Black & Orange (formerly Rogue States), Late-Night Burgers at 14th and U Street - Closed

[rbh]

Noticed this place on Connecticut just south of Dupont Circle.... Rogue States It looked close to being open. Will be interesting to see how it competes with the other nearby burger places.... one notable.... open until 5am!?!

[DanCole42]

I'm very excited to have one of these newfangled artisanal burgers places right across the street from my office.

I tried their signature burger, "The Rogue State" (house spice blend, chipotle, cilantro) as part of the $9 lunch deal, which includes fries and a soda. I also got lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion (for free), plus bacon and cheddar (for a total of $1.50 extra). The onions were available grilled or raw.

The burgers themselves are cooked over mesquite, and are available "pink" and "no pink." For what it's worth, the "pink" showed up on my receipt as "medium" and the "no pink" showed up on my friend's receipt as "well."

The meat was good, the bun was good. But that's really just a guess. The onion was so overpowering that I couldn't taste or enjoy much else, but I really believe there was a pretty decent burger somewhere under there. I got the onions grilled, so I can't imagine how nasty it would have been had they been left raw. Like eating a big vat of sulfur, probably.

The fries had just the right amount of thickness, and were cooked perfectly. The restaurant provides dispensers of four different mayos for dipping: regular, chipotle, wasabi, and Old Bay, plus the usual standbys: all-American ketchup and mustard.

The root beer on tap was Stewart's, which I prefer over Barq's.

So yeah, the burger was a bust due to the onion, but forgiving the fact that they just opened, are right across the street from my office, and charge only $9, I'll definitely give it another shot.

Plus all of their burger names are puns, so... their menu is full of win.

[The Hersch]

So yeah, the burger was a bust due to the onion

Couldn't you just take the onion off?

[DanCole42]

Couldn't you just take the onion off?

That would have skewed my review as not being representative of what was offered to me by the restaurant.

This is an INTERNET BOARD. We have journalistic standards. Geez.

[tcarman]

Get your burgers now while you can.

[goodeats]

Well, I will post what Tim has not, and that is that Judge John M. Mott handed a dire ruling, with yesterday as its last hurrah.

[goldenticket]

Well, I will post what Tim has not, and that is that Judge John M. Mott handed a dire ruling, with yesterday as its last hurrah.

WaPo article on the matter here.

[Pat]

Well, I will post what Tim has not, and that is that Judge John M. Mott handed a dire ruling, with yesterday as its last hurrah.

Tim went to the trial and has posted several things about it, including the ruling, on the Y&H blog. I'm not sure why he didn't update here. I was expecting him to, which is why I didn't.

[goodeats]

I forgot where I read it, but somewhere a media posted that they are in talks with landlord again to reopen.

[DonRocks]

Noticed this place on Connecticut just south of Dupont Circle.... Rogue States It looked close to being open. Will be interesting to see how it competes with the other nearby burger places.... one notable.... open until 5am!?!

In case anyone hasn't noticed, Rogue States became Black & Orange awhile back, and they are opening another store on 14th Street just south of U. The sign on the window also says that it will stay open until 5 AM. (This is a really abnormal time for a restaurant to close - it's very rare when a restaurant is open until even 3 AM, and once you reach that point, the majority just stay open 24 hours a day. I'm not saying it's bad, mind you, just abnormal.) I wonder if they'll eventually offer breakfast sandwiches and just stay open 24 hours.

[darkstar965]

Overall, I really like this place. Just tried for a first time on this last day of 2011 but had read all the history and legal wrangling previously.

