c/o Gothamist

160 Havemeyer St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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347.725.3837

Cuisine: American/Burgers
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: Cheap
Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-10pm; Sat-Sun, 9am-10pm
Booze: None
Subway: J,M,Z to Marcy Ave., L to Lorimer Street

Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
Gothamist says:

This burger-obsessed town got another meaty addition last week when Blue Collar, a small burger-and-dog shop, opened on Havemeyer Street. The restaurant comes from Gavin Compton and Jeff Slagg, the fellas behind Miller’s Tavern, but you won’t find any Duck Rillettes or artisanal cheeses plates here. Their new venture harkens back to the roadside burger shacks of yore, with a kind of “keep it simple, stupid” menu of well-prepared comfort foods.Burgers ($4) get a nice sear on the flat top before being topped with the requisite raw veggies and a special sauce, with the option to add to cheese or an additional patty if you’re into that kind of thing. And while it’s difficult to talk about bargain burgers in this town without thinking of that little empire starter over in Madison Square Park, the comparison here is well-deserved, as Blue Collar griddles up tender, juicy burgers to rival any available around town. The menu rounds out with an all-beef hot dog served up with tangy kraut ($2.75) and fries that ($2.25/$3/25) come generously salt and peppered, with cheese and/or chili additions available for a few pennies more. The classic milkshake gets a turn in the blender with flavor options spanning from vanilla and chocolate to peanut butter and cookies & cream. And rest easy, boozehounds: a beer and wine list is currently in the works.

When all’s said and done, nothing on the menu costs more than $6.25, and for that, our wallets and bellies are eternally grateful.

The Village Voice says:

Though I can’t say I’m crazy about the name, I stopped in for a cheeseburger at Blue Collar, the new burger joint in Williamsburg from the Miller’s Tavern team.

It may not look it, but this was a very fine fast food-style cheeseburger ($4.75). You know the kind: squishy and satisfying. With its thin, tender patty, browned on the edges, crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, and special sauce, it’s reminiscent of an In-N-Out, right down to the way it’s packed up to go in a paper box. I also tried a side of skinny, pale fries ($2.25), which were not so impressive, though I do know French fry-lovers who dig them exactly like this.

Which brings me to this question: does anyone love the burger *and* the fries at the same spot? Gchatting about burgers and fries late into the night, it seems like a lot of people have one favorite spot for burgers and then a different one for fries…

Crown Victoria

60 South 2nd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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917.719.6072

Diner

85 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.486.3077

Cuisine: American Fare
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: MasterCard, Visa
Price: $$$
Hours: Daily 11am-2am; Mon-Fri, lunch and dinner; Sat-Sun, brunch and dinner
Booze: Full bar
Subway: J,M,Z to Marcy Ave. or L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
The Village Voice says:

Located under the Williamsburg Bridge, the decrepit premises of Diner really did once contain a diner. Now it’s Williamsburg’s hippest eatery, with a limited menu of crowd pleasers like steak frites and hamburgers, both memorable. All of the culinary action, however, is on the ever-changing specials menu, which might include an eggplant sandwich one day at lunch, and an ambi-tious special of something French, say, duck confit, in the evening.

NY Mag says:

Even before you’ve finished your first cocktail, you notice the floor is tilting. But the disequilibrium contributes to the charm of this snug, just-rehabbed-enough 1927 dining car. A beyond reductive menu offering “soup,” “burger,” “sauteed greens,” and at brunch, “hot cereal” misleads at first. Don’t believe the lack of hype. Chef Caroline Fidanza shows her dexterous hand with specials like succulent pork loin with caramelized cipollini and tender lamb ragout with white-bean gratin. At brunch, don’t miss the hubcap-size portion of codfish hash. Recommended Dishes: Burger, $8.50; Mussels with French fries, $12.50; Hanger Steak, $16; Sauteed Greens, $3

Dumont

432 Union Ave.
(Between Devoe St. and Metropolitan)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.486.7717

Cuisine: American Noveau/American Comfort
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $$$
Hours: Sun -Thurs 11am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11am – midnight
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: G, L at Metropolitan Ave.-Lorimer St.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Take-out only
Outdoor Dining: Yes
We say:

Our favorite Williamsburg restaurant. The regular menu is grounded in a small selection of finely done standards; a house salad, a half-chicken, steak and fries, and burgers. You can do no wrong by ordering one of these, especially the burger. By DuMont’s burger alone they deserve to be famous. From well done to rare there’s a blackened savory flavor on the outside that makes the DuMont burger distinctivley wonderful. The skate with mashed potatoes is equally divine and the mac & cheese entree is to die for. Always well executed and varied specials add to the menu. True to the doctrine of New American cooking, the specials adhere to the seasons. This summer I enjoyed a wonderful herb-stuffed trout, and on Valentine’s Day their entrees of coq au vin and bacon wrapped monkfish medallions were perfect for the occasion. Although open for several years, DuMont has the feel of a decades old establishment. The combination of excellent meals, a Williamsburg-appropriate casual atmosphere, low prices, and downright welcoming staff make DuMont a classic.

