Battle of the Burgers, Part One: Good Stuff Eatery

First it was cupcakes and now it seems that burger joints are becoming all the rage in DC. Only thing here is the cupcake craze started in NYC and I haven't a clue where this burger bonanza originated. Thus far though, I'm not complaining about the ubiquitous burger places cropping up here and there. So I went down to one of the burger places, Good Stuff Eatery, the other afternoon and left there feeling, in a word: STUFFED.

Just a few blocks from Capitol Hill, Good Stuff has a cool, weathered wooden floors, Americana vibe. I've been told that at prime lunch time, this place gets packed, but if you're looking for a later lunch, you shouldn't have too much of a wait. It might be good there's a long wait at lunch to serve as a deterrent; if you ate here all the time, you'd probably be obese. The burgers are heeee-aaavy. The ingredients live up to the promise of being fresh (no soggy, wilty lettuce here!), but ultimately, this is some heavy stuff. Don't be deceived if your eyes are bigger than your stomach and you think to yourself, "Oh, that burger looks to be a manageable size. I can eat that no problem." You will leave wiped out, waving a white napkin and conceding defeat to those burgers and fries.

I tried Uncle D's Chili 'n Cheddar burger which was pleasantly messy, dripping with chili. Note: don't go here on a first date; these burgers get messy, real fast. The burger was cooked just right-medium and juicy. The chili was good, although not spicy, and dare I say a little sweet. The sour cream was an awesome addition to the burger, and melted in with the cheese and smothered the chili. The fries were kinda mushy (just the way I like them), but a little too greasy and tossed in a generous amount of sea salt. The only thing with the fries was that there were a lot of little scrappy ones (ie: from the bottom of the fryer?), rather than thick cut, substantive fries. The milkshakes were good, but thick, bordering on straight up ice cream in a cup. If you're debating, pick vanilla over the chocolate or go with a soda float.

Good Stuff is a guilty pleasure and a welcome addition to the DC food scene. It's food that makes you feel good, albeit very full and thirsty. The one downside that I couldn't get past: the price. Two burgers, two milkshakes and one order of fries suddenly added up to $30. Maybe it's to cover the payments on the $30,000 ice cream machine, maybe it's cause Chef Spike Mendelsohn was on Top Chef, but two burgers, fries and milkshakes shouldn't be that expensive. Still, the next time you're down on Capitol Hill, wade your way through the interns and Senate pages clogging the streets, and get yourself a good burger at Good Stuff.

Take a bite: bonappetitfoodie.blogspot.com.