Burger 21: Another Entry into the DC Metro Area's Fast-Casual Burger Joint Pantheon of Patties

[Destruya]

Address (Sterling): 21305 Windmill Parc Dr #160, Sterling, VA 20166 - https://www.burger21.com/locations/sterling/

Address (Ashburn): 43800 Central Station Dr #100, Ashburn, VA 20147 - https://www.burger21.com/locations/ashburn/

Menu: https://www.burger21.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Sterling-2sided-Menu.pdf

Yes, Rockwellians, another burger place (and a smallish multi-state chain one at that).  I ate here tonight (the Sterling location) after a particularly shitty Saturday and not-much-better Sunday morning and afternoon, because well, why not.  Also, I feel like I'm cultivating a ~rep~ of being our resident "Local Grubgradian" since I tend to review very casual and cheap places.  Rest assured, I spend enough time around ~haute cuisine~ as well, but sometimes the only cure for a shitty mood is a big dose of carbs, fat, and protein.

Okay, before you visit this place, be sure to download their app off your phone's particular store.  Registering on it earns you your first *basic* burger free (~$6.49), and signing up for their email club nets you a free side of fries ($2.49).

First impressions: Whoever laid out this space earned their degree in design.  The dining room feels like an IKEA cafeteria without the horse meat, but they didn't jam the place full of tables to the point where everything feels claustrophobic like at any Five Guys.  The condiment station and drink machines are sufficiently separated and well-laid-out, and even though it was pitch dark at the time (a stark contrast to the smart use of lighting indoors), they've got a really nice outdoor seating area.  Downsides include: limited amount of booths, tiny area for a line (arguably worse than the Fairfax Smashburger), use of those highly-questionable tablet-based POS systems, and Top 40 ~muzak~ on loop.

What I had, and did I like it: Well, shitty moods call for shitty life choices, so I decided to indulge and get both a "Bacon Cheesy" ($7.49) *and* a "Philly Cheese" ($7.99) with the free side of fries and I splurged and tried their "Cheese and Ale Sauce."  I also asked for my patties to be medium and...I got them cooked *medium*!  That in and of itself is a minor miracle - though I was there at ~8pm, and it was by no means busy.  Despite the pictures you might see on Yelp, the burgers did not come out looking like Leaning Towers of Empty Calories.  They were actually pretty compact and neat, about the size of a Quarter Pounder and/or one of their ~designer~ QPCs.  The burgers looked like the ones a culinary Ph.D. makes for fast food commercials, and the buns were amongst the best I've seen at a fast casual burger joint, which was important for one very specific reason...

...the juice.  Oh dear sweet Jesus, Buddha, Shiva, Vishnu, and "Bob," the *juices*.  Do not get a double-patty burger here.  Just don't.  The patties practically bleed boiling-hot cow juice and with a *single* patty you will find your fingers getting mildly scalded.  Two of them atop one another would probably give you second-degree burn blisters.  That being said, there's a nice touch in the form of a communal sink at the end of the condiment station complete with hand soap for the aftermath, which I highly recommend using.  This is definitely a three-napkin/lean-over-the-table joint.

So, did I like it?  Yeah...as much as one can be enthusiastic about ~just another burger joint~ in this area that's positively goddamned lousy with them even after the first few rounds of 'culling.'  The Philly Cheese really stood out - it really tastes like you're eating a...very small cheesesteak.  The Djion Chive Mayo really gave this thing a tasty kick.  The Bacon Cheesy was good, but it didn't exactly stand out after the really good grilled onions and aforementioned Djion Chive mayo - it seems this place shines when you order one of the more *atypical* burgers.  Don't get me wrong, it was a really good burger, it was just 'predictable.'  The beef on its own was falling apart errantly into small specks that'd periodically drop on the tray, which is a good sign they don't use pre-packed patties from Costco.

The miss(es)?  The Cheese and Ale sauce.  It just wasn't worth the buck forty-nine (even with a few extra flecks of bacon in it), and when you see the condiment station you'll know why.  They've got a ton of free/better alternatives available.  That also being said, the fries were nothing really special - standard shoestring fare, but the condiment station I believe had Toasted Marshmallow Cream for the Sweet Potato Fries.  I've a feeling that will not stick around for long once enough kids find it.

Verdict?  I got a FAR better burger here than I did at the Tilted Kilt, and it's easily the best current semi-cheap option burger-wise in the vicinity of the Dulles Town Center (Bungalow Lakehouse probably gets the nod for a pricey *froo froo* burger), save the Sterling BGR and *maybe* The Habit Grill in Landsdowne, but you go there for a designer version of a Whopper - you come to this place for the variety.  There's also The Counter at Reston Town Center if you feel like ~$15 per person plus parking.  Oh, and since it wasn't that busy, their ~Chef du Cuisine~ would occasionally come out and keep an eye out and generally survey the dining area and ask you how everything is.  It's a nice touch that makes this place feel a bit more 'homey' than a Five Guys or Smashburger.  Check it out if you're in the area.

P.S. If I hadn't gotten my fries for free and hadn't splurged on the Cheese and Ale sauce, I'd have paid ~$25.  That being said, Quarter Pounders are something like $4.19 now, so spend the extra $3 and eat this burger instead.  Oh, and at least at the Sterling location, you have to take a picture of your receipt to use their digital punchcard which, after buying seven burgers (a minimum of $45), nets you...*drumroll*...$5 in credit, and multiple burgers on one ticket doesn't net you extra 'punches.'

[DonRocks]

Thank you for this post - it's wonderful.

Burger 21 is smallish for now, but they have some ambitious plans for rapid growth.

[Destruya]

I hit up this place again tonight and redeemed my 'free' burger from the app.  Going against my own recommendation, because I SUFFER SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO, I added an extra patty to the 'free' burger (in lieu of getting fries) and got another single-patty Philly Cheese.  I miraculously managed to mitigate melting my moneymakers (or dropping anything on my shirt) with the grease that left a 4x4 inch translucent rosy puddle on the wax paper that lines the wire tray that convey their burgers.

Also, I completed and paid for my order at 6:05pm, and I was ~out the door~ at 6:25pm in plenty of time to make my 7pm showing at Alamo (which is undergoing an expansion at the moment).  Perfect 'medium' on every patty, too (maybe a touch under on one, but hey, carpe toxoplasmosis) - having eaten four of them now with nary a stomach rumble I'd say their beef's of pretty good stock, even though we all know 'Angus' is about as trodden-down and meaningless a word as 'gourmet' is now.

The joint was almost a ghost town at 6pm, which tells me they might not have done a great job at getting the word out to the SINK/DINK containers/condos that border it on the other side of the treeline behind it.  Also, it's been so long since I've had one that it took my second visit to finally peg the taste comparison.  This place's patties (before the toppings) taste like Fuddrucker's when Fuddrucker's is/was (to borrow a now ~forbidden~ phrase that's been purloined and irreparably maligned by Guy Fieri, Grandmaster Douche of the Food Kingdom*) 'on point.'

Still recommended - just don't expect an ~epiphany~ ground in beef.

* I'm sure he's an okay guy, he just has that kind of "look" that makes you want to feed him feet-first into a wood chipper set on the slowest speed.