(more…)

c/o Flickr

314 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.384.6128

Cuisine: Burgers, Mac & Cheese, American Traditional
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours: Daily, 11am-2am
Booze: Full bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes, limited area
We say:

The comfort food younger brother of Dumont. The Dumonts have best burgers in the hood. They have yummy Mac n’ Cheese for vegetarians too.

L Magazine says:

The much-touted Williamsburg restaurant DuMont, after five years of service off the Lorimer L stop, has attempted to stuff its sophisticated polish into a smaller spinoff on Bedford Avenue’s southside, with rather disappointing results.
Upon walking in, one is struck by the size of the place, wondering, (as casually well-dressed locals elbow one another in an attempt to get a better hold of their admittedly delectable looking burgers), if there is not a more commodious place just around the back or something. Sadly, there is not. But fear not, a conceptually highfashion hostess is waiting to plop you down on an uncomfortably minimalist stool. Once seated you will become aware that, with the exception of the limited view from a cafeteria-style island in the center of the tiny room, there is no place to get a good look at your fellow patrons, which, as any barhopper knows, is essential for a satisfying experience. If, however, you do make the effort to swivel away from the wall, you’ll discover that the decor is nowhere near as noteworthy as the original DuMont. It’s sort of spare Japanese meets Texas ranch house, and, although it sounds daring on paper, is in actuality a bit dull.
Never a better time to order a drink. But what kind? Unless you’re sitting at the bar in full view of the spirits on offer, you must wait for your waitress, who is currently far too busy making her way through crowded aisles with various plates of food and cocktails. Having said that, they do offer a reasonably wide variety of liquor (suitable for any cocktail you can think of, as long as you know what that is), four beers on tap and six or seven bottled, as well as a few wine choices.
For a late afternoon drink with a friend, DuMont Burger is as good as anything else you’ll find in the immediate vicinity. But for my money, I’d sooner walk to the original DuMont than make do with its ersatz counterpart.

173 Irving Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237
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929.210.9531

Cuisine: American Traditional, Burgers
Our Rating: ★★★ Good
Cards: All Major
Price: $8-$14
Hours: Daily 11am – 10pm
Closed Tuesdays
Friday & Saturday ’til 11pm
Booze: Beer & Wine Only
Subway: L at DeKalb Ave.
Delivery: None
Menu: www.fritzlslunchbox.com
Website: www.fritzlslunchbox.com

They say:

Fritzl’s Lunch Box is now open for lunch and dinner, at 173 Irving Ave in Bushwick. Owned by Dan Ross-Leutwyler, who has worked at Roberta’s, Fatty ‘Cue, The Breslin, Bellwether, and Vinegar Hill House, Fritzl’s menu features inventive and traditional sandwiches, seasonal salads, a house-ground burger, classic pastas, local fish, and pies from Pies ‘n’ Thighs for dessert. The restaurant is sunny and cozy with 19 seats, and a large outdoor seating area

Serious Eats says:

Fritzl’s Lunch Box opened this spring on one of these blocks, just around the corner from the Dekalb Avenue stop on the L train. Fritzl’s is the creation of chef Dan Ross-Leutwyler, whose previous cooking experience includes Roberta’s, The Breslin, and Resto, among others. Though its opening is yet another signal that gentrification will soon breach Ridgewood and Queens, its wayward location means that crowds are manageable and prices are still comfortably low.

