On The Waterfront Burger Front

Everything about Red Hook Tavern is an homage to the past, including its signature dish.

- Adam Platt

In the era of shake shack, Black Label, and the Impossible Burger, the rollout of the latest eagerly awaited, breathlessly touted big-city burger creation tends to follow a settled pattern. Before the great leviathan is even sighted, there’s a rumble of carefully orchestrated rumors and speculation online. This is followed, after a decent interval, by the actual burger reveal, which is accompanied by a blizzard of posts and hot takes by members of the city’s fractious burger community (style of burger, type of grind, burger-tobun ratio, etc.) along with mouthwatering images of the burger from every angle. After the friends-and-family preview, crowds sometimes gather on the sidewalk before opening time to get a taste of the burger or even form lines à la the original Shake Shack, which started the madness over a decade ago and continues to this day in Madison Square Park.