Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
After several weekends of staff training for friends and family extravaganzas, Superiority Burger officially debuted (for a few hours!) on April 1 in its new home at 119 Avenue A.
Since then, the vegetable-centric diner-restaurant has enjoyed some positive notices in the press. For instance, in late June, Pete Wells bestowed three (out of four) stars on Superiority Burger for The New York Times ... this followed a solid review in The New Yorker. More recently, The Michelin Guide added them to its "recommended" list.
And you've seen people waiting from time to time for the opening bell at 5 p.m.
Taking stock in this six-plus-month milestone, owner and East Village resident Brooks Headley is pleased.
"Things are going pretty great," he said.
Early last month, Superiority Burger recently expanded its evening service to seven days.
In addition, Headley will soon be serving the popular Chrissy's Pizza on the late-night menu. Chrissy's has been making pies around the corner in the former Superiority Burger space on Ninth Street. (Headley still has the lease for the storefront, and is friends with Chrissy's founder Chris Hansell.)
"We want people to be able to have Chrissy's Pizza and a place to sit and have a beverage," Headley said.
I then headed to the back bar — aka Fowzy's Saloon ... where bar manager Fowzy (left) and Paddy were setting up for the evening...
There is a special late-night and bar menu (lower left corner!) ...
You can get it to go too...
And if a burger isn't your thing, you can get snack mix for a quarter...
Anyway, it has been a good scene back here...
And some Superiority Burger history... the quick-serve spot opened — as primarily a to-go operation — in the East Village on Ninth Street in June 2015. News of their move to a larger space — the former Odessa — on Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place arrived in the summer of 2021.
15 comments:
Brunch is mad corny, I’m glad he knows
Went for one of those early 5:00 PM seatings. The place was full immediately and the staff handled it like pros. It was impressive. The food was good, too.
I like the new location but I miss the little superiority burgers, they had the perfect ratio of patty to bun. The big ones just don't do it for me. Sigh....
Great to hear a success story! Especially a veggie centric one.
This place is simply a gem that is doing everything right:
* They "get" the EV vibe -- from their placemats featuring local businesses to the soundtrack.
* They re-purposed a beloved EV institution (Odessa), keeping all of the charm in the process.
* Everyone should eat more veggies (and less meat).
* The bar is awesome and the drinks are great.
* Brooks seems ever-present when I've been there, he's a force of nature.
Add a late night Chrissy's pizza and we just went into the stratosphere! This is truly one of the most exciting eateries in the country and it's right here in our neighborhood!
What time the kitchen close? Same as biz closing?
I had a sloppy Joe there, which seemed to be spiced tomato sauce on a bun: They made a sloppy Joe without the beef, I get it; they're vegan. But they forgot to replace the meat substituting in some solid vegan item with a similar mouth feel.
Based on that anecdotal one-off experience, I can't figure out what all the hype is about, about this place.
Should I give it another try?
Try the yuba verde or the tft if you’re there when it’s on the menu
The sloppy joe didn't blow me away (it was good, not amazing), but the broccoli rabe sandwich on focaccia was a stunner. And don't sleep on the gelato, so good!
I'd suggest giving them another go for sure. I need to try the yuba verde next...
The food is still too hipster for me, especially with limited hours (please expanded ;P). And the dessert prices aren't quite high. Still missed my Yaffa Cafe, Counter, Atlas Cafe, Angelica kitchen, Maoz Vegetarian
Since I’m a meat eater I haven’t been yet, but now looking at that great looking bar I’ll at least pop in for a drink. Again great reporting
You’re only punk once - larger pie slices please!
Broccoli or spinach?
I second the yuba!
...this longtime EV resident finally got around to trying this. Brunch tray was excellent value with several interesting tastes. Superiority burger and pie slices need to be 50% bigger to justify the high prices. Nice people running the place - thank you!
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