Zaitzeff

"You know the pickings are slim in the Financial District when we're writing to tell you about a "highly decent" burger place in the area. Surely there's gotta be other stuff down here (there's not), but as far as we can tell, the options seem to consist of what steak house you want to eat at and whether or not you consider the Dig Inn a restaurant (it isn't). Zatzieff, a tiny hamburger joint in on Nassau Street is one of the few places that we keep in our back pocket for when we end up in this part of town. The restaurant was started by an ex-Wall Street guy who apparently got sick of making money back in 2003, and decided to jump into the food game. He operates Zaitzeff with a passion for very high-quality ingredients, like grass-fed beef from Washington State and all-organic everything else. The result of that passion is a tasty burger, but also an expensive one. Before you start adding stuff on (and you want to add stuff on), a 1/4 sirloin patty on a bun will set you back $9.25. That's over $2 more than a double Shack Burger at the Shake Shack in Battery Park City. On the high end of the menu is a 1/2 pound Kobe burger for $16.50, apparently there in case Lloyd Blankfein wanders in on any given day looking to eat some of his money instead of setting it on fire. Once you get past the prices, the burgers at Zaitzeff are pretty damn enjoyable. We particularly like the soft, English muffin-style bun and the crispy bacon strips as a supplement to the top shelf beef. There's also a good handful of craft beers available, and the salads are pretty solid too. You could certainly do worse for yourself down here. Food Rundown Burgers As we mentioned, these aren't cheap hamburgers, but they are high-quality. Are they the best burgers in town? Nope. But they taste good and they won't make you feel like sht after eating one. Just make sure to put extra toppings like bacon and cheese on top for maximum enjoyability. And don't spend up for the Kobe. The minimal increase in deliciousness isn't worth the significant increase in price. Fries We like a mix of the regular and sweet potato fries, ordered extra crispy. Proceed as you wish. They're fries. Salads We have had the Mixed Greens with Avocado, but really only as a meal supplement because we like to say we ate greens. It did the job." - Chris Stang