Blue 9 Burger

I’d heard about Blue 9 Burger a couple of years ago; some compared it to In-N-Out on the West Coast. I went there for dinner a number of times and was very impressed. There are no heat lamps, no microwaves, and all the burgers are cooked to order with fresh, not frozen meat.

The Blue 9 Burger is a double cheeseburger with tomatoes, lettuce, onions on request, and a special sauce. I really do love this burger! It comes wrapped in paper and that’s a good thing, as it is very messy and dripping with beefy, cheesy goodness! This is the one of the few burgers I’ve ever eaten where I didn’t feel the need at all for ketchup. It looks like a fast food burger, but tastes about 100 times fresher.

The fries are fresh, crispy, and perfectly salted. You can get a mango chili fry sauce on the side for no extra charge. Top it off with a root beer and you’re good to go.

Blue 9 was started by a group of Indiana business school students in 1996; the NYC location is the only one. How they got here is a mystery to me, but I’m glad they did and I’m glad they’re committed to serving fresh food. Looking on the wall, I noticed a very limited menu, which is a good thing. Blue 9 is true to itself. It doesn’t try to be a salad/smoothie/wrap place in addition to burgers and fries. It knows what it does well and sticks to it.

The atmosphere is lacking in charm, but the clientele seems to be mostly students who get it to go anyway. Burger, fries, and drink comes to about $8.00. Yes, a bit expensive to some, but I gladly pay it.