I’m not (and in a way, I am) one of those people who refuses to leave Manhattan. There are specific situations I will willingly leave the island of Manhattan for another borough or NY location, they are: when I am going to the airport, when I am going to a baseball game, when I am visiting my friends Ken & Blaz (and their adorable pup, Little Bear), as well as visiting other special friends and when I head to Long Island to get to Fire Island. Yeah that’s just about the only time I leave Manhattan. But, if you have a good restaurant recommendation for me in a different borough, I will be adventurous enough to check it out.

Going to Cobble Hill isn’t really an “adventure” for me. I have been several times to visit my dearest friends and I really have grown to love the Brooklyn neighborhood. But how easy could this be — I jumped on the F train at 23rd Street, rode the subway for a short time and jumped off at the Bergen Street stop. After climbing out of the subway you’re on Smith Street and only a few steps away you’ll find the restaurant, Hunter’s.

Hunter’s is a gorgeous new restaurant on a popular Cobble Hill street — the interior is brand new and has beautiful furnishings. I met up with my friend Ken for a drink and of course I was hungry too… I kind of had to make sure I came hungry since he had been raving about the burger for so long.

So here I am, ordering the Angus Beef Burger… waiting, impatiently. But at the same time I was enjoying catching up with Ken, he’s getting married in the fall of 2013 in Colorado and I was so excited to hear all about the planning and details!!! Us catching up was lovely, but I did wish that our friend Kelly was going to be there — he works at Hunter’s and is a person that just makes me feel so special in life. Kelly is such a positive person, who wouldn’t want a friend like that? His positivity makes me want to be more like him. Anyways, so, no Kelly. But next time I am coordinating to make sure he is there when I go back for my next Hunter’s Burger.

So here it is — THE BURGER! Made with pickled onions, Vermont cheddar all on a cilantro-jalapeno aioli brioche. In my opinion, brioche = the best bread for a burger. And I’m sure you just read “pickled onions” and said, “say what? pickled onions?” I have to say they are the perfect touch, who would have thought to put pickled onions on top of a savory burger? This ingredient added the most perfect tang and in a way, sweetness, to the condiments of the burger. The chef made my burger EXACTLY how I ordered it — he even came out to the bar where I was eating long enough for me to rave about the burger and chat his ear off on how delish his herb fries are. The french fries were perfectly seasoned but they were nice and potato-ey — meaning they weren’t the crispy type of fries. The best part about these fries was the food-flashback that I had to when I spent time in Amsterdam. The Dutch put mayo on their fries and when I dipped these babies into a dish of creamy mayo — I was in heaven! (Not in the mood for a burger? check out their menu for other dishes that will hit the spot!)

So, I guess I owe my friend Ken a HUGE thank-you for not only getting me out of Manhattan but also for introducing me to the best burger! (Shake Shack, you have some MAJOR competition!!!)

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