Astor Bake Shop

I had eagerly awaited the opening of this bakery, next to one of my favorite local bars - Hell Gate Social. When the bake shop finally opened its doors, the hours were a little funny at first so I kept showing up when they were closing, or at a time when they were not serving the lunch menu, etc. I tasted an insanely rich slice of chocolate cake, a breakfast sandwich, and a chocolate croissant, but I was dying to try the lentil burger…

Finally, I did – and it was completely worth the wait!
I had pretty high expectations for this burger. I was anticipating it being a 4-star one, but it completely defied my expectations and turned out to be a 5-star instead!



The patty was delicious – I have to admit, I am usually a fan of burgers that have more vegetables and grains than beans, but this is the best lentil burger I have ever tasted. The outside of the patty was crispy, the inside was soft, and it fell apart in my mouth but didn’t fall out of the bun in pieces. Perfect.

It comes topped with tomatoes, pickled onions (a first for me – they were great!), and an amazingly tasty horseradish sauce. My plate also contained a side of mixed greens, some of which I added to the burger since I like my burgers with a leafy crunch. And the bun was everything you would expect a bun from a bakery to be: sweet and soft and delicious!



I asked if the burger was vegan, and was told that they currently use egg as a binder for the patty, but are working on finding a replacement to make it vegan (how awesome and thoughtful is that?). The horseradish sauce is dairy-based, but you could definitely order the burger without it (although it was delicious… hopefully they will get a good dairy-free sauce that you could substitute too!)

Finally… the true test of a five-star burger: Was I already fantasizing about going back to eat it again, only one day later? YES!

Cost: $6.95
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Burger patty: 4      Bun: 5      Toppings: 5

Astor Bake Shop
12-23 Astoria Blvd
at the corner of 14th street
Astoria, NY 11102
718.606.8439

YumVeggieBurger review #27