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Good Stuff Eatery, Burgers, Fries, and Shakes in Capitol Hill and Crystal City


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Am I the only one saddened by the fact that Good Stuff is going to expand?

Spike Nails the Burger Bash...

Not at all.

"I was up there among the best, with chefs that I look up to." I'm surprised. I didn't think it was physically possible to "look up" to anyone when sitting on top of an ego that high.

"The only category Mendelsohn didn't win was the potato contest. But then, he didn't enter it." With good cause!

Vote with your dollars, people!

I, on the other hand, am probably the only one BRIMMING WITH RAGE over this picture:

PH2009022400747.jpg

If you lay another finger on her, I'm going Mrs. Lovett on your ass.

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So, I finally went and gave Good Stuff Eatery a try this afternoon for lunch, and I was moderately satisfied. I went for the Prez Obama Burger: "Applewood Bacon, Red Onion Marmalade, Horseradish Mayo, Roquefort Cheese" - except I asked to sub in American for the Roquefort. I ordered mainly because the onion marmalade and the horseradish mayo sounded good; I wasn't looking forward to the bacon.

The surprise came when I sat down and went to take the bacon off and found that it was actually extremely crispy. I gave it a taste, and was shocked by how good it was, especially combined with the flavor of the marmalade and the horseradish mayo. After eating the two slices of bacon separately, I dove into the burger. I liked the soft bun, the onion marmalade, the horseradish mayo. As for the burger...well, the texture seemed pretty good, and it was pink in the center, not overcooked...but the problem I had was that it didn't have a whole lot of flavor. There wasn't that meaty taste. And it wasn't that the taste was overshadowed by the marmalade, which was admittedly strong...it just wasn't there. I don't know how that can be.

So, the toppings were worth it, the burger...not fantastic, but certainly better than McDonald's. I'd go again to try some of the other options, even though I find the price (6.89 for my burger) a bit high. Maybe next time I'll opt for the chicken option. I didn't even try the fries, since they looked pretty pathetic...but the shakes that I saw sitting on the counter looked pretty damn good. And there's a milkyway flavor? That begs further inquiry, though without good fries to dip, I'm hesitant. Maybe I'll come packing my own next time.

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So, I finally went and gave Good Stuff Eatery a try this afternoon for lunch, and I was moderately satisfied.
I probably shared my first visit waiting in line with you this afternoon. Historically on this board I've always done my best to be diplomatic or play by the Thumper rule; today I can't.

Make a fist, now subtract your knuckles...and your thumb. If your MLK this is perfect, if your Happyguy subtract about 1/3 of the volume. Charge me 8(7 and change) dollars that I will never get back and that's good stuff.

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From what I understand, Taverna the Greek Islands (est. 1965) has closed and Good Stuff Eatery is expanding next door.

<_<:lol::rolleyes::lol: :lol:

When did you last eat at Taverna? In 18 years of working on the Hill, including 11 living there, I think I only ate there 2-3 times--and I really like Greek food.

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When did you last eat at Taverna? In 18 years of working on the Hill, including 11 living there, I think I only ate there 2-3 times--and I really like Greek food.
Not sure. 2006? I've been to the bar there more recently than the restaurant. I have a weird aversion to Greek food due to being deathly ill in Greece years ago, so I would only eat there when other people wanted to. It took an effort, but I always found the food fine when I could make myself do it. A dear friend of mine, who is now deceased, loved the restaurant, so I recall going there with her. As a sentimental memory, it ranks up there. Part of my reaction is to what is taking over the space. I haven't been there to eat since Zack took over, so that would help isolate the date.
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We decided to give this place another try last Saturday night. I strolled in expecting a line and was delighted to find that there wasn't one. I ordered to Colletti's (sp?) Smokehouse burgers, the fried onion things they sell (like a detached awesome blossom), the classic wedge salad, and two toasted marshmallow shakes. About two minutes after I put my order in a bunch of people showed up, so I just beat the rush. A bit later I began to notice that the people who came in after me were getting their food before me, so the girl doling out the food finally went to check on my order, and it was completed some 20 minutes after I ordered. So, that was annoying and unnecessary.

