Brazenhead - Grandview

Last week, as I was walking with a friend into the doors of Brazenhead on 5th Avenue a huge chunk of icy snow the size of Texas fell off the roof, missing my head by a hair, literally. This close-to-tragic event didn’t stop me from reviewing the Brazenhead burger with John and Jerry, although I did closely eyeball the roof for falling ice bricks before walking through the door.

Brazenhead is “seat yourself”, which is kind of a pain when it’s crowded (which it always is). This means that you have to wander around the two-story establishment for a table, pushing past people crowded around the bar. The atmosphere is loud and the service is slow, but the food really makes up for it.

We had 5 burger options, all of them classic burgers with a unique twist. I ordered the Schlow Burger (horseradish sauce and crispy onion topping). John got the Blackened Burger (with Siracha sauce) and Jerry ordered the Peppercorn Burger. For around $8 each, the burgers are served with chips and their signature Tabasco coleslaw. Ask for the garlic dipping sauce if you go. It’s amazing, and dare I say life-changing. Following is our assessment of the Brazenhead burger experience (5-point scale).

The Patty: Upon receiving his burger, Jerry lifted up the bun to reveal grill marks, and we all salivated at the thought that these burgers were cooked just right. Then we bit into them. The patty had a remarkable grill flavor and was nicely charred in all the right spots. The patty on this baby came right off the grill. The smoky, just-grilled-flavor brings back memories of summertime, a satisfying comfort when several feet of snow awaits you outside the doors. The patty comes made-to-order and no seasoning is necessary to flavor it. This patty relies solely on good quality meat and the grill for its flavor. Score: 4

The Toppings: No side spear here, but several small pickle slices were served on the side along with traditional toppings, including lettuce, tomato and red onion. The lettuce was perfect, nice, deep green; no iceberg lettuce on this burger. The onions and tomatoes were fresh, bright and flavorful. John and I loved the toppings. John said, “The toppings really compliment the burger patty and they don’t overwhelm it like a lot of the other burgers we have seen.” Jerry had a dissenting opinion on the toppings. He said, “I wasn’t really all that impressed with the toppings. I got one pickle slice that was about the size of a thumb tack. That was ridiculous. In fact, I got ripped off big time on the pickle, which makes me downgrade my topping rating.” He also commented that:”The sauce was only spread on half the bun. Someone did not take care to ensure that I got even distribution of sauces on my burger.” Score: 3.58

The Bun: When flipped over, you see that this bun was toasted ‘till golden. It’s a fresh buttery, sesame seed bun. The thing that I like most about this bun is that it didn’t just have a symbolic sprinkle of seeds on top. No, no. It had a generous covering of sesame seeds, some which even spilled over to the bottom half of the bun. I believe that is safe to say that these buns are not mass manufactured. John said that the bun is, “sturdy and holds up well.” Score: 3.75

Overall Burger Experience: I usually drown my burgers in ketchup. However, I did not want to jeopardize this wonderfully pure, damn good burger experience by disguising it with a high fructose corn syrup and concentrated tomato “sauce”. You can tell that a lot of care and thought has gone into constructing this burger. John said, “The Brazenhead burger is not elaborate. It is just a good, overall basic burger with a lovely twist.” He went on to say, “It is the first real burger we had. It’s not trying to do too much, they just keep it simple and it is not relying on a sauce for the flavor.” Jerry chimed in with: “In sum, it is a restaurant-quality burger that gets the job done.” Overall Score: 3.78