.
Price: $0.75/piece, w/duck bone $2.00/piece.
Rating: 5/5 – Recommended!
Let’s see how clean the city’s health inspector thinks about them!
CORNER 28 INC
40-28 MAIN STREET, QUEENS 11354
718-886-6628
Current violation points: 24/28
Inspection Date: 05/01/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
3.) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
4.) Hot food not held at or above 140°F.
Northern BBQ & Sushi Buffet: Korean Barbeque (UPDATE)
UPDATE 2/13/2009:
This restaurant no long exists. It has been replaced with Juliana, also a Korean Restaurant but not a Buffet. Stay tuned for my review of this restaurant!
Northern BBQ & Sushi Buffet is not in business anymore as Miss Anonymous (comments below) has posted. The restaurant went through new ownership and became New York Buffet but now it has changed last year once more. The Restaurant is now called Juliana, Korean Restaurant & Bar. The disappointing part is that it is no longer a Buffet! Will post when we get a chance to eat there.
Northern [Korean] BBQ & Sushi Buffet
157-26 Northern Blvd
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 886-8880
WARNING: THIS WILL BE THE MEATIEST EXPERIENCE YOU WILL EVER HAVE. VEGETARIANS/VEGANS BEWARE.
If you’re coming with a large party, especially on a Saturday night, be sure to make reservations! My party of 10 had to wait about 45mins before being seated. The people in here are mostly Korean, in fact you’ll be greeted by the staff in the Korean language. They’re really friendly and cute!
The atmosphere in the restaurant is very relaxing despite having a buffet environment. It’s definitely better when you bring a crew of your friends to dine out.
I really love the environment here. When you are seated, feel free to get up and get some food. I started off grabbing some hot food and sushi:
There’s my cali rolls, my potato croquet (god i love it), fried rice, chicken wings, and stir fried string beans. Yum.
Now, grab a plate full of meat to grill on your table. That’s right, it’s a BBQ and you do it yourself. It’s just the best way to do it.
Ask the server to start up the grill for you, otherwise you’ll play with the gas knob all night and wondering how the hell does it work. When you first work the grill, please drizzle some oil on it. It makes the cooking process faster. I’m sure you all know, but just a reminder especially if you’re a newbie like me. Usually the server do it for me, but here, you actually do it yourself. And seldom a server will come by if s/he isn’t busy and do it for you too.
The beef brisket, shown above, could be marinated a little more. What I highly recommend are the ribs. OH MY GOSH, it’s the juiciest, tastiest, most succulent piece of meat I ever had. Let me show you:
It just so so good! Use the scissors that they provide you to cut up the meat. Cut it after when it’s done cooking. This is the best piece of meat I had all night and I loved it!! There are other meats like steak, sausage, pork, intestines (ew, but still cool), etc etc, but this by far was the best I have had for the night. It’s all you can eat buffet, so try everything!
Sometimes when you finish a plate, the server might not see that your plate needs to be changed so call them over and they’ll gladly do it for you. =)
My only gripe about this place was that they had a poor dessert and fruit section. For the fruit section they only had grapes and cherries and ran out of cantaloupe and honeydew. For dessert they have jello, I think that was it and it wasn’t even that great.
I highly recommend this place!
Price: $25/person ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT!
Yogee Noodle Restaurant: Cheap Noodles
Yogee Noodle
85 Chrystie St
(Near Grand St train station and across from Roosevelt Park)
Chinatown, NY
(212) 965-0615
My parents love to come here when they want good inexpensive Chinese food. I grew up eating the food here before they became a restaurant. Back then, it was a very small take out restaurant that made all sorts of tasty dishes. Now it’s a big restaurant that looks pretty nice. The same owners are still here and I can see that they worked very hard to where are they are now.
I used to come here for the noodles for their kick ass elbow macaroni in soup, rice noodles with beef, and green peas and minced meat over rice. Kick ass. Today I come here with my family to see if the food still taste as good.
I have to admit, despite that it changed and it became a restaurant, the place is still pretty dirty, especially the bathrooms. Oh, please don’t go to the bathroom because it’s soooo dirty. yuck! I was so traumatized. Let’s just say, stick to the upstairs bathroom. The table might be sticky, so be warned. If you can overlook that, you’ll have a good eating experience.
Lychee Ice, $2.25
This drink isn’t that great really. It can be better. What else can I say? It was flavorless and there was just too much ice. I was pretty disappointed in it.
Not Recommended
Rating: 1/5
Iced Milk Tea, $1.75
I had a sip of this and it’s bitter as hell. What the f—, where’s the sugar?? I actually don’t ask much in a ice milk tea, but this is really bitter to drink. Only my brother can chug this down.
Not Recommended
Rating: 2/5
Stir Fried String Beans, Price: $6.95
Oh, my, goodness, this is a very good dish! Greasy, crunchy and lightly salted, just the way I like it!
Highly Recommended
Rating – 5/5
Beef stew w/rice noodles, $3.75
Oh, this soup reminded me of the same soup that I had when I was a kid. Ahh, good memories. Now this a good soup! This soup goes really well with the rice noodles. I only had a bite of this since it wasn’t my dish, but it is very good!
Recommended
Rating – 4/5
Beef Tripe Medley w/turnip and rice noodles, $3.50
This is the thing that you have to order here! I’m sorry for not taking another picture, but underneath it there are your rice noodles. Yum, the meat is nice and tender and the soup goes so well with the rice noodle! I used to order a lot of this when I was a kid!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rating 5/5
Wonton & Roasted Pork w/dry lo mein, Price: $6.25
Oh man, this is by far is the most unappetizing lo mein dish I have ever seen. At NYC Noodletown, their presentation is far better and it tastes better. I don’t like how they slice up my roasted pork like that and just about throw a bunch of food together.
Not recommended
Rating: 2/5
Pan fried noodles w/chicken and mushroom, Price – $8.25
This is my brother’s dish and it tastes a little better than my dish, previous one, because this is pan fried. But other than that, I didn’t like this dish because it tastes like everything was thrown in last minute.
Not recommended
Rating: 3/5
I would definitely recommend the soup noodles here. So come on down and give it a shot!
YOGEE NOODLE
85 CHRYSTIE STREET, MANHATTAN 10002
212-965-0615
NYC Health Inspection Results
Current violation points: 12/28
Inspection Date: 09/13/2006
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
2.) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
