Brooklyn Food Landmark Still Makin’ Mean Burgers

It should come as no surprise that the daughter of the man who invented the King Kong Suicide takes her burgers very seriously.

I’ve been working on a multimedia piece on the Cherry Lime Ricky from Tom’s Restaurant (established 1936) in Prospect Heights, so I’ve been frequenting the establishment a lot lately.  I’ve always made my case for Corner Bistro’s burgers and Blue Ribbon’s burgers, but Tom’s may have just topped the list.

As Tony Rosenfeld knows, there’s a lot to be said for a perfect burger.  The food snob in me will often be seduced by the fancy kind (see foie gras post), but if I were to die tomorrow, I would want the simplest version of the American classic possible: A traditional bun, a nice bit of meat cooked medium-rare, a slice of preferably American cheese, the crispest possible lettuce, a single bright red slice of tomato, and some ketchup.  It’s simple really, yet so many establishment’s can’t seem to get it right.

Tom’s Restaurant, however, fulfills all these requirements with the added bonus of a spicy horseradish sauce.  The experience is only enhanced by the addition of a chocolate egg cream made with Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup (as if there was any other way to properly make an egg cream).

Seriously, folks.  Life doesn’t get any better.