Effing Good Indeed

A friend once told me no matter how nice of a restaurant he was at he always ordered their burger because; “you can always judge how good a place really is by their burger.” I have another friend who has been prowling the city for great burgers after the demise of the bar that he claims served the best burger he’s ever had. In fact it seems the whole city is on a never-ending quest to find the best burger out there. For anyone taking up the quest, they should at least give Harriet’s Kitchen on the UWS a try.

Harriet’s even declares from their window on a hand-written sign to have “maybe the best effing burger in the city”. Though I’m not ready to go quite that far I discovered today at lunch they do serve a pretty darn good burger.

Because of the sign I of course had to order the cheeseburger ($ 6.75 w/ fries), but the rest of the traditional old-fashioned menu looked good too. I plan to return to try the down home fried chicken ($7.50-12.50; various portions and prices), Chicken Pot Pie ($10.50), and the Pulled Pork sandwich ($6.50). Along with the entrees, there is an array of the side dishes to select from. For my first visit I ordered just a cheeseburger and instead of the typical side of fries I ordered a side of mashed potatoes and gravy just because I’m crazy about mashed potatoes and always looking for the best.

Harriet’s Kitchen is not much to look at and is really more of a take-out place since they only seat 4 and have no space. If you’re fortunate enough to live in the area you can take advantage of delivery, but I placed my order to go. What the place lacks in appearance it made up for with service. I was kindly charged a lower lunch price even with the normally more expensive mashed potato side. While my burger was being freshly grilled, I had a friendly exchange with my order-taker. Then out came my order and off I went to give it a try.

And what a burger! It was covered in melted cheese and delicious caramelized onions that were full of flavor and a perfect complement to the meat. The 8 oz burger is huge and tasty, my only complaint being I asked for medium rare and it was a little overcooked. Still it was great and I could only imagine how much more I would have enjoyed a juicer burger. It had that great taste of a burger right off the grill at home, and I dare say I enjoyed it better than Burger Joint. I still won’t declare it the best burger in the city, but it’s on the list. And if my friend’s theory is true, I look forward to returning and experiencing more of what Harriet’s Kitchen has to offer.

Harriet’s Kitchen 502 Amsterdam at 84th street
(212) 721-0045
Free delivery on orders of 8$ or more between 70th and 96th St, CPW to Hudson River
Accepts all major credit cards
Open noon until 11:00 PM Daily