The burgerboy works in midtown Manhattan, and has been frequenting the relatively new Mantao shop on 53rd street between 2nd and 3rd avenues. Now, I am not about to get into a full review of the lunch spot, I’ll leave that to the experts over at serious eats and midtown lunch. However, since they do feature a “burger” on the menu, I felt it should be included within my purview.
I went in the other day, and I had my sights set on the burger. I had eaten a few of their tasty little gems before, but the burger had always managed to stay under my radar.
Until last Wednesday.
I got the angus beef burger with spicy sambal sauce. I had a feeling that the sambal sauce wasn’t going to be spicy enough for my taste, so I rocked a side of kim chi with it. (NB, I also got the braised pork sandwich with pickled cucumber– delicious).
I took my first bite of the burger, not really knowing what to expect. It was, um, good?
To be honest, I don’t really know how to feel about the whole experience. I LOVE mantao bread, first of all. The steamy pockets of goodness, with their slight bite and doughy centers really get me going. If I had to name the perfect vessel for sweet and salty flavor, it would be mantao bread. The burgerboy is going to Momofuku Ssam for a bo ssam tomorrow and I am going to stuff my face with them.
But I digress.
The burger was a bit disappointing, to say the least. The small patty was a bit pathetic, given the majestic mantao bread pocket made for it. As expected, the sambal sauce was but an afterthought on the overcooked grey patty. I added the kim chi, which helped perk it up a bit, but I was still left wanting more. And not more of the burger.
When heading to Mantao, stick with the braised pork, spicy pork, or short rib.
