The Fresh Grill: Messy, but Tasty

The Fresh Grill is a local burger spot in Bethesda located in the Woodmont Triangle, and let’s start it off by saying they can make a good burger. There are nine different burger choices on the menu as well as a ‘Build Your Own Angus Burger’ option. We went with the Dragon’s Breath, which is an 8 oz. patty with pepperjack cheese, red onions, charred jalapeños, and fire sauce over coleslaw. Be sure to order the burger medium-rare (the way any quality meat should be cooked anyways). The Fresh Grill gets medium-rare perfect, with a delicate pink center and a solid char on the outside. The burger was barely able to hold itself together, but I’d rather have that problem than have some chef overcook my burger. The 8 oz patty is quite big and delivers heavily on the juices. The fire sauce combines with the extremely juicy burger to make a mess so be prepared with extra napkins on hand. With a tidal wave burger juice and sauce swirling around the bun is sure to suffer, but the levies managed to hold. The bun stayed intact, albeit soggy by the end of the burger. There was pepperjack cheese on the burger, and while I could see it, it was barely detectable by the taste buds. This is largely in part due to the one-two punch from the jalapeños and fire sauce. The jalapeños are awesome. They cut a whole jalapeño in half, grill is on both sides to get a nice char and throw in on top of the burger; great flavour without overwhelming spiciness. That being said, this is not a burger for someone who is afraid of a little heat. The coleslaw manages some relief but the jalapeños and fire sauce are definitely spicy. The full leaf lettuce was a nice and crisp, and the tomato and red onions were fresh. Well done on the LTO, Fresh Grill. The burgers come with homemade chips done excellently. While fries are the standard burger side-dish, these chips are an superb change of pace. The atmosphere at the Fresh Grill is slightly above your standard counter joint. The service is solid; they changed the TV over to the U.S-Panama soccer game. They have a few different beers on tap and a couple of crafts in bottles. No macrobrews in sight, so Fresh Grill gets an ‘A’ in terms of beer. While this isn’t a place to hang out and drink all night, it’s a nice place to grab a burger and a pitcher. The Fresh Grill has one of the better burgers in Bethesda and that’s considering the Burger Joint is right around the corner. If you ever find yourself strolling down Woodmont craving a burger, the Fresh Grill is a great spot to grab a bite.

Happy Birthday to Thunder Burger

Happy Birthday to Thunder Burger in Georgetown. Today is their one year anniversary party. In honor of this occasion, most of their draft beers are being offered for cheap, and their delicious burgers are going for half-price. The Thunder Burger they offer is still one of my favourite burgers, so drop by and take advantage of these sweet deals.

No More Burgers at Toledo Lounge

The owners of The Black Squirrel in Adams Morgan bought the Toledo Lounge in February, and after a closing it down for a short period of time for renovations and changes, the Toledo Lounge reopened recently. A couple of months ago I posted about the changing ownership at Toledo Lounge and about how I hoped that they wouldn't change too much and at the very least leave the burgers alone. Apparently, the new owners don't follow the CBC. The new management just announced that they are doing away with the burger at Toledo Lounge. This is a shame. Toledo Lounge was a great chill place to grab a solid burger and throw back a few cold ones with friends.

Shake Shake Sucks

Make sure the little kids and grandma are out of the room. It's going to get profane.

Fuck Shake Shack. Fuck New York. Fuck the hype.

Alright, now that's out of the way, let's get down and dirty. Shake Shake Sucks. Shake Shack is the legendary burger joint based out of New York (Manhattan if you want to get picky), and I hate every New Yorker who thinks Shake Shack is so awesome. It seems like everyone (including AHT) claims that Shake Shack is the best burger joint ever to exist. That builds a lot of hype, and keeping with what seems to be the usual, the hype came crashing down in a miserable pile of expectations that leaves one sadly underwhelmed and disappointed.

The Shack Burger single is a 4 ounce patty, and the double is two patties which makes for a burger that will actually fill you up. If you aren't a child or a small asian woman, you'd better get the double. The quality of the meat was decent, but the burgers all came out medium to medium-well, which is way overcooked. I would have appreciated being asked how I wanted my burger cooked if I knew they were going to fuck it up. That being said, some juice from the burger did exist, but overall impressions of the patties were uninspiring.

The bun was a potato roll. (Yawn) Thanks for saving me the time of walking to Giant and buying a pack Martin's potato rolls. Not to over-hate on potato rolls; potato rolls are awesome at a back yard cook-out, but anyone in the business of selling food for a profit should put in a little effort. The bun did squish nicely and had a decent texture, but was average at best. Potato roll.

