Lucky’s Famous Burger is Still Waiting to be Discovered

Tonight, my roommate said he wanted to eat out. He was ready to sink his teeth into something good and hearty. Since I work at a retail store and have been working more hours lately, I wanted to refrain from standing and walking as much as possible. He really wanted me to choose because he’s very indecisive, and I don’t want to choose because he fusses over my selections. I’m Asian. I like Asian food. I eat huge quantities of rice. If there is anything that would classify me as an Asian, that will be it. I don’t like gambling. I don’t drink much and never smoke. I am not good at math. I can’t play tennis. Or pool. Or ping pong. Well, I’m sure you get it now. My roommate gags when he sees rice. He likes it, but after the 3rd day of eating it, he can’t stomach it anymore. I, however, have a huge tolerance for it. It’s in my genes. =)

After some banter back and forth, I compromised and chose Creole food. I saw a picture of smothered pork chop, and I tried to convince my roommate to go to Harlem so we can get some, but since he’s from a small town in Ohio, Harlem has way too much culture for him. When people hear Harlem, they think of drive-by shootings and thugs. It’s only partially true, and not all of Harlem is bad. I couldn’t convince him, and out of nowhere, he decides we’re going to Island Burgers and Shakes in Hells Kitchen. How did that happened? When we got there, it was packed, which is typical of many eating establishments on a Friday night. We didn’t eat there and end up walking to find a place to eat. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked. Back to being indecisive again, and I’m walking, which is what I don’t want to do. After I spew some frustration, he decided to eat at the first interesting place he sees. Lucky’s Famous Burger got lucky tonight.

It was a small and bright burger joint in Hell’s Kitchen. Their menu is small and consisted of burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, sodas, and shakes. Typical fast food fare but with higher quality ingredients. I got the Lucky’s All American Cheeseburger Combo ($10) which includes a fountain drink (free refills! whoo!) and crinkled fries. The cheeseburger was medium cooked, served with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mustard, and ketchup. I asked for no mustard and ketchup, and they were nice enough to make it to order. The fries are crispy but didn’t taste fresh. They are your typical frozen french fries.

Overall I thought the cheeseburger was tasty. The ground beef tasted like mostly chuck with a little bit of sirloin. It was a bit chewy and gritty, but it tasted fresh and juicy. It wasn’t overly seasoned or bland. Since it’s in Manhattan, expect the burger to be small. It’s served on a Martin’s potato bun. It was a great choice. The bun absorbs the grease well and held the burger together better than normal buns. It didn’t crumble or all apart as I was eating. I would definitely go back, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get there. It was good but not great or superior.

Lucky’s Famous Burger 370 West 52nd Street New York, New York 10019