Urban Quest For The Perfect Burger Ingredients

Forage for the perfect NYC burger elements

We'll do practically anything for a good burger–including bopping all over the city for ingredients. So follow our ground-meat lead and begin an urban quest to acquire the perfect burger components:

Bun: If you're not going the route of deliciously down-market Martin's Potato Rolls, shoot for luxury. The bread masters at Bien Cuit in Carroll Gardens and the West Village make soft milk- and honey-rich pain au lait buns ($1.75 each; $7 for a 4-pack; $10 for a 6-pack). Find them at the West Village and Carroll Gardens stores, and at The Brooklyn Kitchen.

Meat: We're greedy, we'll admit it. We want the tang of a steak and pork's slick of fat, all in one bite. If you're not keen to make your own blend, Dickson's Farmstand Meats does a bang-up job with an 80 percent beef/20 percent bacon patty ($6 each).

Topping: Take your cheeseburger on a Southern detour with a thick slick of the new Hannah's Homemade pimento cheese ($8 for 8 ounces). Pick from Original, Jalapeño & Cilantro, and Hand-Grated Horseradish. Place an order here (free delivery!), or find it at Smorgasburg.

Special Sauce: The folks at Sir Kensington's recently launched two new all-natural mayos ($7 for 10 ounces)–a zippy lemony classic, and a chipotle-spiked version. Find it at Eataly.