Burger Night

I'm declaring Sunday night Burger Night. If only to have an excuse to return to Stand (24 East 12th Street - 212.488.5900), a new restaurant by Jonathan Morr, the creator of BondSt, APT, and Townhouse Hotel in Miami.

On the door, it reads STAND. That rare well-done burger restaurant. And, it's not false advertisting....they got it right in so many ways.



Designed to be sleek and utilitarian, Stand is a sophisticated yet hip mess hall where every night is burger night. The menu features a good offering of 7-ounce burgers that include the usual suspects (beef, turkey, veggie) along with a few originals (bacon & egg, mushroom and chopped steak) - all with interesting condiments like green peppercorn sauce or onion marmalade. Sides like coleslaw and onion rings are classic. More interesting are the mashed sweet potatoes and parmesan.

Refreshments may be an afterthought at most burger spots but Morr has paid special attention here with a wide selection of shakes ranging from banana to apple pie to toasted marshmallow and unusual sodas like fresh blackberry and pineapple-lime. You can even order a pitcher of beer (so old school!).

As a marketing girl, I can't help but comment on the brand concept. What Morr does so well with each of his establishments is find cutting-edge talent to carry his brand vision down to the last details. In this case, BDDW (and the amazing Tyler Hays) was commissioned to design the cafeteria tables and school house chairs. Branding was done by my friends at Base Design. Their creative includes matchbooks that read "I met........at Stand," with blank lines for name, gender and number as well as napkins printed with "Use napkins. Save your pants."

Stand has take out and will deliver from Houston to 23rd Street and from 1st Avenue to 8th Avenue. Noon to midnight. No catering as of yet, but I'll keep my fingers crossed. They can accommodate parties of up to 12 but they don't take reservations.

At least you know that wherever you sit, you'll be at the cool kids table.

Photo above by Noah Kalina.