Gettin' right to it:

What I Really Liked

- the taste of the burger: got the rogue state burger with onion, cilantro, jalapeno and something else. damn tasty. excellent flavor

- the type of beef used in the burger (I think?): per my norm, I asked the young woman at the register whether the beef came from grass-fed cows. Unlike some other places I've reported on recently, she answered immediately and confidently that it was grass fed. To support this answer, she pointed to the wall menu and the word "natural." I pointed out that "natural" is a kind of meaningless term but she assured me the beef was pastured. Having been lied to too many times about stuff like this, I still can't be sure. Tough to understand why the owner wouldn't post it as pastured/grass fed if it is but, here's hoping. I don't know if Mr. Mendizabal is here on dr.com but I think it'd be freakin' huge if he'd just let us know the true skinny on this.

- the sweet potato fries: very good. not the best ever had but definitely respectable and absolutely worth ordering

- the general irreverence of the place: have to appreciate this. still says "rogue" over the window front but, even better, I love, love, love that they have a specially built bin near the entrance chock full of chopped mesquite and other woods. Of course, that prompts questions like the one I posed: "wassup with the wood?" (super insighful/incisive, I know). And that led to the staffer sharing the story of how they used to have wood fired grills, etc, etc. Now gas but the message from this is clear: though we lost, we know what we are and care about.

What I Wasn't as Enthused About

- The new name: In a Carman WaPo story done just around the reopening in June of this year (2011), owner Raynold Mendizabal had this to say about the new name he was forced to use after "another company" (a brewery maybe?) complained "Rogue States" was too similar:

The name change became necessary, Mendizabal says, because it was too similar to another company’s. The owner had hoped for a, well, more rogueish name. But “everything related to ‘outlaw burger’ was taken,” he says. “The name doesn’t matter at all. If you’re good, you’re good.”

Well, alright, Mr. Mendizabal. Can't argue with the "if you're good, you're good" point. I'll be back here for sure. But, c'mon man! "Black and Orange"?! Really?!?! Hate that name. Understanding that "outlaw" concepts weren't available, how about something as cleverly irreverent as that bin 'o wood? Oh, a few ideas that would each be waaay better:

- R States

- Rigged States

- Twisted States (as in, had his arm twisted)

...and on and on. Black and Orange? Huh? Really?!?! Okay, enough on that. After all, the food is very good for the category.

- Cooking temps: this is a very minor thing in my view. But, as the menu offers the appreciated simple choice of "pink or no pink" we each ordered different with mine "pink" and my friend "no pink." They came out near identical in terms of color, more to the no pink end of the spectrum. But, they were really good so no issue with either being overdone. Flavor came through handily on both burgers ordered.

What I'm Not Sure About But Would Like to Know

- Beef provenance: The register staffer readily admitted she had no idea from where the beef was sourced but did point out that virtually everything else (particularly produce) was local. This doesn't matter as much to me as what kind of beef it is but would be cool in the spirit of transparency so lacking in so many of these places to know.

Bottom Line

Rogue Orange Black is my new best burger in the quick serve/value category but I swear I'm going to feel very betrayed if I find out these burgers aren't from pastured beef. Just level with us man! Flavor: very good. Value: excellent. Hours: however "abnormal" (Rocks), more is better so cool on that with the 5AM close. I'd previously thought that Elevation was the best fast food burger in the area (and they are absolutely grass fed) but this one tastes a bit better. Different strata of course from Ray's, Palena, etc but a really appreciated addition to downtown/Dupont. And, love that bin 'o wood. Stick it to 'em Raynold!

[DonRocks]

What I Wasn't as Enthused About

- The new name: In a Carman WaPo story done just around the reopening in June of this year (2011), owner Raynold Mendizabal had this to say about the new name he was forced to use after "another company" (a brewery maybe?) complained "Rogue States" was too similar:

Well, alright, Mr. Mendizabal. Can't argue with the "if you're good, you're good" point. I'll be back here for sure. But, c'mon man! "Black and Orange"?! Really?!?! Hate that name. Understanding that "outlaw" concepts weren't available, how about something as cleverly irreverent as that bin 'o wood? Oh, a few ideas that would each be waaay better:

- R States

- Rigged States

- Twisted States (as in, had his arm twisted)

...and on and on. Black and Orange? Huh? Really?!?! Okay, enough on that. After all, the food is very good for the category.

