5 Napkin Burger

"At first glance, this Hell's Kitchen hole in the wall is as easy to overlook as any average midtown bodega. Inside, it's actually not much different - a tiny dive of a space with condiments on the table and Bob Marley on the wall. Instead of peddling beer and cigarettes however, this joint deals in beef and poultry. The menu is insane - there are close to forty different burger and chicken sandwich options, which generally makes us nervous. Places that dress their meat up every which way are usually trying to shield you from the truth - that the meat by itself is questionable. We're not shocked at all to find that the burgers are just that. Speaking of questionable, how about the fact that Citysearch's team routinely slots Island in their burger Top 10. They must smoke a lot of weed and live around the corner...that's the only explanation. Honestly though, I'm not trying to hate. The chicken sandwiches are better than the burgers, and this place is pretty cheap considering the hugeness of the plates. Also, know this - they apparently don't have enough money to buy a fryer, and remain a very rare french-fry-free burger establishment. Hope you like chips. For a quick hitter in Hell's Kitchen, Island B&S; is a decent local option. Beyond that, please do us a favor and venture elsewhere for a burger more satisfying. Churascos (Grilled Chicken Sandwich) Our fellow food x music homeboy Rev from Burger Conquest loves him some Island B&S; Churascos, so we had to try a couple. I enjoyed my "Bourbon Street" style sandwich (blackened chicken, bacon, jack, bayou mayo and onion on sourdough), although I was a little perplexed by the whole sourdough thing. Too much bread. Made the wrong call there. This thing is HUGE by the way, good luck trying to finish it all and still have room for a shake.Burgers So, I'm going to have to disagree with the everyone on the internet who claims this is a quality burger. Yelper Matt E, who calls this burger the "juiciest, thickest, and freshest burger I've ever had that wasn't home made", I'm lookin' in your direction. These things are on par with the ones my college roommate used to sear up on a frying pan. Not necessarily the worst thing ever, it's just very far away from the best thing ever. Good thing you can dress the burgers with just about any topping your burnt out college brain can imagine.Shakes We tried both the Black & White (vanilla with chocolate sauce) and Chocolate. They were both fine, but definitely not life changing. When I'm sitting in my Midtown office craving a milkshake (which happens a lot), I'll continue hitting Ben & Jerry's in Rock Center. Food Rundown Guacomole and Chips Just like the stuff you buy at the grocery store." - Andrew Steinthal

"5 Napkin Burger, a Union Square establishment for the past 10 years, has closed its location at East 14th Street. Other locations on the Upper East and West sides, as well as Hell’s Kitchen, remain open." - Emma Orlow

"Union Square: Restaurateur Simon Oren has closed the Union Square location of his 5 Napkin Burger restaurant chain." - Emma Orlow