We live in an age where high end burgers are now the new normal, and nobody bats an eye at spending more than $15 for one. We’ve been sold by the clever marketing that justifies the price tag because the meat patty is extra special due to its high-grade, dry-aged, grass-fed nature and because it comes with foie gras or truffles on top. The market for premium patties in New York is pretty frothy, which explains why Au Cheval, a restaurant in Chicago long touted as being home to the best burger in America, is now bringing its $17.95 cheeseburger out East, in a somewhat seedy alley in Cortlandt Alley in Tribeca that is dark and smells like piss. It looks like they were going for that secret speakeasy vibe, normally frequented by the members of the city’s underbelly, but its burger is so good that regular people should be willing to risk their lives to try it.
