Restaurant: DBGB Kitchen and Bar (Washington, D.C.)

It's not uncommon these days for a business's name to be an apparent acronym that doesn't actually stand for anything. In some cases, it once did, but not anymore. These are "pseudo-acronyms"--a string of letters that once stood for words but have been redefined to sever the acronym from its original meaning. For example, the former American Association of Retired Persons just goes by "AARP" now, probably because as people are working later in life, many of its members aren't actually retired. Similarly, "AT&T" was once the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, but the telegraph is no more and even the telephone has evolved far from what it once was.

Similarly, "DBGB," Chef Daniel Boulud's return to the D.C. market, doesn't apparently stand for anything. When the original DBGB opened in New York in 2007, it was widely reported that DBGB stood for "Daniel Boulud Good Burger," but that name is nowhere to be found in the restaurant's marketing or website. It's apparently a nod to CBGB, the famed music venue that was located in the same neighborhood as the New York DBGB and that closed about a year before that restaurant's opening.

When DBGB opened in D.C. last year, I was definitely curious. Daniel Boulud is one of the country's best-known chefs, famous for his restaurant Daniel and a slate of other more casual eateries, including New York's DB Bistro Moderne, home of the famed (but, to us, disappointing) Original DB Burger. That burger's striking feature is its massive patty, a meat-lover's dream of sirloin stuffed with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffles. Despite all those ingredients, we found it to be surprisingly lacking in flavor. It was a lesson that, when it comes to burgers, we prefer something traditional.

That's exactly what I was hoping to get at DBGB. Whether "good burger" is actually part of the name or not, burgers stand out on the menu, a mix of French and American influences: coq au vin sits next to fried chicken, for example. There's also a selection of sausage options.

As for the burgers, there are two choices: The Frenchie, a beef patty with pork belly, arugula tomato-onion compote, morbier cheese on a potato bun, and The Yankee, a more traditional offering of beef patty with Vidalia onion, iceberg lettuce and tomato served on a sesame bun with a pickle. While The Frenchie sounds interesting, I stuck to my plan and ordered the Yankee. Although our favorite D.C. burger remains the grilled burger with cheese at Buck's Fishing and Camping, this burger was quite good and certainly better than the "fancy" one we ate at DB Bistro Moderne. The patty was flavorful and cooked just right. Plus, I appreciate that they served it on a traditional hamburger bun. I'm really getting tired of things like brioche used as burger buns. The fries that accompanied the burger were decent, although they weren't uniformly crispy (they were better the day I stopped in for lunch--more on that below).

One of the best parts of our dinner at DBGB was the cocktail. It was a very good mixture of rye whiskey, apple brandy, rum, sugar and tiki bitters called the "Colonial" for its mixture of "new world" ingredients. Chris, in particular, loved this drink. Cheers to head bartender Eric Jeffus.

Dessert was another highlight, a key lime pie refashioned as a zesty ice cream sundae, a delicious confection of tart lime ice cream, whipped cream, miniature meringues and bits of graham cracker.

We also enjoyed our salad, an interesting mix of grilled kale, black figs and oyster mushrooms with a buttermilk dressing. We particularly liked the salad's pickled chestnuts and the grilled kale was interesting. These are unusual ingredients to bring together in a salad but they work.

It wasn't the first salad I'd had at DBGB. About a month before our dinner, I stopped in for lunch and enjoyed the chop-chop salad with grilled chicken. The salad is a refreshing blend of romaine lettuce, avocado, asian pear and radishes mixed with just the right amount of a zipping ginger-sesame dressing. We also couldn't resist getting a side of fries, which went perfectly with the salad (well, fries could probably go perfectly with just about anything).

As for what "DBGB" actually stands for? I tried to find out, but was unsuccessful. My multiple inquiries to the restaurant's media relations team were never answered. I was also hoping to get more information from them about the restaurant's striking architectural design. Perhaps they have been on vacation. We had a much better response from the staff in the restaurant, who were friendly and struck that wonderful balance of being attentive and available but not "in your face."

If the name remains a mystery, what isn't mysterious is the result: a decent place for lunch or dinner in the emergent D.C. City Center development.

DBGB Kitchen and Bar, 931 H Street NW (between 9th and 10th Streets), Washington, D.C. (City Center). (202) 695-7660. Reservations: Open Table. 

