The Burger Joint

Burger Joint, located in Bethesda, faces Veteran’s Park and is now one of the more acclaimed places to be for hamburgers, fries, onion rings, milk shakes, and other diner type foods, with a diner type atmosphere with tables close together and playing 80’s music. Its specialties range from the basic cheeseburger with rosemary-perfumed bacon to a Greek inspired lamb burger with feta, to their side dishes such as the sweet potato fries, onion rings, and their own line of milk shakes. Other burgers can have pepper jack cheese, bean salsa, chipotle peppers, Serrano ham, as well as the usual toppings of ketchup, mayonnaise, relish, onions, and mustard.

The Verdict

For a burger place, it is actually quite good, falling in between greasy fast food restaurants, and five star restaurants with designer hamburgers. Their brioche buns and variations of burgers made with lamb, lobster and turkey are cooked to your taste, and are designed for the more discerning eater who wishes to satisfy their cravings for fast food. Prices are a little bit more expensive than usual fast food burger places, but it is worth the quality and taste. Processing approval for orders is quickly done by friendly cashiers, and customer service is quickly done for everyone.

If you wish to be able to eat here, though, you should definitely come early, as tables fill up easily and it can get crowded, especially during lunch. The place stays true to its fast food roots with people lining up for seats and their burgers. However, its food gives you decisions if you are one of those who are conscious of their calorie intake or want more nutritional value. Their turkey burger is an example that will not pack on the pounds. I only wish they have free wi-fi so customers can surf the web for mobile.

Looking for a place that offers healthy eating with many options need not lead you to five star restaurants that will leave your wallet empty. The Burger Joint is definitely someplace worth trying if you are somewhat of a gourmet, but wish to enjoy fast food every once in a while. Their burgers are definitely worth the wait.

Nostalgic Setup

You can tell from its interiors that The Burger Joint is all about nostalgia. The colors of the walls are royal purple and the table tops boast brightly colored mosaics of old school pieces such as Nestle Quik, A1, steak sauce, Pop Rocks, Bazooka bubblegum labels, the MTV logo and the Stones’ iconic red lips logo. On the walls are album covers of Prince, Springsteen, U2, The Cars, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. There’s also a gold record of Bon Jovi. The decors are perfect for complimenting that feel good and fun vibe you get when eating burgers. Even the grills and the fry sinks are old-fashioned, giving off that “turn back time” feeling. For the older folks, the set up of the place will surely trigger their past and bring back childhood memories such as their favorite game or pastime, perhaps? Eating at this place will surely guarantee of straining away stress and thoughts such as “I need a job now”.

The Burger Specials

Aside from the regular food staples that are on their menu, they also offer special burgers. Such examples include burgers which they only serve for a limited period. Before, they introduced the “Snooki” burger for the month of September. Snooki is a reality TV star from the popular show, The Jersey Shore. The Burger Joint managed to infuse a bit of comical appeal by adding a fried pickle to the burger every time Snooki gets arrested for the month of September. There’s also the Obama burger which features a Chicago-style hot dog theme with relish, pickles, tomatoes, peppers, celery salt and a Vienna beef hot dog. Now if there’s an Obama burger, there’s a McCain burger as well. This southwestern-themed treat is topped with poblano and chipotle peppers, black bean salsa, and pepper jack cheese. But perhaps the most famous of them all is the monster burger. This gut busting burger weighs over 15 pounds of beef, bun and toppings. Those who have the courage to indulge in this will probably need to spend extra time on a Sole F85 treadmill afterwards.

The Burger Joint didn’t just grow popular overnight. The Burger Joint has found a way to attract customers and make them want to come back for more, much like learning how to SEO and reel in more readers and viewers on the web. Their niche is recreating nostalgia within people through the use of old-fashioned themes. That, plus not-your-average type of burgers and you’ve got yourself a place worth coming to for an awesome dining experience.

On the Food

The quality of the food is what people are usually raving about when they give reviews. From the quality of the meat to the delicious blend of other ingredients, the burgers usually get remarkable comments from the customers. Another hit is the fries, which is described as quite addictive for some. Plus, they love the fact that the serving proportions are plenty so it’s good enough to share for 2-3 people. Since the food is great, people do come back for more but it is their responsibility to keep their health in check. Those who don’t keep track of their health might be in risk of diverticulitis or other forms of stomach condition from consuming too much unhealthy foods.

On the Staff

Unfortunately, the quality of customer service has received 50-50 ratings from several people. Others have complained about the staff being disorganized, chaotic and inattentive. Some looked like they didn’t care for the customers at all and would much rather be doing something else like playing jogos online. Meanwhile, others have complained about the managers being rude and impolite. But on the other hand, others have given out compliments from time to time.

