mbucher

Philly, hence my penchant for downing too many cheesesteaks. Philly's pizza, however, is NY-style pizza, and my mom's family is from NY, so I know my pizza! Don't get me wrong, Giuseppi's is good, and we go there frequently, but I think Mamma's is closer to a true NY pie, and if my one example is typical, Coaches might be one inch closer still.

Oh how we forget... havent been in awhile... but Three Brothers in Rockville, across from Congressional shopping center...... rumor is roberto donna is looking for a small spot to do NY street pizza...

I had a decent cheesesteak at Coaches' in Rockville this past weekend. They've only been open a couple of months, but it's a very Philly-looking hole in the wall strip-mall sandwich joint. They're on Boiling Brook Parkway in the same shopping center as Kosher Mart (odd pairing...)

The cheesesteaks are pretty decent, they use Amoroso bread, but the steak had a bit too much gristle in it, and they don't have sharp provolone, only regular. Definitely worth going to, but not sure if it's worth the drive (unless you really have the craving). The Italian Hoagie was also really good, pretty close to my favorite from Philly, Lee's.

Stunningly, the pizza was among the best NY-style pizzas I've had in the DC area. Good crust with a good char, sauce not too sweet and sparingly applied, and just the right amount of cheese to generate a touch of grease when you fold the slice over. I need to try it again to see if the consistency is there, but this MIGHT be worth driving across town for...

Lee's is the BEST EVER!!! someone asked me the other day if I wanted one. They were headed up to South Jersey and Lees has a way of packaging the sandwich , meat in wax paper, sauce in side. that I am sorry I didnt say YES for! Onlyproblem I've seem with Amoroso bread in these parts is its baked from frozen... not quite the same..

or serve mashed potaotes with 90 perecnt of entrees.. sacrilig!

I read in WaPo that he's cooked for the Obamas several times.

Word is Cuisine Solutions of Alexandtria ( who already prepares food for air force 1, and is a pioneer in sous vide ) Actually, had chef Gerard Betholon at the Hyatt in Chicago (obama home base) all week feeding folks......

If enough people are interested (4-5) ill turn on the fryers at BGR Thursday (Thanksgiving) am and you can bring your turkeys by and we'll fry them up for you. I'm thinking we'll also be pouring some fine wine to pass the time! contact me if interested.......................

Bump! Come cheer on your favorite chef at Food Fight! This Tuesday, 11/11, the place to be is the Ronald Reagan Bldg. at 6:00 pm. Over 600 tickets have been sold, pm me to make sure to get your tickets in time!

If going to the event you can also be among the first to see the unveiling of, and taste the line of entrees created by Michel Richard, Jeff Buben, Roberto Donna and Kaz Okochi to benefot DCCK, that will be available after the event at area grocers and peapod.com

Did you tell them? I have found they are pretty responsive to their customers. I am sure they would have replaced the burger.

We absolutely would have replaced the burger, thrown in a dessert and probbably a t shirt and I might have cut off the grill cooks hand in my rage. (I kid about the hand, not the rage) Sorry that happened. Track me or Nate down next time and the BGR's on me. Also for those curious McCain 862, Obama 834. Results a bit skewed for the Obama fans buying the Mccain, but not wanting the vote tallied. We had no way to seprate that out on the POS system. Anyway DC Central Kitchen got a $2,000 check and we had a blast with it. And for those anticipating this month, it's Thanksgiving on a Bun ( couldn't resist and THX MS for the suggestion) Turkey BGR, homemade cornbread stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce . ITS HUGE AND MESSY BE WARNED (same price as normal turkey BGR). And Yes ALB, your Bgr is coming soon!!! Also the shake is Pumpkin Spice...

I don't know about restaurants, but I know Slavin's fish market on Glebe Rd usually has them in season. Since they're cooked as soon as they're caught, you'll probably get the same quality from there, at a lower price.

I've found Robogrip pliers do a good job of cracking them open.

The Palm in DC usually has them in their lunch menu (in season)

With the recent closing of Davod Craig in bethesda, and seeing long standing restaurant icons of DC struggling, especially fine dining. Im suggesting an idea for the DR community. We all love restaurants ,We have our favorites and We all definately like to help.. see DC Central Kitchen volunteer list.

Here's the concept:

We book two nights a month for a DR night and specific restaurants, for instance DR DINNER at _____Thursday ______. We all come with our friends, coordinate with the restaurant, try some new things, give some feedbaclk.....We could set up a seperate RSVP page, maybe that would be better, we could dine indivivually or as a group? Im simply thinking of a way for us all to come together to help out our friends in the business. The power of a group is much more powerful then an individual.

It's getting tougher out there, and lets make sure we give them reason to hang in there?

GAS PRICE AND FLOUR PRICES!!!!!!!!!!!

