What We Eat in Vegas...

In October Burgerman and I will make a trip to Las Vegas, and I can't tell you how pumped we are to have some In n Out burger while we're there! Also, I read about the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay, and I'm looking forward to that as well.

Five Guys for Breakfast

http://www.fiveguys.com/
Dulles Airport
A Terminal
Dulles, VA

Another place that serves egg on a burger, but this time for breakfast! Only Five Guys could have made me excited to take a 6:00am flight out of Albany on a Monday morning. Way greasier than Good Stuff, but the grease give Five Guys their charm. ALL Five Guys need to add an egg burger to their menu ASAP.

Ray's Hellburger

Will write on this soon, but yum!

Good Stuff Eatery

http://www.goodstuffeatery.com/
303 Pennsylvania Ave SE
Washington DC 20003
(202) 543-8222

For our one month anniversary, Burgerman and I couldn't decide where to eat. By the time we arrived at Good Stuff, we were ravenous.....we almost started drinking ketchup while we waited in line. I saw some 5-napkin burgers being constructed, and I immediately decided that would be my dinner- nevermind the fact that I hadn't had an egg over easy in about 12 years, and certainly never on a burger. Burgerman went with the fresh farmhouse burger, and we split the village fries and a black and white milkshake. We helped ourself to condiments while waiting- they had chipotle mayo, mango mayo, this kind of mayo that begins with an s, like siraccha or something. Only the chipotle was fry worthy. The milkshake came out first, and it was divine! Although a little too vanilla for my taste, I probably would have enjoyed straight up chocolate. The chocolate syrup was thick and the consistency of that glorious starbucks chocolate goop. The icecream was superb, crazy thick and creamy- I hate watery, melty milkshakes. We were very glad we split one though because it was so rich. As for the burgers, they were gone in about a minute. Burgerman's seemed small and plain, but I always think a burger with no cheese is plain. Mine was delicious!!! I loved how the brioche bun sopped up the runny yellow of the egg, and the burger was very nicely done, although they were a bit smaller than we had pictured. The fries were a huge dissapointment. They dumped out of the paper bag all in one greasy, mushy clump. The seasoning was great, as I'll eat just about anything spiced with rosemary, but the texture and temperature of the fries was not ok.

As I had been craving a milkshake every since August, Burgerman and I went back there after the Nationals game on 9/16 for Spike's signature shake, toasted marshmellow. OHHHHHHHHH brother, it's truly amazing. I tasted a little bit of coconut, a little bit of creme brulee, and a lot of marshmellow, but i think i just imagined the other two flavors. OH it was so thick and delicious, I have no idea how they get the marshmellow flavor in there without making it all clumpy but somehow it's done! We have vowed to try the milky way shake on our next visit, but I might have to reneg on that promise and get the marshmellow one again. Also that night we split a farmhouse cheese burger, and it was great. Maybe that's because we weren't starving, or because we knew what to expect this time around so we weren't dissapointed with the size or the flavor? I don't know.

Why We Love Boston

Boston, MA

We visited Bartley's again when we were in Boston this August, and WOW. It was even better than I remembered it. I was ridiculously full though, to the point of being uncomfortable afterward, but man, what a burger.

We also went to J.P. Lick's for some cookies and cream ice cream, and to Border Cafe, the best tasting and best bargain tex-mex we'll probably ever find. They now have this new little appetizer called pastelitas, which are like mini chicken empanadas that come with a cilantro-oil-lime sweet dipping sauce that is out of this world. Oh Boston.

Big Buns

http://www.eatbigbuns.com/
4401 Wilson Blvd
Arlington VA 22203
(703) 276-3032

The burgers here turned out to be dissapointing.....thin and flavorless. HOWEVER, we are in love with the fresh cut sweet potato fries and the chipotle aioli dipping sauce! Each batch is cooked and seasoned individually. Also, I'm an enormous fan of the mahi mahi in a bowl, with LOTS of fun toppings such as grilled pineapple and mango & bean salsa. I also love how toppings are free. I get a really nice salad out of the "bowl" option for a great price.
The diet coke mix in their fountain soda machine is spot on too.

