I’m never at a loss for a good burger in the city, and of course I have my favorites that I return to time after time. So when new places open up, if they aren’t immediately super-interesting, or at least super-convenient, I let them fall off my radar.
Such is the case with Fresh N Fast Burgers, which opened over a year and a half ago on East 23rd Street, just off Park Avenue. I don’t find myself in the Flatiron area all that often any more, so I live with missing out on food “happenings” in that area.
That’s where Groupon comes in. A modest push in the right direction — $5 to get $10 worth of the Fresh N Fast menu — led me to an after-work excursion in the wrong direction to check them out.
In case the outside color scheme didn’t tip you off… yeah, this is pretty much exactly what an In-N-Out menu looks like, down to the font. With New York prices, naturally.
Armed with my Groupon, I definitely overordered. In addition to the classic cheeseburger, those would be cheese fries and a chocolate shake. And for kicks, a grilled cheese, which I don’t remember seeing on the In-N-Out in-store menu, but is definitely available (on the “secret” menu, if it isn’t listed at the counter).
First up, the grilled cheese, which is of course a cheeseburger without the burger. I added grilled onions to it, and were they ever added for my fifty cents. The bun doesn’t make for a great bread substitute — it’s too sweet, too chewy for a sandwich without meat to balance, but it was all right. It seemed like there was way too much cheese, but that could just have been the temperature by the time I started eating; the American cheese was solidifying fairly rapidly. For $3.49, it’s a worthwhile experience once in a while.
Our star, the cheeseburger. Normally I’d get a double, but I felt like trying the F&F in its purest form first. Standard toppings include lettuce, tomato and the special sauce, with grilled onions added once again.
First bite, and yes, it’s got a lot in common with In-N-Out from what I could recall of my last trip West. A thick char to puncture, into a well-seasoned patty, cooked easily medium-well. It wasn’t at all dry or crumbly. The tomato provided a nice sweetness, and I’m glad ketchup appeared nowhere near the burger. The sauce, sort of a mustard-mayo, provided a little bite as well. The bun held up, but it’s rather chewy and on the sweet side, though that toasted surface needs to be on every burger bun.
The french fries are almost certainly not created fresh from potatoes at Fresh & Fast, unlike its West coast idol. These looked to be recently frozen. No matter, as they tasted fine. However, the cheese sauce? Fail. Big, honking fail. While I understand that the cheese sauce isn’t exactly 100% cheese, it came out mostly congealed and not liquid, and was just… squirted on there. It tasted terrible as well, and I eventually just ate around the cheesy fries and enjoyed the well-cooked naked fries. Do yourself a favor and avoid the fifty-cent add-on.
Normally I’d just get a soda or lemonade, but, you know, Groupon. So chocolate shake it was. I liked this a lot — it didn’t taste like bad chocolate flavoring, and it had some creaminess to it. Fries dipped in it came out improved, too, a hallmark for any milkshake.
All this food, with tax, cost under $16.00. For what I ate, that’s a pretty good price. I definitely had some letdowns, but overall, it’s an interesting restaurant. Service was friendly, but since the food is made to order it’ll take close to ten minutes to receive and enjoy. For the most part, it’s worth the wait, and I’ll be back. Maybe next time I’ll ask for a Double-Double Animal Style, and see what they do.
T.C. says
It sounds like the burger and shake are worth trying though. That cheese blob looks terrible.
CheeeeEEEEse says
I resent this statement. That said, the burger looks good. I’m rarely this far south east, but I’ll def get around to getting a single cheeseburger when I do.
T.C. says
Cheesey mayo glop?
Connie says
First look at the menu pic I thought…IN-N-OUT knockoff! The burger looks pretty good–the patty looks thick and meaty, and I like the fact that the buns are toasted on the cut sides. That does seem like a lot of cheese and the onions a bit pale for grilled. Are those prices in tune with other similar burger joints in New York? And to think I complain that the prices were recently increased at In-N-Out.
BeerBoor says
Yeah, I think “grilled” meant “sauteed for a bit”. But the prices are fairly normal – Shake Shack, by way of example, would cost about the same for these items, but the fries would be decidedly inferior (ignoring the cheese), the shake decidedly superior, and the burger superior, but not ridiculously so, as well. It’s cheaper than, say, a Five Guys here, for better overall food.
alyssa says
I think theres a grilled cheese on in n outs secret menu
Def nyc prices. In n out is still affordable, i thimk u can still get two value double doubles for under 16$
Feisty Foodie says
Probably stare at you blankly? I think I have a photo of the In & Out menu, if you want to post it for comparison (I don’t know if it’s in any post I have… In & Out is hard to search on my site).
PS Despite the cheese fail, those look better than the In & Out fries, which offend me greatly. Someone told me it’s because they use fresh potatoes; yeah so does Five Guys and their french fries don’t SUCK HARD. 😛
Feisty Foodie says
http://feistyfoodie.com/2008/10/08/sf-2k8-day-two-dinner-in-n-out/
Feisty Foodie says
Sorry, I hit submit without fully checking the post. That’s the visit I took the photo during, but I didn’t post it… will send it to you instead.
Feisty Foodie says
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oeWLbt7pMbc/TjcAjK6MZAI/AAAAAAAADf0/UTW-l91WMUc/s800/IMG_4731.JPG
BeerBoor says
Silly Websense doesn’t like your photo host, but curious readers can compare.
I like the In-N-Out fries just fine. They’re fresh made — the restaurant has a contraption into which one loads a potato and pulls the lever down, slicing that potato into ready-to-fry french fry shapes. I prefer the F&F fries, but either is worlds better than Shake Shack’s, a mere block away.
Feisty Foodie says
Since I don’t mind Ore-Ida crinkle cuts, Shake Shack’s are fine by me, though 9 times out of 10 I’ll opt out of ordering fries (or just eat a few from someone else’s order) and save my calories for a concrete or frozen custard. I really.really.REALLY hate In & Out fries. They taste like chalk to me. I haven’t been to In & Out since 2008, because it holds little to no interest for me (so much other food to eat when I’m in CA!), but I know that’s their signature, as I write in my post to which I linked: it’s a taste I’d rather not acquire (the fries).
In any case, fries don’t make or break a burger place for me, so this is all moot. I have been known to happily eat a burger from Shake Shack and then enjoy a brisk walk to Pommes Frites on 2nd for good frites.
Hungry says
I just went recently too with a Groupon in hand. I thought the burger was fine and was satisfied by it. The fries suffered from the subway ride back to the office so I can’t really judge them. And speaking of fries, I think McDonald’s makes solid fries.
BeerBoor says
I had no idea you went during the day! I wish travel was an option for me. That’s a pretty good cheeseburger, especially starting at just $4.
McDonald’s certainly makes solid fries – they’ve got the deep-frying down to a science, and aside from removing beef from the oil, they don’t mess with the process, unlike competitors. That’s saying something.
CheeeeEEEEse says
4.50. The grilled onions look necessary.