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Categories: Burgers, American (Traditional) [Edit]
Neighborhood: Financial DistrictFulton St-Broadway-Nassau (2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, M, Z)
World Trade Ctr-Park Pl (2, 3, A, C, E)
City Hall-Broadway (R, W)
"By far the best burger I've ever had. That soft bun is unbeatable, and meat is about an inch thick. and the fries are incredible. As for…" read more »
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Oh yeah, bring on the sliders, baby!
The plan for lunch today was to eat lite. Seeing as how I have dinner plans with some friends to eat fried chicken, I thought I'd just simply get a small soup or a fruit shake. That did not happen. My coworker asked me, "Jen, think I can convince you get Z burger today?" and without any arm twisting whatsoever (shame on me), I caved in immediately and said, "I'm in" ---- I figured, I could order something lite off their menu and not feel guilty about it. Also, it has literally been months since we first passed by Zaitzeff and said we would one day try it out. Today was that day, so how could I refuse?
I ordered the sirloin sliders (three mini burgers served with cheddar cheese and grilled onions on mini Portuguese muffins), and we split an order of the mixed fries (Idaho & sweet potato). This was an incredible selection. My sliders, cute and compact, packed such a punch. The sharp cheddar was nicely offset by the grilled onions which added an element of sweetness, coupled with the meaty and tender sirloin, it was heaven in a bite! The Portuguese mini muffins made such an impression and difference and that soft texture was such a pleasant compliment to the juicy burger. I only ate one slider, so I don't feel so gross, but these will definitely fill you up and they are quite delicious!
We grabbed our lunch to go, but while waiting for our food (less than 5 minutes since we called and placed our orders ahead of time), I noticed the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere of Zaitzeff. There's an incredibly vast assortment of beers (from Magic Hat, to Sierra Nevada, and I think one was called Old Dog-something.. seemed interesting). The Jackson Pollock-like wall mural also contributed to a chill and non-fussy vibe.
Z is an overall delight, and I am definitely looking forward to lunching here in the future. I see they have veggie burgers and I am apt to try it.
You can't put a price on a great burger, but with Zaitzeff's help we can estimate it to be in ~$10 range. For those of us who wouldn't touch a bar's grease with a 10-foot pole and would find $30 for "21" ridiculous, Z's kobe beef burger provides a balanced alternative in health and quality.
I had to try their $14 chicken sandwich just to see what it is all about... it is good but not $14-good
Zaitzeff has been on my to go list for a while. Mainly because I go to school right down the street from there and have always wanted to see what's the rave about Kobe beef. Their Kobe beef burger was delicious. I kept it simple and just had cheese and some ketchup and a bit of mayo that it didn't really need. It was served on an English muffin, that's pretty cool. It was possibly the most flavorful, most juciest, most delicious burger I've ever had. Question is just how much are you willing to pay for a burger? Well my delicious, juicy, send me to heaven burger cost about $10; and that's just for the burger. Want a drink? Make that about $11-12. It undoubtedly trumps a whopper or a big mac. In fact it's quite the overkill. Is it really worth about $12 for a burger meal when McD and BK can give you a burger meal for around $6. That's for you yelpers to decide.
All in all this is undoubtedly a very good burger. And before I forget the service was superb too. It's just not one of those places I'd be a regular at. Otherwise it'd definitely be sending my wallet to heaven.
Zee burgers are coming!
Posted on my blog 6/22/09:
Today we ventured to a lesser-known name in burgers --- Zaitzeff. Geil! Well, its not actually German, that I am aware of, but they make a pretty good burger. Everything seemed really fresh and the burger comes on an English muffin, which is always a crowd pleaser. Toppings are a little expensive. The burger was slightly greasy as well. This was not the prototypical big-name burger joint --- but it was a good place for a quick lunch. I would go back again, naturally after trying a bunch of other places first.
Their burgers are great! the prices are a little too high though... I would go far more often if a burger would be 2$ less
I ordered Zaitzeff through seamless web, and I don't know if it was because it was delivered, but the burger really was not good. It wasn't the worst burger I have ever had, but it definitely was below average.
I ordered the mix of sweet potato fries and regular fries, and neither were that good. Both were rather soggy. Same thing with the burger - soggy. The delivery guy was rude, also.
When I'm feeling like a good burger downtown, I just stick with Burger Burger.