Greek Burgers

Defining quintessentially "American" food can be challenging. Many of our most popular dishes have obvious connections to other countries. Pizza? Clearly Italian. Burritos? Definite Mexican influence there. Meat and potatoes? I think the Brits or the French would claim they did that first.

I would proffer that the hamburger is the most obvious candidate for a popular food that is undeniably American. Its name, derived from the city of Hamburg, suggests that the burger might be German in origin. However, history reveals it as an American dish that nods to German immigrants. The connection is to the Hamburg steak, a dish that became popular in New York in the late 19th century. At the time, Hamburg was as principal departure point for immigration to the United States, a trip that generally ended in New York. In Hamburg, it was common to find minced-meat steak dishes. Thus the dish, described in Wikipedia as seasoned minced meat served raw with onions and bread crumbs, became popular in New York City.

Once the steak started being cooked, it took only some genius to slap the patty between two pieces of bread to make a sandwich. Precisely who did this first seems to be up for debate, but it likely occurred sometime in the late 19th or early 20th centuries, and most of the claims point to an American origin for the dish.

Of course, today, the hamburger is a global cuisine. Although fast-food chains like McDonald's spread the fast-food version around the world, which, in basic form can be enjoyed for about $1, it can be enjoyed at all levels of restaurants up to the $1,768 Glamburger, made with every conceivable luxury ingredient. Presently, my personal favorite is the grilled prime beef burger with cheddar cheese and applewood-smoked bacon for $18 at Buck's Fishing & Camping.

As American as burgers are, they are also adaptable. The current fad for Korean condiments have led to burgers draped with kimchi and spiked with srirarcha, for example.

Here, I've given the burger a Greek-style treatment, using lamb instead of beef for the patty and serving it with pita bread, Tzatziki sauce, tomatoes and cucumbers. The recipe below is for cooking the patties indoors, but certainly if you have a grill, these would be awesome cooked over charcoal.

Greek Burgers

Makes 6

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. ground lamb
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped dill (reserve addition fronds for decorative garnish, if desired)
1/3 cup finely chopped spring garlic white and light green parts (may substitute scallions or sweet onion)
Seasoned salt, to taste
2 tsp. aleppo pepper flakes
2 tsp. dried oregano
Pita bread (white or whole wheat)
Tzatziki sauce (see recipe)
Sliced tomatoes (optional)
Sliced cucumbers (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

2. Combine all other ingredients through dried oregano in a large bowl. Using your hands, combine until the mixture is uniform. Shape into 6 balls, then flatten into patties.

3. Cook 3 patties at a time (or as pan size allows) for about 5 minutes until well browned. Flip over, and cook another 5 minutes. Serve patties with pitas,  tzatziki and, if desired, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Buffalo Chicken Sliders

The Super Bowl is this weekend. Plenty of you are very excited about it. Me? I can’t even tell you who’s playing. Sorry. I was briefly interested when it looked like the Washington Redskins might have a shot at it. But then RGIII (yes, I know who that is!) suffered a terrible injury and it was all over.

So, I’m not a football fan. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good Super Bowl party, especially for the food, which can be quite elaborate but is at its best when it’s classic and sastisfying. Something you can munch on absent mindedly. You wouldn’t want to distract from the game…too much. That might disqualify these sliders. They are pretty amazing.

My idea was to meld two football party favorites into one: sticky, spicy Buffalo chicken wings and three-bite sliders. It’s a pretty sweet deal: all the deliciousness of Buffalo wings but without the mess. Or a mini burger like you’ve never had before.

In particular, I wanted to make sure the burger patty worked well. Ground chicken can be rather bland and has a tendency to dry out. To keep this patty moist and flavorful, I infused it with the essential ingredients of Buffalo wings sauce: butter, which substitutes for the fat ground beef would have but is absent in ground chicken, Frank’s hot sauce for moisture and kick and some vinegar for tang, as well as a little garlic. No tasteless bread filling needed here. These patties are juicy and flavorful.

To offset the heat of the sauce, I threw in a sweet pickle chip. Blue cheese sauce completes the flavor from the original Buffalo wings dish, to which I added a bit of dillweed. If you can find smoked blue cheese, I recommend it, since it helps add a little grill flavor to a kitchen-made dish. Alternatively, you could add a little liquid smoke to the cheese-mayo mixture.

For the buns, if you wanted to make your own brioche, by all means go for it. But to make things easier, I used dinner rolls, not the ones labeled ideal for sliders, since I thought they were too large, but the even smaller ones that are less than two inches across. They are like three bites each, which is perfect for party finger food. Definitely a home run...er, touchdown.

Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Makes 12

12 mini dinner rolls, sliced in half
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
12 sweet pickle chips
¼ cup mayonnaise
3-4 oz. smoked blue cheese
½ tsp. dillweed
1 lb. ground chicken breast
1 tbsp. Frank’s RedHot sauce, plus extra
Seasoned salt, to taste
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. canola oil
Celery sticks

Prepare the buns: Position oven rack 4 inches from broiler and preheat. Arrange cut dinner rolls cut-side up on baking sheet. Spread ¼ tsp. butter on each roll. Broil until toasted, about 45 seconds to a minute. Remove from oven before burning.

Make the sauce: Break blue cheese into chunks. Add to a small bowl and combine with mayonnaise and dillweed.

Cook the burgers: In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, hot sauce, seasoned salt, vinegar, butter and garlic. Form into small patties with about 2 tbsp. of mixture per patty to make 12 patties. Heat canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook patties, 6 at a time, about 4 minutes per side (8 minutes total).

Assemble: Place bottom of toasted bun on plate, top with ½ tsp. blue cheese, pickle chip, cooked burger patty, extra hot sauce and top toasted bun. Serve with celery sticks, and extra blue cheese sauce and hot sauce.

Burger Madness: Championship

Contenders:

BGR The Burger Joint: The Burger (with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Cheese). $8.97


Buck's Fishing and Camping: Buck's wood-grilled burger with cheddar and applewood smoked bacon. $17



Palena Cafe: Cheeseburger. $12



Analysis:

Now we're getting down to the really hard choice. Bottom line: you couldn't go wrong with any of these three burgers. All are quite great, filling the bill no matter your preferred price point. BGR delivers classic burger taste with surprising elegance, Buck's transports you away to the best campfire burger imaginable, but Palena delivers unmatched burger excellence. It kicks the humble burger into gourmet territory while remaining true to what makes a great cheeseburger great. It avoids the trappings of ostentation, while delivering something simple and satisfying. It is the Burger Madness 2012 champ.

Verdict:

Palena Cafe


Ranked List:

As an alternate take, here's the complete ranked list of competitors:

1. Palena Cafe
2. Buck's Fishing and Camping
3. BGR - The Burger Joint
4. Bourbon Steak
5. Bobby's Burger Palace
6. Central Michel Richard
7. Matchbox
8. BLT Steak
9. Shake Shack
10. Good Stuff Eatery
11. Z Burger
12. Five Guys

(A correction: In chain division "chains from elsewhere" round, I classified BGR as being "from elsewhere," however, I subsequently discovered that it too is a local chain. This doesn't affect the outcome of the contest at all, given that BGR would have easily beat any of the other chain selections no matter which I'd paired it with.)

Burger Madness Division Finals: Casual

Contenders:

Buck's Fishing and Camping: Buck's wood-grilled burger with cheddar and applewood smoked bacon. $17


Bobby's Burger Palace: Palace Classic Burger. Medium-well with American cheese; lettuce, tomato and red onion, and burger sauce. $6.75


Analysis:


These burgers are challenging to judge against each other, for Buck's and Bobby's represent the extremes of their division. Buck's is definitely high-end casual: a full-service restaurant and bar known for its locally sourced, fresh ingredients. Bobby's is a chain restaurant that landed in the casual division because its price and service style is just a notch above the restaurants I put in the chain category. You gotta make tough choices when you do this kind of thing.

When it comes to the burgers themselves, both are good, but Buck's bests Bobby's on quality. It has a better bun, a better patty (love that smoky flavor) and better cheese (Bobby's American cheese did not impress). And yes, it's $10 more, so you're paying for that quality, so unlike in the upscale division, I can't make a value argument in favor of Buck's in this round, but nor would I exalt Bobby's, which is just slightly less expensive than say BGR over in the chain division, but not nearly as good. But just judging on taste, it comes out ahead.

Verdict:

Buck's Fishing and Camping


*Come back Saturday to find out which burger wins Burger Madness 2012!

Burger Madness Division Finals: Upscale

Contenders:
Palena Cafe: Cheeseburger. $12


Bourbon Steak: Oak-fired prime steak burger with pickles, cabot clothbound cheddar and secret sauce. $19



Analysis:
These were both very good burgers, making this a little more challenging than the chains division. 


