Travel & Dining

Burgers and Shakes and Fries… Oh My!

Smokey Buns
Smokey Buns at 68 Park Place (down the Starbucks alley) brought trendy smashburgers to East Hampton last summer. This latest project from the Tip Top Hospitality Group positions itself as affordable and family friendly. Its classis smash burger with smokey sauce, lettuce, tomato jam, and crispy onions is just $10. Add cheese and it’s $11. They also have a fishwich, a chickenwich and a mushroom/chickpea burger. True to the tagline in its name Burgers + Bourbon they have an impressive list of 50 Bourbons and whiskies which could wreak havoc with the affordability mission. Because shakes and ice cream are also traditional accompaniments to burgers, they have an adjacent spot called Scoop and Waffle with 12 flavors of ice cream.

Rowdy Hall
Rowdy Burgers are a bestseller at this pub. The 7-ounce custom prime blend burgers come on a potato bun with lettuce, tomato. onion, sour pickle, hand cut French fries and your choice of American, cheddar, Swiss or blue cheese for $23. Adding Applewood smoked bacon will set you back another $2.50. You can also opt for a veggie burger or a turkey burger. Customers are hardly limited to burgers. There’s French onion soup made with rich veal broth, lots of salads and a range of entrees from moules frites to meatloaf. And how about sticky toffee pudding for dessert? Rowdy Hall is also known for its premier beer program. Rowdy Rumble Flights offers three five-ounce tastes from its dynamic draughts for $12. This American pub was originally opened in East Hampton in 1996 and recently relocated to Amagansett. Rowdy Hall takes its name from a turn of the century boarding house frequented by artists who visited East Hampton. Supposedly church going locals found the place still full of reveling guests on Sunday morning and declared it a “rowdy hall.”

LT Burger
Celebrated French chef Laurent Tourondel has reopened LT Burger in Sag Harbor and debuted an extensive new menu. His LT Burger is a 7-0unce Angus patty with hand cut fries for $27. A Frenchie Burger has raclette cheese, caramelized onions, mushrooms and peppercorn sauce for $28. There are also turkey burgers and veggie burgers. The new menu also includes a range of appetizers and entrees. Start with fried calamari and shishito peppers with lemon aioli or little gem Caesar. Move on to black garlic marinade charred skirt steak, pork chop Milanese or fish and chips. Wash it all down with milk shakes or sodas or delve into upmarket lists of beer, wine, and cocktails. The family friendly spot features Kid’s Boxes which can include a mini burger or a corn dog or chicken nuggets’ or grilled cheese plus fries, a drink, fruit and a special surprise for $19. For another $7 add a kid’s milkshake. Tourondel’s New York City restaurant L’Amico just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Union Burger
Over the top 8-ounce black Angus burgers are the specialty of executive chef Scott Kampf at Union Burger located in Southampton’s historic Bowden Square. The Breakfast Burger is literally topped with breakfast–Applewood bacon, fried egg, cheddar cheese, and hash browns on an English muffin. The Black & Bleu supports blue cheese, Applewood bacon, lettuce, tomato and caramelized walnut crumble on a brioche bun. The MacAttack is literally slathered with z helping of mac and cheese and strewn with onion hay on a pretzel bun. Prices range from $15.95 to $20.95. If none of these suit your fancy, you can choose to build your own burger. Everything comes with-hand cut fries. Whether you opt for a milkshake or a craft beer, you won’t go thirsty. Wall to wall big tv screens attract sports fan year round.