Is it a bar or a club or a burger joint or something of a Frankensteined mish-mash of nonsense? The answer lies somewhere in the middle. Not having my dancing shoes on (or a penchant for drinking in the middle of the afternoon), I decided to go for the food option. And while this is ultimately a burger place (it’s even in the name!) I decided to try the chicken sandwich because eating a chunk of red meat at lunchtime makes me a sleepy baby. It turns out that this place can actually throw together a decent, albeit non-traditional and too expensive, sandwich de pollo. I was honestly not too keen on the place just by looks alone, with its weird Jetsons meets log cabin style and rudimentary line system that got one guy who dared bring his bike inside a tongue lashing from no less than four employees. But, seriously, who brings his stupid bike in a restaurant anyway? I was intrigued, though, after my first visit and luckily my co-worker pointed out this Ocho Loco deal that couponed Pop Burger every 8th of the month, lowering the price of the burger duo thing to 88 cents! Hell, even a sleepy baby like me can’t pass that shit up. So I got my coupon, headed over to the oddball pop art 70s treehouse that is Pop Burger and plunked down a single, got change and my little box, which contained two mini burgers. The things, snuggled in their cardboard nest, looked a little too cutesy to actually be any good, but the burger nuggets were really pretty flavorful and well accompanied. And, despite their diminutive size, were relatively filling for a lighter lunch that included cow (enough so that I actually stayed awake through my afternoon meetings–sleepy baby no more!). Would I ever go back and pay the steep price any other day? Most likely not, but I was certainly happy with my almost free lunch. [MF]
14 E 58th St.
212/991-6644