This patty was remarkable in every way, delicious, unexpectedly juicy and ingenious. But then, as people who test boundaries often do, Mr. Stupak went too far. He made the patty and the marbled rye round in shape, and about the size of a burger. And he served the sandwich open-faced, with lettuce, raw onions, sliced pickles, mayonnaise and ketchup on the side.
Demand was underwhelming. People asked for real burgers. By the end of the year, Mr. Stupak yanked the mushroom patty melt from the menu.
“I’m realizing now that what I did might have been an odd hybrid,” he wrote in a text message. “Patty melts aren’t built to be opened up and augmented with the stuff I was serving on the side.”
Listening to popular demand, he now offers a regular beef burger on a bun and a veggie burger made with the mushroom patty. And, as of last week, Mischa is serving a retooled mushroom patty melt. The bread is a sourdough Pullman, the cheese is Swiss, the caramelized onions are back. It is not open-faced. A pickle spear is the only accessory.
It has to be the finest meatless patty melt in the city. It probably won’t outsell the burger. But if you like patty melts, you knew that already.
The Commerce Inn 50 Commerce Street (Barrow Street), West Village; no phone.
Daily Provisions 103 East 19th Street (Park Avenue), Gramercy; 646-503-4440; and other locations.
Hamburger America 51 Macdougal Street (Houston Street), SoHo; 646-707-0497.
Mischa 157 East 53rd Street (Lexington Avenue), Midtown; 212-466-6381.
Revelie Luncheonette 179 Prince Street (Sullivan Street), SoHo; 212-696-1917.
S & P Lunch 174 Fifth Avenue (West 22nd Street), Flatiron district; 212-691-8862.
