BGR - The Burger Joint

Washington, D.C.
www.bgrtheburgerjoint.com



The Order:  The Wellington, medium rare.  With "roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, truffle oil, garlic with a touch of mustard seed and blue cheese" on a toasted brioche bun with mojo sauce.
Side Order:  The Gold Standard Fries ($2.89)
$9.29 + $2.89 = $12.18
Drink Order:  Raspberry Coke
Burger Menu Rating:  12.5/15




Recently this blog has seen a lot of burgers from around the country and the world.  Why not continue the trend with BGR - The Burger Joint in Washington D.C.  Keep in mind that many of these reviews are actually from the middle of last year.  My sojourn in Germany made posting reviews extremely difficult, so I have a large stock of reviews to keep posting.  But don't you worry.  I took copious notes for each of these reviews, so they won't be lacking in detail or accuracy.

Founded by Mark Bucher, BGR is a growing burger chain with a strong following.  A number of friends in D.C. mentioned that BGR is in their short list of burger establishments for quality burgers. They have a "large and supremely tasty patty on a delicious brioche bun," says Patrick.  "I want one every day," says my cousin Sammy who also resides in the DC area and works only a few blocks from the Dupont Circle BGR.  Their burgers have a "good beefy flavor and the burger is really big.  Also huge portions of fries," adds Kate.  I'd heard about BGR on a few trips down to D.C. and had opted for one reason or another to try other places.  The last time I went, however, my cousin Sammy was adamant that I go try their burger (she goes often).  Let me tell you, I was not let down.


The Wellington.  Decadence in burger form.

BGR, like many other burger restaurants (Oinkster, Bobby's Burger Palace, etc.) has burgers of the month on rotation.  The Wellington was apparently popular enough to garner a permanent spot on their menu, and I'm glad it did.  When the burger came out it was extremely juicy, cooked to a perfect medium rare.  The patty was coarse ground, formed with a mold, and was well salted to bring out the flavors of the meat.  This is a hefty portion of burger, and well worth it for the price.

 
A perfect medium rare, glistening with fats, and topped with caramelized
onions, mushrooms, and truffle oil.

With roasted mushrooms and caramelized onions, drizzled with truffle oil, piled high and spilling off the burger, this is a decadent burger.  The truffle oil was present in absolutely every bite, which was a fantastic surprise.  I've often found that when eating a burger made with truffle oil, the added flavor doesn't make its way through to my taste buds enough to be a bold statement.  Here, however, the truffle oil mixed with the onions and mushrooms are delicious, and a perfect foil for the understated blue cheese.

Maybe because the other flavors are so strong, the brioche bun was a bit dull.  It performed well with the burger, sopping up the juices, and it was light and airy, but it's own flavor was definitely overwhelmed by the other ingredients.

While BGR offers a decent portion of their Gold Standard fries when added to the size of the burger, they're unfortunately not up to par with their burgers.  A medium-sized cut, the fries were a bit on the well-done side and definitely under-seasoned.  They managed to not taste too oily, but compared to the rich taste of this burger, the fries needed to pack a lot more punch to hold their own.


BGR's The Burger.

On a return trip to BGR, I'd pass on the fries and opt for a shake, or another menu item.  BGR offers an array of other things including an Ahi Tuna Burger and the 9 Pounder, which is actually a 15.4 pound burger that could feed up to 15 people (maybe actually more).




Cooked Correctly:  5/5
Design:  3/4 (I had to take one off because the fries just weren't all that good)
Plating:  1.5/3
Value:  3/3

Bobby's Burger Palace

Washington, DC
www.bobbysburgerpalace.com



The Order: Napa Valley Burger, medium rare. With goat cheese, watercress, and Meyer Lemon Honey Mustard, crunchified.
Side Order: Onion rings ($3)
$7.75 + $3 = $10.75
Drink Order: Coke
Burger Menu Rating: 11/15




Now I'm not particularly a fan of Bobby Flay. I'm not against him by any means, but I haven't watched hours upon hours of any cooking show to know exactly what his, or any other cook's, for that matter, style is. He is a name; that is to be respected, and that is all. But when I heard that he had his own Burger Palace, I was downright excited, not because it was Bobby Flay, but because a popular celebrity chef had devised a chain establishment dedicated to Burgers! And I'm also excited to discover that another one of these establishments is located on Long Island, not to far away from where I live! Excitement abounds.

