Au Cheval — Restaurant in New York

This place is often lauded as the best burger in America. That’s quite a proclamation. It’s a big deal to be considered among the best in the City, let alone the entire country.

It was a rainy Friday afternoon when I walked into Au Cheval. It was busier than I expected but I only had to wait a few minutes. I didn’t have a reservation because they actually charge you $2.50 for the privilege of making the reservation, and I refuse to do that. It’s not the money, but more so the principle. But, I was alone, so it was easy to fit me in without a reservation. If you’re a large group or family you’ll probably want to make a reservation, though. To continue. I was seated at the counter, which was quite a treat. I spent a good amount of time chatting with the bartender who was right in front of me, a friendly patron seated on my left, and some out-of-town tourists on my right. I would say that the menu is pretty extensive, but there was only one reason that I was there; the legendary Au Cheval double cheeseburger. Hailing originally from Chicago, it has become a staple and go-to destination for high-end burgers here in the City for quite some time now. That wasn’t easy to do. You can’t just waltz into town and throw a ridiculous price tag on something and think that that’s enough to establish your reputation. Not here, where there are dozens of old burger joints that are well steeped in NY history.

So, I ordered the burger with the bacon and egg. If you’re going to come here for the burger, then have it as it was meant to be. I also ordered fries with garlic aioli. Then I waited and took in the scene. Good mix of people. Good music at the perfect volume, pretty engaging staff. Nice interior design. Clean bathrooms. Even a Sawada coffee kiosk. All good.

When my cheeseburger arrived I took a moment to admire it. The word ‘cheeseburger’ seemed so inadequate, so lacking in depth to properly describe such a culinary work of art. But yet that’s what it was. Aesthetics aside, how was it? I wasn’t there for lovely imagery or instagram pics. I was there to sample this legendary burger.

How was it? There’s no doubt that it’s good. Very good. Ok…seriously good. An incredible combination of unexpected flavors and textures that defy description. I could throw a bunch of cliches and buzzwords out there, but they’re meaningless because this dish challenges any preconceived notion of what a burger ‘should’ taste like. This cheeseburger is no joke, and doesn’t rest its laurels on marketing and hype. It’s legitimately a contender. In the world of New York high-end burgers, this is A player of impact. However, there are other burger joints in town that can argue the same. And then there’s the best in the country claim. I can’t say. There are too many amazing burgers to say who is singularly ‘the best’. One of the beautiful things in life is that we can debate this until the proverbial cows come home, and we can enjoy tasting amazing burger’s throughout all five boroughs and across the country. And then have fun debating it even more.

In closing. I loved my experience at Au Cheval. Quite the experience, indeed. I must mention though, that it’s a pricy venture. This ain’t Macdonald’s. If it’s a date night out. and both of you get burgers and fries, an alcohol drink or two, plus dessert, it’ll run you over $175, easy. My bill was $65, with no drinks (I just had water), and no dessert. Should a burger cost that much? Well, that depends, but that’s a topic for another day. My bottom line is a strong recommendation. Oh yes, as it’s definitely one of the greats. If you’re in the area you should check it out, as I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

I hope this review helps and that you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

Cheers, and see you at the next...

For those who like a good burger (an expensive one though), Au Cheval is definitely one location to explore. We came in for a brunch on Saturday, busy and manageable.

Other items didn’t stand out as much so my friend and I each ordered an iconic cheeseburger. My friend went with the classical combo: add egg and bacon with a side of fries.

For those who know me, I am all about little twists. I ordered a burger with lettuce 🥬 bun and a side of farmer eggs (2 sunnyside up 🍳), in a separate plate not on the burger.

I thought the lettuce bun was gonna be two gigantic leaf lettuce yet it was actually 1/4 of an ice berg lettuce. The round curvature of the lettuce is sturdy enough to keep the content together without falling apart (in the beginning) and offers a crisp, fresh taste and crunch in additional to the indulgent patties and sauces and onions and pickles.

