The Vitals:
the spot: Emily locations in Brooklyn and West Village, tested in West Village
the eats: The Emmy Double Stack Burger
the bucks: $26
the full nelson: an NYC burger letdown

In 2019, I visited Emmy Squared, Emily’s sister restaurant and was to delighted find not only a great version of Detroit style pizza but a meaty double cheeseburger that made a then uniquely high $25 price tag seem reasonable. “Welcome to New York” was uttered as I marveled at a pricey but worth it double patty cheeseburger. I was excited to try Emily’s Emmy Double Stack Cheeseburger . And then I was seriously let down.

The Pretzel bun was the highlight of the Emmy Double Stack Cheeseburger

I don’t often encounter Pretzel buns but I would bet money that a place making their own pizza dough is making their own bun. Plenty of melted cheese on this bad boy too, one could call it cheese-tastic. And that orange sauce? It struck me as a take on Wing sauce(think Frank’s Red Hot) with a dash of honey. I wish I could dive deeper into the details of this well heralded burger but this happened:

Pardon my screen grab but . . .

Yeah here is the damn evidence. Overcooked beef. The menu lists the Emmy Double Stack Cheeseburger as featuring dry aged beef. Previous posts indicate that the beef was sourced from legendary purveyor Pat LaFrieda but not the case today. Regardless of the source, it was overcooked. I found this post indicating that the burger can be ordered medium or well done but neither option was presented when I dined ate the Emmy Double Stack Cheeseburger.

Should I go back? Or should you?

Not pictured was the chicken parm, also served on a pretzel bun for $17. Not only is that almost $10 cheaper but it was actually good. Scratch that, that chicken was juicy. Was it the best chicken parm I have ever had? No, and size might be an issue along with cost but it was a well executed sandwich that offers me hope that my burger letdown was simply the result of inconsistency.

Regardless of a better chicken parm, the much revered Emmy Double Stack Cheeseburger was a letdown, mostly due to the fact that the beef was overcooked. $26 for a dry burger is infuriating and while I’m sure a second visit could right that wrong, I’m left wondering if an inconsistent Emmy Double Stack Cheeseburger is worth the trouble at all.

The list of burgers to try in NYC is long and there are more burgers to eat before I sleep. Still I wonder: should I go back? Or should you?