Open City's Turkey Burger

Last Tuesday, CBC went to Open City in Woodley Park to try their Turkey burger in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. Despite not being a beef burger, the turkey burger was actually pretty good. (It was still a turkey burger.) The burger itself wasn't amazing, but it had decent flavor, a hearty portion, and wasn't greasy. It was nicely charred with superb grill-marks.

The bun was the highlight of the meal though. A toasted whole wheat bun with oats on top was the perfect pairing to the turkey burger and received very high remarks all around. The cheese selection at Open City is quite good; options include cheeses that are hard to find at a burger joint like Gouda and Gruyere. The cheese complimented the burger, but didn't have an overall impact on the taste. The toppings were standard lettuce, tomato, raw onion, and pickles; quality produce but failed to excel above and beyond. The whole leaf of lettuce was appreciated, but that was in part because we have been to a few places that had very sub-par shredded lettuce. The fries were poor (McDonaldesque) and should be avoided. The beer selection is limited, but the fall seasonal brew is a good beer.

Open City is a coffee shop/restaurant/bar which leads to a confused atmosphere. Not totally unappealing, but it needs to make its mind up. The hipster vibe is certainly not standard of a burger joint, and although it may appeal to the alternative crowd, it drew some criticism from the CBC. The Open City turkey burger is good for a turkey burger, so if you are one of those people that avoids red meat (or a hipster) check out Open City.

Open City tomorrow

Open City tomorrow at 6:30pm for turkey burgers in honor of Thanksgiving this week. It's one block south of the Woodley Park metro stop.

Bar Louie Last Night

We had originally planned on going to RFD last night, but the wait was an hour so we ended up walking a block over to Bar Louie. Bar Louie is located in Gallery Place in Chinatown and is a popular after-work hangout. We managed to get a table for eight pretty quickly. The place was full, and there was a good atmosphere although the music was a little loud.

Bar Louie has a pretty good burger for a place that doesn't call itself a burger joint. The Louie has meat with good flavor, but was a little too greasy. They should probably let the oil drip off before throwing it on the unsuspecting bun. The bun was good but got soggy from all the juices and grease. Somehow the bun didn't fall to pieces after it absorbed all the grease. Provolone cheese was properly melted, and the giardiniera added a nice spiciness to the burger. The fries were forgettable, and the beer selection was ok but nothing special. Their beer of the month was Newcastle and seemed to keep everyone happy, but the rest of the beer menu was basic. Bar Louie also needs to look up what a pint is. In America, a pint is 16 oz, not 14 oz. Step your game up. The music was too loud and made talking difficult. There were plenty of TVs with sports on; a good thing with Maryland playing Pitt on ESPN. Overall, the Louie was a good burger, and even if you don't get the burger it's a good time.

Good Stuff Eatery recap from last night

Overrated. Good Stuff Eatery is a well-known burger joint in DC and is owned by Chef Spike of Top Chef Chicago fame. That just led to a huge letdown, and it was compared several times to an upscale version of McDonalds. That's probably not a good thing. The burger, while tasty, was small and nothing above average. The burger came wrapped in the same plastic paper and red plastic bowl that you get at a fast food place. I hope Chef Spike didn't learn about presentation on Top Chef. The bun was a standard potato roll that got soggy very quickly. Going to the grocery store and buying an 8 pack of potato rolls for $1 may be okay for a backyard barbecue, but everyone expects a little better. Come on. The burger came topped with crisp lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle which all were very fresh. The excellent selection of sauces and the seasoned fries were two positives for this place and deserve credit. There was beer, but nothing special other than the Sam Adams Winter Lager. It's understood that Good Stuff Eatery isn't a beer place, but a good beer and a burger just go so well together. There wasn't any room to sit inside, so we sat outside at their sidewalk tables. That was pretty cool until a homeless man came up begging for change. Downer. Something more was expected here, and the experience was overall poor. Everyone seemed to want to try one of their special burgers (Colletti's Smokehouse), so there is a chance CBC will try Good Stuff Eatery again and give it another chance. This experience at Good Stuff Eatery... meh.

Good Stuff Eatery tomorrow night

The plan is to go to Good Stuff Eatery tomorrow night. That is Wednesday Nov 10. Meet there at 7:30pm. The nearest metro is Capital South on the blue/orange lines. Address is below

303 Pennsylvania Ave SE
Washington, DC 20003

Quarry House results from last night

Quarry House got a score of 23.4 points out of a possible 30 points. Overall impression was that the burger is good, but the bun was lacking. The custom toppings were a nice touch, and the atmosphere and beer menu were great. The food menu at Quarry House is only about two pages long, but the beer menu seems to be never-ending. There are about 20 choices for toppings, and being able to customize your own toppings went over well with everyone. The burgers come in red plastic baskets which is disappointing. (Anywhere that has red plastic baskets should be approached with caution.) The tater-tots here are awesome though, so the basket can slide. Standard french fries are an option, but the tater-tots are not to be missed. The burger is great, but the atmosphere here is also very unique. It's a very old bar located down dimly lit steps, but inside it's warm and cozy with wood-paneling on the walls and great service that makes you feel right at home. Quarry House is probably the best thing in Silver Spring. A must visit for a good burger inside the beltway. Quarry House took over first place in the rankings, but it's still early on and there is room for someone else to take the lead.

Quarry House Tonight

Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring tonight. Plan on meeting there around 7:00pm. It's a little hard to find but it's easily walkable from the Silver Spring metro stop. It's located in the basement below an Indian restaurant. I'll print out a few extra score cards for whoever is coming.

Gordon Biersch

Started things off at Gordon Biersch in DC last Thursday. The Kobe Burger got an average score of 17.8 points out of a possible 30 points. The burger is a good size burger; I guarantee that no one left hungry. It would be generous to say the meat was okay; Kobe beef is supposed to be some of the best in the world, but it failed to show in this burger. The outside of the burger was overcooked, although it still remained juicy on the inside. Those juices led to a soggy bun and a messy burger as a whole. The beer at Gordon Biersch is always pretty good. The Marzen and the Festbier are both very good beers. The shredded lettuce and uninspiring tomatoes were surely a disappointment, but luckily the burger came with a side of garlic fries. If you ever go to Gordon Biersch, it is strongly recommended that you get the garlic fries no matter what you order. You won't be let down. In conclusion, the burger wasn't horrible, but there are plenty of better entrees on the menu at Gordon Biersch that are better than their burger.

New Capital Burger Club Blog

New Capital Burger Club is up and running. Check back for updates.