‘Virginia’
In the world of DC burgers, it seems that one name stands above the rest: Ray’s Hell Burger. Originally conceived as a spot to bank on the discarded scraps from Ray’s the Steaks, Ray’s Hell Burger is on its third iteration, going by the name of Ray’s to the Third. It’s technically in Rosslyn/Arlington, Virginia and luckily so was I.
Restaurants make outlandish claims all the time, and usually along the lines of “Best [insert food here] in town.” Joe’s Burgers in McLean, Virginia doesn’t care about the competition and instead proclaims their burgers as “Simply Amazing.” My friends who took me there seemed to agree, or else why would I have found myself there perusing their menu of inspired burgers (albeit mostly with some sort of vegetable component).
Over in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia is a restaurant that loves to rhyme. It’s called Chef Geoff’s and it’s not the only one. In fact, there seem to be Chef Geoffs’ all around the DC area. This Chef Geoff’s had an interesting menu ranging from Fish Tacos to Madras Curry Chicken. And while this may seem like a huge range, it wasn’t such a big menu that it still felt somewhat focused. So, while deciding, I had myself a pint of CG (Chef Geoff’s) Northwest Ale, which is brewed locally just for Geoff and his collection of rhyming restaurants.
Out in Arlington, Virginia, a friend brought us to a restaurant called Lost Dog Cafe. Knowing quite literally nothing about the place beforehand, I was happy to see that it not only had a huge selection of beers, but also a vast selection of sandwiches and pizzas. And I do mean huge. The sandwich list had 53 options, and that doesn’t include the “Create Your Own Sandwich” section. Not only that, these were some pretty creative sandwiches and not just your simple pastrami and turkey. After a long deliberation and just a quick peak at the pizza menu, I settled upon a sandwich that I hoped would be worthy of an unvegan like myself.