The hamburger: It’s a food that, for better or worse, has become emblematic of America. It’s a dish whose popularity rose with that of the automobile, and, taken together, they express freedom from convention and the lure of the open road. Hamburgers are the number-one food consumed outside of the American home—not bad for a food whose domestic history reaches back only to around the turn of the 20th century.
While America’s love of burgers earns smirks in other countries, I maintain that hamburgers offer an extremely varied ride for your palate. Bun, patty, and toppings together offer starch, meat, and veg in one bite. But further, the burger offers contrasts in texture, flavor, and even temperature.
Westchester, you know you love your burgers, so you don’t want to miss this ride. Below you’ll find Westchester’s greatest burgers—tie on that napkin and tear in!
Mix Masters
One of the great things about the hamburger is that it’s almost more idea than dish. Here are some elite kitchens that have adapted America’s favorite food with traditional culinary techniques and carefully sourced ingredients.
- X20’s Cowboy Goes to France Burger (Yonkers)
- Bubba’s Burger at Restaurant North (Armonk)
- Harper’s Restaurant & Bar
- (Dobbs Ferry)
- Crabtree’s Kittle House (Chappaqua)
- Juniper (Hastings-on-Hudson)
Westchester’s Iconic Bar Burgers
What is a bar burger? I’ll give you a hint: It’s served in a bar—most likely in the blue flicker of a televised game—on a dinged wooden table sans cloth. Bar burgers are giant and sloppy, and include a side of fries on heavy crockery. Chances are that, when you eat this burger, you already have a bit of a buzz. Admit it: You love a bar burger, in all of its massive, drippy glory.
- Piper’s Kilt (Eastchester)
- Blazer Pub (Purdys)
The New-Wave Stand Burger
Currently, in this post-Shake Shack world, the stand burger is the Wild West of the food industry. All over Westchester, brand-new burger stands are attempting to rival Shake Shack, In-N-Out Burger, and even (gasp!) McDonald’s.
- Pow! Burger (New Rochelle)
- Smashburger (Mamaroneck and Pelham Manor)
- BSF: Burgers, Shakes & Fries (Greenwich and Darien, Conn.)
- Elevation Burger (Rye Brook and Yonkers)
- Yellow Jug Burger Co. (Montrose)
- Five Guys Burgers & Fries (Pelham Manor, White Plains and Yonkers)
The Unburgers
- Veggie Burger #1 and #2 (one vegan patty and one non-vegan patty) in Lettuce Wrap at Elevation Burger (Rye Brook and Yonkers)
- Turkey Burger at BUtterfield 8 (White Plains)
- Gyro-Spiced Slider at MP Taverna (Irvington)
