Greenpoint Veggie Burger Diaries: Jimmy’s Diner II

In this most recent Veggie Burgers Diaries, we visited Jimmy’s Diner on Franklin St. There aren’t a ton of lunch options in the area, so we figured we’d give it a shot and try the Black Bean Burger. Plus Gina and I had some talking to do about moving into a new space – an exciting but mentally draining ordeal for my brain. 

Now we have a shared desk space in a great coworking space at No Space / Not An Alternative. We love our coworkers and the space, but we are quickly outgrowing our work area. All of our market supplies, hot cups, twinkle lights, signs – are shoved underneath our desk and poor “D” (our office dog/intern) doesn’t have room for her doggie bed. This actually doesn’t matter since “D” sits on Gina’s lap all day. Gina can’t say no to D.

(Quick plug: our former desk space will be available as of March 1st, it’s a great deal and a great space. Email me greenpointers (at) gmail.com if you’re interested!)

No matter how you slice it moving sucks, but we found a bigger space on the same floor in the same building at Fowler Arts Brooklyn Annex. I’d rented my first studio with Fowler years ago and love working around artists. And, we can’t get much closer than the same floor!

Still, I tend to be too impulsive with these decisions. Like in college I had a great place right across from campus, but was intolerant of my roommate’s general weirdness. One day I rashly decided to move to a big old run down mansion with tons of space. I had a dusty crystal chandelier and velvet wallpaper in my bedroom, but the house was overrun with girls whose filthy habits put the major roach infestation to shame. I moved back in with my parents after a month. Yes, it was depressing.

Sharing the Black Bean Burger with a side of Tater Tots (obviously) in the cozy sunny booths was not depressing and we discussed the pros and the cons of the new space and the burger.

We ordered the veggie burger in the Greenpointers’ classic way, topped with Cheddar, Avocado and we slathered it in the chipotle mayo that came with the tater tots. It needed the mayo. The patty, while very meaty in texture and appearance, was on the dry side. The sauce saved the burger, which was served on a moist and not too thick brioche style bun. We were perfectly content – but not blown away by the burger.

While this isn’t a Tater Tots contest, I will say that we both agreed that the tots were not what we were expecting. I am an Ora Ida fan (I oddly ate them frozen solid as a child) – so I clearly have an experienced and refined tater tot palette. As I understand, tater tots are a fried hash brown ball, right? Jimmy’s Diner’s homemade tots were more like Potato Croquettes: a crispy on the outside mashed potato ball. Why am I complaining, right? That sounds heavenly, but it actually lacked flavor and I only ate one tot. And I can slay tater tots! Stick with the disco fries. (For all you amateurs – that’s waffle fries topped with gravy and cheese.)

As for the new office space, we are going for it! We desperately need more room and plan to warm it up and make it our own. Stay tuned for the before and after photos.