Summer is a great time for hamburgers. When you’ve got a craving for a good burger, look no further than Harvey’s Burger Shack in the center of downtown.
There is seating both inside and outside, which is pleasant in the Jerusalem evening. My youngest son and I were welcomed by manager Tani-Ben-Haim, who told us he hopes to introduce an American level of customer service to the restaurant.
I watched Tani, who seemed to be everywhere at once, taking orders, supervising the deliveries and making sure the place was running well. There are separate menus in Hebrew and English with photos and very good descriptions.
There are appetizers including Texas Barbecue Nachos (NIS 38) and Fried Chicken Wings in Spicy Buffalo Sauce (NIS 42), but we had come for the burgers so we went straight to the main event.
I chose the Double Jack Whiskey (NIS 76) which came with Jack Daniels’s Barbecue sauce, Asado Facon (The Jerusalem Rabbanut has said that restaurants can no longer use the word “bacon” although this menu in English had it as “F(b)acon,” in a gesture of rebellion), vegan cheddar cheese, caramelized onions (which I asked them to leave off) and Harvey’s Special Sauce, which is a Ranch-type dressing.
My son ordered the Double Classic American (NIS 74), which came with smoked beef Facon, vegan cheddar cheese, lettuce tomatoes, pickles, onions and Harvey’s Special Sauce.
The burgers are ground in-house and they are smashed burgers, meaning they are relatively flat and cook quickly. The burgers came out piping hot in minutes. You can also build your own burger with a single 125-gram burger costing just NIS 36, and a double NIS 48. You can add everything from Hickory Smoked Pulled Beef (NIS 16) to NY Style Pastrami (NIS 22).
“It was amazing,” said my son Mishy. “What a great burger!”
Tani insisted we separately taste both the pastrami, which is smoked in-house, and the pulled beef and both toppings were excellent. The onion rings (NIS 28) are also made in-house, while the combination of regular French fries and sweet potato fries (NIS 18) was crispy and had no trace of oil.
You can add NIS 20 to any burger and get fries and a can of Coke, and there’s currently a special that if you order any of the specialty burgers, you can get fries and a beer for NIS 20. There is an extensive beer and cocktail menu.
Delivery is available for NIS 25 with a NIS 130 minimum.
Harvey’s Burger ShackShlomzion Hamalka 1, JerusalemSunday-Thursday: 12 noon-10:30 p.m.Phone: (02) 657-1303Kashrut: Rabbanut Mehuderet
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.