No need to give the location info for this one, cuz it was the worst burger I've had in a while. So bad, in fact, that they apologized to me, took the price of it off our Christmas eve dinner bill, and instead I had an appetizer BLT salad, a mojito, and wine for dinner.
Don't even get me started on the chicken fried brown rice side dish..........
Monday, December 24, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Eat Bar
http://tallularestaurant.com/barandlounge.htm
2761 Washington Blvd
Arlington, VA
(703) 778-9951
Eat Bar is the drinks & apps side of Tallulla, sort of near the Clarendon metro. It was a warm night, and the walk was just fine. Burgerman offered to take me somewhere fun after the splinter ordeal at Georgetown Hospital, so I figured what better way to cheer up than by furthering our burger quest!
The decor is fun, and the service is extremely friendly. I felt like I was at a buddy's house, asking him to reach into the fridge and grab me another beer. I liked that comfortable atmosphere. They had wine on tap! It was a really neat way to allow patrons to have a huge selection of wines by the glass, and Burgerman and I were impressed.
I went with the chorizo & goat cheese stuffed pepper and the baby burger, because you know I can't resist a menu item described as "baby". It was tiny, but delicious! Whatever kind of caramelized onion sauce came on that burger was really the showstopper, because Burgerman ordered the entree-sized burger (which doesn't have sauce) and it wasn't anything special. So, just get lots of baby burgers and skip the big burger. The brioche buns were toasted and yummy, and my cheese was nice. We also got a plate of fries, which are seasoned with rosemary and served with homemade ketchup, and we were in heaven. My stuffed pepper was small but scrumptious, with a bit of dressed mixed greens underneath.
The place was a bit pricey for the portion size; my baby burger was $3.50, which seems like a bargain, but it was truly only about 4 Kimburgly-sized bites big (just 1-2 Burgerman-sized bites). The entree burger was $8, but not all that big, and the fries were $4 for a reasonable amount. The food was heavy enough that we didn't leave hungry, but I certainly wasn't full. I would def go back for a plate full of baby burgers and a bowl of rosemary fries, and and next time I'd also opt for the bacon-wrapped figs I've read so much about.
2761 Washington Blvd
Arlington, VA
(703) 778-9951
Eat Bar is the drinks & apps side of Tallulla, sort of near the Clarendon metro. It was a warm night, and the walk was just fine. Burgerman offered to take me somewhere fun after the splinter ordeal at Georgetown Hospital, so I figured what better way to cheer up than by furthering our burger quest!
The decor is fun, and the service is extremely friendly. I felt like I was at a buddy's house, asking him to reach into the fridge and grab me another beer. I liked that comfortable atmosphere. They had wine on tap! It was a really neat way to allow patrons to have a huge selection of wines by the glass, and Burgerman and I were impressed.
I went with the chorizo & goat cheese stuffed pepper and the baby burger, because you know I can't resist a menu item described as "baby". It was tiny, but delicious! Whatever kind of caramelized onion sauce came on that burger was really the showstopper, because Burgerman ordered the entree-sized burger (which doesn't have sauce) and it wasn't anything special. So, just get lots of baby burgers and skip the big burger. The brioche buns were toasted and yummy, and my cheese was nice. We also got a plate of fries, which are seasoned with rosemary and served with homemade ketchup, and we were in heaven. My stuffed pepper was small but scrumptious, with a bit of dressed mixed greens underneath.
The place was a bit pricey for the portion size; my baby burger was $3.50, which seems like a bargain, but it was truly only about 4 Kimburgly-sized bites big (just 1-2 Burgerman-sized bites). The entree burger was $8, but not all that big, and the fries were $4 for a reasonable amount. The food was heavy enough that we didn't leave hungry, but I certainly wasn't full. I would def go back for a plate full of baby burgers and a bowl of rosemary fries, and and next time I'd also opt for the bacon-wrapped figs I've read so much about.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Burgers Abroad: Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage
1246 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 354-6559
We finally made the effort to cross the river and experience burgers at Bartleys. First off, their selection was crazy! Each burger had a different name, most with a political or sports affiliation. I chose the Condoleeza, which came with jack cheese, bacon, tomato, onion & lettuce. Burgerman had the Yuppie, which was Boursin and bacon (hold the Boursin). He got normal fries, I upgraded to sweet potato fries. When we saw they had frappes on the menu, we knew we were back in New England. Our chocolate frappe with banana was AMAZING and enormous, thank goodness we just split one! It had the perfect thickness, so that you were still able to sip it through a straw but not melted-milky in the least. Now about the burgers - the meat is ground fresh daily, and I've never had a burger with so much juice in my life! It was kinda gross the way it kept bleeding on my plate, but at least this place know medium. Burgerman thought the bacon was delicious, and ate his burger in record time. He was not, however, impressed with the fries, which seemed much more like the frozen than fresh variety. On the other hand, my sweet potato fries were out of this world! Soooo sweet and delicious and definitely fresh cut, I only wish I could have dipped them in a little honey mustard. They were terrific on their own though.
