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A trip out to Bowie to get an oil change (near the office, cheaper than in DC, blah blah blah) led me to an outpost of Five Guys in this small but rapidly expanding DC Burb. Yes, this was my first time at a Five Guys. Evaluation? Not going back. Where was the ketchup I asked for? Why use thinly sliced jalapenos with no heat and less flavor? What the heck was that seasoning on my "cajun" fries (and why can't you just hire a consultant from Thrashers?)? What sort of mad scientist concocted this thing you call "cheese"? Why did my bun have the consistency of soggy kleenex? One of the few -- very few -- things that can be said about chain-i-fication is that it brings about a general consistency between branches of a restaurant. And if Five Guys is headed (and with a store in Bowie, it seems like it) into becoming a widespread local chain, I'm sure not going back to any of them. Maybe I'm missing something; when I posted something on DCist about Palena's burger certain commenters were all over me for being an effete snob and not mentioning Five Guys. Maybe the commute down Rt 50 to Bowie results in drastic quality reduction. But I'm thinking the allure is nostalgia. Oh, and memo to Mr. Mellencamp and other enthusiasts: The chili dogs at Tastee Freeze suck now too.

That reminds me of a couple of years ago when BK & McDonalds were offering Lobster Rolls in Maine

Chickpea Mediterranean Grill soft-opened a couple months ago and I have been pleased each time I have been able to eat there. (The hours were a little wacky. Late-night dining is only available some nights and they do close early and unexpectedly when they run out of food) Imagine a Chipotle but with hummus and falafel. They have bases of different rices, pita, salad greens or quinoa. The protein options are a rotating mix of chicken, steak, lamb, pork or meatballs and falafel. (I would stick with pork or lamb but others have really liked the spicy chicken) The toppings are standard but the house made sesame slaw is really tasty. I could eat a dish of that alone. They top it off with dressings and sauces of your choosing and off you go to eat! I also recommend washing it down with housemade lemonade that you can add mint to. Best thing is the special Greek fries but it's hard to dispute the genius of hot fresh fries tossed with herbs and feta cheese.

This may be the most controversial, most infamous, certainly the most embarrassing of all the posts I had on CH in the five years I was a part of it. The post disappeared (as a number of my others) after my argument with Leff. Now, curiously, it is back under the new ownership. It was part of what I called my "In 'n Out Trilogy." "Without Shame: A Bite of Excess" by Joe Heflin on chowhound.com I'm convinced the best balance of meat, fromage, onions, spread, and fitting-into-mouth-ed-ness is to order a 3x3. Mmmmmmm.

Enjoyed roughly my 10th (or so) visit to Habit Burger a few days ago, and it was its same sensational fast-food experience. I think Habit Burger would be a hit if it were to expand to the east coast, but with the distinct disadvantage that outdoor eating would not be the same....all year around in Los Angeles, but only a few months a year in most east coast locations.

When I was at Pentagon City mall a few days ago, I noticed the Ruby Tuesday has closed. The sign on the paneling over the empty space says that a Harry's Tap Room will be opening there. I can't recall if it gave an ETA other than "soon" on the sign.