Palena Cafe

http://www.palenarestaurant.com/
3529 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington DC 20008
(202) 537-9250

Burgerman and I celebrated my birthday at this fine cafe. What terrific service! As it was my birthday, they gave us each a glass of champange on the house, and didn't charge us for our dessert!

The burger, in my opinion, was magnificent. The bun was just right, the burger meat so fresh it crumbled, the temperature was just right, and that truffled cheese made all the difference. Burgerman was an even bigger fan of the fry plate! Who would have guessed that he'd like a fried lemon?

We haven't been back yet, but I do plan on going again.

Burgers Abroad: The Pour House

http://www.pourhouseboston.com

907 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 236-1767

Back in college, Saturday night was half-priced burger night at The Pour House. We'd round up a group, take the T to Hynes and stalk scarfing students until we snagged a booth. Although some people went for the huge frosty mugs of PBR on tap, we loved the milkshakes. I would order a Vermonter, double-stacked with no fries, and Burgerman was partial to the Massachusetts, plain and proper, double-stacked.

Although they weren't the tastiest burgers I've ever had, those Saturday nights were some of my best college memories. $3 for a burger and fries with friends? Ahhh, I miss those days.

Do-it-yourself

We've been craving the old-style Ceiba burgers lately, so we decided to make them ourselves. We had to improvise a bit, as Trader Joe's only sells chicken chorizo, manchego is expensive and too hard to slice, and sweet potato buns were nowhere to be found. Despite all this, they were extremely delicious.

Feast your eyes on these, boys.

Coming Spring 2008

http://www.goodstuffeatery.com/

Good Stuff Eatery.......homemade burger, fries and shakes sounds good to me!
I can't wait!

Back In The Burger Business, Ain't It Grand

Woodmont Grill
7715 Woodmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-656-9755

So lent was over, and Burgerman wanted to celebrate with me by indulging in the burger of my dreams at Houston's. There was live jazz playing when we walked in and were seated immediately, but a quick glance at the menu and then the glass window made me realize the restaurant had changed names, and my beloved burger was no longer on the menu. OH, the horror! We talked to the waitress, and apparently they've been making special exceptions for those patrons who won't let go of their hickory burger (the Canadian bacon was swapped for normal bacon, however) so I breathed a sigh of relief. I took the hickory, Burgerman took the bacon, and we asked for extra ketchup. It arrived before the burgers, and the tiny specks and dark color told us it was homemade. At first I couldn't place the flavor, but after a few more licks it was clear: one of the secret ingredients was celery salt. It tasted great in the beginning, but very quickly became overpowering. Maybe its purposeful, so you don't eat too many fries?

We noticed the woman in the booth across from us ordered a burger and sent it back, very dissatisfied; from my viewpoint, it looked quite under-cooked, so having ordered our burgers 'medium', we were a bit worried. When ours came out, we realized we had worried ourselves for nothing, as they were severely overcooked. Even my bun was burnt. When the waitress came to check in, we told her they were a bit overdone, and she collected our plates without hesitation and ordered us new burgers, and gave us a plate of crispy fries in the mean time. It was nice, but I soon because tired of the fries, which were quite overdone and not nearly salty enough. Or maybe I tired of the celery-flavored ketchup first?
Our burgers were much better on round two. Tons of fresh cheddar and chopped onion, a buttery soft roll, two thick bacon slices, and sweet hickory sauce. I'm not saying to say the beef wasn't good, because it was, but there was something about the shape and look of the patty that seemed a little pre-made to me. I like my patties hand-formed. Anyways it was tasty, but I missed the Canadian bacon, and the patty was smaller than it used to be while the price was $2 more. Ugh, all my favorite burgers are disappearing...first Ceiba, now Houston's! I'm not in a rush to go back there.

However, I am SO looking forward to Palena!

A Burger's Best Friend

Elizaburgerlady sent me this article on the search for DC's best fries (thanks!)http://gridskipper.com/366039/washingtons-best-french-fries
As is was limited to the District itself, I can understand why Eat Bar/Tallula's rosemary-enhanced fries and Houston's and Sweetwater/Carlyle/Coastal Flats shoe string fries didn't make the list; however, I cannot fathom the omission of Central's french fries and homemade ketchup, which are amazing, and of course Five Guys fries, which you have to admit are delicious. Oh, and those awesome yucca fries at Ann Cashion's Taqueria Nacionale. The dipping sauce is what makes them.