We liked how each table had able ketchup supplies in a squeeze bottle, because those glass bottles can really be a pain. Seating was cafeteria style, but we were early and so we were able to grab a private table for 2 by the wall. By the time we left, people were lined up on the street waiting to get in the door, despite the 19 degree temp and bone chilling wind. I guess I'd forgotten that this is normal December weather for Boston.
Bartley's was an awesome way to start off my Boston trip.
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 354-6559
We finally made the effort to cross the river and experience burgers at Bartleys. First off, their selection was crazy! Each burger had a different name, most with a political or sports affiliation. I chose the Condoleeza, which came with jack cheese, bacon, tomato, onion & lettuce. Burgerman had the Yuppie, which was Boursin and bacon (hold the Boursin). He got normal fries, I upgraded to sweet potato fries. When we saw they had frappes on the menu, we knew we were back in New England. Our chocolate frappe with banana was AMAZING and enormous, thank goodness we just split one! It had the perfect thickness, so that you were still able to sip it through a straw but not melted-milky in the least. Now about the burgers - the meat is ground fresh daily, and I've never had a burger with so much juice in my life! It was kinda gross the way it kept bleeding on my plate, but at least this place know medium. Burgerman thought the bacon was delicious, and ate his burger in record time. He was not, however, impressed with the fries, which seemed much more like the frozen than fresh variety. On the other hand, my sweet potato fries were out of this world! Soooo sweet and delicious and definitely fresh cut, I only wish I could have dipped them in a little honey mustard. They were terrific on their own though.
We liked how each table had able ketchup supplies in a squeeze bottle, because those glass bottles can really be a pain. Seating was cafeteria style, but we were early and so we were able to grab a private table for 2 by the wall. By the time we left, people were lined up on the street waiting to get in the door, despite the 19 degree temp and bone chilling wind. I guess I'd forgotten that this is normal December weather for Boston.
Bartley's was an awesome way to start off my Boston trip.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Burgers Abroad: The Barnsider
http://www.barnsiderrestaurants.com/
480 Sand Creek Rd.
Albany, NY 12212
Tel: 518-869-2448
While in Albany for the holiday weekend, I was treated to a nice dinner out at The Barnsider. They are known around town for their beef, so I settled on a cheeseburger. It only came with half of a top bun for some reason, but I wasn't really in the mood for bread so that didn't matter. I slathered on a good amount of ketchup and removed the onion (because it was the most powerful red onion I'd ever tasted), and it was quite nice with lettuce and tomato. The meat was very fresh and so it crumbled easily.....do you know what I mean? They cooked it perfectly, so that was awesome. Overall I was happy with my burger in NY.
This weekend we are going up to Boston, where we will hopefully try the famous Mr. Bartley's burgers in Harvard Square. I am quite excited.
PLEASE please please make comments! We welcome your input, and we'd love to have new restaurant suggestions to add to our list!!!!
480 Sand Creek Rd.
Albany, NY 12212
Tel: 518-869-2448
While in Albany for the holiday weekend, I was treated to a nice dinner out at The Barnsider. They are known around town for their beef, so I settled on a cheeseburger. It only came with half of a top bun for some reason, but I wasn't really in the mood for bread so that didn't matter. I slathered on a good amount of ketchup and removed the onion (because it was the most powerful red onion I'd ever tasted), and it was quite nice with lettuce and tomato. The meat was very fresh and so it crumbled easily.....do you know what I mean? They cooked it perfectly, so that was awesome. Overall I was happy with my burger in NY.
This weekend we are going up to Boston, where we will hopefully try the famous Mr. Bartley's burgers in Harvard Square. I am quite excited.