I'm normally a purist when it comes to burgers, but Hubcap Grill has made me rethink that stance. Over the course of a few visits to the Heights location now, I've had a standard cheeseburger (unless you are an NFL linebacker or Olympic athlete w/ massive caloric requirements best not to go for the double), the seasonal hatch chile cheeseburger, the guacamole swiss, and the philly cheesesteak burger. The relatively thin (but massive in diameter) 1/3rd pound freshly-ground patties are cooked more or less to medium, with a nice crust. The buns are custom-made specifically for Hubcap, and accomplish the impossible feat of remaining intact despite the onslaught of drippy toppings and glorious fat. I started things simply, with the house cheeseburger. Served with standard toppings, you get a real sense of the quality of the beef, and of the deftness of the hand that is seasoning it. So far, so good. I'd come back again and again for the simple deal, though I could imagine that sometimes I might want to opt for a "lighter" meal with a smaller, skinnier, fast-food style burger, like Shake Shack (or apparently the soon-to-open FM Burger just of Washington Ave). Of the specialty burgers, the only one I wouldn't be in a hurry to order again would be the guac/swiss. Not that it was bad by any means, but it just didn't do enough for me to sway me from the plain jane. The hatch chile was a thing of beauty that will leave you blissful, sated, and wrecked. There is no skimping on the chiles here, and this is Texas, so there is no skimping on the spice level of said chiles. You will need more than one beer (or Topo Chico) for this. Order appropriately up front, so you aren't waiting in line to get another beverage, mouth ablaze. I was VERY skeptical of the Philly cheesesteak burger, but after hearing it's praises sung by Alison Cook from the Chronicle, and Texas Monthly, and then being steered that way by owner Ricky Craig himself, I had to do it. Christ almighty was that a sandwich. It's a mess, and it's huge, and you might die when you finish it, but dammit, it's good. This is a thing that if done wrong, would be the worst of 2 worlds: a shitty cheesesteak, and a shitty burger, or maybe worse yet: a good burger ruined by a shitty cheesesteak. Alison Cook recently encountered a less than stellar version, and wrote about it, lighting a fire under Craig, who went around to each of his locations to retrain (and offer free burgers to folks to prove the quality was back). I am glad to have avoided the off-day, and whatever Craig did to whip his team into shape certainly seems to have worked. Also of note: the sliders come 4 to an order, and are topped with grilled onions. Great size for the little people, but are great in their own right. Simple. Delicious. Fries are hand cut and mostly great (my last order was greasy and a bit on the undercooked side). Sweet potato fries excellent as well. Strong selection of local beers in cans and bottles.

Is the lobster burger at Citronelle eligible for "Best Hamburger" consideration? Or is this category limited to beef?

I'm getting a little sick of "restauranteurs" with no experience that look at the demographics of this neighborhood and assume that we will buy whatever they are selling, even if it tastes like crap. This neighborhood has been all abuzz about Bolt, as we could really use a good burger place. But please! We will not buy your pre-formed, frozen, overcooked discs of subpar meat just because you sprinkle bad garlic powder on them. Even if you have really big TVs and ipads for everyone. At least not more than once. Please don't blame it on the fact that "no humans are involved in the cooking of the food." Involve some damn humans then! And don't insult us by thinking that we won't notice that this is crap. (I would love for Bolt to read this, take it to heart, and give us some real burgers. If so, I will retract every word and glow. But I don't know any other way of making them understand that this is not acceptable. They have already lost a great portion of their potential regulars in first day, as I saw at least half my building reeling tonight.)

I happen to walk by here almost every day on my way to the Clarendon metro. Posting because noticed their soft opening last week one night and from cheesepowder's post. Their FB page states they will open *today* at 11:30am. Parking won't be easy, since it's at the corner of 11th street north and North Highland. Citizen Burger Bar 1051 North Highland Street Arlington, VA

