May is national burger month and tomorrow is Memorial Day, which means almost everyone will be outside cooking up burgers, from the veggie kinds to the fancy ones. About a month ago, professional burger eater/connoisseur/writer Dave “Rev” Ciancio tweeted at me and said we should collaborate. We came up with the idea to have all our Jersey City followers vote for their favorite local burger. We would choose the top 3 winners and go try all of them in one afternoon.

After putting up the call out on both our social media, we got more than 500 votes!! It was insanity and a few people were arguing with each other, it was kind of amazing to see all these people so passionate about burgers!

We tallied the votes and chose Jersey City’s top 3 favorite Burgers!

1- New Park Tavern

The New Park Tavern Burger won by a landslide, and the people who voted for this burger were so passionate about it, a few even said that if it doesn’t win they have no hope for humanity… talk about taking this burger thing seriously! Since this was the winner, Rev and I decided to meet here first.

I’ve been to Park Tavern before for an event so I sort of knew what to expect, but I was really surprised that the “best burger in Jersey City” would be at a local bar that’s been around for over 47 years! Before we got the food, we drank some beer and I got to know Rev.

What’s your name? My name is “Rev”. My mother doesn’t call me that, she calls me David Ciancio, but everyone calls me “Rev.”

Why Rev? In 1997, I got ordained in the Universal Life Church in Modesto, California. I started signing my emails and letters with “Rev. Dave Ciancio” because I am a Reverend… Then people started thinking that was my name… It just became my nickname.

You’re a Reverend! I’ve done 13 weddings in my career, but I don’t do it professionally. I didn’t get ordained for religious reasons. I did it cause I thought it would be funny.

So you are the Reverend of burgers!! I have been called the “Holy Man” of burgers.

Tell me about this…. Have you always been obsessed with burgers? My obsession with burgers dates back to being a kid from both my parents. My Mom was obsessed with sliders and my Father was obsessed with backyard BBQ burgers. They got divorced when I was 2 and there were different times when they would have me. So my Mom, as a treat, would take me to eat sliders, which is a big thing in Detroit. Then when I was with my Dad he would grill burgers in the backyard. My affectation for burgers is an extension of my appreciation of my parents… I associate eating burgers with family friends, good times, anniversaries, birthdays, good grades, etc. It over defines comfort food for me.

That’s what inspired me to start my now defunct burger blog, Burger Conquest (www.burgerconquest.com) in 2008. Since then, I’ve been on 13th different TV shows and founded NY Burger Week (www.theburgerweek.com)

How many burgers do you eat a week? I would say on average a week, around 3. Sometimes it can go as high as 27.  Sometimes there are none. But as an example, from the 24th of April to the 7th of May, I ate 50 burgers.

Wow. On the 24th of April I had 15 in 5 hours.

Aren’t you scared of health issues? I saw my doctor two weeks ago and he told me that hamburgers are not my problem. Beer, buns and french fries are where I need to watch out.

Oh the carbs. Yeah, I just need to cut back on those.

What do you do for work? I am the Director of Marketing for Schweid & Sons (http://scwheidandsons.com). We are a 4th generation gourmet ground beef purveyor. The company is owned and operated by a father and 2 sons. Both their grandfather and great-grandfather were butchers in New York City.

So you do all their marketing? You love burgers and your job is all about burgers! It’s a little Charlie and Chocolate Factory like! Ha ha. I fell into this.

What makes a good burger? What is the criteria? It starts with really good quality ground meat, because you can mess up the bun a little, you might not have a great mix of condiments… but if the meat is no good, or low quality, there is nothing you can do. Always us fresh never frozen, high quality, ground meat and it has to be cooked appropriately. I prefer cooking on a high temperature, a little salt and pepper, I like to sear the outside… don’t push it down, don’t push the grease out … and always a fresh bun. Also, I don’t eat hamburgers without cheese.

Best burger you’ve ever had? I get asked this question all the time. It’s kind of unfair… it’s like asking Bono what his favorite U2 song is. I do have an answer though. There was a burger that no longer exists… on 23rd St and 7th Ave called Rub B.B.Q. (https://twitter.com/rubbbq), that was by far the best burger I’ve ever had.

What about in Jersey City? I don’t have a favorite Burger in Jersey City yet. That’s part of the reason I was excited to do this burger crawl with you.

I went to White Mana recently that didn’t make it to our list, but it was so good. I believe the Jersey City Mana is much better then the one in Hackensack.

WhiteStar Bar was also in the lead… so I had to go try that one too!! Haha. Where was my invite?

So Park Tavern won by a landslide! Have you ever been here? No, the funny part is that I used to live two blocks away.

I love it here. I didn’t expect this type of bar in this part of town to have this good of a burger!

I am really excited! Let’s eat! 

What do you think? I love a classic old school pub Burger and that’s exactly what this is. No frills, no crazy toppings, no artisan blend … just a thick, chargrilled Burger on a bun with some cheese.

WOW. I get why people are so passionate about this one. Are you ready for more? Let’s go!

2- Left Bank Burger- Exit 14b

It wasn’t too surprising that a restaurant dedicated to burgers would make the list! Left bank came in at a close number two after Park Tavern. But what was surprising, is that people selected a burger that wasn’t actually on the menu at the time. The burger is Exit 14b. A burger with Taylor ham, egg and cheese on an english muffin.

Oh man, it was so good, I can’t even tell you. I told Danny, the owner of Left Bank that he needs to put this thing back on the menu real quick. Beyond delicious. I think this Burger is the perfect thing for brunch or for a hangover. It was so delicious. I want one now.

Rev? Thoughts? This is the embodiment of NJ in Burger form. Pork roll, egg and cheese on a Burger served in an English Muffin. It’s everything you could possibly want in a breakfast Burger. I love that the egg was cooked over medium so the yolk bursts and covers the Burger in all kind of deliciousness. This is a multi-napkin sandwich for sure!

3- Park & Sixth- The Beast

At this point I was pretty full but we needed to finish our mission and eat all three burgers. We walked (rolled) to Park and Sixth to eat the final burger…”The Beast”. Awesome. After eating two burgers, the last on the list is called “The beast”. Whatever, I was game. There is something I am really proud of, I can out eat almost anyone! Even Burger fanatic Rev! He was actually pretty impressed with how much food my little belly was able to handle.

Rev. Talk to me. Everyone talks about this Burger and I am psyched to finally try it. It’s topped with American cheese, lettuce, bacon, caramelized onions, chipotle mayo, ketchup and a runny egg. You’ll also get right to the heart of my desire with bacon and eggs on a Burger! I kind of love that they refuse any substitutions but I would have preferred this without the ketchup. Otherwise, it’s a really great Burger.

So yummy. I think I might just finish it…. might as well right? Go for it! You have your hip hop class tonight, you will burn it off!

Someone pass me the tums. 

New Park Tavern- 575 Westside Ave

Left Bank Burger- 194 Newark Ave.

Park and Sixth- 279 Grove Street