The night started with a proclamation from Mayor Bloomberg, naming October 13th Film Festival day. We’re honored! (And Jon’s mom got to share a burger photo op with the mayor!)

Before the film, hamburgers were served in the theater so everyone could taste what they were watching. It made the whole experience so much more fun. So much food and great films. I want to say another huge thank you to all of our friends and family that came out and everyone that made the film possible. You are all so great! And congratulations to the other filmmakers!

We are so excited to announce that not only is The Burgerlution looking great but it is going to premiere at the New York City Food Film Festival next month!

The premiere is part of a the Cheers to Burgers and Beers event kicking off the first night of the 2011 NYCFFF! Tickets to the screening include some of our favorite Burgermaker burgers and preparations by Brett Reichler of Bill’s Bar and Burger who appears in the film.

We hope to see all of you at the premiere!

Thursday Oct 13 @ Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street) more information and tickets here.

The Burgerlution team in the kitchen with Brett Reichler

We met with Bill’s executive chef Brett Reichler to tell us about their burgers and restaurant philosophy. Bill’s uses Pat LaFrieda meats for all of their delicious burgers. But don’t be fooled! Bill’s prides itself on being a place where fast food and fine dining meet at a meaty cross-roads of juicy burger goodness.

Burger in hand, smile on face.

Brett invited us into the kitchen of their Rockefeller Center restaurant and let us taste their ridiculously yummy burgers.

Bill’s Maytag Blue and Bacon Burger

Bill’s will be opening a new location at Harrah’s in Atlantic City this summer. We snagged the shot below on a drive through New Jersey. We cant wait for a night at the Pool with a mouth-watering Maytag burger!

Follow @billsnyc on twitter for more news about the new spot!

We invite you to join us at 6:40pm in the Beatrice Theatre at the Visual Arts Theatre (333 W 23rd St, btwn 8th and 9th Ave) to see the film for the first time on the big screen! It is so exciting to show what all of our hard work has created and we can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks! Please come out and see the film along with some other fun shorts. The screening is absolutely free! BYOH (Bring Your Own Hamburger.)

Yesterday, The Burgerlution decided to take some time off. And what a better way to spend an R&R day than eating a hamburger?

This meant a trip to Corner Bistro in the West Village. We are partial to smaller, waxpaper-adorned burgers but there’s a special place in our hearts for this meaty behemoth. If there is any burger that deserves an unhinged jaw, full-facial work out, it is this one. The cheeseburger at Corner Bistro is just a treat.

Our favorite part of Corner Bistro is the no-nonsense attitude. The atmosphere is super old-school and everything feels very true to its roots. We love that there is no menu except for the small board that we can hardly make out from across the room. As if we need a menu! Hamburgers all around!

Get your own mouthful at Corner Bistro, W4th and the corner of Jane St in the West Village.

But now I’m dying to share what we’ve been up to.

Most recently, The Burgerlution crew took a magical trip to Pat LaFrieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors where we met with the man himself and watched his signature burgers being made right before our eyes. What a treat!

Pat LaFrieda is the Willy Wonka of Burgers!

We learned about the history of the LaFrieda company, watched cuts being broken down and chopped into patties, and then saw them leave for delivery in the morning.

Pat even gave us a peek into his dry age room. The smell is like a beef heaven! It’s pretty hard to describe how magical it is in there.

Director Jonathan with Pat

I have to say, these burgers are even more delicious (as if that’s possible) knowing that they were just made hours earlier. Being able to see my hamburger being created from start to finish at Pat LaFrieda and then in my own kitchen is a satisfying feeling I’ve never had the privilege to experience before.

Thank you, Pat!

Check back soon for more photos and clips of our trip to Pat LaFrieda, photos of delicious fresh-chopped burgers, and for updates on who else we’ve been meeting with lately.

Follow Pat LaFrieda and Mark Pastore on twitter @patlafrieda and @markymeat. And follow us too! @theburgerlution

Elevation burger prides themselves on ingredients, and it goes to show that they do matter. They use 100% USDA- certified organic, 100% grass-fed, 100% free-range beef, and it is always 100% ground-on-premises. The burgers are cooked on a Electric Griddle as en effort to be environmentally sustainable. The fries are also cooked in 100% Bertoli olive oil, I witnessed this myself!