PLEASE please please make comments! We welcome your input, and we'd love to have new restaurant suggestions to add to our list!!!!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Not Your Average Joe's
http://www.notyouraveragejoes.com/
19307 Promenade Drive (Lansdowne Town Center)
Leesburg, VA
(571) 333-5637
We ran the Herndon Turkey Trot on Saturday afternoon, and since we were half-way there, we continued on to the Leesburg outlets to return some stuff. What do to with our new-found riches(before Burgerman eats his arm off)? Head to NYAJ, of course! I actually opted for the rosemary scallop skewer because the creamy orzo, bacon, portobello, & spinach side dish it came with sounded too good to pass up on this chilly night (and it was), so Burgerman was the one who ate the burger. I'll let him tell you his thoughts. I had a fry.....very mushy and greasy and dark brown, I think someone needed to change the oil.
I will say that the dessert - the Peanut Butter Thing - is really awesome. It's a light & fluffy peanut butter ice cream pie with a crumbly oreo crust and oreo crumble stripe in the middle, served with chocolate sauce (not syrup, its like the stuff Starbucks puts in their drinks), caramel sauce, and real whipped cream. Mmmmm
19307 Promenade Drive (Lansdowne Town Center)
Leesburg, VA
(571) 333-5637
We ran the Herndon Turkey Trot on Saturday afternoon, and since we were half-way there, we continued on to the Leesburg outlets to return some stuff. What do to with our new-found riches(before Burgerman eats his arm off)? Head to NYAJ, of course! I actually opted for the rosemary scallop skewer because the creamy orzo, bacon, portobello, & spinach side dish it came with sounded too good to pass up on this chilly night (and it was), so Burgerman was the one who ate the burger. I'll let him tell you his thoughts. I had a fry.....very mushy and greasy and dark brown, I think someone needed to change the oil.
I will say that the dessert - the Peanut Butter Thing - is really awesome. It's a light & fluffy peanut butter ice cream pie with a crumbly oreo crust and oreo crumble stripe in the middle, served with chocolate sauce (not syrup, its like the stuff Starbucks puts in their drinks), caramel sauce, and real whipped cream. Mmmmm
Monday, November 12, 2007
Ceiba
http://www.ceibarestaurant.com/home.html
701 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
(202) 393-3983
Sadly, they changed their burger up just before we arrived, and I must say I was a bigger fan of the old presentation.....the tiny, crispy fries, the sweet potato bun, the pancetta all made it perfect in my mind. Substituting thick, starchy yucca fries, buttery, grilled sourdough, and tasteless, mush "caramelized" onions was a huge disappointment.
First off, this burger needs a sturdy bun to hold all the chorizo grease! Sourdough makes it seem like some kind of sloppy burger-panini, which is far from what it should be. The sweet flavor of the sweet potato bun complimented the chorizo nicely, whereas all the butter from the sourdough seems to make it a grilled heart-attack.
The yucca fries were a big much for my taste, and way too heavy of a side dish. The chorizo burger is heavy itself. The old crispy, potato-stick like fries could be added to the burger itself to give it a crunchy texture and salty bite, but also tasted great when dipped in the mustard aoli. So versatile! The yucca fries would be best used for building a small shelter in the wilderness.
The onions were tasteless. Why would you ever take away the bacon?
Thank goodness is still had a lot of manchego and the mustard sauce. But I barely recognized it as it was.
Oh, and they upped the price by a dollar to $14. Not cool since they made it worse.
Bring back your old burger, Ceiba!
Even the bartender agreed with us. And he gave us a free mojito. Booyah.
Rating: 3 to 3.5 (4.5 if it was made the old way, sadly)
701 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
(202) 393-3983
Sadly, they changed their burger up just before we arrived, and I must say I was a bigger fan of the old presentation.....the tiny, crispy fries, the sweet potato bun, the pancetta all made it perfect in my mind. Substituting thick, starchy yucca fries, buttery, grilled sourdough, and tasteless, mush "caramelized" onions was a huge disappointment.
First off, this burger needs a sturdy bun to hold all the chorizo grease! Sourdough makes it seem like some kind of sloppy burger-panini, which is far from what it should be. The sweet flavor of the sweet potato bun complimented the chorizo nicely, whereas all the butter from the sourdough seems to make it a grilled heart-attack.
The yucca fries were a big much for my taste, and way too heavy of a side dish. The chorizo burger is heavy itself. The old crispy, potato-stick like fries could be added to the burger itself to give it a crunchy texture and salty bite, but also tasted great when dipped in the mustard aoli. So versatile! The yucca fries would be best used for building a small shelter in the wilderness.
The onions were tasteless. Why would you ever take away the bacon?
Thank goodness is still had a lot of manchego and the mustard sauce. But I barely recognized it as it was.
