Burger restaurant Ceriello 541 Club opens in Williston Park
The burger at Ceriello 541 Club in Williston Park is made with a blend of prime brisket, sirloin, short rib and chuck. Credit: Newsday / Erica Marcus
Williston Park's new Ceriello 541 Club burger bar has a fine Italian pedigree. It's owned by and adjacent to Ceriello Fine Italian Foods, one of the Island's best Italian specialty stores and butchers.
For decades, the heart of Andrea Ceriello's business (two stores on Long Island, one in Manhattan and one in Baltimore) has been his fresh and dried Italian sausages. At 541 (named for the address), the burgers are made with the same attention to detail. The beef is all prime, a blend of brisket, sirloin, short ribs and chuck. Once the fat burgers go on the griddle, they are salted and covered with a lid; the resultant steam hastens the cooking. But the lid comes off soon so that the burger can develop a good char. The finished burger is served on a toasted Martin's potato roll. My medium-rare cheeseburger ($6.99) was an unqualified success, as were the hand-cut fries ($2.99).
Proximity to a fine Italian specialty store can inspire a jones for a panino, and 541 obliges with a menu of eight panini ($7.49) that are grill-pressed on demand. Among them, the Roma (fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, tomato, basil and olive oil), the All-American (roast beef with horseradish spread and provolone) and the Cotoletta d'Orata (fried chicken cutlet with tomato and sundried-tomato pesto).
The 541 Club has about a dozen stools and also does takeout. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6:30 (5 p.m. on Sunday).
Ceriello 541 Club is at 541 Willis Ave.,Williston Park, 516-747-0277.
