Everyone has a favorite place for a hamburger, but how many of us are really qualified to judge? You may eat more burgers than Wimpy, you may be the local king of the grill, but these are temporary pursuits. To truly understand the nature of ground beef, you need to go to someone who spends more time with it each day than you could possibly comprehend (or desire). Stanley Lobel, proprietor of the esteemed butcher shop that carries his name, is not without bias. "My first choice is to take some of my own meat and do it myself," he says, "but my second choice is The Lobster Club. Their's has the best texture, and it's properly moist." Of course, if you're looking fire up some burgers at home, Stanley has some advice on that too. "The best hamburger meat is hanger steak," he waxes. "None of the restaurants use it, but when you bite into one you can't believe how good it is."

Related:

• Archive: “Smart City”
• Articles by Sam Grobart
• Table of Contents: Sep 20, 1999 issue of New York | Subscribe!