L'Artusi

The L'Burger is hiding in plain sight. Most people go to L'Artusi thinking about pasta, while the lunch and brunch menu quietly carries a thick burger.

The version we ate used a house-ground patty covered in silky Taleggio, with Calabrian chili aioli, heirloom tomato, and peppery arugula on a butter-toasted bun. The patty was cooked well and stayed juicy. The Taleggio gave the burger a rich, distinctly Italian character without burying the beef, the chili aioli added heat, and the tomato and arugula brought the freshness and acidity required to keep the entire thing from becoming too heavy.

That balance is what made the burger memorable. Beef, Taleggio, aioli, and buttered bread all push toward richness. The tomato and arugula pull the bite back in the other direction. Every component becomes more useful because the others are there.

It is a unique topping combination, but not one built around novelty. The ingredients complement the patty and make the burger feel fresher than most thick cheeseburgers.

The problem is that it has been a while. We only had it once, in 2025, and our burger field has expanded dramatically since then. The original experience was excellent, but the placement needs to be tested again rather than protected by an old first impression. That is not a criticism of the burger. It is the reason we rerank.

Worth noting for anyone ordering today: the current menu describes the burger in less specific terms than our notes do, so treat the house-ground beef, the Calabrian chili, the heirloom tomato, and the butter-toasted bun as what we ate rather than a guarantee of what arrives now.

The L'Burger is still sitting on the lunch and brunch menus, still under the radar, and still waiting for us to decide where it belongs now. We need to go back.

L'Artusi separates itself through a fresh topping combination that balances a rich patty and Taleggio with heat, acidity, and peppery greens. The original burger was excellent and highly cohesive, but the assessment rests on one older visit.

A revisit is needed to determine how that execution compares with the much broader field Brotherly Burgers has evaluated since then.