Just 11 more days until I can sink my teeth into a juicy patty of ground beef loaded with toppings. YES.

Jesus stalls the burgerquest........

So unfortunately, I gave up meat for Lent, which means we have to wait until April to try our last, and probably my most anticipated, burger at Palena. Since my so-so experience at Blacks, I've been craving Houston's.......this is going to be a long 38 days.

Black's Bar & Kitchen

http://www.blacksbarandkitchen.com/
7750 Woodmont Ave
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 652-6278

On our way home from the Baltimore Bridal Show (which was thrilling, btw...haha not really) we stopped at Black's, thanks to the amazingness of Google that allows you to get locations of restaurants, sports scores, etc. just by texting them. We had to eat in the bar area because burgers are not on the dining room menu, but we got the cutest little table right in front of the HUGE glass window of the open kitchen, so that was way better than the dining room experience!!! The bar tables were made of lots of small tree trunks bundled together with a glass top, it was really neat. We absolutely LOVED watching the kitchen. The grill man was up front, so we actually saw our burgers being cooked! I had mine with cheese, and burgerman went without but ordered the thai beef appetizer. It was 3 tiny slices of rare beef with some greens, and not a hint of thai spice that I could find. He liked it because it tasted like italian cured meats, but I disliked it for that same reason. Our burgers were both supposed to be medium, and his was perfect but mine was a little more done. The bun was nice, the ketchup and mustard was great (served in little boats on the side, I really liked that), the fries were thin and good, with a hint of that twice-fried bubbliness that Burger King has, but everything was so salty!!! The burger was completely blackened with salt, and by the end of it I had three glasses of water and was still begging for more. I needed some sips of burgerman's diet coke to help quench my thirst..........which was an excellent idea, because they had the BEST ratio of syrup to carbonation to ice I think I've ever tasted in my life. OMG I loved their diet coke.
Bread basket was good, they had a thick, warm wheat bread and little popovers that tasted pillsburyesque but without the icky premade flavor. Butter was delicious and plentiful.....I hate when they don't' serve you enough butter for the bread. However, the wheat loaf was topped with salt, and some was even baked right in! They just can't get enough salt, I guess.

Sadly, I don't think I would bother going back.......I'm too scared of my sodium intake. In the end, the salt def got to me and my otherwise-good burger tasted kinda gross. With Houston's literally across the street, I don't think I could go back. Houston's is so amazing, without the salt.

Ardeo

http://www.ardeorestaurant.com/
3311 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 244-6750

The Post was right on with this one....waaay too much going on with this burger. Ooey-gooey jack cheese, thick salty bacon, sliced avocado, caramelized onions, lettuce, all between a generously chili-rubbed fluffy bun. Medium was a nice juicy medium though. I had to take my bottom bun off so that I could fit it in my mouth (and also to tone down the potent chili spice), but I still managed to slather on spicy dijon mustard, although it hardly needed it. Burgerman got the fries, and they were excellent. I opted for broccoli, not realizing it was that chinese-soaked-in-oil-and-garlic style broccoli. It hardly mattered though, because we split a salad to start and enjoyed the bread, so I was full. The bread basket was a success: thick foccacia, sweet mini corn muffins, and some hearty white with butter and hummus as toppers. I liked having the hummus option for the foccacia, that was pretty cool.

At the end of the meal, Burgerman nearly puked from all the chili spice, so I was really glad I took it off. For $12 it was a good price for all those toppings, too bad they completely flood your senses. With just onions and bacon, or avocado & cheese, or any other combo of two items, it would have been a much better experience.

Parking is difficult, but after our meal we found out they have valet. Ha. Service was good and attentive. No draft beers, but Burgerman enjoyed a bottle of Brooklyn Lager. I'm glad I tried Ardeo, if only to realize that I'm not missing anything.


Next up on the list: Blacks & Palena, I can't wait!

Burgers Abroad: J. Porter's at the Trumbull Marriott Hotel

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..........

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.

2008 Burger Bash in Miami

http://www.sobewineandfoodfest.com/2008/events_info.php?id=1

wow

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.

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!!!!