Pop Burger
58-60 9th Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets
New York, NY 10014
212.414.2626
Subway: A/C/E to 14th Street; L to 8th Avenue

I popped (ha) into Pop Burger with a friend after having drinks at Ono at the Gansevoort Hotel. We were starving, and we just needed something to hold us over, not a serious meal.

Pop Burger is a super modern space, and I felt as though I'd walked into a Jetsons cartoon instead of a burger joint. There are multiple "areas" of the restaurant, from a grab-and-eat counter area in front to a loungey, typical Meatpacking District table area in the middle and a bar, pool room and DJ booth in back. Yes, a DJ booth. Welcome to the Meatpacking District.

Upon entering, we wondered if it was closed because there wasn't a soul in the place. As we proceeded to the bar, there were three people sitting apart from each other taking up the entire length of the bar even though they were together. They moved over so we could take a seat.

We didn't order burgers although the Pop "mini" burgers (essentially White Castle-esque sliders) did sound appetizing. We chose the individual lobster nachos with guacamole ($15) and a side of French fries. I nightcapped it with a specialty cocktail, the Flirtini ($12), which was coyingly sweet and almost painful to drink.

The lobster nachos was basically a dollop of a mediocre lobster salad on a tortilla chip with no chunks of lobster to be seen. It tasted fine, and I probably enjoyed it more because I had a few drinks in me, but it was a pretty pathetic dish. The clear winner, however. was the French fries. Medium thickness (not shoestring or super skinny, but not steak fries) with a deep golden hue, these fries rocked. There wasn't a soggy one in the entire batch; every last fry was crispy and delicious.

As an added bonus, Pop Burger has great take-out and makes the perfect party food, as I experienced at a recent apartment get-together. Even though they weren't freshly-made, the sliders were quite good with a crispy brioche-like bun, shredded lettuce and a perfect little plum tomato slice. My only complaint was that the bun to meat ratio was completely off; fortunately, the bready bun was quite excellent on its own so the mini-burger still fares well.

Pop Burger would not be a destination for me. But those fries deserve recognition.