Clarendon Culture

Formal request to @BGRBurgerJoint

This blog post serves as a formal request to BGR Burger Joint.  I came across a recipe for one of the best burgers I’ve truly ever made, and I’d like for BGR to consider adding it to their menu.  I’m completely serious.  It’s the French Onion Burger of Wonder, and it certainly is deserving of that name.  The mister and I have had it two nights in a row, tonight will be night #3 of eating it, and it only gets better.  BGR, If you decide to add this burger to your menu, you can thank me in burgers for your increase in business.

Foodspotting in Clarendon

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Foodspotting.com is a website that catalogs user-generated photos of dishes from area restaurants. You can sort by city, restaurant name, a specific user, or a few other ways.  I’ve quickly become hooked, and just recently started submitting my own images to the site.  Below are some of my favorite “foodspotted” images from around Clarendon…

Tomato and Avocado Omelette @ La Pain Quotidien

Fresh Beet Salad @ Astor Mediterranean

Loaded Cheese Fries @ Whitlow’s On Wilson

Seafood Kabobs @ Boulevard Woodgrill

BBQ Bacon Shrimp & Grits @ Restaurant 3

burger and fries @ brgr:shack

Cajun Ribeye @ Rays the Steaks

Donuts Treats @ Lyon Hall

Turkish Coffee @ Me Jana Restaurant

Taste of Arlington

We had a great time at Taste of Arlington yesterday.  We got there about 30 minutes after the start time, and it was already packed.  The weather held up nicely for the most part, aside from a couple small showers.  

I do think in the future, the Taste of Arlington committee really needs to expand to include more streets.  It was way too many people in such a tight space.  Lines were stacked on top of other lines, or blocking restaurant booths all-together.  Had we not been so tightly packed into such a small area, we probably would have had the patience to spend all of our tickets.  We walked back home with a couple unspent tickets.  

That aside, it was a great time, and we had very happy bellies.  My favorite tastes of the day were BGR Burger Joint’s beef sliders and Jaleo’s Paella.  My hubby’s favorite bites were both from Pinzimini - braised short rib and pork belly.  Below are some photos of the event.  

The BGR crew grills up beef sliders, which were my #1 favorite taste of the day.

The massive paella pan at Jaleo’s booth.  My #2 favorite taste of the day.

Caribbean Breeze’s chicken kabobs and rice.  My 3rd favorite of the day.

My least favorite taste: the buffalo wings from Velocity5.  Way too over-salted.  These wings were the only bite I didn’t actually finish.

Rustico salad.. this was one of my hubby’s bites, and I didn’t actually taste it, but he enjoyed it.

Spike Mendelsohn signing autographs

Pork belly at Pinzimini, complete with a syringe dropper for the juice!!

Braised shortrib from Pinzimini (my hubby’s #1 favorite taste of the day)

Chocolate cake from RiRa.  I LOVED this cake. (my hubby’s words were along the lines of, “it’s just good chocolate cake that they didn’t screw up.)

Free smoothie samples from the MickyD’s booth.  A refreshing treat to end our day.

BGR The Burger Joint

Made it to the soft opening of BGR The Burger Joint last night.  It was awesome.  Won’t go into a full review until I try the wildly popular lamb burger (which won a Throwdown with Bobby Flay) and a milkshake, both of which they were sold out of when I was there.  For now, here are some photos.

Also, this was obviously a bad photography day for me, so please don’t mind the blur/poor focus/bad composition.  I’ll get better shots at my next meal… which I can’t wait for.  For now, I’ll just say - hubby mentioned that he thinks he may have liked his burger than Ray’s.  Just sayin.  (I had the turkey burger, which I obviously cannot compare to Ray’s.)

Tom Sietsema swoons over BGR Burger Joint

(image via casschin Flickr)

Tom Sietsema, highly respected food critic for the Washington Post, just released his 2010 Fall Dining Guide.  Only one restaurant is listed under the “Burgers” section, and no, it’s not Michael Landrum’s Ray’s Hell Burger.  The place that made Tom Sietsema swoon with their prime, aged, hormone-free, corn-fed beef and doubly-fried fries was BGR Burger Joint, a place that will call Clarendon home by the end of this year.   Sietsema’s full review below.  

Ray’s Hell-Burger in Arlington has its charms, but if President Obama ever decides to alter his burger run, he ought to consider another home-grown mini-chain, this one from entrepreneur Mark Bucher. “No shortcuts, no pre-cooking, no heat lamps,” the menu pledges. The food delivers on that promise; even a basic burger starts with prime, aged, hormone-free, corn-fed beef from the Midwest and rests on a toasted sesame-seeded brioche bun. Juicier still: The patty is cooked the way you ask, and you don’t have to settle for beef. Also available are ahi tuna, turkey, lobster, cumin-and-mint-laced lamb (love the crusty Greek burger), even black beans, brown rice and molasses (the vegetarian version). The fries, made with Yukon Gold potatoes, are double-fried and tasty, and the shakes are so thick, they’re easier to eat with a spoon than a straw. Good news for denizens of Clarendon: A fifth Joint is expected to open at 3024 Wilson Blvd. by year’s end. The Dupont Circle branch, with blond-wood booths, purple walls and Christmas-light chandeliers, is closest to the White House. Got that, Mr. President?