District Commons

Washington, D.C.
www.districtcommonsdc.com/district.html



The Order: District Commons Burger. BBQ Braised Pineland Farms Shortribs, Sweet & Spicy Slaw, AP sauce (All Purpose sauce, which is mayo, ketchup, mustard, bbq and chipotle sauce)
Side Order: Comes with fries and Malt Vinegar Aioli
$16
Drink Order: Anderson Valley Brewing Boont Amber Ale
Burger Menu Rating: 8/15




Restaurant week in January cost $35.12 at District Commons for an appetizer, entree and a dessert. SO I was like 'sweet deal!' and my friends were like 'sweet deal!' so we rounded up the troops and headed over for dinner. This was one of the first times I was joined by a group of people, rather than just one or two, so I feel the need to name them all. So thank you Matt, Brian, Katie, and Becky! Yeah, I know, I've been sitting on this review for a long time, but hey. At least it's going up here now.

I just want to give a small mention to the appetizer and the dessert before I dive into describing this burger. The Pan-Seared Salmon Cake with Fresh Dill & Creole Mustard Sauce was pretty tasty. By 'cake' they really mean just like.. a salmon puck on the plate, but that being said, the salmon was flaky and moist, with the dill perfectly complimenting both the sauce and the flavor of the salmon. The Butterscotch Sundae (Vanilla ice cream with roasted peanuts and Chantilly cream, otherwise known as whipped cream) was amazing. I mean, I'd come back here to have that again in a second. Big butterscotch flavor, mixing with the vanilla ice cream and a thick chocolate drizzle. Fantastic.

Now the burger. Eh. It was pretty good, but the meat was a little burnt/charred, which definitely detracted from the overall taste. They took perfectly good short rib, pulled it all apart, and then cooked it again. Why? I have no idea, but it was totally unnecessary. What you ended up with was an overcooked burnt burger patty that easily could've been more juicy and delicious. The meat had too much seasoning as well, which, while tasty, I mean, come on, these used to be braised short ribs. They are supposed to be both packed will awesome flavor AND tender and juicy. There wasn't much taste to the slaw and the AP sauce. The slaw was supposed to be spicy?! It was only barely sweet, with a little bit of tang. I didn't even taste the tiny amount of AP sauce, which is used in their sister burger venue next door, Burger Tap & Shake, as well. It didn't add much, if anything, in the way of flavor. The bun was soft, and not too dry (a welcome respite from the meat). It would've been fantastic on a burger with more juices, or more sauce.

The fries were pretty great. Easy to eat on their own, without sauce. But then with the Malt Vinegar Aioli, they become this entirely other delicious beast of a side dish and are impossible to stop easting. Everyone at the table couldn't keep their grubby little paws out of my fries and aioli, and alas, they disappeared all too quickly.

Overall? I mean, it was easy to eat, and didn't taste bad, but the burger was entirely disappointing, especially having been talked up, and owing to the reputation of the sister burger eatery next door, of which I've heard a lot of good things, and with which District Commons shares a chef and a kitchen, but this burger was not worth the money at all. Skip this 'fancy' burger and go next door for their $6 Six Buck Chuck, which is supposed to be fantastic.




No choice in how it was cooked: -1
Cooked correctly: 3
Design: 2.5
Plating: 2.5
Value: 1

Hamilton Tavern

Baltimore, MD
hamiltontavern.com


Photo courtesy of Hamilton Tavern.

The Order: Crosstown Burger, medium rare. Roseda Farms beef, shredded iceberg lettuce, onion, horseradish cheddar. Add Sticky-Spicy Bacon and fried egg ($2).
Side order: Comes with chips. Substitute Natty Boh beer battered O's ($1). Fried dill pickle chips with Zippy Goat Cheese Sauce ($5).
$11 + $2 + $1 + $5 = $19
Drink Order: Firestone Union Jack IPA
Burger Menu Rating: 12.5/15




Hamilton Tavern is a little bit out of the way if you're in downtown Baltimore, but believe me, it's worth the trip. Located out in Hamilton, this little bar/restaurant is warm, friendly and inviting, and the burger is to die for. But let me take this from the beginning.

Hamilton Tavern has a large airy room, friendly staff, and games (located in the back corner). It's not too loud, even later in the week, though I imagine that with all the hard surfaces in this place that when it gets busy the decibels can run up. They have a decent beer menu, which gets better after 10pm. Why? Because of reverse Happy Hour. From 10pm til they close, select draughts are $3, and they have $2 Abita. Awesome. They're kitchen closes at 11pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so if you get there right at 10pm, you're golden.

Joined by fellow burger enthusiast, Becky, we began with an order of Pickle Chips. Now. I'm a skeptic when it comes to pickle chips, because every time I order them, they're always made with butter pickles, and they really just don't do it for me. But these were DILL Pickle Chips. Fingers crossed. And they were delicious, as was the Zippy Goat Cheese Sauce! BUT you only get six of them. They're thick, to be sure, but definitely not worth almost $1 per chip. I'd order them again if they were $3/$4.

The Natty Boh beer battered O's were a major letdown. Crunchy, yes, but flavorless. They just tasted like oil, not even seasoned with salt. Luckily, we kept the sauce from the Pickle Chips which, once dipped in it, made the O's better. Still, I'd say they're not worth it. Save the dollar and go for the house made potato chips.

So you're thinking, wow, this place already seems like kind of a let down. Let me stop you right there. Only the O's were a letdown. The Pickle Chips were delicious, just pricy. But now we're past those and onto the main event: the Crosstown Burger. This burger was fantastic. It was cooked perfectly, and it was stacked and huge, definitely not a small burger. My mouth is watering just thinking about this thing again. I had never eaten a sweet tasting burger before this, but the Sticky-Spicy bacon works really well with the ground beef, and the egg oozing all over the place. Brown Sugar and Cayenne Broiled Bacon is a revelation. I've since made it at home, and it's super easy to do so why isn't everyone doing it yet?!

It definitely was a messy burger, so if you go, prepare to get your hands dirty as you dig into this awesome monster burger. And don't skimp on the extras. The bacon and egg really did take it to another level. All of the flavors in this burger were well balanced, all fighting for top billing, but none of them really getting ahead of the others. I did wish, however, that I could taste the cheese more. It added some great gooey texture, but being horseradish cheddar, I expected a stronger flavor to be present. The bread contained the burger well, and helped mop up the yolk and burger juices that had gushed out all over the place, and what they don't tell you is that the onions are, in fact, caramelized, and that the burger patty sits on top of them. Amazing.

This place is absolutely worth the small trek to the Hamilton area, and I'll hopefully be making it over there again soon. Fingers crossed.




Cooked Correctly = 5pts
Presentation/Plating = 2pts
Design/Ingredients = 3pts
Value = 2.5