Oh, and they upped the price by a dollar to $14. Not cool since they made it worse.
Bring back your old burger, Ceiba!
Even the bartender agreed with us. And he gave us a free mojito. Booyah.
Rating: 3 to 3.5 (4.5 if it was made the old way, sadly)
Friday, November 02, 2007
Central
http://www.centralmichelrichard.com/
1001 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20004
(202) 626-0015
A few months back when I treated myself to a lobster burger at lunchtime, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This time, however, I was here to try the beef burger. I read that Michel Richard tried 12 different kinds of beef before settling on the one he makes his patties out of....wow.
The service sucked at first, and we got pissed, because this place is not cheap. However, we talked to the waitstaff and things got better. Drinks were divine, to start. A mojito with finely crushed ice so it seemed frozen, and a pisco sour but made with pear brandy. I ordered the burger medium, with cheese. The bun, crispy potato discs, heaven mayo-esque sauce, tomato, and fries all were just like the lobster burger. One cool thing is the the bun and all accompaniments are sized perfectly to the burger; therefore, it is served as a sandwich and meant to be eaten as is. I cheated and put on some homemade ketchup, and I shouldn't have.
The meat.......WOW. They must put butter in that patty. It was like filet mignon, but a burger. They know what medium means, too. And it was ridiculously filling.
The bun is an enigma. Its almost like a biscuit or something, because its so soft. Perhaps too soft, because it does tend to disintegrate after the juices seep in, making a mess. But its a delicious mess.
The fries are super awesome too, as is the homemade ketchup. Generous portion
Yes it is $16, but its really good, and it comes with fries. The dining room was lacking atmosphere for a Friday night, but the bar/lounge area was hopping and gave off a really fun vibe. If there had a been a table available in there, that's where we would've sat.
The chocolate lava cake was by far the favorite dessert. I got the chocolate mousse, because all I've heard is OMG get the mousse!, both on blogs and from our waitress. Well, it was the best chocolate mousse I've had, but I guess chocolate mousse just isn't that thrilling. Also, people talk about how amazing the little crunchy chocolate beads are that garnish the heaping bowl of mousse. Hate to tell you folks, but those are the same little buggers that come with YoCrunch yogurt. Not that exciting if you ask me.
Rating: 4.5 to 5
1001 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20004
(202) 626-0015
A few months back when I treated myself to a lobster burger at lunchtime, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This time, however, I was here to try the beef burger. I read that Michel Richard tried 12 different kinds of beef before settling on the one he makes his patties out of....wow.
The service sucked at first, and we got pissed, because this place is not cheap. However, we talked to the waitstaff and things got better. Drinks were divine, to start. A mojito with finely crushed ice so it seemed frozen, and a pisco sour but made with pear brandy. I ordered the burger medium, with cheese. The bun, crispy potato discs, heaven mayo-esque sauce, tomato, and fries all were just like the lobster burger. One cool thing is the the bun and all accompaniments are sized perfectly to the burger; therefore, it is served as a sandwich and meant to be eaten as is. I cheated and put on some homemade ketchup, and I shouldn't have.
The meat.......WOW. They must put butter in that patty. It was like filet mignon, but a burger. They know what medium means, too. And it was ridiculously filling.
The bun is an enigma. Its almost like a biscuit or something, because its so soft. Perhaps too soft, because it does tend to disintegrate after the juices seep in, making a mess. But its a delicious mess.
The fries are super awesome too, as is the homemade ketchup. Generous portion
Yes it is $16, but its really good, and it comes with fries. The dining room was lacking atmosphere for a Friday night, but the bar/lounge area was hopping and gave off a really fun vibe. If there had a been a table available in there, that's where we would've sat.
The chocolate lava cake was by far the favorite dessert. I got the chocolate mousse, because all I've heard is OMG get the mousse!, both on blogs and from our waitress. Well, it was the best chocolate mousse I've had, but I guess chocolate mousse just isn't that thrilling. Also, people talk about how amazing the little crunchy chocolate beads are that garnish the heaping bowl of mousse. Hate to tell you folks, but those are the same little buggers that come with YoCrunch yogurt. Not that exciting if you ask me.
Rating: 4.5 to 5
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Houston's
I picked Houston's as my post-marathon celebration dinner, so that should tell you something. The fact that we took the metro to Bethesda and then wandered around looking for it after I'd run 26.2 miles should also tell you something. I really like Houston's burgers.