I don't live very far from the restaurant (< 10 min) but the onion thingys didn't really survive the trip, becoming fairly soggy, so that was a bummer. I was hoping my previous experience with the burgers was simply due to ordering a burger I didn't really want (damn inauguration menu!), but the burgers remained average at best. Again, you can get a burger just as good for the half the price at 5 Guys (and they at least have good fries!). What we did enjoy was the salad, which was large and fresh, and the shakes, which continue to be amazing. I don't see us going back...I'm not sure what the point would be.

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It looks like it's going to be a pizzeria

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/y...pizzeria-in-dc/

Unless he took over another building recently, this would seem to be the answer.

The chef isn’t tipping his hat (oh, we kill ourselves) on what kind of pie he’ll make, other than to admit it won’t be a true Neapolitan
I don’t think I want to have coal fire. I want to have American-Napolean [sic] pizza.

Hmmm. So it wont be true Neapolitan or even 'Napolean' and he doesn't think he will want to have a coal fired oven, which I guess means he'll comply with the legal restrictions prohibiting building a coal-fired oven. Sounds like a lot of thought and research has gone into this already...

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It's nice to see the sordid troughs that have passed for restaurants on the Hill for far too long gradually go the way of all flesh, though I'm not sure a spiky pizza joint would be my first choice to replace them.
The restaurants along that stretch of PA Ave. have never really been all that good, with the exception of a few places that are or have been in the 200 block (Sonoma, Le Mistral, and the Italian place that was where Le Mistral was). It's still kind of sad for me to see Taverna go just because I have memories and sentiment attached to it.
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Besides eating pizza in NYC, Spike's been filming a food show, according to DCist:

Spike also recently shot the first two episodes of a new web series for the Food Network. The show, called, "Kelsey and Spike Cook,", which pits bad boy Mendelsohn against the sugary sweet Kelsey Nixon from the network's The Next Food Network Star

..sounds like How To Boil Water

Damnit damnit damnit damnit damnit.

Why does Spike keep stealing my culinary crushes? First Rachael Ray, now Kelsey Nixon...

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Having heard so much of it, good and bad, I decided to try this place out early this evening. Got the smokehouse burger with bacon and bbq. Nothing spectacular, but certainly not bad; a good, fast-food type greasy burger. Really liked the marshmallow shake, although it was possibly too thick. That said, didn't love it enough to ever go back unless I'm in the area, though I seldom am.

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So I was at work today, hearing one of my co-workers proclaim Good Stuff to have the best burger in DC. As I felt the vein in my forehead starting to bulge, a voice entered my head - "You dolt, you've never actually BEEN to Good Stuff. Don't knock it until you try it!" So, with some time to kill after I left, I went down and had lunch at Good Stuff.

The verdict? I was right all along! Well, sort of.

I ordered the Farmhouse Bacon Cheeseburger, and I was disappointed from the start. First off, this thing is small, especially for a burger approaching a $7 price tag. The burger itself wasn't that impressive, either. I appreciate how it was cooked - there was still a little bit of pink inside instead of being cooked to well-done oblivion - but my burger was still a little on the dry side. I don't know if it's because they use a leaner ground beef than the traditional 80/20, but it was strange. Overall, the burger wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything that made me think "wow." Also ordered a small order of the Village fries, topped with thyme and rosemary, and they were disappointing. Good color on them, but they were limp and lifeless. I could clearly see the herbs on the fries, but they provided more of an aroma than a flavor. If you enjoy crispy and firm fries like I do (and I think most people do), you can safely pass here.

So, all in all, a pretty forgettable experience right? Well, not so fast. There was the small matter of the toasted marshmallow milkshake. Yes, it's expensive (checking in at $5.25), and it's not overly large. But holy crap, this thing is good. Basically, it tastes just like you think it should - it seems like a liquified toasted marshmallow. What's really great about it, however, is that it manages to be really sweet (after all, it tastes like a marshmallow) without being cloying. I can't really say that I'd go here just for the milkshake, because it's really pretty far out of my way, but the trip is really the only thing keeping me from running here again for the milkshake.

Overall, I think some of the criticisms of Good Stuff are overblown, but some of the praise is also undue. The fact is that while I didn't love my burger, I didn't hate it, either - it was better than some of the overdone burgers I've had at Five Guys recently, but it was inferior to a place such as Ray's. I'll be going back, because some of the specialty burgers seem interesting and worth trying, but it's not going to be part of my regular rotation.