Fritzl’s is narrow, seemingly squeezed between its neighbors. The walls are painted a pale yellow and a long wooden bench parallels the arched, white ceiling. A lone bookshelf holds an eclectic collection of cookbooks, but the restaurant is otherwise relatively plain, making it feel more spacious than its dimensions. The effect is pleasant, seemingly closer to a comfortable bungalow in Hilton Head than north Brooklyn. It’s especially sunny during the day, when doctors and nurses clothed in scrubs from nearby Wyckoff Heights Hospital crowd in for lunch. The menu is divided into sections ranging from snacks to “pastas and plates,” but the focus seems to be on sandwiches, including a fried chicken sandwich ($8) and fried bacalao ($9). But I’m here for one reason, laser-focused on my goal. Ross-Leutwyler makes a fine burger, setting a new standard in an under-served neighborhood. At only $8 ($9 with cheese), it’s a bargain. Patties are close to six ounces and made of a combination of chuck and cheek, which Ross-Leutwyler estimates to be about 75/25 meat to fat. Ross-Leutwyler grinds it himself, throwing slightly more chuck in the mix. The cheek hails from Pineland Farms in Maine and is a leaner (but more flavorful) cut, so Ross-Leutwyler combines it with a fattier piece of chuck, which comes from grass-fed and grain-finished California vintage beef. Together, these bi-coastal cuts result in a beefy, tender patty whose rough grind holds a steak-like chew.

NY Mag says:

Dan Ross-Leutwyler’s (Roberta’s, Fatty ‘Cue, Bellwether) latest endeavor is a casual, narrow luncheonette in Bushwick. The subdued colors are accented by red plastic chairs reminiscent of grade school, a high bookshelf lined with cookbooks, and a hanging hornet’s nest in the window. Don’t be misled by the name; Dan’s grandfather, Fritz, was a Swiss restaurateur, but Fritzl’s menu is mostly American, save for some Mexican-influenced snacks, like the baja shrimp cocktail tostada, salsa-brined chicken wings, and blood sausage tamale. Skip the fried chicken-sandwich and opt instead for his prized burger, a salty mix of beef cheek and chuck meat. Beyond the sandwiches, Fritzl’s menu offers simple pastas, including tasty ricotta dumplings topped with flavorful shredded peekytoe crab. The pork ribs, though nicely seasoned, are more bone than meat. If you recognize the banana cream pie, that’s because it’s delivered daily from Pies-n-Thighs, where Ross-Leutwyler’s wife, Carolyn Bane, is a chef and co-owner.

109 South 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
view map
718.599.9109

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours:  Mon-Tue 4 pm-3am, Wed-Thu Noon-3am, Fri Noon-4am, Sat 11am-4am, Sun 11am-3am (Kitchen is open until 2am)
Subway: J,M,Z to Marcy Ave.
Food/Menu: Click Here
Booze: Full bar
Happy Hour: Daily 5pm-7pm: $3 well, domestic drafts
NY Mag says:

Plaster and dark wood walls stretch high to the sky at Gordon Bennett, dampening music and conversation. A slate floor and soft candlelight create a subterranean ambience akin to a monk’s cheese cave. Softly illuminated in the room’s center is a system of taps that spans half the length of the large bar; the spouts dispense liquid communion in the form of flowery Czech Staropramen and Belhaven Scottish Stout that’s milkshake-thick. The owners (one of whom runs the nearby Iona) have scrubbed the address clean of Vinas, a chic Latin American restaurant that recently closed, replacing seviche on the menu with pub grub like bangers and mash, fish and chips, and Cheddar toasties (Irish grilled-cheese sandwiches). Free pencil-thin breadsticks provide fuel for drinking long into the night.

Metromix says:

Pub & Grub Located in the heart of the Southside, this Old World bar is the perfect new spot to come together and meet old friends, make new ones & enjoy a cold pint & a hearty meal in a friendly neighborhood pub atmosphere.

Kent Ale House (Gothamist)

51 Kent Avenue
(corner of North 11th Street)
Brooklyn, New York, 11211
view map
347.227.8624

Cuisine: Burgers and Bar Food
Our Rating: ★★★★
Cards: All major
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-10pm; Sat-Sun, 9am-10pm
Booze: Full bar, Craft Beer
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Draft List: http://www.kentalehouse.com/draft-list/
Gothamist says:

Craft beers are center stage at the Kent Ale House, which opened last week in a prime summer location directly across the street from Williamsburg Park, the new outdoor concert venue on the waterfront. Located in one of the older extant watering holes in Brooklyn, Kent Ale House boasts 24 craft beers on tap, poured from behind the original, pre-Prohibition era mahogany bar that’s been there from the beginning. Co-owner Patrick Burke (who also runs the Brickyard Gastropub in Manhattan) says that roughly half of the beers will be locally sourced from New York State. Click through for the current menu.