Both of the patties were tasty, juicy and clearly composed of high-quality beef. Both burgers have a nice simplicity, eschewing a mound of toppings for something simple. In the case of Palena, it's very simple: there are no toppings other than the cheese and sauce. For Bourbon Steak, it's cheese and shredded lettuce with sauce. I appreciate what Bourbon Steak is doing with their toppings: burgers loaded with big tomato slices and lettuce pieces can be annoying to eat, because they tend to allow everything to shift around in your hands and pretty soon you have a big mess. However, it's just a little too simple. The cheese is so mild that you don't really taste it and, if they're going to have only one vegetable topping, I bet they could come up with something more creative than shredded lettuce (caramelized onion jam? shredded pickles?).


Palena, on the other hand, presents its simplicity with perfect balance. The cheese, rather than succumbing to the patty's flavor, harmonizes with it, delivering its truffle-flecked flavor as a perfect counterpoint to the beef. Value-wise, Palena's $12 burger is by far the least expensive of the upscale offerings (it's even less expensive than two of the casual chain burgers), so you're really getting a good deal for the price.


Verdict:
Palena Cafe

Burger Madness Division Finals: Chain

Contenders:

BGR - The Burger Joint: The Burger (with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Cheese). $8.97

Z Burger: Bacon Cheeseburger. $4.39


Analysis: 

I'm doing this division final first, because it will be the easiest of the three. Quite simply, BGR makes a burger that doesn't taste like it comes from a chain. It was by far the best of the four, taking the flame-broiled taste of a Burger King sandwich and kicking it up (way up) with high quality ingredients. Z Burger, while tasty, could use some editing, as it sinks and falls apart against all the standards toppings.

BGR was also a little more expensive--more in line with Bobby's and Good Stuff than the other chain burgers, all of which were priced around $4-$5. However, you can taste those extra dollars. It's worth it.

Verdict:

BGR - The Burger Joint

Burger Madness: Division Finals

Here's where the bracket stands at the end of the initial rounds. Definitely some surprises here, like how much I liked Bobby's compared to Good Stuff and that Five Guys, the largest chain in the competition, was not so stellar. I was underwhelmed by Shake Shack and pleasantly surprised by BGR - The Burger Joint. Buck's and Palena are longtime favorites, so I was happy to see they've remained consistently good.

Burger Madness Chain Division Round 2: Chains from Elsewhere

Contenders:

BGR The Burger Joint: The Burger (with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Cheese). $8.97

Shake Shack: Shack Burger single. $4.75

Analysis:

BGR's burger was dynamite good, featuring a thick, meaty patty and a nice combination of grilled onions, lettuce and fresh tomato that's red like it should be. The patty's grilled flavor is pretty intense since BGR flame-grills their burgers. Sound familiar? It's what Burger King does, which is why this burger takes me back to my childhood and tastes like what Burger King could be if it used fresher, higher quality ingredients. The bun got a little sogged with meat juice, but it's very tasty and still held up pretty well. Although the menu bills it as brioche, it doesn't feel as greasy as the brioche bun at Matchbox. The onions come grilled as standard, which is a nice touch, the cheese is cheddar (a plus) and the bacon adds some smoky saltiness. My only gripe with this burger is that it came overcooked: I asked for medium, I definitely got medium-well. Chris's came medium though and he let me taste his, which was definitely superior in flavor to mine (if we've learned anything from this exercise, it's that "medium" is the best choice for how to cook a burger).

Shake Shack's burger wasn't bad. It was also wasn't really great. The burger had good flavor but wasn't very interesting, smothered as it was by a layer of American cheese with some green leaf lettuce, respectable tomato slices and "Shack Sauce," a thousand island derivative. The bun was a little soggy with grease and slightly sweet.

Verdict:

BGR - The Burger Joint. I was expecting BGR would best Shake Shack based on what I've read about it, but I surprised by just how much. The BGR burger was really quite tasty.