The beef patties, each 4oz, is seared to medium by default and are juicy, flavorful, and have some luscious crust from the griddle. The melted American cheddar cheese draped over the patties and blends in the onions and the dijonnaise. The dijonnaise sauce is generously applied, and together with pickle and onions leads to a tangy, creamy, and slightly spicy kick that keeps the burger exciting. The bacons are definitely a highlight. It is thick and is almost jellylike as a sweet and smoky pork belly.

If you have the egg on top of the burger you will have a lot of chives on your egg. If you have them on the side, then they don’t come with chives. Breaking the yolk and drinking the yolk is one of my simple pleasures, let along when rated with the burger.

In the end, with only 1/5 of the burger left, the burger can no longer be held together, it slowly becomes a wedge salad for me. Yet, still fun to eat.

My friend also had the French fries, she commented the mayo sauce with the fries were super nice. Her burger had regular buns and she commented they was buttery, and was great compliment to the burger. She loved it.

We also got the cortado. I had with macadamia milk and not sweetened. It really highlights the coffee’s aroma, with good balance of velvety, chocolaty, and a slightly bitter notes.

The service was a bit underwhelming. They got my burger order wrong in the beginning by not having the lettuce bun, then they got the cortado wrong by giving us the matcha cortado rather than expresso cortado. By the way, don’t try matcha cortado with macademia milk, very off putting as the earthiness and bitterness went overboard.

I know the menu here in NYC is different than that of the Chicago (a lot cheaper there also btw), but it was definitely a sad thing to see they stopped having Foie gas scrambled eggs, which was an indulgence by itself.

Overall, it is a good experience to have. Hard to justify for regular visits due to price, but once in a while I will think about this burger and salivate over it.

Bbtw, if you are not full, definitely try their milieu feuille, looks...

I have been wanting to try a hamburger at Au Cheval for the longest time. My children got a reservation for my birthday.

Walking into the restaurant you notice a very interesting atmosphere- I think I’d call it industrial country. High ceilings, exposed iron blended with vines and greenery.

We were greeted by a smiling hostess -Sienna who checked us in and handed us off to a gentleman who sat us in a semi circular booth.

We quickly got down to the business of fooding. We ordered the General Jane’s Fried Chicken to share. It served with a side of wet wash cloths. It was amazing and the wet wash were a nice and needed touch. The sweet/tangy double fried chicken is a winner.

Next we dove into a shaved prime rib sandwich. It was also really incredible. (We shared this as well.) The beef Jus was so flavorful and took the sandwich to the highest levels of a perfect bite.

All five of us ordered the double cheese burger with thick cut bacon and the sunny side up egg. Wow- was this burger worthy of the hype. Presentation was great - see pics below. I’ve never navigated an egg on a burger before. I was thinking I should have brought a bib for this meal. Some quick instruction from our server helped a lot ! She suggested we puncture the yoke and use it as a sauce to pour over the bacon and cheese topped burger. This ended up being a much needed PRO TIP.

Once you pick this baby up you’re in for an amazing flavor journey between the buns. And it’s a commitment because once assembled and coated in yoke- you are in this till you finish or cry mercy. You cannot put it down-It’s that good ! Every bite is a wonderful combination of beef perfectly cooked to a medium pink center, cheese, bacon, egg and a blend of thinly slices of pickles, onion and a trace of white cream that make this burger a magical experience to the last bite.

The sides we ordered were French fries - fried in beef tallow and served with the most amazing garlic aioli dipping sauce. We also got the baked Mac and cheese with chunks of thick cut bacon. Both of the sides were really great.

Just when I thought I was going to throw in the towel - we got a key lime pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce on the side for the table to share.

They have a really nice sleek easy feeling bar downstairs. Pic included because it’s such a cool looking space.

The food was super excellent and the drink I tried -the Negroni was great too. I loved the whole experience at Au Cheval and I will be back to run the same menu choices again for sure. The food is the draw but the staff - hostess -Sienna, and our servers were all above and beyond nice and excellent at their jobs- you can tell they love working at Au Cheval. Thanks for a...