My hotel was around the corner from this place so I decided to give it a try. I ordered a kobe beef burger which was amazing. Being 9.25 I assumed I was getting a meal but no it was just for the burger. Price aside the staff was nice and I had a good experience. Ive went twice so far
Got a burger to go as I was busy at work. The burger here is served in a metal free pint sized take out container. The fries are packed in a similar fashion. The fries are fresh cut with peel at the ends. Quite oily but definitely quality fries, not frozen shoestrings a la Burger Joint. The bun has a sweet aftertaste, kinda like potato bread but not as soft in consistency. If you like your burger super soft then you'll be a fan of this place. Personally I prefer mine denser and chewier. The Spotted Pig's burger blows this out of the water, no contest. Considering it is in a downtown location with rat poison caliber food, this was one of my better experiences, I must say. Given a choice, at the same price point, I'd still prefer 2 burgers from Blarney Stone (around the corner) over this as I'd prob actually get full from them.
Total came out to $13 after everything
Pics: http://www.meetup.com/...
Disappointing.
I had a veggie burger, and it was just not good. The patty itself was pretty greasy. They grilled it, along with the bun, and brushed them with MORE oil. This overdose of oil led to a very slippery sandwich, and the little dinky slice of tomato and 2 scraps of iceberg lettuce had a really hard time staying in the sandwich. They eventually gave up.
I would venture to guess that the food here is much more notable for meat-eaters. But alas, I am not one of them!
I hear the fries are good, and the location is convenient. I might go back if I am with a burger-loving friend, but otherwise, probably not.
I do really like Zaitzeff. I didnt even realize there was one two blocks from where I live until I got on Yelp. I tried the one downtown in the Financial District for lunch, and was pleasantly surprised. These burgers are damn good. I really enjoyed their Kobe Burger - no it's just not a name. It's a reality. That big "junk" of meat is amazing, no matter what you say.
And their fries. I'm in love with the mixed fries of regular and sweet potato. Glorious.
I only dock it a star because it's too damn expensive. I don't want to be paying close to $20 for a casual lunch near work. Despite that, the tastiness of the burger is worth the nearly $10 it costs. Yummaay.
Talking about movies is kind of like talking about restaurants.
You can't convey the entire story - although, at times I really do try on some of my more verbose reviews - but you try to pinpoint certain emotions and sentiments from the experience.
Then there's the numbers game: How many blah out of an x number of blah?
And ultimately The Call: Did you like it?
After that - and therefore perhaps displacing The Call from the "ultimate" seat - something of an epilogue: Do you recommend it?
The Epilogue is harder to execute properly since it's a difficult mathematical equation of multiple variables that are not entirely quantifiable. Completely different from counting the number of roses and evaluating the depth of color to determine the exact level of commitment and love your boyfriend has for you.
I should also add that when expectations are high, you've already unfairly setup the movie/restaurant to be judged on a more critical scale.
Having said all that, I should just point you to Ahu S.'s succinct statement which completely encapsulates my Zaitzeff experience: "Disappointing."
Good burgers - NOT great. Slightly disappointing and a bit overpriced. If you want a GREAT burger in the financial district, walk a few blocks down to BURGER BURGER. Now that is a great burger !
I was jonezing for a burger. And looking for a burger joint in the financial district. There is Pop Burger, but that was just a big disappointment. So I went onto Yelp to see if there was another burger place in the area. After hearing my fellow yelpers praise, I stroll down to Nassau street and ordered a medium rare burger. First off it was cooked correctly. The burger was mighty tasty. The bun was perfect. And it was a damn good burger. Service was quick. It also seems to attract the financial district clientele. But what do you expect when the average meal at this joint is about $13.
Zaitzeff is practically the only decent place to eat in the Financial District.
I usually order the same thing: Kobe beef burger, medium rare, with a side of "mixed fries" (regular and sweet potato fries mixed together). Though the fries are usually greasier than my crotch, the burger is heaven on earth. They serve it on a Portuguese engilsh muffin type bread with caramelized onions, lettuce, and tomato. It is by far the best one in the area.
I've been told the breakfast is awesome as well, but have yet to check it out.
REALLY GOOD BURGERS! Just not so estatic when it comes to the price-food ratio. But putting cost aside, Zaitzeff is a blessing for those of us in the Financial district.
