Trip to New York City

SP loves going into the city and since our vacation was coming to an end we decided to head in on Saturday. We like to drive in since we can park at the Port Authority and not have to worry about train schedules. We made good time until we got to the Lincoln Tunnel. As we were sitting in traffic I took a few pictures of the skyline:




We got into the city and made a quick pitstop. I've always liked this artwork outside the bathrooms and I finally had my camera with me to take a picture:


We wandered around Greenwich Village for awhile before deciding on a place to have a late lunch/early dinner. We'd walked by Paul's a few times and in the end, their claim to make the best burger in the city lured us in. We immediately liked the feel of the place, with the old-fashioned signs on the wall, small tables and a simple menu. We knew we wanted burgers, but first we ordered a root beer for me and SP had an iced tea. We asked for pickles when we ordered and were given a huge bowl of half-sour slices. They were addictive. SP is a huge mushroom fan, so he got the Saint Mark's burger deluxe (burger with Alpine Swiss cheese, mushrooms and fried onions) with fries and a side of mayo:


Look at how many mushrooms are on this burger! We were amazed when the plates were put in front of us. I decided to keep it simple so I ordered a cheeseburger deluxe (burger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and raw onion) with fries and a side of mayo:


This was one fantastic burger. It was juicy and incredibly flavorful. The American cheese was perfectly melted, the toppings were very fresh and tasty and the fries were extra crispy, just the way we like them. The bun couldn't quite hold up to the juciness, but it was still one of the best burgers I've ever tasted. Here's an inside shot:


SP all but licked his plate clean. We both felt very satisfied, full but not overly stuffed, and all for less than $30 including tax and tip. That's amazing for a meal in NYC, especially one this good. I couldn't wait to come home and see what other people thought of Paul's and we were shocked to see so many negative reviews like this one, this one and this one. I guess it just goes to show that different tastes abound on the Internet. I'm glad we didn't read these before we went because we might not have stopped at Paul's. Regardless of what other people think, we had a fantastic meal there and would definitely go back again.

UPDATE: I went onto A Hamburger Today to see if they'd ever featured Paul's and low and behold, they just did a write-up today! How funny. Sadly it was another negative. Bummer. I wonder if our visit was a fluke or if our tastes really vary that much from other burger lovers.