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