1. You can order online and by the time you get there, your burger is ready for pick-up and to be consumed.
2. Really good fries (I love the mixed fries - regular and sweet potato!)
3. Really juicy burgers (I've had really bad turkey burgers. Good thing Zaitzeff doesn't make those).
4. Smell. I have smelled Wendy's. I have smelled McDonald's. I have even smelled Burger King. But they really, REALLY need to bottle up the smell from inside of Zaitzeff and sell it 'cause nothing makes a boy weak at his knees like the ambrosia that emulates from a good grilled piece of meat.
Pretty good burgers. I had the 3 sliders for $13. Juicy and the bread was good as well. Place is tiny and has communal tables which I hate, because I am antisocial when I eat, nevertheless the food is deserving of some credit.
I ordered here from Seamlessweb. Somehow, Seamlessweb seems to have a way of magically making every restaurant take 2 hours to deliver my meal, but the delay isn't because they're slow transmitting the order or anything.
In this case, I called up Zaitzeff after 45 minutes, and was like where is the my food? They apologized and were like we're really sorry, there's this PROBLEM, a problem with the THING you see. They were trying to explain it to me, but I was just like uhhhh okay. Clearly my food can't be delivered if there's a problem with the thing.
Another 30 minutes passes, and still no sign of my food. The girl who answers explains, you see, the problem is that we got this order from your building at the beginning of the night, but due a problem with that order, this created a huge backlog, and then they suddenly got a flood of orders after that. I have no idea what that means, but on the plus side she did offer to credit me for my trouble. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for good customer service, even if it's to compensate for bad customer service. So I actually had a pretty open mind when my food finally arrived.
Unfortunately for them though, an open mind doesn't help much when the food just isn't very good.
I had the regular fries. They tasted like fries that are healthy, or at least somewhat less bad for you. A chef cannot serve two masters, and in health food, flavor is the one to give.
I then turned my attention to the Kobe beef burger, with bacon and aged white cheddar. That sounds awesome right? While the wait for the delivery was dragging on, it certainly sounded like the Second Coming to me. I was starving when it came, but somehow it still managed to let me down. I think there just wasn't enough salt in it. The onions were inedibly tough, I think they included the outside skin. I will give them that the aged white cheddar was pretty fantastic. Overall though, it was just bland and unimpressive (but with good cheese).
Lastly, the mixed salad with the salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar dressing. This was actually......pretty good. It tastes exactly like the smell that hits you when walking into a high-end produce market. A very good variety of greens, producing a very herbal tasting salad. The flavors of the herbs actually kind of dominated over the dressing. It wasn't exactly what I was in the mood for, maybe something I'm never really in the mood for to be honest, but I can't say that it was bad.
I'm very disappointed on the Kobe burger (aka meat burger) which $9.75 (including tax). It is that good, the answer is "NO." and I ate better burger than that with less price at mid-town or southwest area.
It is a big junk of meat. Is it that juicy and tasty which depend on your mood of that date and your personal experience.
For me, not recommend to go. Just too much for a burger.
Again, "kobe" burger is just a name to get your attention!
Best burger I've tried in the city. The menu is simple--kobe or sirloin, quarter or half pound, sourdough roll or portuguese muffin, the default and only cheese is melted white cheddar--but the combination of quality meat cooked to your specifications right in front of you on a fresh alternative to the ubiquitous standard white hamburger bun with just the right amount of sharp cheddar, crunchy lettuce, and perfectly ripe tomato constitutes burger nirvana. The fresh cut idaho or sweet potato fries are reminiscent of boardwalk fries and are great for sharing. A recent addition to their menu is wine. The only downside is the wait since it is a tiny place and everything is made to order, but the wait is well worth it.
This place has great burgers! Kobe beef burgers no less! Their food is organic and is amazingly good. The burgers are made on spot, cooked to perfection on a lovely bun. They have organic sodas as well as beers like cornas and general sodas like coke. The fries are amazing and worth trying.
the inside is small, long wooden tables and chairs, gives it a old western type feel. the large mural on the wall is abstract and colorful. But the place over all is a rare find. organic food? organic burgers? that taste good? nowai! Way! Plus the staff is friendly and nice, and remembers regulars.
Very cute, very little. Big food! I'm a veggie, I went with two meaties ... we were all very satisfied.
The veggies burgers are incredible!!! The rolls look like English Muffins, but are so much better. The VB came with avocado and cheese, note if you don't want either when you order.
