Every eight weeks, my boyfriend I have what we call ‘blood donation and burgers day’. We try to eat pretty healthfully most of the time, so we REALLY look forward to our iron-replenishing meal and often decide well ahead of time where our next burger will take place. This time, we were VERY excited to try the famous burger at Peter Luger’s Steakhouse in Brooklyn. I’ve had the steak there and was dying to try the burger. Well, silly me, I totally didn’t think we’d need a reservation for a Sunday mid-day burger and I was very wrong. When we arrived and were told in a fairly snotty way that it would be at least 45 minutes, we decided to leave to go to Dumont Burger instead. I’ve had this burger before- but it had been a few years, and I remembered it being one of the best I’ve ever had. I also remembered the staff being super friendly and laid back, not at all like the hoity-toity Luger’s people.

When we got to Dumont and were warmly welcomed by the waitress, we had our choice of seats in the nearly empty restaurant. I should mention that by the time we left, the place was totally full, so I suppose it’s just hit or miss regarding wait times. We each ordered a burger (mine with a side of onion rings, and topped with gruyere and mushrooms and Gabriel’s with a side of fries, and topped with caramelized onions, bacon and gruyere) and a half and half (vanilla and chocolate) milkshake to share. The burgers came out quickly, with some of their housemade pickles on the side. I’d ordered my burger medium rare and it was more like medium well, or even well done. There was no red or pink anywhere in sight and I was a little annoyed but didn’t want to send it back because I was starving. Other than that, I have no complaints at all. The burger is on a delicious brioche bun, with melty cheese and meaty mushrooms and was totally delicious. The onion rings were perfect, not too greasy, but hot and crisp. The fries that came with G’s burger were also awesome. Our milkshake, though not quite as out-of-this-world as I’d remembered, was quite good and creamy- but not very sweet. I did LOVE that it was so thick that the straw could stand straight up in it. As far as I’m concerned, if you don’t get light-headed trying to suck up a milkshake with a straw, it’s simply too thin.

As good as the food was, with a bill over $40, I felt this was really overpriced. I’d be happy to pay that much in a nicer, more comfortable setting, but to sit atop bar stools in a dark, drafty, small restaurant seemed a little ridiculous. I think their prices should be much lower than they are…or the seating should be much more comfortable.

After lunch, we stopped by Dumont-to-go next door intending only to get a hot cup of coffee. When we realized that they make homemade donuts to order, we felt it was really quite important that we fill in any remaining empty spots in our stomachs with fried dough and sugar. On the suggestion of the cashier, we ordered the cinnamon donuts with dulche de leche sauce and the plain donuts with chocolate sauce. They are tiny and polishing off 2 each took about 30 seconds. We both preferred the cinnamon/dulche combo over the others. The chocolate ones would have been about a million times better if the sauce had been warm- but a piping hot donut with cold chocolate sauce seems somehow wrong to me and left a bit to be desired. I’d recommend stopping by for these anyway, especially on a chilly day when a little extra fat and carbs will feel like a big hug. Enjoy!