THATS WHY

Dont forget rent! however panorama bread in va, is a great source of bread. you can get it at citronelle and central........

The Thumann's dog was much better than a Vienna Beef dog, even my wife had to admit that (and she is a huge fan of the Vienna dogs). Traditional as they might be, I still don't get the Chicago toppings, why not just eat a frickin' salad.

You know you bring up a very intesting point, obvioulsy the Chicago dog is " bar none" the official street food of Chicago, obviouly the relish, etc is a regional flavor favorite, what is dc's official street food, and please dont say Half Smoke........

Does anyone remember "the Commissary" in Philadelphia, next to the Frog restaurant. Was a Philly staple for years and years, I think it dissapeared in the early 80's.

Yeah but is it worth thirteen bucks? Do I get to count part of that as a campaign donation?

Hey pool boy. "always wanted to say that!" Ill give you the dog for free, and you can make your campaign contribution as you desire........ But you have to show up with zinc oxide on your nose.........

The Wegman's in Fairfax has the Thumann's Beef and Pork in Natural Casing dogs in the case across from the deli counter. Damn those are good dogs. Now I just want to find the Push Cart Style.

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The hotdog on the Obama Burger at Burger Joint has an authentic Vienna Beef Dog from Chicago, (natural casing, a bit sweet and a "snap" when bitten into. Along with the traditional neon green relish, super peppers, tomatoes, pickles and celery salt.

the obama versus the mccain burger was totally rigged; regardless of politics, the only thing to do was go for the 10oz southwestern burger with spicy peppers. honestly, they'd do well to keep that burger around.

And the service is always good, but it's worth a mention. very friendly, and always happy to do a refill.

HI TG! Actually Obama is winning, although not by much I think at last count which was Saturday 233 to 212... We may keep the McCain around and simply call it The Southwestern after the election. I need ideas for the October BGR of the month ? Go for it!

Stopped in for lunch today, with a chef buddy from out of town. Everything was superb, we shared a bunch of app's and totally forgot is was early(dreary) August in DC. Credit to the staff and the kitchen. BRAVO...

Had a quick late lunch at the bar yesterday. Ordered half order of the shrimp and grits amd it was exactly as i remembered it. fresh, rich and well rounded. After 15 years I think Vidalia deserves to be a DC institution. Congrats to Jeff, RJ and crew for keeping it real, true and spot on... THX!

So, he'll be at the Dupont Circle farmers market, and DC Central Kitchen . He's here until Monday. Word is a few late nights in Adams Morgan and G'Town. A little time in Penn Quarter.....So if his friend Andrew Zimmerman ( the guy that eats crazy stuff) were here where would he go and what would he have?

All fun and games aside, it's nice to see DC starting to get on the culinary map, so to speak.

I stopped in today for lunch and left disappointed. You are charging over thirteen dollars for a decent size cheeseburger, french fries and twelve ounce coke. (Could it have been sixteen ounces?)

1. There is a real question in my mind if dry aged prime beef makes as flavorful a hamburger as does, say, freshly ground chuck or a mixture of ground beef. There is no question that your flavor is distinctive; juicy, too. But for myself I'm not so sure that I like the "taste" as well as other burgers that I've had.

2. I didn't like your french fries. Yes, they were good. Were they as good as Five Guys or the original, Thrashers on the lower end of the boardwalk in Ocean City? For me, no. Do they approach Central? For me, again no. I just didn't like their particular taste and texture.

3. The roll was indeed excellent. But the tomato was sliced about an eighth of an inch thick and really couldn't be tasted on the burger.

4. I'm not a fan of your Mojo sauce. I thought it was too overpowering for the burger. (Hot Shoppes Mighty Mo sauce or In-n-Out's "spread" are my preferences.)

5. The burger was really small-I was almost shocked at the size of it for eight dollars. Cooked, it looked like a 1/3 of a lb burger; I had just expected something bigger for the price.

6. Yes, your soft drinks are free refills. But because you are so busy (I am certainly alone in not loving your burgers) it is time consuming to walk up to the counter and get a refill. The result is $1.69 for a twelve ounce drink that frankly seems expensive. To be honest my reaction to the small size of the soft drink caused me to question the value of the hamburger regardless of the cut and grade of beef. Why don't you serve a larger cup to begin with? Regardless of the stated availability of refills it is something of a chore to go back to the line at the counter and request a second cup.

7. Grilled onions are not grilled onions. I asked for them and confirmed that I was going to be served grilled onions when I noted the check saying "onions" and not noting they were grilled. These were the equivalent of a thin half slice of red onion that spent a couple on minutes on a grill somewhere. There was nothing to melt into the cheese-not the flavor I expected of melting onions, oozing cheese and a juicy hamburger.

