The One White Street cheeseburger went viral last summer with many people calling it the best burger in New York City. The fast-food-style burger seems simple — two thin patties are stacked between a sesame bun with sauce and onions — but every high-quality ingredient is meticulously made in the Tribeca restaurant’s zero-waste kitchen. The meat for the burger is ground in-house, using multiple cuts of wagyu beef, and is perfectly portioned in a patty press. Executive chef Galen Kennemer recommends pairing the order with the fried potatoes, which are tossed in powdered chili pulp and served with Sriracha sauce.
But there’s more than just a fantastic burger at the Michelin-Green-starred restaurant, one of only a few honored spots in the city. Kennemer explains that One White Street is committed to a farm-to-table ethos, literally operating its own farm upstate, Rigger Hill Farms, and building a menu around what produce is in season.
In the kitchen, Kennemer sears huge halves of cabbage until they are blackened. “Over the last several years, I think that burnt has become an actual flavor to use,” he says. “Charred is in.” Those cabbages are put through a juicer to make the sauce for a flavorful lamb dish. For the same dish, lamb necks from Colorado are cured for two days in salt, brown sugar, and black peppercorns, before being smoked at a low temperature and slowly cooked down in the burnt cabbage juice. Pickles, made from the farm’s vegetables, and fresh flatbread are served with the smoky lamb neck, so diners can build their own gyros at the table.
For other dishes, whole ducks from the Hudson Valley are butchered and then dry-aged for two weeks before being integrated into many dishes, including a confit duck leg and beans entree inspired by French cassoulet. The fresh beans are soaked, slow simmered with aromatics, and prepped to be cooked down for service.
“Trying to eat local, eat seasonal, support small farmers, [and] trying not to waste stuff,” is the central message of the kitchen says Kennemer. “I think that is just a great approach to making our food culture stronger, better, and hopefully more longevity with having good food.”
Watch the latest episode of Experts to see how One White Street integrates sustainable practices into a kitchen churning out show-stopping lamb necks, comforting duck dishes, and a stellar burger.
