POP Burger

This past Friday some friends from work and I ended up inebriated and hungry in the West Village, craving greasy food and additional alcohol (having just left from a 3 hour long company happy hour). While we deeply contemplated street hot dogs, (which I'm not ashamed to say I ate half of while waiting for my coworkers to make a decision) to my excitement, we decided to go to POP Burger!

POP Burger is known for its all hours menu of slightly gourmet burgers and other similar types of food (though before I went there really all I knew it for was its sliders).

We went straight for the lounge area, pushing past the counter, and somehow one of my coworkers ended up getting us a table for 11. Upon being seating, my friends pushed me to order the requisite namesake of the establishment, which I did. While waiting for our food we all grooved to the wide assortment of music (Estelle's American Boy and various 80's pop come to mind) and tried not to get jostled by the large groups walking by our table.

The food arrived and honestly, everything was good. Not amazing, but good. This may be due to the fact that I was on drink #5 but nonetheless....good. The sliders came on brioche buns and had all the necessary condiments and toppings (cheese, onions, ketchup, tomato, lettuce) and really 3 was more than enough. For $15, not the best burger deal in town but it hit the spot. They could have been more flavorful from a meat standpoint, as the bun and condiments were driving more of the overall flavor than the actual burger patties. My rum and coke ($10) was more like rum on the rocks, so not as easy to slurp down (though I did try).

Surprisingly other highlights of the meal included the chicken caesar salad, which had a not as creamy, more peppery dressing and a solid amount of moist chicken breast, and the french fries which had a slightly sweet, very crunchy batter.

So with solid food, a fun atmosphere (including a pool table in the back of the lounge), and a very crowded venue even at 1am on a Friday night, POP Burger is worth checking out, though maybe not the best bargain if you're starving. I definitely intend to go back again to try more of the menu.

Overall, a solid 2 out of 3 JAMs