The cheese was standard American cheese which was melted nicely and was probably the best part of the burger. It is appreciated that they use one slice of cheese for each patty, but it'd be nice to be given a choice for my cheese. This is not communist China. Don't tell me what cheese I want. Give me an option.Been there. Done that. Next.

Toppings have to be requested. Fuck you Shake Shack. Lettuce, tomato, onion (LTO) should come standard on every burger. You should have to request that a topping not be included. Still, the toppings were fresh and pretty good. Crisp lettuce. Juicy tomato. Solid raw onion. Good enough, but you don't get bonus points because you'd didn't fuck up.

The line when we showed up was out the door and around the corner (and it's been this way ever since it opened two weeks ago). Outside line (10 min) + inside line (10 min) + wait to burger (10 min) = 30 minutes. Ridiculous considering the

quality of the burger. Fuck those hype-lemmings waiting in line, wasting everyone's time for a sub-par burger. We managed to snag a table in the back of the restaurant; the tables are made from old bowling lanes, which is pretty cool. The fries were crinkle cut. If you are someone capable of buying shitty frozen crinkle cut fries, you've had the exact same fries served by Shake Shack. The fries weren't crispy and lacked any trace of seasoning. Fail. We tried the ShackMeister Ale, and while it's good to see them serving beer, their namebrand ale is a watery pale ale that is way overpriced at five bucks. Go with tap number two and get a Flying Dog.

It needs to be made clear that this is not an insult to the people working at the Shake Shack in Dupont. When we arrived there was a nice lady handing out menus to people as they waited in line. The guy taking the orders was nice and even let one member change from a single to a double when he realized he ordered wrong. The guy didn't even charge extra even though a single is $4.75 and a double is $7.25. The manager was friendly and even came around and talked to us for a minute when she saw we were all fervently jotting down reviews.

Regardless, the experience at the legendary Shake Shack was a miserable failure if there every was one in the history of over-hyped burgers. Maybe I'm missing something, but everyone raves over Shake Shack. It's a fast food quality burger that's neither cheap ($7.25) nor fast (30 minutes). A Five Guys burger is bigger, cheaper, has more toppings, comes with free peanuts, and there is one on every block so there is never a line. The Shack Burger is okay, but this is the DMV and this is Five Guys turf.

Go home Shake Shack and take the hype with you.

Shake Shack Opening in Dupont

Shake Shack is set to open a new location in Dupont at 1216 18th Street NW. If you have never heard of them, Shake Shack is the New York based burger joint that has won many awards and is rumored to have some of the best burgers around. The location in Dupont is set to open the week of May 16th.

"Burgers are Moo Pies"

Continuing with this weeks apparent Parks and Recreation theme, on the most recent episode Aziz Ansari's character Tom Haverford listed off a few of his own nicknames for food. According to Haverford, "Burgers are Moo Pies." While I do not condone Tom's burger nickname, some of his nicknames are pretty funny. You can check out tomhaverfoods.com to see some of his other creative nicknames. (shrimp is tiny-ass lobsters)

A Real Turkey Burger

In a follow up to yesterdays post about Parks and Recreation, someone has actually made a Ron Swanson Turkey Burger (a fried turkey leg inside a grilled hamburger). This is obviously the correct way to make a turkey burger. Here is the link. They even include a recipe if you happen to have a turkey leg and 5 lbs of ground beef just laying around.

Burger Showdown on Parks and Recreation

For those of you who don't watch Parks and Recreation on NBC, the most recent episode features an interesting burger related subplot involving a burger showdown pitting a turkey burger against a beef burger.

Toledo Lounge Closed

Just got news that The Toledo Lounge in Adams Morgan is closing. We just went to The Toledo Lounge last week for their Swiss Onion Melt burger, and it was pretty good. The bar was bought by the owners of The Black Squirrel (practically next door in Adams Morgan). Luckily the new owners say they aren't planning on changing too much. The burger at Toledo Lounge was pretty good, so let's hope they don't mess with it too much.

Blinging the Burger

Usually the CBC views McDonalds with disdain, but this shows that at least they are making an effort. Here's a link to an article on DCmud about how McDonalds is redesigning their restaurants in the DC area. Consider this a step in the right direction. Now if only they can work on the food.

http://dcmud.blogspot.com/2011/02/blinging-burger.html

Toledo Lounge's Swiss Onion Melt

The Toledo Lounge is a laid-back place to grab a burger and chill. The casual vibe and relaxed dive bar atmosphere was an excellent place to take respite from the cold winter weather and just enjoy a few beers and a good burger. The burger wasn't the best, but it's pretty damn good.

