Burger Club was uniformly disappointed in its trip to Founding Farmers. Several BC members had been before and enjoyed their experiences so we had high hopes, but burgers are not this restaurant's forte. There were two primary problems: the meat itself and the way in which it was cooked. My burger had definite fishy notes - offputting to say the least.
The texture was also odd - what I can only describe as an unpleasant combination of mushy and spongy. The second problem was that none of our burgers were cooked to order. All the medium-rares came out of the kitchen solid mediums, while those that ordered mediums got well-dones.
The final insult was the inexplicably small martini I was served. It was about half the size of a normal martini; the gin didn't even cover the first olive on the skewer. I rate the burger at Founding Farmers a 3. The martini gets a solid 0.
The ambiance is nice - good lighting, friendly atmosphere, comfortable furniture. But a comfy chair hardly makes up for fishy beef and the most ridiculous martini I've ever seen.
-EB
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Inception of Burger Club DC
Hello fellow burger lovers!
I realize it seems a bit unorthodox to let a guest write the inaugural post, but this is the spirit of Burger Club DC. The posts will be coming from all of our members. The core group consisting of 3 beautiful ladies, Emily Byers, Sonia Walia (aka B-Sonia) and Pallavi Rai. We have had a few interlopers here and there but all committed members of the group and all deserving of a say in the DC Burger Scene (wink wink John Ames, Matt Smith, Payton Deeks, Liz Larson and Ben Plata).
As I am from Nebraska, and a self proclaimed burger aficionado, I decided to recruit friends to help me find the best burger in DC. As everyone who knows me well, has heard me speak ad nauseam about the Fred burger which can only be enjoyed in Lincoln, Nebraska at Parkway Bowling Alley! Holla. We don't have a specific list of criteria, but generally this seems to have developed from our meetings (this will become more apparent in the reviews). We meet when we can, we discuss over the beef and we have FINALLY decided to put down our thoughts in writing. As they say, less talk and more action.
Hold on to your buns people and eat more beef.
where we have been together in no particular order:
1. Founding Farmers
2. McCormick and Schmick's
3. Bobby Van's Grill
4. Old Ebbit's
5. Big Buns
6. Ray's Hell Burger
7. Angle's
where rogue reviews have taken place:
1. Palena
2. Good Stuff Eatery
3. Rogue States
4. Five Guys
5. Central
where we have been suggested to visit:
1. The Guards
2. Lyndi's
3. The Burger Joint
4. Billy Martin's
5. Blue Point
6. Ted's Montana Grill
With love
Jill
I realize it seems a bit unorthodox to let a guest write the inaugural post, but this is the spirit of Burger Club DC. The posts will be coming from all of our members. The core group consisting of 3 beautiful ladies, Emily Byers, Sonia Walia (aka B-Sonia) and Pallavi Rai. We have had a few interlopers here and there but all committed members of the group and all deserving of a say in the DC Burger Scene (wink wink John Ames, Matt Smith, Payton Deeks, Liz Larson and Ben Plata).
As I am from Nebraska, and a self proclaimed burger aficionado, I decided to recruit friends to help me find the best burger in DC. As everyone who knows me well, has heard me speak ad nauseam about the Fred burger which can only be enjoyed in Lincoln, Nebraska at Parkway Bowling Alley! Holla. We don't have a specific list of criteria, but generally this seems to have developed from our meetings (this will become more apparent in the reviews). We meet when we can, we discuss over the beef and we have FINALLY decided to put down our thoughts in writing. As they say, less talk and more action.
Hold on to your buns people and eat more beef.
where we have been together in no particular order:
1. Founding Farmers
2. McCormick and Schmick's
3. Bobby Van's Grill
4. Old Ebbit's
5. Big Buns
6. Ray's Hell Burger
7. Angle's
where rogue reviews have taken place:
1. Palena
2. Good Stuff Eatery
3. Rogue States
4. Five Guys
5. Central
where we have been suggested to visit:
1. The Guards
2. Lyndi's
3. The Burger Joint
4. Billy Martin's
5. Blue Point
6. Ted's Montana Grill
With love
Jill
burger club scouting report
For the inaugural post, we have a guest blogger!
Dear Burger Enthusiasts plus B-Sonia,
Accompanying a co-worker, I ventured out to Dupont's newest burger joint: Rogue States. http://aburgergrillingcompany.com I thought I should share a brief review with the club.
The burgers are weird. Two of them have cilantro mixed in with the beef, which is simply ridiculous. The others, despite being cilantro free, are conceptually bizarre (the "Now and Zen" has soy sauce, green onions, ginger and toasted sesame seeds). I guess I take issue with the fact that the burgers don't have different toppings, as is normally the case, but rather have these inappropriate things (tomatoes, thyme) mixed in with the beef. Also, can a brother please come across a menu that isn't another homage to the chipotle pepper? I stuck with the "Square One" which is as close to a plain burger as you can get, but even that turned out to be a bit of a hot mess.
The beef. Rogue States is very proud of the fact that their beef comes from cows raised on vegetarian diet. Is that so unusual? Also, they are of course free from antibiotics, hormones and anything else bad. Whether it is because the cows have all these freedoms or for some other reason, the result is that the beef has kind of a strange musty taste. The closest thing I can compare it to is a litter box. Not a filthy one, but still...
Also, in consideration of all you South Asians out there, Rogue States is not Punjabi-friendly, as they charge an extra $2 for any of the burgers to be made with turkey insteak of beef. Why they penalize turkey fanciers this way, when ground turkey is significantly LESS expensive than ground beef, I have no idea.
No too much to say about the physical space. It's basically the exact same layout and interior design as Nando's Peri Peri.
The lunch special combo meal (with fries and a drink) came to $12.50. Rip city.
So where is our next outing?
-John Ames
Dear Burger Enthusiasts plus B-Sonia,
Accompanying a co-worker, I ventured out to Dupont's newest burger joint: Rogue States. http://aburgergrillingcompany.com I thought I should share a brief review with the club.
The burgers are weird. Two of them have cilantro mixed in with the beef, which is simply ridiculous. The others, despite being cilantro free, are conceptually bizarre (the "Now and Zen" has soy sauce, green onions, ginger and toasted sesame seeds). I guess I take issue with the fact that the burgers don't have different toppings, as is normally the case, but rather have these inappropriate things (tomatoes, thyme) mixed in with the beef. Also, can a brother please come across a menu that isn't another homage to the chipotle pepper? I stuck with the "Square One" which is as close to a plain burger as you can get, but even that turned out to be a bit of a hot mess.
The beef. Rogue States is very proud of the fact that their beef comes from cows raised on vegetarian diet. Is that so unusual? Also, they are of course free from antibiotics, hormones and anything else bad. Whether it is because the cows have all these freedoms or for some other reason, the result is that the beef has kind of a strange musty taste. The closest thing I can compare it to is a litter box. Not a filthy one, but still...
Also, in consideration of all you South Asians out there, Rogue States is not Punjabi-friendly, as they charge an extra $2 for any of the burgers to be made with turkey insteak of beef. Why they penalize turkey fanciers this way, when ground turkey is significantly LESS expensive than ground beef, I have no idea.
No too much to say about the physical space. It's basically the exact same layout and interior design as Nando's Peri Peri.
The lunch special combo meal (with fries and a drink) came to $12.50. Rip city.
So where is our next outing?
-John Ames
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