Fugue States with a logo of Bach popping an Ambien and on that "note" ... HFNY!

[New Foodie]

Apparently the 14th and U location is asking for a 40 seat sidewalk cafe.

I think I went to Rogue States once under its original name, but just went today for the first time as Black & Orange. I literally work right across the street, but try not to indulge in burgers and fries for lunch very much, so it's not high on the list.

My verdict after today's lunch is that it's fine if you're in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way. Also would likely be good post-clubbing between 3-5pm, but it's unlikely I'll venture back there too often.

One thing I do like is the interesting variety of burgers (some with curry, basil, cilantro, etc). I would be interested in trying a few of those out, but this time I went simple with the quarter lb "Square One" (with sea salt and black pepper). I asked for it "pink" (the only options are pink or no pink), but it came out gray all the way through.

My toppings were smoked bacon ($1 extra), blue cheese ($.50 extra), grilled onions, and lettuce. I was anticipating chopped and grilled white onions, so the rings of red onions were a surprise, but were still good. The bibb lettuce wasn't really a very good addition though (not enough crunch).

The order of sweet potato fries was a bit expensive at $3.50, but were pretty tasty. The dipping sauces available include regular, wasabi, chipotle, and Old Bay mayo, along with ketchup and mustard.

In the end, nothing bad per se (save for the lack of pink in the burger), but nothing that's exciting me enough to draw me back frequently.

[DPop]

For some reason I remembered reading very positive reviews of this place, which took me to it last night after happy hour. It appears that I misread a bit, as there is nothing really very positive, although some definite support. I have to say that I'm shocked that anyone would enjoy an experience here. The place is bright and sterile feeling, the burgers overcooked and mediocre, and the service (at least last night) disinterested. My wife's "welterweight" burger might have at one time been 1/4 pound, I don't know and I'm not inclined to call anyone a liar. But what was delivered to her was probably only a half inch in diameter wider than a Peppermint Patty and no thicker than your typical fast food chain burger. It actually reminded me more of a kabob you would get at a hole-in-the-wall Indian or Pakistani place than a burger (and I don't mean that in a good way). My "heavyweight" was not much better, ordered "pink" and delivered "grey", with not much flavor outside of the grilled onion (more on that next paragraph). I slathered mine in the flavored mayos provided, same flavors for the most part as Good Stuff but not as tasty. They added some much needed moisture and depth of flavor. If this was just a run of the mill, middling burger burger joint, I probably would have shrugged it off and moved on. What really irked me was the staff. The gentleman taking our order interrupted me at least 3 times while I was trying to tell him what I wanted, apparently not able to process in the order I was giving it to him. Maybe this would have been fine had they actually gotten the order right, missing grilled onions on both of our burgers and mushrooms on my wife's. Coupled with the fact that it took 30 minutes to get our (incorrect) order after 10PM in a half full restaurant on a Wednesday night and I can guarantee that every other restaurant on 14 UP will have to be closed before we head back to this place again.

[jiveturk21]

Went for lunch yesterday. For the most part, I like it, but I'm not sure if it is much better than the other burger places in the area. Since I may go to a burger place once a month, my palette just isn't good enough to compare Black and Orange to Bobby's Burger Palace to BGR to any other place.

[DonRocks]

Black and Orange is now out of business.

The good news: You can still enjoy Black Iron Pizza, BlackSalt, Black Fox, Black Squirrel, Black Whiskey, Black Jack, Harold Black, and Black Rooster Pub.

[darkstar965]

Black and Orange is now out of business.

The good news: You can still enjoy Black Iron Pizza, BlackSalt, Black Fox, Black Squirrel, Black Whiskey, Black Jack, Harold Black, and Black Rooster Pub.

Also Black's Bar & Kitchen in Bethesda and Blackfinn in town. And, there was the estimable Blackies in years past.