Dave's wins again

Today for lunch, me and a few guys ate at the legendary West Village restaurant, Corner Bistro. If you aren't familiar with the place, it's a neighborhood bar that serves burgers considered by many, including a large number of food critics, as among the best in the city. Here's a link to a typical review: http://gonyc.about.com/cs/restaurants/gr/rr_cornerbistro.htm.

This was my second Corner Bistro visit since I have been here. My first meal was tarnished by the unthinkable: my burger was cooked all the way to well done and beyond. Accordingly, it was, for the most part, tasteless. Because of that debacle, I abstained from passing final judgment. Maybe it was a one-time mistake and the chef would be fired as soon as I left. I couldn't be sure. The only thing I was certain of was that countless people had insisted that the burgers there were amazingly good. As lame as this sounds, I didn't want to be the one guy who doesn't like a restaurant that everyone else believes in their heart of hearts is divine. And, yes, if you are wondering, I would jump off a bridge if it was trendy.

This time, I made sure to specify that I desired a medium rare burger (in retrospect, I should have gone all out and demanded rare) so I could make a more accurate evaluation of its goodness. Thankfully, the request was passed along until it reached the chef, and I received exactly what I asked for.

While I am willing to admit the famous 'bistro burger' was good and is, for New York, an excellent value, I must say that I would be disappointed if it represents the best this city has to offer, as countless Citysearch members purport in their reviews. If not for the stack of bacon atop my burger, I might even be tempted to to go so far as say it was just above average, which would make the situation even more troubling. Dave's Giant Hamburgers in Fairfield serves up much better burgers and that place, like I said, is in FAIRFIELD. How can a burger shack in Fairfield, run by a ex-convict be superior to one of the best burger joints in NYC? Well, there is that thing about how he laces the cheese and mayo with crack. Still, that's just a rumor.

Hate to say it, but I must be wrong; my usually dependable tastebuds must be missing something. The review I posted above awarded the place 4 and half stars out of 5. If I'm not mistaken, that is a great score. Now, I don't know what training this woman has that gives her the authority to hand out ratings to restaurants, but she writes for a commercial website and, presumably, is paid to do it, so she must know something. Right?