Eating out under $50: East Coast Burgers in Ridgewood
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2012 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY AUGUST 10, 2012, 11:03 AM
BY JEFFREY PAGE
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
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The burgers at this recently opened place are first-rate, and keeping the cost of dinner under $50 for two is easy. On a recent visit there were a couple of kinks that East Coast Burger could easily work out.
For example, when I placed my order, I asked for the green chili cheeseburger cooked medium-well. The cashier said, "All our burgers are cooked medium."
True, I later discovered, but she forgot to mention a big "however." In fact, East Coast Burger will cook one to any degree of doneness a customer requests, Mike Ostrowsky, the son of one of the owners, told me a few days after I visited.
Another reason for cooking to medium unless otherwise requested is to prevent disputes about a burger being a little too well-done, or a little pinker than the medium-rare a customer might be used to, Ostrowsky said.
East Coast Burger Company
* 75 Franklin Ave., Ridgewood; 201-857-0277; eastcoastburger.com.
* Cuisine: Burgers, etc.
* Hours/days: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
* Credit cards: AE, D, MC, V.
* Wine/liquor: BYO.
* Parking: Lot.
All right, let's eat.
For an appetizer, my friend and I split the goat cheese and beet salad ($9.50), which was extraordinary. The cheese was mild and plentiful, the beets crunchy and sweet. This wonderful pairing was served on a large plate of mixed greens and moderately spicy walnuts, all in a balsamic dressing. That salad was big enough to satisfy three people and good enough to make East Coast Burger a place to try.
Maybe that green chili cheeseburger ($6.95) wasn't cooked the way I prefer but it was thick, juicy and possessing a rich beefy flavor unlike anything I've encountered in the franchises.
Moreover, the Monterey Jack cheese was mischievous, the green chilies pleasantly impish, and an accompanying serving of "ECB sauce" (mayonnaise, ketchup and a third ingredient Ostrowsky absolutely refused to identify) a welcome change from dreary old ketchup.
My friend ordered a veggie burger ($5.50), which was made with black beans and chipotle pepper. She asked if the chipotle was one of the ingredients in the burger itself or spooned onto it.
The cashier said that if she preferred, the chipotle could be served on the side. But when dinner arrived, my guest took a bite and discovered that the chipotle was, indeed, in the burger.
So it might have been a little zippier than she wished, but still, it was a tasty sandwich, thick with veggies and served with lettuce and tomato and, for an additional $1.50, with avocado.
Both burgers were fine, but here's how they could have been a little more appetizing. ECB might consider serving its main attraction on more substantial rolls. As it turned out, they arrived on very soft buns that were sodden from the moisture emitted by the burgers. The result: messy hands.
We got a side order of sweet potato fries ($4), which were nice in their own right - crisp, tasty, thick - but also because they were not the inevitable french fries. Fries, plain or dressed in cheese, and onion rings also were available.
Here's another suggestion for ECB:
The name of the place includes the word "burger," not "salad," yet our burgers - the featured fare - came on small flimsy cardboard trays with plastic flatware.
Yet the goat cheese and beet salad was served on a substantial square china plate. If the salad gets the royal treatment, shouldn't the star of the show as well?
For dessert, we ordered ice cream ($2.75), which was served in paper cups whose walls began to collapse after being struck a few times with our spoons.
The tab, with tax and tip, came to $35.65.
Because the only time we saw a waiter was when he brought our order from the kitchen, I tipped at 10 percent. Later, Ostrowsky told me that there is a no-tipping policy.
Eating Out on $50 is a monthly restaurant feature. Two people determined to spend only $50 on dinner, drinks, tax and tip will discover just how much can be purchased for so little.
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