Photos copyright © 2011 Andrew Cribb
So, I do. I spend $21 for a lamb burger. I repeat: $21 for a lamb burger! And do you know what? It is the best burger. Ever. Worth every penny.
Gamey and lean, juicy and delicious, all of the other burgers I've enjoyed in life come gushing back across my taste buds, including that Shake Shack burger. Reflecting on it now, they all seem almost devoid of flavor when compared to The Breslin's - A perfect “10.”
My family's convention tote bags are full of trapezoids and panda bears, spinning tops and even a paper representation of a couple dancing. They each seem content with this year's convention, what they learned, the people they met and the new creations that have come their way.
for this type of convention. No-frills to be sure, there is an everything-is-here-or-near- by aspect to the school and its district in general. Indeed, it is an interesting, bur- geoning area of New York City as a whole.
The expanse below Midtown, above Soho, by the Fashion District and within the newly crowned NoMad section (north of Madison Ave) is, I now realize, a perfect section to stay while visiting the Big Apple.
It is a few minutes cab or subway ride to points everywhere. The neighborhood is quickly chic-ing up, as illustrated by the better eateries and hotels (like the Ace) moving in. Plus, hotel rates are hundreds less than Soho's stratospheric price tags, and Midtown's corporate chain rack rates.
Back at the convention...
I don't know where my 15 year-old gets his folding skills, certainly not from me.
I
watch as he creates a multi-dimensional ball (Geodesic Dome creator R. Buckminster Fuller would have been proud) from what had been just moments before, a flat square of paper.
His talent astounds me and if I'm free to boast proudly for just a moment, I begin to recall the time in 2006, when at the age of ten and an origami whiz even then, he was on "The Ellen Degeneres Show"
94 November December 2011
teaching the charismatic host how to make paper animals.
Sensing I'm watching him he looks up. "I'm hungry, dad.”
Me, too. "Anyone for a burger?”
We take a nice ten-minute stroll down to the famed Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. They offer what may possibly be the quintessential burger - light and feathery in mouth feel and in taste, a satis- fying slip of beef between two airy bun pillows. Add those crispy crinkle fries and a perfectly-crafted black-and-white milk- shake... I rate it a “9.”
"It doesn't get any better than this!” my son proclaims.
Except, it does -
The following day, while the family is firm- ly embedded in their folding techniques, I stop back at the hotel. I ask the dude at the front desk (I won't call him a desk agent - wearing a tight black tee and black jeans, black boots, a black beret and an Illustrated Man's worth of tattoos on those long, skinny arms - he is more Bohemian than any hotel staffer I've ever seen), "Where's the best burger in town?”
"Right here, man" He points to the proper- ty's gastropub. "Try the one in The Breslin.”
I, on the other hand, have found the best burger in the city, the greatest pizza, too, and a particular realization to go with all that food and beer ingested over a warm weekend in New York City...
It's now time to become a vegetarian.
Ken Alan is the Vice President of Concierge Services for BPG Properties, Ltd. He is the founding member of the Philadelphia Concierge Association, a contributor to several recent publications, and has been a devout herbivore since his last visit to NYC.
kalan@bpgltd.com
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