Party at 5 Napkin Burger: New Menu Tasting!

The clink of glasses, the brightly colored dishes and sweet seasonings in the air – There’s nothing quite like a foodie party, and I was lucky enough to be invited to one at 5 Napkin Burger for their new menu tasting!

I found myself surrounded by some of Boston’s biggest food, drink and events people on social media, including Only in Boston, Concierge Boston, and Boston Attitude, and I knew this would be an amazing meal!

We had gathered together to dine on 5 Napkin Burger’s newest menu in Back Bay. Grab a snack and sit back, because this post will make you hungry (and hopefully not hangry)!

We started by noshing on some starters, like the Edamame Hummus shown above. I absolutely adored the presentation of this plate, which consisted of miso – tahini, sunflower seeds, sprouts, radishes, & warm flatbread.

You can tell the chef really cares about presentation, which is definitely appreciated by me as a diner! The ingredients were so fresh, and this dip felt incredibly healthy.

This Pesto Flatbread looked so good that I couldn’t snag a pic before someone stole a slice! It came with oven-dried tomatoes, pesto & cheese, and I honestly could have eaten the whole thing myself, it was that delicious.

The Tijuana Shrimp Ceviche also came out with a beautiful presentation. The brightly colored chipotle, orange, onion, jicama, avocado, tomato, lime, and corn nuts were gorgeous and scrumptious. However, as you can see it’s a smaller dish than the others. I would suggest this one as a starter for those with a smaller appetite.

Next, we had this Stack of Thick-Cut Panko Onion Rings with asiago fondue. The warm asiago just melted onto the fried onions, and the presentation was so epic! It was completely as good as it looks.

Here we have the “Rhode Island Style” Crispy Calamari, which means it comes with vinegar peppers, parsley & lemon. Yum!

Now, what you’ve all been waiting for (drum roll please!) – The Original 5 Napkin Burger! We were told this burger’s flavors were meant to be reminiscent of French Onion Soup. Confused? So was I, until I learned it consisted of 10 oz. of fresh ground beef, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, and rosemary aioli on a soft white roll. It was utterly delicious, with an earthy taste that’s so different from your standard ketchup-and-mustard burger. It’s incredibly unique!

The French theme comes from where 5 Napkin Burger got it’s roots, which is a French restaurant that still stands in NYC (Nice Matin). As the story goes, the investor of this restaurant suggested that the chef add a burger to it’s menu, and said it should be called the 5 Napkin Burger.

When the doors opened and the critics arrived, the rave reviews started flowing – but all they kept talking about was this amazing burger! So now we have a whole chain of restaurants based around this amazingly unique french onion soup burger. I love getting the inside scoop on restaurants, it really brings them to life and gives them depth.

For a super healthy and fresh option, get the Grilled Mahi. It comes with guacamole, crema, mango salsa, and cilantro, yum!

For all you super carnivores, be sure to try the Lamb Kofta! It comes with lamb & beef ground with onions, garlic, parsley & spices, tomato, cucumber, tahini sauce, pepper & onion relish.

The moral of the 5 Napkin Burger story is that whatever you get, you pretty much can’t go wrong here. They have a wide selection of burgers, sliders, salads, entrees, and starters, and even a ton of milkshakes for dessert! We tried the cookies n cream, smore’s, and salted caramel. They don’t turn out so great in pictures, but they turn out quite amazing in your tummy!

Insiders scoop: Keep this on the low-down, but apparently a new cocktail menu is in the works at 5 Napkin too, so stay tuned to see what that selection is like!

Comment Challenge: What ingredients make up your dream burger?

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