By Ariel Vered

PROJECT: POP BURGER (UPTOWN)

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Roy Liebenthal, owner of The Lemon, POP, POP Burger, and the late, great Caf���� Tabac.

TEAM: Architect Ali Tayar, who collaborated with Liebenthal on the original POP Burger on Ninth Avenue in Chelsea. This is their fourth commercial project together. �������Roy has great interest in contemporary art and rock music,������� says Tayar. �������For the POP Burger concept, we thought about how we could update the fast-food and saloon concepts and combine them.�������

LOCATION: East 58th Street between Fifth and Madison avenues, overlooking the Apple cube, Grand Army Plaza, and Central Park. �������I want to hit a broad range of people,������� Liebenthal says. �������It��������s the heart of Manhattan, the center of New York.������� It��������s also right next to Bergdorf Goodman, so the thick-walleted couture crowd might be tempted off the South Beach Diet wagon.

DESIGN: The striking fa����ade��������a wall of blown-glass windows��������is unique to the 58th Street location: �������It��������s the first time POP Burger is getting an expression on the street,������� says Tayar. Inside, three levels make this not just a fast-food joint but a viable nightspot. On the ground floor, a 75-foot, backlit aluminum mural��������laser-etched with porney food phrases, such as �������mouth-watering hot burgers������� and �������sizzling steaks��������will run the length of the takeout counter. Upstairs, the luxe lounge is conceived as a modern take on an old New York saloon, with raw white oak, mirrored tables, and red felt banquettes. The penthouse is a billiards hall with a full bar and a private room.

MOTIVE: An avid art collector, Liebenthal wanted the restaurant to pay homage to his favorite artist, Andy Warhol, and to the popular culture he created. �������Warhol��������s greatest influence as an artist was his ability to fuse highbrow and lowbrow culture. That��������s sort of what POP Burger is,������� Liebenthal says. �������It happens in the context of two burgers for $5. You can��������t ever do pop culture with a $25 burger.�������

MISSION: To fuse three icons of American culture��������the fast-food restaurant, the saloon and the billiards hall��������into a tri-level dining experience that appeals to��������what else��������an American audience marinated in all things pop. Just don��������t call it upscale. �������I don��������t perceive it as that,������� Liebenthal says. �������Stylized, sure, but not upscale.������� THE CROWD: Time will tell, but its creators hope for a mix of classes, cultures, and taste buds; the kind of place New Yorkers will claim as their own while allowing for the inevitable tourist traffic. �������If they like the product, that��������s who I��������m looking for,������� says Liebenthal, who is a frequent visitor. Although, he adds, �������I��������m probably getting too old to hang out at my own restaurant.�������

THE MENU: The �������Iinvisible������� burger is a popular and delicious menu item, as well as a direct tribute to Warhol. �������In the ��������80s, he did a sculpture in the nightclub Area, where he stood in front of a wall then stepped away from it, and called it an �������Invisible Sculpture,��������������� Liebenthal says. And the invisible burger is? A portobello mushroom.