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So I was at work today, hearing one of my co-workers proclaim Good Stuff to have the best burger in DC. As I felt the vein in my forehead starting to bulge, a voice entered my head - "You dolt, you've never actually BEEN to Good Stuff. Don't knock it until you try it!" So, with some time to kill after I left, I went down and had lunch at Good Stuff.

The verdict? I was right all along! Well, sort of...

A thoughtful review, thanks for posting this.

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I was at Good Stuff for the first time in a while and noticed that the burgers seemed smaller than I remember them. I usually get the burger formerly know as the 5 Napkin and now called Sunnyside Up (There must have been some trademark issue with 5 Napkin Burger in NYC here). I definitely did not feel like it was a $7 burger. Having been disappointed with the fries too many times, I ordered just burger and shake, so it came to about $13 for the burger and shake, but I definitely agree with the assessment of the shake.

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Love this place!!! I just have a burger (the cheeseburger with carmelized onions & mushrooms --- yummy!!!) which is filling enough so I can't comment on the rest. I really want to try the marshmallow shake. It sounds delicious but not what I would have for a meal. Maybe I'll drop by on the weekend for a taste.

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According to Spike, yes. From the Examiner article: "It's going to be much like the formula of Good Stuff," said Mendelsohn. "It's going to be really hip, really clean, it's going to be farm fresh."

I don't believe he said Good Stuff was farm fresh.

In my opinion, it's misquotes such as this that foster hostility; not the PR itself. (Nobody has anything against The Mattress Man, jumping up-and-down on late-night informercials, screaming about a 50%-off sale.)

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I don't believe he said Good Stuff was farm fresh.

In my opinion, it's misquotes such as this that foster hostility; not the PR itself. (Nobody has anything against The Mattress Man, jumping up-and-down on late-night informercials, screaming about a 50%-off sale.)

Googling "Spike Mendelsohn farm fresh" brings up a number of hits about the farm fresh food at Good Stuff, like, say, this one:

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/restaurants/bestbites/8522.html

SM: I'm using Coastal Farms for all my produce, they are based out of Maryland, I'm using Capital Meats, a purveyor up on the Hill. Everything is farm fresh and local.

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SM: I'm using Coastal Farms for all my produce, they are based out of Maryland, I'm using Capital Meats, a purveyor up on the Hill. Everything is farm fresh and local.

Did anyone from Washingtonian, or any other investigative reporter, hold this statement under scrutiny?

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Did anyone from Washingtonian, or any other investigative reporter, hold this statement under scrutiny?

Sort of…

more in the spirit of Harvey Levin than Barlett & Steele. Spike’s “farm” may actually be a 165,000 sq ft warehouse facility in Savage Maryland who’s other exclusive clients (Outback Steakhouse, Baja Fresh Mex, Bertucci's, Cosi, Applebee's…) might get their produce from industrial Californian farms as well. Technically farm fresh though more national than local.

However, such a successfully charismatic chef (with a proven Les Crayères, Bouchon, Le Cirque pedigree and the awesome, yet misspelled "Francis* (sic) Roth Leadership Award" according to his inflated bio) would have absolutely no reason to make fraudulent claims of product provenance and is probably concentrating on birthday party food for fat kids now while patiently pursuing “his professional dream which is to one day bring the very coveted Three Michelin Stars to his resume” since “becoming a ‘Top Chef' cannot be accomplished on a reality show, because it takes a lifetime…" of making burgers and pizza, presumably.

*Frances Roth -CIA co-founder. (she’s a chick, not a dude, Dude)

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I for one think that his PR does hurt him. I had lunch here the other day, and while it wasn't offensively bad I don't really see a reason to return. If I thought "this is just some burger place" I wouldn't have really minded my meal or the price, but when I hear "this is farm fresh" or "we use high quality beef" I feel like I'm being taken advantage of, and that Spike or the PR director or whoever knows that what they are saying is not true. It say "farmhouse burgers" on the menu.

The Marshmallow Shake was fine and not too sweet for me, which is further evidence that I will be the last person on earth to raise that complaint about anything.

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We decided to meet downtown for dinner so I took a look over my restaurant wish list and picked two for Pooch to decide between - he decided burgers would satisfy his cravings and we meet up at the Capitol South metro stop and walked over to 303 Pennsylvania Ave - Good Stuff Eatery. We are fans of Top Chef and this is co-owned by Spike Mendelsohn who was on Top Chef Chicago. We figure of the Obama’s go there for burgers we should give it a try.