It was Tuesday night so burgers were half-price. We ordered the Swiss Onion Melt burger, and it was definitely well worth the four dollar price. The burger patty was about 8 ounces, maybe a little more; a sizable morsel of meat with decent flavour and a fair amount of juiciness. The burgers took a while to come out and this was reflected in the meat. The medium-rare was more like medium, and the medium was more like medium-well. Do yourself a favor and get it under-cooked of what you usually order. That being said it's a good burger that could only get better if it was cooked properly.

The bun was a toasted, fluffy white bun with sesame seeds on top that managed to support the burger without falling apart. The bun was surprisingly soft to the touch and yet held all the grease without falling apart; a very good bun. Nothing outstanding, but it's great to see effort on the bun front. Sesame seeds and toasted grill marks let you know they care.

The Swiss cheese had good flavour and served it purpose of complimenting the burger. It was delicately melted over a layer of sauteed onions. The pairing of sauteed onions and well melted Swiss were excellent compliments to each other. In addition to the sauteed onions, the burger came with raw onions, a huge slice of tomato, and a whole leaf of lettuce. No frills but they got the lettuce, tomato, onion (LTO) combination on the money. Oh yeah, they serve an awesomely big pickle on the side.

Toledo Lounge is a dive bar with the chillest atmosphere and a great relaxing vibe. The fries were hand-cut skin-on fries, and were very good, but could use a little seasoning. In addition to the burger, everyone managed to demolish the fries as well. The beer selection is nothing outstanding, but they still have some good beer. You can never argue against Yuengling and Sierra Nevada, and it's almost a plus if they don't have Bud Light on tap. The service is slow characteristic of a dive bar as such. The music was excellent but you could still hold a conversation while listening to the grooves. Toledo Lounge is a great dive bar that serves up a solid burger. There isn't a whole lot to criticize about the burger. Maybe not the best burger, but it's still damn good and worth it if you're in Adams Morgan. The chill relaxed vibe will make you feel right at home if dives are your scene. The service is slow so don't come here in any rush. Luckily, there really isn't any reason to leave, so just enjoy a beer and a burger.

The Sloppy Roethlisberger

In honor of Superbowl Sunday, I'm sure many people are inventing their own version of 'The Roethlisburger', but none can top 'The Sloppy Roethlisberger' from the guys at Epic Meal Time. 13 pounds of ground beef, 7 pounds of sausage, 20 pounds of bacon, cheese sauce, bbq sauce, and a 10 pound bun result in a monster burger weighing in at over 100,000 calories. This burger is likely to kill you, or at the very least rape you.

Here's the link to the youtube page for Epic Meal Time: www.youtube.com/user/EpicMealTime

'Food & Wine' 25 Best Burgers in the US

Food & Wine released their list of the 25 Best Burgers in the US. Two are in the DC area; Ray's Hell Burger in Alrington and Palena Cafe in DC.

brgr:shack opens in Ballston

A new burger place called the brgr:shack just opened up in Ballston. Check out the the blurb from ARLnow.

RFD's Brew Burger

We tried to go RFD a few weeks ago but didn't due to an hour wait. This time we made reservations and didn't have a problem. RFD stands for Regional Food and Drink, and there is plenty of both. As we are a burger club, we decided on the Brew Burger. According to the menu the Brew Burger is "a half pound of lean beef marinated in Kostritzer Black Lager grilled to your liking." One does not turn away from a burger marinated in beer. Burger = good. Beer = good. Burger + Beer = double good. Simple math. The Brew Burger is a big half-pound burger that manages to deliver on quality as well. The quality of the meat was top notch, but the burger was a little over-cooked. But that's the cooks fault and should not degrade burger itself. While having a nice charred exterior, it remained somewhat juicy on the inside, but a far cry from a moist pink center desired in a burger.

The bun situation was pretty abysmal and it was the obvious weak link in the Brew Burger ensemble. The bun was way too doughy as if they didn't let it finish rising. It was a basic white bun, and while it managed not to fall apart, it would have been destroyed by a burger with any juiciness. It's a shame to have such a plain bun for such a burger. Toast it. Put sesame seeds on it. Something.

The cheese is hit or miss. The selection of nice cheese options is appreciated but having to pay a dollar extra is frowned upon. They have your basic cheeses like American and Provolone, but they also have Gouda and goat cheese. It is rare to see goat cheese as an option for a burger. That being said the goat cheese was spectacular, as it stood out amoung the common cheeses. The goat cheese provided a great texture and the cool, creamy balance was an outstandingly compliment to the burger. The Gouda is good(ah), but wasn't smoky like a nice smoked Gouda should be. Goat cheese is the way to go.