As those of you who were too foolish to heed my warning on Monday already know, Ray's Hell-Burger (street name), aka Butcher Burgers (government name), is due to open today, Tuesday, July 1st. We will be serving one thing only--10 ounces of our secret blend of premium and prime aged beef, char-grilled over an open flame. This is the same single-breed, farm-raised beef that we use at Ray's The Steaks and Ray's The Classics, aged in house ridiculously long, hand trimmed to the same exacting standards as all of our steaks, and ground fresh daily, several times throughout the day. Free toppings include: sauteed mushrooms finished with sherry and brandy, grilled red onions, sauteed peppers, charred jalapenos, vine-ripened beefsteak tomatoes, roasted garlic, and dill or bread and butter pickle chips. Applewood-smoked bacon (the same that we use for the grilled bacon app at Ray's The Classics) and guacamole are available for an additional charge. In addition to the regular quality cheeses on offer ('Merkin, aged Vermont white cheddar, imported Swiss, imported Gruyere, aged Danish Bleu/Italian Gorgonzola, smoked mozzarella, Monster, Brie, pepperjack) we wil also be offering a changing selection of specialty and artisinal cheeses--currently, Epoisse, Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue, Queen Anne Stilton, Pa Noble Cave Aged Amish Cheddar, Chimay a la biere, Taleggio, and Bel Paese. Throughout the summer, Hell-Burgers will be served with fresh, buttered corn on the cob and a slice of cold, juicy watermelon AT NO CHARGE!!! Dominion root beer ON TAP and other great sodas and 8-10 flavors of MOOrenko's ice cream for cones and floats (no shakes, maybe later--I don't want to be the one to push shakes into the trite category, too many others stand eager to do so soon enough). Ray's Hell-Burger (imagine the "Hell" part in flamey letters) is located at 1713 Wilson Boulevard in the same strip mall as Ray's The Steaks. We plan to open Saturday and Sunday from noon on and weekdays from 5 pm, for the time being, with expansion into weekday lunch hours possible, maybe. The best part about all this, for me at least, is that since Ray's Hell-Burger is located several doors down from Ray's The Steaks, now whenever someone becomes tantrumishly nasty at the door due to the wait at The Steaks, I can kindly suggest an appropriate alternative destination to them.

You want funny? I got funny.

Good omen of things to come...to be added to the list of worthwhile burgers in DC. Soft opening for BTS and despite the line and crowd, burger and fries were quite tasty. I prefer my burgers to be medium rare, but at a soft open with a line, I wasn't about to be picky and thought I'd see what I got. Burger was medium and loosely packed, with a nice char and grill flavor. Not greasy or "juicy" but I actually liked it that way, so I could taste the butter on the bun. And the home made buttered bun is the perfect accompaniment. Jeff Tunks handing out menus to those in line, was commenting on how they didn't know how many buns to make since they had no idea how many people would stop by. Well, better make a lot more, 'cuz judging by the crowd today, I expect it's only going to get busier! (And once it becomes common knowledge that they are open...)

Or you could try the In-N-Out Hotline to get directions to your nearest In-N-Out. 1-800-786-1000

They had mini-corn dogs on their menu. Did you have an opportunity to try these? Do you think perhaps they might become the next mini-burger? I am salivating at the thought.

Zinburger has signed a lease to take over part of the space vacated by Oriental East in Silver Spring, joining District Taco: "District Taco Signs Lease for Space in the Blairs" by Mike Diegel on sourceofthespring.com

Has anyone heard about "Burger Joint" in Bethesda. Hope they're better than the juice place that used to be there. I think their website is burgerjointdc.com (or something similar).