The meaties LOVED their burgers.
We got both the regular and sweet potato fries, the regular fries were outstanding, one order is definitely enough to share with 2-3 people.
Try to go early or late because it gets crowded!
I just tried Zaitzeff for the first time at lunch. Holy smokes, when did hamburgers get so damn good? I think I've just entered burger heaven. I tried the $9.25 1/4 lb kobe beef burger layered with lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and avocado (for $1.25 extra). I'm usually a huge fan of sweet potato fries but Zaizeff's high priced $5 per order of them weren't as impressive as the burgers. It was still an amazing lunch and now I'm struck with after lunch food coma. Yikes!
Offers, among other things, multiple sandwiches on strange-looking but delicious hamburger buns. Reasonably good burgers for around $10 (accounting for fixings). But I'd be very surprised if the burger advertised as "Kobe beef" wasn't actually Waygu (= not shipped here from Japan). A semantic difference, perhaps, but one that may matter to the foodies who'd be drawn here in the first place.
The long, unfinished, wooden tables are an unexpected bonus at this small lunch place.
I love this place. The most amazing people work here. Emina, Zach's mother, is the most kind-hearted, down-to-earth woman. And Zach painted the large, Pollack-esque painting on the wall. Nice, large country dining tables for a cozy atmosphere. Practically everything's organic, down to the ketchup.. unfortunately it explains the sometimes steep prices.
Breakfast wasn't really mentioned as of yet-- so here it is: amazing. I usually get the oatmeal, but I also highly recommend the avocado and egg sandwich.
Know before you go that it ain't cheap. Also know that you should go, because the fries are so freakin' good. I get the excellent veggie burger which comes topped with white cheddar, avocado, lettuce and tomato on a portuguese bun.
You can order regular fries or sweet potato fries or a mix of the two. I like the regular, fresh fried in a little batch in front of you. They will run you $5.
For the sandwich and fries, $15, but you'll be full, and well at least it's organic. They even have organic ketchup (made by Heinz).
Delivery is fast and free, and you can order online at http://seamlessweb.com.
Talking about expensive burgers... I was walking down to John Street to buy some rainbow cookies from Evelyns chocolate til I spot burger joint.
I went in and order a 1/2 pound burger and one of their organic soda. The burgers were good, but damn I have spent like around $25 dollars on a 1/2 pound burger w/ fries and a drink....
Regardless how expensive the burgers were the meal was so worth the money. Burgers were marinated right, and the fries were very crunchy.
I would dine here again when I have extra cash in my pocket. lol
cute little place! I usually go for a turkey burger and fries. the fries are very tasty, although they can be a little soggy sometimes, and they turkey burger is generally quite good - it's server on a portugese english muffin which is a nice touch. I've had the kobe beef burger before and I can't say that it's any better than a regular burger, maybe a little juicier? but really if you're eating kobe beef, do you really want it in the form of a burger??
Great burgers and delicious fries. A bit on the pricey side, and can get sort of crowded during lunch time. Otherwise, the best burger in the neighborhood, hands down.
When I am sick -- flu, cold, etc. -- I crave two things: Buffalo wings and hamburgers. I generally cannot eat the buffalo wings and so I tend to order a burger. I'm relatively new to the Financial District and so I searched Yelp and a few other places and stumbled on Zaitzeff. First things first, on-line ordering! It makes it easy and they estimate time of delivery which is nice (they were actually about 20 minutes earlier than they said). The burger was...well, it was a burger. I had sauteed onions, lettuce and tomatoes and it made it more interesting but it wasn't really anything to call home about. The fries on the other hand were delicious and I'd get them again. All in all, it made for a good, quick delivery meal and I would definitely have it again, if nothing for the for the convenience of on-line ordering.
I think the burgers are yummy even if they are a bit greasy. I've had pretty much every burger on the menu (thanks to work ordering).
What I love about tis place is the mixed salad - it has a great selection of mixed greens, avocado (in the large) red peppers, radish, herbs (dill & parsley), green onions, broccoli, cauliflower, baby tomatoes. in an olive oil balsamic mix which is always lightly dressed. Of all places that i have traveled, this has got to be the best mixed salad I have had ever. $4 for the small, $8 for the large.
5pm-7pm Monday - Friday
Neighborhood: Financial District
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