And this last is the real problem: your's is a nontraditional steakhouse burger that for many will be far superior to a more traditional hamburger. Your taste is very different from, say, In-n-Out. For me I much prefer the latter.

I am certain that you will be enormously, enduringly successful. The Post and a host of national publications and media love you as do many of the people on this board. I just prefer a different, perhaps more traditional hamburger. I find that I am also less willing to spend thirteen + dollars, preferring a more mass market price point unless I'm in a different type of restaurant.

For reference points on hamburgers that I feel are among the best I've had: 1/2 lb burger at Wilmington, DE original Charcoal Pit on rt 202 http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1363). This place which has been known for its half pound burger since the early '50's also makes an authentic Hot Shoppes Hot Fudge Ice Cream Cake as shown in one of the photos. Note that the photos of the hamburger show a four ounce burger, not the eight), Kincaid's Grocery in Ft. Worth http://www.kincaidshamburgers.com/history.php , In-n-Out http://www.hollyeats.com/In-N-OutBurger.htm , Cassell's in L. A. http://www.hollyeats.com/Cassells.htm

But that is me.

Joe H, Thanks again for coming in and trying the "joint" out. Obviously food prefernce is one of indivualized taste, and for that i applaud your ability to know and stay true to what you personally like. Mass market burgers are a different deal, there's california types ( smal patty usually 3-4 oz's, simple white bread bun no seeds, and typically a sauce of some kind, burger is usually griddled. ( think in and out) On the other end of the country in New York, its a diferent ball game, smaller burger, 2-3 oz's, grilled, on toatsed potato with seeds, bun, with l-t-o, and no sauce ( think shake shack). Now, if we step into mass production, like say red robin, hardees, mc d's, roy rogers etc. you;re talking frozen beef. Not to say thats bad, as austin powers says " it's just not my bag", or as some reviewers have said "the quarter pound burger is one to measure all others against, I mean Mcdonalds sells about a kazillion of them daily" he too has a point. So taste is personal, I applaud you coming in, Thanks, and next time try the Ahi, greek or the Turkey, they will knock your socks off. When your in, there should be a few of my staff roaming the dining room to refill your 16 oz drink cup, I have them do that at lunch and dinner, ( somehow they missied you, sorry). I think both mr landrum and I agree on this one point, aged beef is one of life's true taste pleasures. This must be deep rooted in Human DNA, the buttery, nutty, tatse that "dry" aging impairs is unmatchable. It's also not for everyone,it's mucho expensive for us to buy it, and I guess that's why Outback is so successful.

Could it also have something to do with it being the beginning of corn season?

wise beyond years........ anyone else been to a cookout ---- burger, corn, baked beans (hmmm. maybe thats a hint for August's BGR of the month)......

Definitely try back the Rocks burger again. Just had one for lunch, the pork had a really nice kick to it. The BBQ sauce complemented without overpowering - Enjoyed.

Seems they are trying out corn - Didn't get to to try but my only thought was - "Copycat", until last week hadn't heard of burger joints doing it.

Hi guys we've been doing corn since June 20th, wouldn't say "copycat' would say," yum eastern shore corn nobody else has that". once that crop is done, we're done with it, until next summer.

Rocks Burger was kind of a disapointment as both the burger and the pork were burned a little bit. I should have complained but since there was a long line and I had a short lunch break I just picked it apart and ate what I could.

Soapy, I feel we're ole friends by now. Let me make it right by you. Come see me anytime. Mark

I was there last week and I tried the sliders and I found them to be a little too cooked around the edges but still tasty and the tiny buns were excellent! Definetly superior to Matchbox. And the onion rings were great. My friend had a tuna burger and fully enjoyed it.

So now I want to go back and try the pork bbq buger. Mbutcher are we on for the Porkbbbquburger for July?

INDEED As promised "THE ROCKS" burger is up and running through July 31. Hickory smoked pork shoulder, sent to us daily by Stubb's Martin (5 star bbq champion), (My motto is if I cant do it better than a champion, use the champions stuff , we finish it here on the grill in whole form, then chop it and marry it with our bbq sauce. We then top it with a creamy cole slaw (we make here).... Also avail without the BGR as a sandwich or as a slider@@@

I would have to agree - Hopefully his suppliers are getting cash.

Hey guys, Its mark, one should never trust what they read in the press, unless both parties are part of the story. This was cleary a slam job, no one from the gazette ever tried to contact me. We love what we do at the Burger Joint, all of our suppliers are thrilled and we are comittied to putting out great food one customer at a time.

Both cupcakes I had at Georgetown Cupcake yesterday were excellent, and far better than the dried-out, overhyped versions I had at the uptown Magnolia Bakery last weekend in New York.

Cheers,

Rocks.

I agree, and frankly I dont get Magnolia bakery in NY? Im trying to recreate their bannanna pudding though.............