Burgers and shakes, all grown-up @ Stand

When did New York become so burger-crazed? Not that I'm complaining - I think the burgers + fries + shake combination is one of the best things ever. There's Burger Joint (my favorite thus far but primarily because of the awesomeness of having a dingy greasy burger place hidden in the lobby of a prim and proper hotel in the heart of Midtown), Shake Shack (re-opening 3/21 much to the joy of fans everywhere), Corner Bistro (tried going last friday night but the lines were too long), brgr (burgers 2.0 style anyone?) and too many others to list.

I think that Stand is going to become my go-to place for a nice, civilized burger and fries experience going forward.

The Decor: (9.5/10)



Stand has a really clean, comfortable, pop-modern interior courtesy of Studio Gaia. The dining room is composed of lots of long picnic tables and comfortable benches which give the place a very laid-back feel but you also notice that all the furniture is custom-tailored by BDDW, a Soho design house. That's essentially the theme of the day - upscale burgers in great digs.

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The Food: (9/10)


Fresh blackberry soda, $4
Such a refreshing drink - nicely sweet and mildly carbonated. I think the flavor of the blackberry wasn't strong enough though and there was a bit too much lime in the mixture.


Chocolate Malt Shake, $6
Amazing, amazing shakes... if this is any representation of the full line-up of shakes (I really couldn't stomach more than one even though I wanted to try them all), Stand's shakes are huge winners. The chocolate malt shake hit all the right notes and felt velvety, creamy and well-rounded. All shakes are made with gelato from Il Laboratorio del Gelato, which might explain how these are so mind-numbingly good. They're also unfortunately $6 each so these might be quite a dangerous addiction.


Small shoestring fries, $3
These were a great example of what shoestring fries should taste and feel like - really crispy, fresh from the frier and perfectly salted- and went really well with the burgers.



Medium-rare cheeseburger - Sesame bun, beef, onion marmalade, lettuce, blue cheese sauce, $11
This was a really good burger and cooked just perfectly (medium rare) so that the juices were leaking all over the plate before we were done.


Mushroom Beef Burger with onion marmalade, lettuce, porcini sauce, $10
Since I love mushrooms so much, I had to get the mushroom beef burger and I was so glad I did. I have to say this is one of my favorite burgers now - the meatiness and richness of the mushroom really complemented the smoky grilled flavor of the beef. I got mine medium since I don't like bleeding meat and the burger was really firm but still juicy and bursting with flavor. I did notice that this was a bit under-seasoned but overall, excellent.


The condiments: Bertman ball park mustard, Kewpie mayonnaise (so cute!), Heinz ketchup

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Summary
Stand is a really aesthetically appealing place to get some upscale burgers, great drinks and yummy fries in the Village. I think that the food is a bit overpriced (our meal for two came to ~$40) but the ambiance and generally high quality of the food make up for it.



As a side note, I welcomed a new addition to my tech family this week - meet my new toy, the Canon Rebel XT - we're going to be grand friends :) This is the first set of photos from my new cam, but I'm hoping to start upping the quality of my photos as I learn more about what this baby can do.