The burger is so well priced which is what intrigued me most about Elevation burger. The Elevation burger(double meat, double cheese-real cheddar) is $6.35, add an order of fries to that $2.59. The cost of this healthy burger and fries, is under $10.00 for New York City, that is pretty impressive. This is cheaper than the equivalent at most fast food chains that don’t use fresh ingredients, no less organic beef, and olive oil. And I didn’t even get to the taste of the burgers yet. The burgers are highly customizable if you wish, which includes things like skipping the bun with a lettuce wrap. I tried a simple cheeseburger and boy was it fresh. You can really taste the difference in the meat due to the fact that it is grass-fed, it is also better for you higher amounts of Omega-3′s. The French fries are hard to explain how tasty they are, because of the olive oil, they have a very rich taste. They are not even a little bit greasy, as they are patted down before serving. In addition to all of this, they are freshly made in-front of you, you can see a worker take a potato and make French fries out of them while you pay for your meal.

The restaurant itself has a very bright potential and success with this kind of service and quality food. They use many environmentally efficient items including the electric griddle, other high efficiency appliances, LED and fluorescent lights, and bamboo flooring. I highly enjoyed my interview with Elevation Burger and my experience, I highly recommend you visit it! I hope to be back soon for another burger!

Elevation Burger:

103 W 14th St
(between Avenue Of The Americas & 7th Ave)
New York, NY 10011

(212) 924-4448

Upon arriving to The Breslin, I noticed it was quite busy and I may have to sit at the bar. I checked in with the hostess who suggested doing just that. After getting setup at the bar I was immediately provided a few menus. I was quite surprised when looking at the prix fixe menu when it did not include the lamb burger. Oh well, I knew exactly what I was going to get anyway.

I took a quick glance at the cocktail menu and a few things caught my eye, I decided on the Forbidden Fruit (Apple Brandy, Pimm’s, fresh lemon juice and bitters,topped with ginger beer). This was served in a tall glass with ice and was perfect to sip on while I waited for my burger.

The service when I had arrived was as you would expect for a busy restaurant, however as time went by and more people left, it became more personal. I did wait quite a bit for the burger to come out, however I saw a good 5-10 other burgers come out for people who had come before me. But boy was the burger worth the wait.

The Burger arrived on a wood cutting board, with a steak knife, cumin mayo, and a french fry holder. It was a beautiful sight. I was so ready to dig in but I had to snap some shots for the blog.

After snapping a few pictures, I had to take a bite… A bite well deserved and worth the wait.

The lamb burger was perfectly cooked, medium-rare is the standard for the burger. It is served on a ciabatta, which would be great to absorb the juices, however the burger was juicy yet contained. It was a great experience because I didn't need to consistently clean my hands or face. On the burger there was an onion garnish, a few light pieces for flavor, not overpowering. The lamb burger is about flavor, it is an unexplainable mouth feeling. Normally I am quite the burger purist, enriched white bun and ground beef, I however consider this a real hamburger. 

I highly suggest visiting The Breslin if you are interested in having a lamb burger experience.

The Breslin

What could be better than the two necessities of New York City? Well this is just that! iPhones and Burgers two things that I for one cannot live without. So what better than a Pat LaFrieda iPhone app coming soon?

As per a little teasing advertisement in Viaggio: a magazine by Mario Batali. The ad was in the most recent issue of the magazine, which is currently only available in any of Mario Batali’s restaurants or Eataly not yet available for digital downloads. What would this app do? An app to place an order for restaurants? Possibly an App with a directory of restaurants serving burgers? A guide to cuts? Perhaps videos on cooking the best burgers? Who knows! But we will simply have to wait to find out… This is pretty exciting and I will just have to keep my eyes open on the App Store.

Follow them on twitter:
Mario Batali:@Mariobatali
Pat LaFrieda:@patlafrieda