Since we both had a day off today, Dan and I were excited to spend some qt together over brunch and going to MOMI. Brunch was first of course, and we originally planned on going to check out Sanford's, as I've heard that since its revamp, it's stepped up quite a bit. To our chagrin (and I guess a testament to its excellence), it was totally crowded with a 40 minute wait for a 2 person table. That, unfortunately wasn't going to cut it, so we headed out to check out an alternative by Dan's request - the Astor Bake Shop.
While I've been here on many occasions, I haven't actually sat down to a proper meal, and also hadn't had the pleasure of indulging in their legendary burger. It was time.
Food:
We knew why we came, and right away zeroed in on the burgers. I had my eye on the signature Astor burger, dressed with a special sauce, while Dan went for the classic burger with bacon. We got some other goodies you see here along the way, and wanted to give you the scoop about each one:
French Onion Soup - Dan ordered this as an app, and it was awesome. Not only did it look gorgeous, it tasted great too, with an earthy oniony broth that wasn't at all heavy and two pieces of crusty peasant bread submerged into it. Topped with some melty gruyere, there was certainly an element of decadence (as there should be), but I was happy to see that the chef didn't overdo it.
The Burgers - This was of course the piece-de-resistance of our meal, and both burgers were absolutely stupendous. I know it may sound lame to say, but my favorite aspect was the fluffy, buttery bun that was just a pleasure to grab on to and that hugged all the substantial ingredients inside the burger. But don't get me wrong...it's not only about the bread, the meat patty was beautifully cooked and so, so juicy. I liked that it was seasoned well but kept relatively simple, and nothing about it was over the top. Something else I appreciated was the zesty little side salad that came with it, as opposed to fries, which always unnecessarily fill me up.
Dessert - How can we not get dessert here?! The display case was simply taunting us - especially those stunning lemon meringue pies. We got one, naturally, and dug into the crunchy, buttery dough, the tart-yet-still-a-little-sweet lemon curd and the sticky, well done meringue. It was the perfect size and gave just enough of that little sweet kick we were craving after the burger.
Service and Cost:
While the service was pretty good, I'd recommend a little more of it, especially on a busy day like today. Although we didn't feel like we had to wait too long for anything, it was sometimes hard to catch our waiter's attention, as he juggled his time between the desserts counter as well as serving tables.
Costs are wallet friendly and set us back about $48 total with tax and tip. Dan also got a bottle of Prohibition ale, fyi.
3 Mmmms
Astor Bake Shop - 12-23 Astoria Blvd, Astoria NY 11102
N/Q Train to Astoria Blvd
718.606.8439
www.astor-bakeshop.com 
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