The Brew Burger comes with lettuce, tomato, and a supposed pickle according to the menu. None of us got a pickle. WTF? Don't promise a pickle and then fail to deliver. There have been riots over less. The tomatoes were ripe and very red, but that doesn't make up for shredded lettuce. Fail. It takes more work to shred a leaf of lettuce than just keeping it in leaf form. Why? Onions are a dollar extra, which is a direct affront to LTO (lettuce/tomato/onion) which should come standard on all burgers. There are several other options for toppings that are all an extra dollar. Sauteed peppers and jalapeno are a solid choice, but if the burger itself already costs nine dollars, the toppings shouldn't cost extra.

RFD is a great bar and a great place to grab a beer in Chinatown. It's sort of a sports bar, but it has that little extra that separates it from the crowd. RFD is a pretty popular place, as I've never seen it not be crowded. There is a nice atmosphere if you can manage to get a table or a seat at the bar. The fries were forgettable and obviously direct from the freezer bag. A lot of restaurants use frozen fries, so who cares, right? NO. Don't serve crappy fries that bring the burger experience down. Stop it. The service was good and the waitress was very nice, but the beer is what really stood out. RFD is the sister restaurant of the now defunct Brickskeller so you know RFD is going to have some good beer. Hand-pulled cask ales of Flying Dog were on special, and the Raging Bitch and Snake Dog IPA were a great pairing with the burger. Even if you don't get the burger, this is a great place to grab a beer.

The Brew Burger is a solid burger; a half-pound of delicious meat. It would have been even better if it was cooked properly. The bun was an utter disappointment; unworthy of the burger. Toppings were okay, but it's not worth paying an extra buck for onions, and shredded lettuce dooms any burger. If you are going to pay the extra dollar for cheese, be sure to go with the goat cheese to provide a creamy contrast to the charred burger. The fries sucked, so try the onion rings. Anything else has to be better. The location and beer at RFD really set it apart. It's right in Chinatown, so it's a great place to grab a beer before or after a Caps game. This also the time when it gets packed, so get there early if you are planning on going to RFD before a Caps or Wizards game. The beer selection is great and all the beer is quality. RFD has awesome beer, and pretty good burger.

RFD this Thursday

This weeks meeting will be at RFD this Thursday at 7:00pm for their Brew Burger, described on their website as "a half pound of lean beer marinated Kostritzer Black Lager grilled to your liking". The nearest metro stop is Gallery Place-Chinatown.

RFD
810 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

Capital Burger Club on Yelp

Check out the Capital Burger Club page on Yelp.

www.capitalburger.yelp.com

Thunder Burger & Bar: The Thunder Burger

Thunder Burger & Bar is a newer bar in Georgetown. They seem to have gotten it all right on the first try. We had to get the namesake Thunder Burger. It would be a bad sign if the burger named after the restaurant wasn't good. We were not disappointed. The Thunder Burger is a great piece of meat. The menu says they use "Premium All-Natural Range-Free Beef." All that special treatment that cow receives gets passed on to a special burger. The size is more than generous; a full size burger that still manages to encompass the subtleties that every great burger needs. The outside grilling was very good, and the inside was grilled to a warm pink center that was nothing less than perfect. The burger comes on a toasted Challah bun. Challah is a Jewish bread and a unique choice for a burger bun, but it held its own. It brought great flavour, and the addition of sesame seeds never goes unnoticed. The burger did eventually overpower the bun in the age-long battle between burger and bun. The bottom of the Challah bun got soggy at the end and failed to hold the burger.

The cheese situation at Thunder Burger & Bar needs some improvement Basic cheeses like American and Swiss are a dollar extra, and good cheese like Havarti is two dollars extra. Ouch. If that isn't a kick in the teeth. On top of that, you could barely taste the cheese. I could see it so I knew it was there, but if you are paying extra for a slice of sharp cheddar, the cheese should make a noticeable impact.

The burger comes topped with lettuce, tomato, and remoulade sauce, and there are still 10 or so more free toppings to choose from on the menu. It's always nice to see a choose your own toppings section. It's a dollar more for chili and two bucks more for Hickory smoked bacon or a fried egg, but that's pretty standard. Luckily, the roasted red peppers and ancho mayo are free and are some of the best toppings around. It is possible to overdo it on the toppings and get a little messy so be warned and get extra napkins. In reference to the toppings, it was said that "excellence has finally been perched upon a beef pedestal." Enough said.