Website & Menu: http://freddysusa.com/Menu/FullMenu/default.aspx Location: 10030 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA (next to the Fairfax Outback Steakhouse) Serious Eats review of another location: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/04/chain-reaction-freddys-frozen-custard-and-steakburgers-review.html Impressions: Much less claustrophobic than the Fredericksburg Steak & Shake (and sure as shit easier to get to), and far more "roomy" than the Smashburger down the street. There's likely a good reason for this, however, in the fact that directly behind the restaurant is a communal practice field and playground, and directly adjacent is the Fairfax Outback. That's excellent news for their bottom line, but I could see both factors weighing heavily on interior congestion, service time, and *parking*. Other than that, this place is a near-carbon-copy of Steak & Shake. The chief difference between the two is that Freddy's does frozen custard along with their grillworks. Other differences come in the form of Freddy's not having the wait staff of S&S, instead opting for a number-call system. This isn't a negative insomuch as the wait staff, at least at the Fredericksburg S&S, contributes to more traffic on the floor. Two big notable *minuses* have to be the location of the condiment/drink station *right next* to where you pick up your order as well as *only two registers* for the interior. It also feels decidedly "cheaper" and much more kitschy than Smashburger, so if you prefer a more "adult" atmosphere, I'd advise you go a bit further down/up the road. Layout: Roomy, considering it used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken. I visited right around 5:45pm on 3/23, and people had plenty of room to move around, but a game taking place on the aforementioned practice field and the looming dinner rush of the Outback might've made eating there an hour or two later untenable, though I'd imagine only about 1/4 of those originally going to Outback would be tempted to "downgrade" their dining experience to fast-casual when presented with a lengthy wait time. There are also, thankfully, no distractants to keep people in their seats longer than they need to be there. No TVs showing sports or cartoons discourages loitering, and I didn't see any mention of "Free Wi-Fi." Wait Time: No more than ten minutes, but it wasn't very busy, either. Order and Taste: One double Bacon and Cheese (#7) and one single "California Style" just to taste. The patties are smashed almost paper-thin (again, a la Steak & Shake) and if you get a single, you're liable to taste more of the toppings and condiments than the protein. This is perfectly fine if you're looking to save on fat and calories, but not especially recommended if you're trying to sate your hunger. The standard burger uses only mustard as a condiment, and if you're a fan of that, you'll love these burgers. The "California Style" is their take on In & Out, and having never been to one, I can't tell if their "spread" hits it dead on. It's pretty much just that predictable "Thousand Island" taste. As for the beef itself, if you like crust, this place does it better than Smashburger. The big winner had to be the toppings. I barely tasted the bacon, but the winner on both burgers had to be the white onion and pickle. Unlike Smashburger, whose onions tend to catch in your teeth and pull out with each bite, this onion was crispy and yielded quite nicely with each bite, markedly contributing to each one taken. The fries aren't really anything special. They're shoestring-style and palatable, but fundamentally no different than a half-dozen other places around here who do it the same way, and only earn a slight kick in the form of their "Fry Sauce" which is simply that, a yellowish-beige light seemingly mayo/mustard-based sauce that has visual flecks of what appears to be cayenne pepper or curry powder or the like inside of it. Even after two of their burgers and a handful of their fries, I still wasn't "full," which should also speak to the viability of this place as anything more than just a "light lunch/dinner." They even seem to know this themselves, as each booth/table's napkin dispenser advertises their frozen custard as the "perfect end to every meal," and they sure got me to fish for that in the form of their PBC&B (Peanut Butter Cup & Banana) concrete. The custard itself is on par with and perhaps a bit superior to Milwaukee's (especially considering there isn't a frozen custard place in Fairfax yet), and the blending of banana and candy at least gives you the *impression* that you're eating something vaguely nutritious, despite my counting only about 4-5 slices of banana in my "regular" sized cup. Verdict: Worth a try if you're within 20-30 minutes of it, just be sure to not go during a dinner rush, and if you see anything being played/practiced on the field behind, eat quickly lest you be drowned in an avalanche of sweaty, amped up little youth soccer munchkins. It's also not *cheap*, with each combo costing in the range of 7-8 bucks plus whatever else you decide to tack on. Also, evidently it was good enough for "Blago" to make it his last meal as a free man for the next 14 years: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/03/blagojevich-eats-last-meal-before-prison-at-freddys-frozen-custard-and-steakburgers.html

So there's a new BurgerFi opening on Monday (Sept 26) in the what became the final resting place of Pat Troy's Ireland's Own (111 N. Pitt St). Based on a quick peek in the window, the interior looks to have been nicely renovated; lots of warm wood flooring and paneling, long communal tables with overhead hanging lights, an elevated counter area near the rear of the space. The menu of burgers, dogs, fries, and custard sounds a bit like Shake Shack, no? Craft beer and wine are also mentioned on the window graphics. This location will join four others in the area (Silver Spring, Woodbridge, Leesburg, and Laurel). We'll see how this location does, as there will be competition from the Five Guys, which will soon be relocating to the former Bertucci's space on King Street. Has anyone tried out the other locations?

