Secret Burgers and Cupcakes!

Hidden in the beautiful Parker Meridian Hotel located on 55th street between Broadway and 6th Avenue in Manhattan is a wonderful gem of an eatery. Upon entering the Marble tiled lobby, you would never even question what was hiding behind the red curtains in the far back corner.










When you walk into the lobby, walk past the check-in desk, then make a left at the red curtains just before the concierge desk. You can't miss the velvet rope and the long line of people waiting in a dark hallway only lit by a neon burger sign. Is it some secret nightclub? Is it a darkroom like you would find in a gay club? (I wish!). What's casting that golden glowing light through the small doorway?

Through the door, you are in BURGER JOINT! Only a handwritten cardboard sign announces where you are. You are in effect, completely transported out of NYC and into a hole in the wall dive kind of burger place you would find in a college basement.

The walls have photos and movie posters, and a handwritten sign stating "We don't spit in your food so please don't write on our walls." The walls are covered with Graffiti from top to bottom!

The place smells great, like fire-grilled burgers, and that is exactly what you get: One of the tastiest ground steak fire grilled burgers you will ever eat in your life!

A sign explains how to order. First, do you want a hamburger or cheeseburger. Then, how do you want it done? Finally, what do you want on it? I suggest getting "The Works" which is everything on it. That makes the ordering easy and it taste so good, that even Herbelicious who hates pickles ate the pickles.

Don't forget to order fries and a drink (fountain or shake), because if you forget to order it with your burger, its back to the end of the long line. Herbelicious and I were lucky enough to get seats in this crowded joint. The tasty burgers came wrapped in white paper and the fries in brown paper bags.

As we were leaving Burger Joint, we forgot we were in the Parker Meridian expecting to walk out and see semi trucks and truckers as if we were coming out of an Ohio truck stop. If you're hungry and want to get out of NYC without really getting out of NYC, then hit Burger Joint. The meal came to about $13 for a burger, fries, and a drink, but it is so worth it.

If you are looking for a great place to have dessert check out Billy's Bakery in Chelsea on 9th Avenue between 21st and 22nd Street. After all, anything named BILLY must be AMAZING =),


While waiting for Jose and his two friends Cheryl and Mary-lee, I heard a customer walking in with his friends say "Billy's has the best dessert, the best pie, and the best cupcakes in the world". Signs in the window say: Bless Billy for his "to die for" icing.




As I waited, I was also able to catch pictures of the baker in the window frosting cupcakes in beautiful pastel colors. In fact, all the desserts are frosted in pastel colors of yellow, mint green, and pink. It gives the place a feeling like your grandmother's kitchen that got stuck in a time warped 1950, complete with laundry hanging in the window.



If you are looking to satisfy a really sweet tooth, I would say Billy's is not the place for you. Billy's desserts are not too sweet, or too plain, but have just the right amount of sweet where the frosting taste almost like pudding, but doesn't leave you feeling icky from all the sugar.



Jose and I were satisfied with just a simple cupcake and a coffee. Mary-lee went for the old fashioned red velvet cake where she exclaimed "this is just right, it's not overly sweet". Cheryl went for the pie served in its own tiny white box.
Jose loves this bakery even more than the Magnolia Bakery in the west village. I must say that I LOVE Magnolia, but Billy's sure does give Magnolia a run for their money.

For a complete meal, check out Burger Joint and Billy's Bakery.

Learn Spanish: hamburgesa orgasmicas que hace que tu paladar explote con gusto! (hamburgers that are like an oragasm to your pallette)

Biscocho (cake, but BE CAREFUL, in some slang Biscocho means vagina!)