The atmosphere at Thunder Bar & Burger is unique to say the least. When you enter, it feels like you are walking into Ozzy Osbourne's basement. I mean that in the best way possible. It's dimly lit and rock music is playing throughout. David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust greeted us as we walked into the back room where the dining tables were. The brick walls and exposed wood gives it a castle-like vibe. The decor is cool and edgy, without crossing over into the zone of being too gothic like a Hot Topic. The waitress was friendly and helpful and the overall service was good. We forgot pens and paper and the waitress was nice enough to help us out. The fries were standard (nothing to be recommended), but they did come in a weird little bucket. Beer means a lot to us at CBC, and the beer selection at Thunder Burger & Bar is great. Troegs Mad Elf Ale was on tap as well as about 15 or so other brews. Over than being in Georgetown, and therefore not right by a metro, Thunder Burger & Bar has great synergy.

If you have ever found yourself wondering around Georgetown looking for a burger joint among all the high end shop, this is the place. It doesn't have the typical Georgetown yuppie vibe. It's more of a high class dive bar without all the roaches. Everyone there seemed to be having a good time. The place was full but not crowded, and it still managed to be rowdy without being totally chaotic. The burger is delicious. While the cheese situation was sub-par, but that seems to be the only real downside. The toppings selection is great, and they all tasted great to match. The beer was superb and it one of the things that raises Thunder Burger & Bar one step above. Even if you aren't getting food, this would be the perfect place to grab a drink. This might not be the scene for everyone since it was compared to Ozzy Osbourne's house, but Thunder Burger & Bar is a outstanding place for a burger and a beer if you ever find yourself wondering around G'town. A great burger and great beer served in one of the coolest places around.

Thunder Burger & Bar This Thursday

Capital Burger Club will be meeting at Thunder Burger & Bar to try their Thunderburger this Thursday at 7:00pm. Advise that this is in Georgetown, so there isn't a metro right around the corner. Foggy Bottom is the nearest metro. The address is below.

Thunder Burger & Bar
3056 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20007

The Southwestern at The Burger Joint in Dupont

We went to The Burger Joint with somewhat lifted expectations, only to have our high hopes ungracefully plummet back to earth in a heaping mess of burger. Most of us have been to one of the several Burger Joint locations before and we have tried several of their burgers before. Everyone seemed to be looking forward to this week's adventure.

The problem is that the Southwestern isn't really a burger. It is the bastard child of a burger and the sloppy joe that the cafeteria served you in middle school. The chili that is mixed in with the burger meat results in something more resembling a sloppy joe than an actual burger. The burger is infused with chipotles, poblanos, onions, and chili. While the flavour was nice and spicy, and it tasted great, everyone's burger fell apart almost immediately. Having special ingredients mixed in with the burger is awesome, but I don’t prefer half of my burger to fall apart after one bite. This leaves you holding an empty bun. The bun was delicious, but it was an empty bun after the messy burger decided to abandon ship. The bun was nice and fluffy, and of course sesame seeds on a bun are always appreciated.

The obvious cheese to pair with a southwestern style burger is pepper-jack cheese. The cheese had nice flavour, but was overwhelmed by the spiciness of the burger. It needed to have more than one little slice of cheese to have an impact. The Burger Joint is located in a prime place in Dupont, but it was packed and overcrowded. The walls are painted a disgusting purple and are falling apart. The line was long and the wait was longer. They were playing loud Christmas music that only your grandmother enjoys. There were flies hovering around, and the server denied a promotional coupon for a free burger. That's a great way to treat customers. The sweet potato fries were great, and the fact that they have Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA on tap is the only saving grace. The synergy really killed this experience. It's in Dupont so it's 'hip', but this place is a dump. The Burger Joint in Bethesda is ten times better. The Southwestern fell apart. I have had the Southwestern before, and it didn't fall apart. This may just reflect the incompetence of the Dupont location. A burger should be able to last at least one bite before breaking into a thousand pieces. The chili added great spice and flavour, but it can also be blamed for the messiness of this high class sloppy joe. It needed more pepper-jack cheese to compete with the spice, and a burger needs to come with lettuce, tomato, and onion. The bun, sweet potato fires, and the beer were all good and should not be brought down by the rest of the burger.

The Southwestern is basically a nine dollar sloppy joe. Way too overpriced for the poor quality that we received. We have all eaten at The Burger Joint before so we were looking forward to this one. The Burger Joint has other burgers and other locations that are very good, but this experience was overall very disappointing.