Paul's Da Burger Joint — Restaurant in New York

Paul's has been on my list for a long time now. From the outside looking in, it looks divey. From the inside, it still looks divey. It's one of those situations where looks can be deceiving. You wouldn't think that this place would serve such great burgers. But then again, it's always the holes in the wall serving up the good eats.

A friend and I came in on a Tuesday night at 6 pm. The place was empty, save for two other tables dining. I was so hungry so I'm glad we both looked at the menu beforehand and decided what we wanted.

I went with the blue cheeseburger, which is a burger topped with...you guessed it - bleu cheese! I added bacon of course because come on...it's bacon. I like my burgers medium rare but this one seemed to be more on the medium side. That's usually a burger pet peeve of mine but even at medium, the burger was still great, so I can't really complain. Plus, the portion is big - it's probably at least twice the size of a Shake Shack patty. It does get quite messy though so you might not want to bring a first or second date here. Third is okay because by then, if the person cannot handle your messy burger eating habits, then it's time to say goodbye anyway!

My friend had the St. Mark's burger, which is a cheeseburger topped with mushrooms and fried onions. That thing was smothered in mushrooms. I couldn't even see where the burger started. She seemed to like it though.

We also had some curly cheese fries to share. I think I would have preferred plain curly fries because the cheese cooled off super quickly, making it kind of hard to eat.

I wonder who this Paul person is. I would like to meet him and tell him that his joint serves some pretty great burgers. And that anyone named Paul is cool in my book (though I might be biased on that one since my dad's name is Paul too). I'll definitely be back for some more burgers and to try...

I spent a lot of time in this area in college, walking past Paul's dozens of times. It looks like some place only older guys who have been in the neighborhood for a long time would go to. Fast forward a few years, and I am now a slightly older guy who happens to be in the neighborhood with a friend of mine. We want some good, greasy food. Wait a minute, there's Paul's! Coming in, it looks like a burger shack with the food cooked at a bar in the front. Checkered tablecloths, random signs, and sassy waitresses complete the motif. Service was good and very down to earth as you could expect, and the place was packed with tables turning over and being filled quickly. I'm all for a scene if the food measures up; luckily that was the case here.

I got a blue cheeseburger with fried onions, which was a good choice. The meat was cooked properly, juicy, and flavorful. The bun was just alright but absorbed the burger juices well. The toppings were high quality and were applied with a heavy hand. While this technically wasn't the greatest burger ever from a haute cuisine perspective, it was well made and it hit the spot. The fries it came with were extra crisp and plentiful. Pickles I remember being particularly good. This plate of food was exactly what I needed--an unpretentious, homemade American meal.

In a neighborhood that has long since been taken over by places catering to yuppies, hipsters, and the like, Paul's is one of the last holdouts. I didn't expect to like the place as much as I did. If I lived nearby, I would be a regular. I'm sorry I dismissed it for so long, and while I am not in the East Village as much as I used to be, Paul's is permanently on my radar. It's a matter of time...

I ordered a medium burger and it came out well done. It would have been medium had the cook not domed my burger. The white bread was completely unspectacular and the mushrooms were under cooked by a lot. The "fried onions" were merely sauteed on a flatop for a couple minutes.When I first walked in I noticed the complete dirtiness of the entire place. The bathrooms were nasty and the cooks were very rude when I arrived. As a cook myself I can deal with rude cooks and overcooked food because i know mistakes happen. Had it been just these problems I would have given a 3 star rating. However, the server on at the time named Tony was completely unprofessional. He was absolutely the worst, rudest, inattentive, and disrespectful (I am being completely serious) servers I have ever had. Thinking back on it I should not have tipped Tony at all. I felt like i was not welcome in the "restaurant" (more like a crap hole) from the second I stepped in. I am always very respectful to others and even so I was shown nothing but disrespect. If I could I would mark 0 stars. Sadly that is not an option. Whoever owns Pauls needs to get rid of Tony and clean up the walls in the dinning space around the tables. Honestly I give 0 of out 5 stars and cannot express the poor service everybody there at the time had. Because I know it wasn't just me who had a bad experience while i was there.

And in case you're wondering, the burger tasted bad. As in not good at all. As in that how you'd expect a child to make. If you have had a Five Guys burger and assume that those are good, not great, but good you can believe me when i say a Pauls burger...