As lines snake out of Ray’s Hell-Burger, in-the-know burger lovers are sneaking over to Michael Landrum’s recent spinoff, farther down the strip mall. Besides the regular Hell-Burger menu, you’ll find table service, glasses of Cabernet and pints of beer, and a credit-card machine. Even better are such new additions as a venison burger with cherry and puréed chestnut and a juicy wild-boar burger done up Vietnamese style with pickled daikon and carrot. In typical Landrum fashion, the dining room is bare and the service a bit rushed. But it’s well worth it.
Don’t miss: The Big Punisher, a spice lover’s burger with pepper-jack and jalapeños; the Mack, an American-cheese-topped burger; or design your own with high-end cheeses and interesting toppings.
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.
