Johnna's Pick of the Week: Good Stuff Eatery (DC)

Good Stuff. This is a JKGF favorite phrase when something has the right vibe. After taking a trip to the Southeast side of the District for a burger, our new fetish entails our favorite phrase, Good Stuff Eatery. Spike Mendelsohn, a past contestant on Top Chef, is the mastermind behind this Capitol Hill burger joint. Going in, we were convinced the best burger in D.C. was at Ray's Hell Burger, but now that view has changed. Spike whipped up the "Spike" burger for us which was a mound of applewood bacon, perfectly grilled ground beef, melted cheddar cheese and good stuff sauce (*So we had a debate at the table about what was actually in the sauce. Our guest said their was some Cajun in it making it really spicy and we disagreed, could our taste buds be failing us??).

A side of fries with rosemary and sea salt accompanied our voluptuous burger. It was at this point that we realized there was no ketchup on any of the tables and when we peeked over at the condiment stand, there was no ketchup in site. After eating the fries, we understood why. You honestly don't need ketchup for these fries, the rosemary and sea salt flavor address all your seasonal needs, any more dressings might be too much. We had heard rumors about the line that forms for one of these burgers and the rumors were true as we watched the 12 o'clock rush hour. After tasting one of these burgers, we see why the line is so long. The thing we liked most about the burgers were 1. the juiciness and 2. the bread. The bread is key to an all around good burger, hard or dry breads can demolish the whole experience of a possibly good burger. Ray's Hell Burger had some juicy delicious burgers, but the bread doesn't quite match Good Stuff Eatery's.

We weren't the only first timers in the building, Kelsey Nixon (*Former contestant on the Next Food Network Star) came down for a visit to the nations capitol (*This was her first time in the District and having one of Spike's burgers). Though this was our first time, it won't be our last...we have to get back soon and get some more one on one time with the rest of the menu that seems to have the whole District flocking to the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue.

*Spike and Kelsey have a show on Food2, which is a web based food channel and a product of Scripps Network LLC. (*You know the good guys who deliver us the Food Network)

Picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33611846@N07/sets/72157611500146517/