NYC’s 5 Napkin Burger recently opened in Nikimoto’s (R.I.P.) old spot on 10th and Piedmont in Midtown.  I must admit that my patience is once again wearing pretty thin with all of the fancy-pants burger joints opening all over town - enough already, I say – we have more than enough!  Just like cupcakes are no longer sexy to me ( well hellooooo french macaroons – you’re lookin’ good), my desire to eat a hamburger has pretty much been satifsied.  However, I tried 5 Napkin TWICE last week out of sheer convenience to my office and a little bit of curiosity about how it pulls off both burgers and sushi. 

I ordered wrong.

JenBen and I met at 5N for lunch and were seated almost immediately.  We had made a reservation, but the space seemed large enough to accommodate lunchtime drop-ins.  We inspected 5N’s menu, closely investigating the burger and sushi offerings, and we both ended up ordering the 5 Napkin Veggie Burger w/ Sweet Potato Fries.  5N’s VB comes with housemade 5N sauce, b&b pickles, lettuce, and a tomato on a multi-grain roll.

I will very honestly report that the veggie burger was not great.  It tasted and strongly smelled of beets and almost the entire burger fell apart as soon as I took a bite into it.  I was unsuccessful in trying to mash together the red veggie crumbles all over my plate, so I stabbed at the burger with my fork.  I did not enjoy it.  And, I’m pretty sure I used 40 napkins (not 5) since the burger disintegrated and there was food all over the table.

I did, however, really like the sweet potato fries!  They were the best of both fry-loving worlds: crispy AND soft at the same time.  Frankly, they were delicious enough to redeem the meal a bit.

While I was certainly underwhelmed by my first experience, I decided to give 5N one more chance.  I felt silly judging a restaurant specializing in meat burgers on their veggie burger alone.  So, Rosh and I lunched at 5N on Friday and decided to tackle its specialties.

It was a gorgeous day and we asked to sit on 5N’s patio.  Although I did not find the patio chairs to be particularly comfortable, I personally preferred sitting outside to dining inside of the restaurant.  10th and Piedmont is an excellent place to people watch and catch some rays. 

Rosh and I started off sharing the Southwestern Sushi Roll: spicy yellowtail, cilantro, chayote, scallion, soy wrapper, jalapeno + tobiko.  It was incredibly fresh and very, very tasty – perfect for sitting on a patio on a pretty day!  We were really pleased.

For our entree, we split the massive Burger for 2: 1 pound of custom ground beef, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, b&b pickles, and 5N sauce. 

Here it is in all its meaty glory:

I’m proud to report that we finished the entire burger!  Hooray for us!  Finishing the enormous burger led us into a fairly deep conversation about food displacement along the lines of “say – hypothetically, of course – that I just ate 1/2 a pound of beef…does that mean that I weigh 1/2 a pound more?”  Yikes…

We found room for 5N’s Sweet Potato Fries (which Rosh also loved) and a Tomato, Avocado, Cotija Salad. 

I am so happy that I went back to 5N to try their meat burger and sushi – what they are really all about!  I was surprisingly impressed with both.  Although, I do have to admit that I only used 3 napkins this time.

I will reiterate again that I’m over the fancy-pants burger craze, BUT I urge you to try 5 Napkin.  (Yes, I did that in the same sentence).  If you try 5N, make sure that you order the sushi and/or meat burgers – NOT the veggie.  And, let me know if you do, in fact, use 5 napkins.  I’m pretty literal over here, folks… 

xx, L

5 Napkin Burger
990 Piedmont Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA  30309
404.685.0777
www.5napkinburger.com/midtown-atlanta/

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