Upon seeing the menu, I quickly decided upon the Napa Valley Burger. I had recently had a string of burgers with either blue cheese or avocado, so I was doing my best to avoid falling into a pattern and the goat cheese and watercress both really stood out. But wait! What is this "Crunchified" business they speak of? For no additional cost, they'll toss a whole bunch of plain potato chips onto your burger. Yes, please! I received my number and glass and found a seat.

When you sit down at your table, you're sitting on benches with everyone else in the establishment, and you'll immediately see an array of sauces for your fries, rings or burger. Ignoring the regular ketchup and mustard, they also offer Jalapeno Hot Sauce, BBP Fry Sauce, Honey Mustard Horseradish, Burger Sauce, and Chipotle Ketchup. I tried every one, and they were all delicious. I recommend mixing and matching between the fries, rings, and various sauces as well as combining sauces (how daring). You'll be in for a treat.



The onion rings here are great. They're tasty, crunchy, seasoned just enough to add a counterpoint to the sweetness of the onion and batter, but they're definitely not worth it. $3 for 3 or 4 rings?! You've got to be kidding me. Yes, they were giant thick rings, but come on! I want some bang for my buck! The fries or sweet potato fries are a better choice for your money, and go as well with the sauces, if not better.

The burger, when it arrived, was a tower of a spectacle that just made my mouth water. And the chips! There were a TON of them on the burger, much more than I'd expected, though its not as if adding potato chips to the burger really costs them all that much. Pressing down the top bun and crunching all the chips was entirely satisfying, and made the top bun hold in nearly all the chips. They give the burger a fantastic crunch, texture and add a bit of salty flavor which is excellent. Granted, I may have had a few beers by this point in the night, but everything on this burger came together to be something fantastic. It was juicy, tasty, and though it wasn't cooked perfectly (it was closer to medium), it was still delicious. The goat cheese was melty and the flavor wasn't overpoweringly strong, but bursts of flavor came through to remind my mouth that it was still a major contender in this burger, and was definitely complimented by the meat and chips.

Overall, I'm excited to go to one of the two Long Island establishments and see if the burgers are as good there as well. Nick Solares, of A Hamburger Today mentions having a similar problem with his burger being overcooked, but whereas Nick's burger was dry, mine was still juicy and delicious. Nick's review is from 2008, so it make sense that BBP would have been able to iron out some of their wrinkles, if not all of them, in two years, though I'd hope that they'd be able to cook their burgers correctly when ordered at a specific temperature. We'll see how it goes a second time around.




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

Ray's Hell Burger

Washington, DC
Ray's Hell Burger Menu



The Order: B.I.G. Poppa, medium rare. Au Poivre burger, aged danish bleu cheese, cognac and sherry sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions.
Side Order: 7-Cheese Mac ($2)
$7.99 + $2 = $9.99
Drink Order: Coke (No beer)



Located just outside of DC, in Arlington, VA, Ray's Hell Burger has been talked up by friends and family alike, featured on a number of food network TV shows looking for the best burger, and even been supported by President Obama and Vice President Biden. While certainly an excellent burger, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best.

My burger came out fast, almost ten minutes before my fellow connoisseur's burger came out. Cooked perfectly, and presented simply. One look at this and you could tell there was going to be a lot of flavor. Dripping with it's own juices, and the soft bleu cheese oozing out beneath the mushrooms and onions, the first half of this burger was amazing. But after a while, all you can taste is the overwhelming flavor of the cheese. Don't get me wrong, it is delicious, but a milder cheese would've let the flavor of the onions and mushrooms have a little more room. And come on, cognac and sherry sauteed mushrooms? These should be exploding with flavor! But such was not the case.

The side of 7-cheese Mac was good. That's all. You'd think that boasting seven different flavors would make it amazing, but it was just a good dish of Mac and Cheese. You really couldn't tell there was more than two flavors of cheese if you didn't know you'd ordered seven.

There's no beer selection here (there is another location four doors down that sells beer and wine as well). Sodas are $2 and this place is cash only. And be prepared when you go up to order. The faster you order, and get your stuff together, the more likely you are to get a seat inside.