good burgers and great shakes by David Mihalcik
Went there with my wife this afternoon (Oct. 2008). We arrived after the lunch rush on a Saturday, and the place was starting to thin out; we only had to wait 15 minutes or so to get our burgers, fries and shake. I had the Barn Burner, a burger topped with Thai-inspired a daikon and carrot relish, and my wife had the Obama, which included blue cheese, bacon and onion confit. We had an order of the farmhouse fries and the onion ‘rings’, which were really onion petals (lyonaise, not outback) all fried together in an unappealing lump.
The highlights were my wife’s shake (toasted marshmallow!) and the flavored mayos.
The burgers are good, but DC seems to have become a burger town over the past year (see also: Ray’s Hell, Central, Palena, Matchbox, 5 Guys…), and I’m not certain these are really worth going that far out of your way for. It finds a nice spot on the Pareto frontier of DC burgers: not too big (Ray’s), and not too pricey (Central, Palena), and cooked right (5 Guys), and they present a decent selection of toppings. However, I’d say Ray’s wins on beefyness (and crazy toppings), and Central and Palena win on overall flavor.
On the neighborhood level, you can’t find a better burger.
over 4 years ago
