From the beginning of our burger quest, we knew a trip to hell and back was inevitable and we were rather looking forward to it. Since opening in the summer of 2008, Ray's Hell Burger has arguably been the most talked about burger joint in the DMV. In fact, I've heard so much about it from burger aficionados and tourists alike that I thought it had been around longer. I guess a few visits from President Obama helped maintain a consistent buzz. Due to the restaurant's popularity, a second location was opened in the same Arlington strip mall last July. Dubbed Ray's Hell Burger Too, local beef Impresario Michael Landrum's sister burger joint is a sit down restaurant.
The Burger: Ray serves 100% premium steak cuts, which are hand trimmed and aged in house. The burger is prepared in four different ways: grilled, au poivre, blackened and diablo. Judging by the menu format, most people appear to create their own hell - burger. Still, many other "standard" options are available. Amusingly, many are named after 90's rappers such as the Big Punisher and Fat Joe. Heck, they even have the B.I.G. Poppa burger.
I ordered the Original Hell Burger grilled medium with American cheese and Applewood smoked bacon. I also asked for lettuce, grilled onions, a pickle and Ray's Heck Sauce (which they appropriately dubbed as tangy, zippy, but not spicy). The menu mentioned that "We are human and mistakes do occur." Well, they were human, indeed, on this occasion as the burger that arrived had a tomato and lacked the pickles and Heck Sauce.
Order issue aside, the burger was not as good as anticipated. Sure it had a steak-like seasoning and it was not a small chunk of meat. But, the toasted potato-brioche roll didn't appear to be very fresh at all and the bacon tasted like it may have been sitting in a big pile of other strips since mid-morning. Perhaps our high expectations got the best of us.
The Fries: The fries didn't quite make up for the burger letdown; however, they were some prize spuds. The initial appearance didn't raise any eyebrows. As Tony remarked, "they look like they came out of a frozen bag," and the amount provided seemed a bit lacking for a large order. Nonetheless, the unsalted fried potatoes were rather delicious. It tasted like they were fried in purity. Better yet, you could really taste the potato!
Free Fixins: Ray's offers some interesting free fixin options. Optional free burger additions include - lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, raw red onions, a pickle, BBQ sauce and mayo. Yeah, these are rather basic, but other options de gratis are charred jalapenos, cognac & sherry sauteed mushrooms, roasted garlic, Ray's Heck Sauce and fiery piranha sauce. The table offered ketchup, yellow and spicy brown mustard, A1 and Tabasco.
Atmosphere: This is a burger joint and the atmosphere of Ray's Too makes that clear. There are no frills or thrills at all inside the restaurant. In fact, nothing is even featured on the walls except two framed red t-shirts. One reads "Hot as Hell" and the other says "Go to Hell." The place was busy at lunchtime on a Sunday; however, there wasn't much of a line.
Cost: $10.50 for the burger and $2.50 for a large fry ($1.75 for a small).
Overall: Amazing fries aside, this was a letdown. There is nothing more to say.
Burger:
The Burger Joint
Good Stuff Eatery
Elevation Burger
Ray's Hell Burger Too
Z Burger
Desperados
Fries
The Burger Joint
Ray's Hell Burger Too
Elevation Burger
Good Stuff Eatery
Z Burger
Desperados
Free Fixins
Good Stuff Eatery
Ray's Hell Burger Too
Z Burger
Elevation Burger
The Burger Joint
Desperados
Atmosphere
The Burger Joint
Good Stuff Eatery
Desperados
Ray's Hell Burger Too
Elevation Burger
Z Burger
Cost
Elevation Burger $3.99/$2.59
Z Burger $4.38/$2.59
Desperados $9.50
Good Stuff Eatery $6.69/$3.69
The Burger Joint $8.99/$2.89
Ray's Hell Burger Too $10.50/$2.50
Overall
The Burger Joint
Good Stuff Eatery
Elevation Burger
Ray's Hell Burger Too
Z Burger
Desperados