On the Price

Putting it bluntly, the price range at The Burger Joint is pretty steep, as said by most people. For a burger, fries and a drink, the price you have to pay is a little less than $20 which may prove to be impractical for customers who don’t want to spend that much money over lunch or dinner. At that rate, they might opt more to dine in places which accepts kredittkort (that means credit card, btw). But still, others still say that even though you have to shed out extra money, it’s still worth the excellent quality of the food. The price ranges from $4.99 to $14.99 and $79.99 for the monster burger.

So it is worth giving it a whirl? Lots of questions garner different responses. If you ask “how can I get taller”, you’ll probably get an array of different answers and solutions. People give different ratings, depending on the experiences they had. For most of them anyway, the Burger Joint is very recommendable especially when it comes to trying out new things and experiencing high quality burgers.

The Burgers

Once you get to Burger Joint, picking a burger from the menu is much like picking a destination wedding. There are so many to choose from and you just want to experience them all at the same time. They offer a wide array of burgers to choose from, each with its own distinct flavor and theme. Their best seller and the one that really got them popular is “The Burger”. It is served on a fresh, buttery toasted brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mojo sauce, cheese and applewood bacon. For vegetarians, there’s also something in the menu for you. They managed to incorporate brown rice, black beans, oats and molasses in their Veggie Burger, perfect for anti-animal burger lovers.

The Sides

You can’t have a wedding without wedding photographers. Same logic goes when it comes to consuming a burger. You can’t have one without fries or onion rings. How else will you be able to frame the taste of the burger without having sides to compliment it? You can choose between the Gold Standard fries which are thick cut Yukon gold potatoes, or the Orange Standard which are thin cut Idaho sweet potatoes. But if you are the really health conscious type, you might want to try out their asparagus fries, which are grilled asparagus spears, topped with parmesan cheese.
Drinks and Desserts

Everyone has their own taste. From the simplest things like choosing kindle covers according to color or choosing the perfect beverage to wash down the food you just ordered, Burger Joint gives you a variety to choose from according to your taste. If you are into shakes, they serve hand spun, extra thick shakes in different flavors such as double chocolate, vanilla bean and strawberry, featuring Giffords or Breyers ice cream. They also serve floats, fountain sodas, bottled vintage sodas, beer and wine. And if you haven’t had enough yet, dessert is also on the menu with double chocolate chip brownies or chocolate chip cookies.

So there you go. Looking at the menu, it may seem fairly simple but there’s more to it than you think. Like when you ask how to get rid of a hickey which may seem fairly easy for anyone. But there are details that you may not know before, much like Burger Joint puts into the making of their food. It’s well thought of and put together to serve your satisfaction.

How It All Started

Mark Bucher, the founder, has one distinct memory from his childhood that he wanted to keep alive. During his early years, he got to experience neighborhood block parties during Sundays where burgers were served by a local butcher. The smell, the one-of-a-kind taste and the craving feeling for these burgers from his past are what drove him to start with the search of making one of his fondest memories again. For Mark Bucher, finding that perfect burger from his neighborhood party days is like investing in a car breakdown cover. It was absolutely necessary. In fact, he has traveled and tried numerous burger-serving destinations but none has ever really lived up to the standards of what he was looking for. Thus, he started his own cow on a bun business, where he recreated that nostalgia he had and shared it with other people.

Grilled to Perfection

People can’t get enough of thee grilled goodies, much like how people can’t get enough when there is a warehouse sale of their favorite brands. It is very important that they are done in absolute perfection. They use all natural beef, meaning there are no hormones, fillers or antibiotics injected. Most importantly, the cattle they use are grain-fed and roam freely in the fields. The prime beef is blended and round fresh but what they keep a secret is the amount of time they have it dry aged. It’s probably the key factor to the delicious taste of the patties. To make a perfect burger, the beef isn’t the only thing that needs attention. The buns they use are made locally for them and delivered fresh every day. Lastly, they cook over an open flame and not just on a stainless steel grill.

Burger Joint Destinations

Mark Bucher’s burger chain is scattered all over the USA, proving that its on demand by Americans across the country. The Burger Joint can be found in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington D.C. Foreigners and tourists who want to experience eating in this critically-acclaimed joint might want to use a travel phrases book as a useful guide to help lead them in this burger dining destination.

Sometimes, it’s just all about life’s simplest pleasures. A burger compared to something hi tech and complicated like an IR camera sounds much more appealing if you want to go for the simpler things in life. The Burger Joint aims to bring fun, pleasure and memories for people all around.