Not Much Poppin at Pop Burger

Guest Post by Mari Abe, Downtown Correspondent

From the hip-hop beats blaring from the speakers to Andy Warhol’s Campbell soup reprints on the wall, Pop Burger is the sort of establishment that you can only find in New York. From the modern facade, Pop Burger looks more like a club than a burger joint and I later found out that’s also what it is. In addition to the counter service area downstairs, the second and third floor of the place is a lounge with a DJ and pool table to boot.

Pop Burger’s main staple is the slider, the mini version of the classic hamburger. After hearing some solid reviews, I was excited to try these bite-sized wonders. I ordered a pop burger with cheese, a side of fries and a coke for $12, acceptable given New York standards and the eatery’s posh location off 5th Ave near the Apple Store and Bergdorfs. As expected, two adorable sliders were packaged neatly inside a cute little paper box. At first glance, I was in love.

But first impressions quickly changed with my first bite. The biggest problem was that the bread was hard and stale. So much so, that although the meat to bread ratio was not bad, it felt like there was way too much bread. The burger had a tangy sauce (a sort of hybrid Thousand Island dressing) but the patty itself was rather dry and tasteless. It was also served with a slice of tomato and shreds of lettuce so thin that it was indistinguishable in taste and texture. While the burger was disappointing, the fries were well seasoned and crispy.

But in the end, Pop Burger was a flop for me. I can see how this is a cool place to hang out, but I felt unsatisfied and jipped after my Pop Burger experience – the way you’d feel if you paid $20 cover to get into a club in meatpacking (pun intended) only to find that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.