Good Stuff Eatery Review

Yes I know, I’ve written about Spike from Top Chef and his new DC-based burger joint two times in the last three days. But I had to write again. Why? Because tonight I got to attend the media tasting, or the “Friends and Family” night as Good Stuff Eatery dubbed it. Big thanks to my friends and fellow food bloggers over at Capital Spice for getting me on the “list” so that I could try Spike’s new burger joint on its very first night serving food.

At the door, I was handed a copy of the limited menu they were offering for the Friends & Family event. I immediately honed in on the Blazin’ Barn burger which I had been eying ever since I saw it on the menu released on Monday. The burger, which features pickled daikon & carrots, mint, cilantro, thai basil, lettuce and spicy mayo seemed to promise a very interesting flavor combination. Alas, I found out about this event last minute and had no camera with me (so sadly, no picture of me kicking it with Spike). However, when I got home I snapped a picture of tonights menu:

One thing that jumped out at me right away: the grill, the fryer and the “line” were RIGHT by the counter, and you could easily watch the cooks preparing your meal. Spike was there, wearing one of his trademark hats and diligently working the fry station- adding a mix of fresh thyme, rosemary & cracked pepper to create the “Spike’s Village Fries” that were being offered tonight. The restaurant had a good ambiance, hip and modern but also very basic and no frills. An upstairs area offered ample seating, and big screen TV’s tuned to CNN and MSNBC (it is located on Capitol Hill after all) lined the walls.

After placing my order (Blazin’ Burger with Spike’s Village Fries) I sipped on a sample of the Strawberry Shake. It was smooth and creamy without being heavy, providing just enough lightness to make for an ideal summer shake that would tickle your taste buds without weighing you down. It was just sweet enough to accentuate, rather than mask, the taste of fresh strawberries.

While I waited for my meal to be prepared, I headed over to the dipping sauce bar and got myself some Old Bay Mayo, Sriracha mayo, Chipotle mayo and Mango mayo. After getting my meal I sat down to dig in.

First up: the burger. As I bit into it, the first thing I noticed was that the meat was perfectly cooked. Nice and pink throughout the burger, unlike say, Five Guys, where all the burgers are cooked well done. Having a perfectly cooked piece of meat not only makes it look more appealing, it just makes every bite that much more enjoyable. In terms of size, this isn’t a softball sized burger you’d find at a dive bar. The burger patty was not thick, but it was certainly big enough to satisfy the average eater. The meat was flavorful with a good texture and the acidity of the pickled daikon & carrots balanced perfectly with the spicy mayo. The bun tasted fresh, and each bite of the bun left a buttery taste lingering in your mouth.

A fellow food sampler who ordered the Smokehouse burger commented that while the bacon on it was exceptional, the burger itself was just an above average version of your typical bacon cheeseburger, lamenting that the Blazin’ Burger I had ordered provided a far more interesting flavor combination.

On to the fries. While the fries were just slightly undercooked for my taste, the fresh thyme, rosemary & cracked pepper provided an abundance of flavor before the fries were even dipped in anything. But dip them I did. Of the four mayos offered at the dipping bar, the Sriracha mayo was my clear favorite, smooth and spicy – but not hot, it had just enough kick in each bite. In fact, it was about as good a mayo as I’ve ever had. The mango mayo provided an interesting contrast, offering just a hint of sweetness.

The chipotle mayo was like any chipotle mayo you’ve had – and in the past few years, you’ve no doubt had one. When did it become a prerequisite that any restaurant must offer some sort of chipotle dish or condiment on their menu? 2003? 2004? Either way, it’s a trend I could do without. The Old Bay mayo was interesting. I’m a fan of Old Bay on my fries, but had never tasted it in mayo form. It didn’t knock my socks off, but it was good, and I appreciated the shout-out to a popular local seasoning.

One of the bloggers for Capital Spice had ordered “Cliff’s Homegrown Vidalia Onion Rings”, so I tried one of those as well. Messy and greasy – many of the onions quickly broke free from their breading. The rings provided quite a different taste than the fries. Unlike the heavily seasoned fries, the onion rings provided a more simple flavor combination. The vidalia onions gave the onions a slightly sweeter taste than your average onion ring, and the breading on the onion rings was flavorful. However, what jumped out at me most of all was that the breading is incredibly crunchy. But because the breading was limited, the onions were the focus, with a flavorful crunch dabbed all over the rings.

While only the strawberry shake was offered tonight, a gentleman there who had tried the toasted marshmallow shake raved about it – saying it was made with real toasted marshmallows and caramelized bananas – that shake is a must try the next time I stop in.

Other items on my “must try” list: the “Shroom Burger”, which features Portobello tops stuffed with muenster and cheddar cheese, flash fried with panko crumbs. “Uncle D’s Famous Spicy Chili” and “Spikes 5 Napkin Burger” which comes with maple bacon and a fried egg.

Good Stuff Eatery also serves beer, offering very reasonable $3.50 pints of Yuengling and Blue Moon.

Spike was my boy on this season of Top Chef, so I knew I was inclined to like the place. But bias aside, I must say, the fries were solid, the shake tasty, and the burger probably the best part of all. I can’t imagine myself ever buying a wedge salad – perhaps this is an offering for those who want to check the place out but aren’t interested in burgers? But everything else on the menu looks good. Adding a shake to your meal will certainly up the cost of your bill a bit, but two people can split fries and each have a burger and a drink for around $20 – not a bad deal these days.

Spike seems to have leveraged the “Spike Brand” coming out of Top Chef about as well as he possibly could. The restaurant is opening just a few weeks after this season of Top Chef ended, and unlike NY or LA where he might get lost in the celebrity chef shuffle, Spike has a great opportunity to stake out some turf in the begging-for-more-celebrity-chefs city of Washington DC.

So has Spike created food at the “gourmet level” some might expect from a Top Chef finalist? Yes and no. I had absolutely no complaints about my burger. It was delicious with well balanced flavors from start to finish. But remember, the goal of Good Stuff isn’t to offer a fine dining experience, it’s to offer damn good burgers with delicious, fresh ingredients at prices the average person can afford. If that is in fact the goal, Spike has certainly succeeded.

I know this burger fan will definitely be going back for another round – and perhaps, if I’m in there when it’s not too busy, I can score a picture with Spike – who I can only hope has become an avid reader of So Good since moving to DC. Whadda say Spike?