Good Stuff Eatery (303 Pennsylvania Ave., SE; 202-543-8222). Come noon each weekday, fresh-faced Hill staffers stream into this boisterous burger joint helmed by Top Chef alum Spike Mendelsohn. His whimsical creations—such as a Vietnamese-style burger with daikon and mint ($6.69), a chili-and-sour-cream-topped patty ($6.89), and a nicely moist turkey rendition ($6.89)—are compact enough that they won’t leave you groaningly full. The thick milkshakes ($3.50 to $5.25), from toasted marshmallow to strawberry made tangy with tropical soursop, are another story. Everything is packaged to go, but for those who aren’t rushing back to their desks, there’s ample seating upstairs, with flat-screen TVs tuned to CNN and MSNBC. Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.
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Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