GBD Chicken and Doughnuts is opening on Friday at 8am at 1323 Conn Ave (where Yola used to be, so fried chicken & doughnuts is replacing a healthy yogurt place). From the Our Story page on their website: "GBD (which gets its name from the restaurant kitchen shorthand for golden, brown and delicious) pairs the sweet and savory specialties of husband and wife team Chef Kyle Bailey & Pastry Chef Tiffany MacIsaac the culinary masterminds behind Birch & Barley." Washington Post article about the opening and offerings here.

I found myself out in Berryville, VA last weekend and stopped in to a relatively new burger shop on W. Main street called Charlie's. Charlie's is a family owned casual restaurant serving burgers, fries, hot dogs and milkshakes. The beef is local (though no source is listed on the menu) and ground in house, and the shakes are made with organic ice cream. We ordered a few burgers and a hot dog, along with an order of regular fries and sweet potato waffle fries. The burgers were cooked to order and to temperature, and can be topped with a fairly wide array of free toppings, plus the usual upcharges (cheese, bacon, etc). Both the sweet potato and regular fries were previously frozen and not made in house, but were fried to order. The burgers were all cooked as requested - one quibble from our group was that a double burger should have two slices of cheese on it, but that's very minor. Shakes were also excellent, and a wide variety of flavors were available (we had vanilla and banana). Service was a bit slow, but as mentioned everything was done to order and the owner's entire family was in the restaurant serving customers. We were given an extra helping of sweet potato fries to make up for the slowness of getting burgers out - a nice but unnecessary touch. There's not a whole lot in Clarke County, and one could do much worse than stop in and support this family owned establishment serving up good, honest fare. We aren't "over the mountain" much, but will be sure to head back in when we are.

"As Shake Shack Reopens Flagship, Danny Meyer Becomes $600 Million Man" by Brian Solomon on forbes.com

At the end of a day trip to Philly to visit the Please Touch Museum, we stopped by the Art Museum to do our best Rocky impersonations. We asked our daughter what she wanted for dinner and her response was "hamburger". After a quick search, I found Spot Gourmet Burgers, which is located at 2821 W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19130, phone: (267) 930-7370. It was highly rated online so not knowing any better, after a slight detour for what we thought was a Mister Softie truck, which turned out to be Mr. Softie's evil twin brother Mr. Frostie, we plugged the address in to the navigation and headed to our destination. This place is a definite dive, with almost zero ambiance, and broken or non-existent ac. We had low expectations. We were pleasantly surprised with the outcome. My daughter had three mini burgers, which were made from fresh ground beef served on potato rolls and were very tasty. My wife had some sort of veggie burger combination which looked amazing. She loved it, the provolone was high quality and I am guessing aged, because it actually tasted like provolone. She dispatched the entire thing at a rapid rate. I had a chicken cheeseteak (please don't judge) with provolone and grilled onions. The chicken was chopped breast meat, and not of the steakum variety. Again, the cheese had great flavor. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience, which we did not expect based upon first impressions.

Just wanted to acknowledge that it was open. The night I stopped by was a soft opening of sorts, and they didn't have their POS online yet, so let's just skip evaluating the service. I ordered a burger with bacon and a fried egg, with plain fries. The fried egg was cooked perfectly. Apparently the burger is hormone-free local beef with the family's secret marinade. The staff and owners are all personable, I also enjoyed a Chocolate City brew of some sort, was told it was a porter but it must have been something else. They also have a full bar. Outlook: room for improvement, which the owners acknowledge, but might be a good place to stop by for a quick bite before you move to other places on H Street. A solid business, I'm sure I'll update more in the future.

Coming soon to Rockville. "The Habit Burger Grill Coming to Rockville Pike" by Andrew Metcalf on bethesdamagazine.com