Burger Madness Chain Division Round 1: Local Chains

Contenders:

Five Guys: Little Bacon Cheeseburger. $5.19

Z Burger: Bacon Cheeseburger. $4.39

Analysis:

Five Guys is a national chain, but it started locally in Alexandria, Virginia. Lots of people rave about it around here, but I have to say, I was not impressed. In fact, it was my least favorite burger in the contest. I had my Five Guys burger "all the way," meaning it came with ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, pickles, tomato, grilled mushrooms and grilled onions. Although it comes standard with two patties, I ordered the "little" version with just one, since that's more comparable to the other burgers. The burger had a decent balance of flavors. My medium-cooked patty was not too salty, however it was pretty flavorless. I liked the pickles and the lettuce was fresh, but the tomatoes were really anemic looking and about as devoid of flavor as you'd suspect. I like that sautéed onions and mushrooms are available at no extra cost, although the onions weren’t really very cooked. Bacon was crisp but not very smoky. Cheese was American, but not the kind that sticks to your mouth. The sesame seed bun was disappointing—doughy and not substantial enough to support all those toppings, making for a messy burger.

Z Burger is also a homegrown chain, although one that so far has only two locations (both in D.C.). Their menu appears designed to compete against Five Guys, as it comes standard with the same toppings, including fried onions and sautéed mushrooms. Unfortunately, it also comes with a lot of the same problems. The toppings are quite tasty--the vegetables are noticeably fresher than those I got at Five Guys and the bacon is better too. But they're too much for the slight bun, and the burgers here have a tendency to fall apart while you're eating them. The patty is so-so, not too salty but also not very flavorful.

Verdict:

Z Burger. I'm not really blown away by either of these burgers, although the overall better flavors gives Z Burger the advantage.

Burger Madness Casual Division Round 2: Smoke and Fire

Contenders:

Buck's Fishing and Camping: Buck's wood-grilled burger with cheddar and applewood smoked bacon. $17

Matchbox: Bistro burger with melted gorgonzola, cremini mushrooms and applewood smoked bacon. $13

Analysis:

When it comes to giving you a burger that's close to an outdoor grill experience, both of these restaurants excel at delivering on their names. Buck's in particular, serves up an appropriately smoky burger with a meaty, grill-flavored patty and smoky bacon. If that's not enough smoke, you can even get a side of smoky mayo. It's a substantial sandwich, with a hearty bun served with fresh lettuce and onion.

Matchbox bistro burger

Matchbox's burger (shown above) is also thick and meaty. The toppings are numerous, but they play well together, especially the combination of the sautéed mushrooms with gorgonzola and bacon (blue cheese and bacon are always a nice combo). This is a good burger, but its downfall is the bun. Matchbox uses a buttery role (brioche). When combined with what is already a greasy meat, it's a lot of grease for one sandwich.

Verdict:

Buck's Fishing and Camping. Although I really like the Matchbox burger, it's greasy bun sinks it against the perfectly composed burger at Buck's.

Burger Madness

Is Washington, D.C. the burger capital of the United States? Some have suggested it is, and I can certainly see why. Burgers of all flavors and pedigree can be found in all quarters of the city, ranging from nostalgic burger-n-shake joints to refined gourmet offerings. With all this competition, there's no excuse for a bad burger.

But who's making the best burger? That's what I'm seeking to find this month with Burger Madness, a March Madness-style bracket tournament.

On the basis of my own knowledge and research into what burgers people are talking about, I selected 12 restaurants for this competition. To put some parameters on it (I can only eat so many burgers), I decided to limit it to the city proper. So no Ray's Hell Burger (which I've heard is excellent). I also decided not to include the national mass-market chains (a.k.a. McDonald's and Burger King), since I doubt they would last long in the competition. I'm looking for burgers that excel in delivering flavor and fresh ingredients.

At each restaurant, I ordered the standard burger with cheese. If a cheese option was provided, I generally chose cheddar (but not always). I wasn't so consistent about bacon, but generally if it was available I had that too. If a cooking option was provided, I asked the restaurant for its recommendation. As far as condiments go, I went with whatever was standard, adding sauce at the table only if it wasn't already on the burger.

In judging the burgers, I assessed attributes such as overall flavor and flavor of specific components, especially the patty (is it meaty? well-seasoned? not too salty? grill-flavored?), bacon and cheese. I examined how well the condiments worked to add flavors without overpowering the meat. I assessed the structure and flavor of the bun: does it hold the sandwich together effectively? I took note of anything that made a burger special. Accompaniments such a fries and shakes will not be considered in the judging.

I divided the restaurants, somewhat arbitrarily, into three divisions: upscale restaurants (i.e. fine dining establishments that generally serve many things other than burgers), casual restaurants (a mix of service styles but generally more than just a fast-food place) and chain restaurants (multi-location, fast service restaurants that specialize in burgers). I'm going to start this week with the casual division, proceed next week to upscale and then chain before the finals at the end of the month. Let's go!