There’s space for 55 in the outdoor seating area that wraps around the exterior of the Ale House, and a room in the back has a working fireplace that Burke plans to use in the winter. In addition to beer, they serve mixed drinks and wine, plus a solid bar menu that ranges from spicy popcorn to grilled cheese sandwiches to sweet potato fires to arugula salad. There are also a variety of “build your own” burgers, with “grass fed natural beef, bison, and veggie” options, and over a dozen possible toppings.

Soccer and rugby are two of Burke’s passions, and he’ll be hosting viewing parties whenever there’s broadcast action. The back room will also double as a performance space down the road. Check out their website for details on events and the menu.

Mugs Ale House

125 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
view map
718.486.8232

Cuisine: Bar Food
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Hours: Mon-Fri 2pm-4am; Sat-Sun 11am-4am
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
We say:

Much better than you would expect from bar food and at a very reasonable price. Lose yourself in the best beer menu in the city, while dining upon any of their tasty burgers including a portabello, vegetarian, or and old-fashioned beef burger. Italian specials are usually tasty, and daily fish grills are not to be missed. Mussels are surprisingly fresh (and cheap) and the spinach quesadillas are wonderful. On the downside the jukebox is horrible and some fool will surely choose “Stairway to Heaven.” And sadly, they no longer offer any $2 pint specials.

NY Mag says:

If you could somehow transport to North Williamsburg one of those hearty Cheers-like Irish pubs in Boston that attract slumming college kids, you’d have an approximation of this oak-filled tavern and restaurant with arguably the best beer selection in Brooklyn. Dark, spacious, and festooned with, yes, mugs, a light-up American flag, and paraphernalia from seemingly every brewery ever invented, the place just might pass for the headquarters of a labor union. Though not as gloriously blue-collar as the clientele at Turkey’s Nest Tavern down the street, the folks lifting big mugs of Weinstephaner Heifeweisen at the bar do seem like the last remnants of Williamsburg’s pre-hipster wave; they’re novelists and journalists in their late twenties and early thirties, rather than college drop-outs looking to conquer the world with rock-and-roll. (Don’t look to the jukebox for anything made after 1992, though Jimi Hendrix, Earth Wind and Fire and one CD of “Music to Drink Beer By” do represent.) Our only worry comes from the anomalous restaurant in the back, serving dishes like which, though tasty, are nevertheless woefully out of sync with the bar’s décor and spirit. If you want to join the resistance to Mug’s becoming Williamsburg’s first Park-Slopish yuppie hang, just stay out front watching sports, order nothing but beer and nachos.

Peter Luger Steakhouse

178 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.387.7400

Cuisine: Steak
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash Only
Price: $$$$$
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30am-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-10:3opm; Sun 12:30-9:30pm
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: J,M,Z to Marcy Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
NY Mag says:

The room isn’t handsome, street-slick, or even particularly welcoming. It recalls the kind of establishment that sports a banner running from beam to beam every year proclaiming !oktoberfest! The patrons may have come here straight from their booths at the Javits Center. The staff goes about its nonstop business with cordial if mechanical efficiency, serving onion-and-tomato salads, creamed spinach, and pasty fried potatoes. So why is it always more crowded than Toys ‘R’ Us on the weekend before Christmas? Because there are few gastronomic sensations that confirm the good life better than a hunk of a spectacular steak. And Peter Luger can broil and deliver one magnificently aged and marbleized two-finger-thick porterhouse after another with the unfailing certainty of Dustin Hoffman adenoidally reciting baseball scores. So don’t even ask for a menu. Get big. Eat beef. Recommended Dishes: Steak for two, $77; steak for three, $115.50; steak for four, $154; creamed spinach, $7.50; sizzling canadian bacon, $2.50/slice.

Citysearch says:

Expect no frills at this working man’s steakhouse, a local landmark since 1887. Diners don’t even get menus unless they ask; waiters are tersely matter-of-fact. The dining rooms, with their exposed beams and worn wooden furniture, are far brighter than they ought to be. But don’t complain too loudly: Luger’s fiercely loyal regulars will defend the place as passionately as they would their own mothers. Everyone orders the hand-picked, dry-aged porterhouse steaks and the butter-sluiced slabs arrive on lava-hot platters. German fried potatoes and creamed spinach are fine sides; starters include a salad of thick-cut tomatoes and onions, and crispy double-thick bacon. Desserts–chocolate mousse pie, New York cheesecake–are satisfying in an old-fashioned way and come with a giant bowl of whipped cream to pile on top.