A new burger in the city of steaks

PHILADELPHIA. Stephen Starr's foray into seafood and steaks have been classic successes in Philadelphia, but yesterday the restaurateur opened his old-fashioned burger and hot stand on Franklin Square.

The grand opening for SquareBurger is Thursday when Ben Franklin impersonator Ralph Archibald will symbolically taste the first burger, but customers were given a taste yesterday during a soft opening.

"Very good," said Jeff Budden, an Old City resident. "[There are] nice pickles on them. That's a nice touch."

Fairmount resident Danielle Delre was already waiting for a second burger.

"The fries are good," Delre said. "I'm waiting for another burger to come out if that's any indication."

Starr won a bid between to operate a concession stand on the historic square, which is overseen nonprofit organization Historic Philadelphia.

"We thought their proposal was the best and would bring the most people to the Square," said Amy Needle, president and CEO of Historic Philadelphia.

In contrast to Starr's luxury restaurants Pod and Buddakan, everything on the menu at SquareBurger is under $5. In addition to classic hamburgers, hot dogs and fries, the stand also features a milk shake with Tastykake Krimpets and a salad made of all local ingredients.

Chef Shane Cash, of Butcher & Singer who developed the menu at the stand, said it will definitely have a Starr Restaurants feel.

"The thing about this stand is it really does bring back old-fashioned memories," he said.