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  • Taryn Varricchio: Few foods scream summer

  • more than burgers.

  • And in New Jersey,

  • it's all about Steve's Burgers,

  • a small, no-frills spot right off Route 46

  • boasting monstrous cheeseburgers.

  • The burgers look really big, right?

  • I have never been to Steve's,

  • but I have heard so much about this place.

  • I am familiar with the area

  • because I grew up in New Jersey.

  • It's literally right off the highway,

  • and it's a very small spot,

  • so it's interesting to me

  • that this was one of the places

  • ranked as one of the best in country

  • based on Yelp reviews.

  • That being said, I'm from New Jersey

  • and I've never had it, so I'm just excited

  • to go see what all this hype is about.

  • Customer: He's so big, like, in New Jersey,

  • that when you come to Garfield,

  • you have to go to Steve's Burgers.

  • Like, you have to come here.

  • Taryn: Of the 2,000 burgers sold a week,

  • the best seller is Steve's burger.

  • Chef and owner Stephen Chrisomalis

  • molds the patties with a food scooper,

  • or what's called a disher, to form 6-ounce rounds.

  • He uses 80/20 ground chuck,

  • which isn't as fatty as regular ground beef

  • but still packed with flavor.

  • Burgers head onto a 48-inch flattop grill

  • filled to the brim with 50 to 60 patties.

  • The Steve's burger comes with

  • American cheese, thick Indiana-cut bacon,

  • and onion rings.

  • Then it's dressed with Steve's seriously delicious sauce.

  • The recipe is secret,

  • but we know it's a base of ketchup, mayo, and relish.

  • And for the final touch, big burgers,

  • like the double Steve's burger,

  • are sandwiched between a toasted brioche roll.

  • Customer: There's very few foods

  • that I would come out of my way in quarantine to get,

  • and this is definitely one of them.

  • That's just...it's beyond good.

  • Taryn: By the end of the day,

  • Steve's has gone through 200 pounds of ground chuck

  • and 500 pounds of potatoes.

  • Fries are made fresh each day,

  • first cut, then soaked.

  • Stephen Chrisomalis: Soaking them, yeah,

  • it takes all the starch out of the potato itself

  • and it cooks them. Gives it a little coating

  • to cook it nicer, so it's crispier.

  • Taryn: They're blanched and cooked halfway

  • at 350 degrees, then cooked again to order.

  • Customer: This is a grease pit. Like, 100%.

  • Like, the food is greasy.

  • Like, that's what - when you come to a place like this,

  • that's what you're looking for.

  • You're not looking for -

  • I'm not here to eat a salad.

  • Taryn: Looking at the single Steve's burger,

  • it honestly is misleading,

  • 'cause this thing is huge.

  • So much sauce.

  • Very crispy bacon.

  • Oh, my God, I think I just wiped the sauce in my hair.

  • It's been a while.

  • You get a crispy bacon, a crunchy onion ring,

  • a really, like, hearty, beefy burger,

  • and, like, Steve's sauce is really, really good.

  • That's, like, he said that it doesn't come on other burgers,

  • and I feel like I would add the Steve's sauce

  • to the other burgers because that's the part

  • that I, like, want in every bite.

  • Another deliciously greasy option:

  • Steve's beloved patty melt.

  • This time, the 6-ounce cheeseburger

  • goes on buttered rye bread

  • with American cheese and fried onions.

  • Customer: I'm a plain Jane.

  • I don't really like too much crazy stuff on my hamburgers,

  • but they have a patty melt here

  • with the burger on the rye.

  • It's f---ing awesome.

  • You can bleep that out, right?

  • Stephen: So good. It's honestly my favorite,

  • but I can't say that. [laughs]

  • Customer: Oh, easily top five places I would go

  • in New Jersey if I were to pick a place to go. Easily.

  • I'd say this is probably one of the tastes of New Jersey

  • you'd wanna come visit.

  • Taryn: Local magazines and critics

  • say much of the same,

  • and then the numbers speak for themselves.

  • Stephen says he serves about 2,000 burgers a week

  • across his two locations.

  • Stephen: My goal is 1,000 Steve's Burgers.

  • 1,000, so I have 998 more to go,

  • and I'm gonna stick with it.

  • Customer: For five, 10 years, we never stopped in here,

  • and then we realized, everyone's talking

  • about this place. It's fantastic.

  • Customer: I keep telling them, like,

  • you guys gotta get T-shirts.

  • I'll be your No. 1 spokesperson, I don't care.

  • I'll come here all the time.

  • And I'll tell everyone how good it is.

Taryn Varricchio: Few foods scream summer

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