The service was unbelievable at first (refilling waters and diet cokes so quick we never saw it happen) but then I think there was a shift change so things got a little confusing. Anyways, I ordered the burger with shredded sharp cheddar, hickory sauce, and three thick slices of Canadian bacon. Hey, I'd just burned like 2,000 calories so I really didn't care. The burger was perfectly medium, enormous, piping hot, juicy. It is served open face with a some shredded cabbage and onion, and the cheese shreds melt nicely once you place the top on. I smothered that thing in hickory sauce and devoured it in record time....it was delish. The bun was a toasted and buttered egg roll, which was reminiscent of Fuddruckers and wonderful. Fries came in a thin little stack like Chef Geoff's, and I think were cooked in peanut oil, but one of the cool things at Houston's is that you have your choice of any of their side dishes, so I chose the couscous salad which comes with mint, almonds slices, golden raisins, and diced radishes....or it used to. This time it was cold, the almonds were whole, I don't think I saw any raisins, and instead of radish there were big huge chunks of tomato. I wasn't all that pleased, seeing as I liked their old recipe enough to choose couscous over fries. Oh well. Burgerman was nice enough to share his fries, so I was happy.
We'd never had dessert at Houston's before, so we tried the three nut brownie with Gifford's vanilla ice cream on top. They didn't have whip cream in the house, the server said....huge bummer. Overall it was nothing to write home about, and I didn't even bother finishing it. When I got home I had an oreo; now that was a dessert!
The burger was a good deal for $12, but the dessert was robbery at $8.
Rating: 4 to 4.5
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Chef Geoffs
http://www.chefgeoff.com/main/
1301 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20004
(202) 464-4461
This is a fancy place right by metro center in dc. On Mondays there burgers are only 5 dollars so we thought that this would be a great time to buy. This was our first stop on our great burger hunt. The burgers cam out with a nice open faced presentation. my came with a nice slice of Canadian bacon (for an up charge). The first few bites of this guy were delicious but I am going to be honest and say that it fell a little down hill after that. I just ended up being not that memorable. The bun was nice not toasted, The fries were yummy but I think that they came from a frozen bag. I would rate this place a 4 (out of 10) and recommend it to others if they are going on the Monday night.
1. Description - beef on a bun, nothing special here
2. Presentation - open faced with plenty of Fries
3. Taste - Fantastic but not gourmet
4. Toppings - Bacon, tomato
5. Bun - plain, no seeds, not toasted, but good quality bread.
6. Fries - Delicious but I think they were from a freezer.
7. Price - 5$ during happy hour, 10 otherwise
8. Overall Rank - 4
9. Overall Thoughts - Great spot on a Monday night
10. Would we Recommend it to others - Mondays, def. other days perhaps if the location was convent.
1301 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20004
(202) 464-4461
This is a fancy place right by metro center in dc. On Mondays there burgers are only 5 dollars so we thought that this would be a great time to buy. This was our first stop on our great burger hunt. The burgers cam out with a nice open faced presentation. my came with a nice slice of Canadian bacon (for an up charge). The first few bites of this guy were delicious but I am going to be honest and say that it fell a little down hill after that. I just ended up being not that memorable. The bun was nice not toasted, The fries were yummy but I think that they came from a frozen bag. I would rate this place a 4 (out of 10) and recommend it to others if they are going on the Monday night.
1. Description - beef on a bun, nothing special here
2. Presentation - open faced with plenty of Fries
3. Taste - Fantastic but not gourmet
4. Toppings - Bacon, tomato
5. Bun - plain, no seeds, not toasted, but good quality bread.
6. Fries - Delicious but I think they were from a freezer.
7. Price - 5$ during happy hour, 10 otherwise
8. Overall Rank - 4
9. Overall Thoughts - Great spot on a Monday night
10. Would we Recommend it to others - Mondays, def. other days perhaps if the location was convent.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
How Are We Going to Rate These Places?
If we are going around to these restaurants eating burgers we will need a good rating system. Here are eleven simple categories that we came up with:
1. Description
2. Presentation
3. Taste
4. Toppings
5. Bun
6. Fries
7. Price
8. Overall Rank
9. Overall Thoughts
10. Would we Recommend it to others
I think that the last 3 are the most important. Only time will tell. Lets get started putting these places to the test.
1. Description
2. Presentation
3. Taste
4. Toppings
5. Bun
6. Fries
7. Price
8. Overall Rank
9. Overall Thoughts
10. Would we Recommend it to others
I think that the last 3 are the most important. Only time will tell. Lets get started putting these places to the test.
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