About 5:30 on a Friday night the place was maybe ¼ full. You order at the counter and then are given a pager that goes off when your order is up. Most of the seating is upstairs, so don’t forget to get all your ketchup, straws, spoons and such before you go upstairs.

I had a Farmhouse Cheeseburger (Handcrafted Burger on sweet, buttery soft, freshly baked Pennsylvania Dutch bun and good stuff sauce), Spike’s Village Fries (Topped With Fresh Thyme, Rosemary & Cracked Pepper) and a Toasted Marshmallow shake. Pooch had the Spike’s 5 Napkin (Original burger with dairy fresh cheese, apple wood bacon, a farm fresh egg on a broche bun with good stuff sauce), Cliff’s homegrown Vidalia onion rings, and a soda. Our total bill was $30.26

The burger was good but not exceptional. It failed Pooch’s first test of burgers since they did not ask how we wanted our burger done. Just because you use multiple words to describe something doesn’t make it good. My buns were nothing special but Pooch liked his broche bun. The onion ring batter was good but sweet, the fries were a fun change. I thought the shake was yummy, but I have never had a shake I didn’t find yummy, and there was no ‘toasted’ taste to the marshmallow shake.

So overall it is a fine corner burger joint but not worth the surcharge for being famous and not worth going out of your way to get to.

Star & Pooch

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I didn't think the burger was very special. It was the thin patty type that was cooked all the way through and placed on a bun that was too fragil to hold everything. However, I am a fan of their fries and various mayo based dipping sauce. I also loved the toasted marshmallow shake, which tasted like the crust on a creme brulee.

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FWIW, you can in fact request the temp on your burger at Good Stuff. It helps a little bit, but I still think the only thing of real note going on there is the Siracha mayo.

Personally I haven't found this to be of much help. The first time I visited I just ordered without specification and got a gray, dry, overcooked burger. The next two times I ordered it medium and got a gray, dry, overcooked burger.

I have also found the fries to be overly greasy and to have an edible half-life of about 8 minutes. The shakes are all right to good but not worth justifying the mediocrity of the rest of the menu, particularly with so many other far superior burger offerings in the area (Hell Burger, Palena, etc)

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Seriously, that's not much of an innovation. gubeen's been mixing them for years, to dip tater tots in. I suspect she picked up the habit in Vietnam a decade ago.

I didn't say it was turning the world on its ear (nothing on that menu is), I just said it was good.

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My husband and I just returned from Good Stuff Eatery. I tend to agree with the other posts. Not bad, but not great either. I had the melt burger with 2 cheeses and caramelized onions. It was quite greasy and soggy. Plenty of cheese and the onions were very tasty. My husband had the Smokehouse burger. Again, soggy and greasy. The concept of the Village Fries was good but they were VERY soggy and greasy. We liked the onion petals but again, they were very greasy. We really enjoyed the flavored mayos. I would go back regularly for the toasted marshmallow shake. YUM!

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My husband and I just returned from Good Stuff Eatery. I tend to agree with the other posts. Not bad, but not great either. I had the melt burger with 2 cheeses and caramelized onions. It was quite greasy and soggy. Plenty of cheese and the onions were very tasty. My husband had the Smokehouse burger. Again, soggy and greasy. The concept of the Village Fries was good but they were VERY soggy and greasy. We liked the onion petals but again, they were very greasy. We really enjoyed the flavored mayos. I would go back regularly for the toasted marshmallow shake. YUM!

Yuck! How can this be "not bad, but not great either?" It sounds absolutely horrible.

Their milkshakes get almost universal acclaim. Does anyone know what type of ice cream they use? Because quite frankly, I'm skeptical, based on the quality of everything else they serve.

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No -- and I've never been in, either -- but you made me curious so I looked it up. The menu says: "We like to call it MILK-ICE-GELATO-CUSTARD-CREAM."

Um ... what?

Well, maybe you can find out in their upcoming cookbook.

"There's a sucker born every minute."

P. T. Barnum, circa 1898

"I'm gonna git you, succor."

Spike Mendelsohn, circa 2018, flying to his private beach home on Cayo Espanto

"What-fucking-evah."

Rocks

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