For some reason, rainy days just scream "burger and fries!"  And when those days happen to fall during the workweek, I find it fitting - and, why not - to also include "milkshake." 

Take, for example, this past Friday: not only was it raining heavily, but the air temperature was frigid and the wind was unforgivable.  The thought of leaving my desk to brave the conditions in search of lunch was almost too daunting.  So in an effort to stay put, I rummaged through my desk drawers and found enough quarters to potentially buy a couple of packaged items from the vending machine.  Luckily, I became distracted by another task before the hunger pangs could get the best of me and my change.  After all, I thought, what good would a bag of Sun Chips and a package of Peanut Butter M&M's do in terms of my progression towards becoming a more civilized, mature, "grown-up" eater?  As you may recall, I'm currently taking a nutrition course.  It was then that I reasoned with myself: a burger, fries, and a 'shake was much more of a realistic and, dare I say, nutritious lunch than the latter. 

Now I don't know about you, but I feel awful about ordering food when the weather is less than ideal out of concern and guilt for the delivery-men/women.  Yes, I am that girl.  This got me thinking: since I would be the one going out to fetch my lunch, where could I find a decent burger in close proximity to my office?  I did a quick search on menupages and, bam!  Goodburger, a popular local chain, was merely minutes away.

Although it's a quick serve - order at the counter - casual-type burger joint, I have to say that, visually, I was impressed with Goodburger's attractive, well-designed space: a multi-purpose white-marble bar/counter top, desserts displayed in old-fashioned glass cake stands, menus posted in highly visible areas-in addition to accessible paper menus, beer served...on tap!

While Goodburger was becoming more and more crowded, the line to order food was bearable and moved relatively quickly.  Upon placing my to-go order, I was asked how I wanted my burger cooked, medium or medium-well.  "Really?"  I asked, "You guys do that here?"  After receiving a friendly nod from the employee (taking my order), I requested that mine be prepared medium. 

Roughly $15 and 10-minutes later, my name was called.  With brown-bag in hand, I made my way back to my desk through the dark, rainy streets of Midtown Manhattan.

You can imagine the stares I received as I walked through 'cubicle-land' with my brown-bag wafting of French fry and hamburger fumes!  As insanely sexy as it smelled, the real question was just how good would Goodburger deliver, taste-wise?  I was about to find out:

Goodburger's Classic Burger: bun, 6.5 ounce beef patty, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, mustard, ketchup

Goodburger recently increased the size of their meat patties from 5.5 ounces to 6.5 ounces - at no additional charge to the customer.  Why?  I have not a clue.  How?  I can't answer that one, either, except to tell you that it makes me extremely antsy and anxious when I think about what kind of ground beef I consumed.  Obviously this wasn't enough to make me not eat the burger.  Hell, I consumed the whole damn thing! 

Even though the size only differed by one ounce, I did not find the burger to be too big or overwhelming for one person to finish in its entirety.  The hamburger bun, although grilled to provide more stabilization to the bulky patty and moist ingredients, still yielded a fresh and fluffy texture, as if baked that morning. 

Unfortunately, the hamburger patty was overcooked.  While this wasn't detrimental to my overall enjoyment of the sandwich, it certainly made me question the restaurant's interpretation of medium vs. medium well.  Next time, I will know to order my burger medium rare. 

All in all, I have to say that, in terms of a quick-service restaurant, Goodburger makes a really good burger.  I appreciate the thick patties and the fact that you *can* order your beef cooked to your liking - even if it doesn't always come out that way.

French fries

'Fries are pretty hard to screw up, and Goodburger's were no exception.  That being said, I don't find any reason to go on, at an arm's length, about how delicious they were.  End of story.

Vanilla milkshake

Since I snapped all of the photos for this post with my Blackberry, I couldn't seem to get a great close-up of my vanilla milkshake.  But take it from me, it was worth every last calorie.  Perhaps it was the fact that I had not had dessert all week, but the intense vanilla flavor in Goodburger's shake was both enlightening and sobering to my taste buds - in the most positive sense of each word.  "So this is how vanilla ice cream is supposed to taste!" I exclaimed to one of my coworkers.  The consistency of the milkshake was creamy and thick and the flavor, rich and sweet enough to where I only needed a few sips to cure my Texas-sized sugar addiction.

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Verdict? Goodburger serves hungry NY'ers an affordable, customizable, local, fast, fresh, and delicious menu with an ample variety of options. 

Kosher?  Vegetarian?  Don't let the word "goodburger" fool or intimidate you - there's something on the menu for everyone.  Come and see for yourself! 

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Until we eat again,

The Lunch Belle