Tuning Up For A Good Burger
The Burger Garage
25-36 Jackson Ave., Long Island City
(718) 392-0424
www.theburgergarage.com
CUISINE: Burgers
CREDIT CARD: Yes
DELIVERY: Yes
After 14 years as a vegetarian, my girlfriend recently decided to start eating meat again. Since that decision, she has been making up for lost time rediscovering some past favorites: steak, chicken, bacon and burgers. Especially burgers. In the last month, she’s been on the lookout for burger places all over the borough.
One place caught her eye early. Located right by the new CUNY School of Law building in Long Island City, the Burger Garage seemed like the perfect place for a quick lunch.
While not actually a converted garage, the Burger Garage has the feel of a 1950s burger joint, with diner seating along with a row of booths. According to the restaurant’s website, the Burger Garage is striving for the feel of a time when families would pull up to a place for a burger after catching up with neighbors and friends. The experience is one well worth having.
The menu isn’t exactly extensive – burgers, dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches – but we weren’t looking for anything fancy.
My girlfriend ordered the B.G. Burger, served with all the fixings – American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and The B.G. Sauce. I decided to go a little more basic – a bacon cheeseburger with caramelized onions. We decided to split an order of Idaho potato fries, although I was tempted to try the fried onion strings.
Once our order came, very quickly after we placed it, we were happy with our decision to split the fries. The side order was big enough to satisfy both of us and still have a little left over. The burgers, made with 100 percent Black Angus beef, hit the spot perfectly for a quick lunch.
We’ll be putting the Burger Garage in the regular rotation of places to go for a good bite to eat in Queens from now on. Next time, though, I think we’ll bring some friends to sit and stay a while. The dessert menu, complete with ice cream, shakes and brownies, look pretty tempting. And with the atmosphere at the joint, hanging out to have a shake seems like the perfect topper to the burgers and fries.
- Steven J. Ferrari