I Beg To Differ

Having just returned from Elevation Burger (422 S. Washington St. Falls Church,VA) I feel compelled to say that I disagree with Bridge’s rave review. Maybe we’re looking for different things in a burger joint, maybe it’s an East Coast/West Coast thing, I don’t know, but to my wife and I Elevation Burger was a real let-down.

While the place has a nice family-run atmosphere (from 14 year-old Tommy taking orders to Grandma sweeping the floor) and yummy milkshakes. Everything else about it was really lacking when compared to the other DC area burger options. The burgers at Elevation may be made with kobe-style beef but to us they kind of tasted like liver. The french fries are thin and crispy style (which can be nice) but they tasted too much of the oil they were fried in and not enough like potatoes. In fact half way through our lunch we caught ourselve gazing longingly at the hole-in-the-wall skank tavern across the street with it’s old, chipped, hand-painted sign promising “Texas style Chili and down home country-cooking” thinking we’d get a tastier burger in that dive than the one we were forcing ourselves to finish because the $7 was too much too waste.

Comparing Elevation to Five Guys is really what does in Bridge’s review of this place. There is no comparison other than to say Five Guys is much much better. Rolls, patty, toppings, fries – Five Guys blows Elevation away. And that’s not to say I am an unreasonable devotee of Five Guys either. In fact in 2000, before Five Guys started franchising out the wazoo, my buddy Chris and I had the great DC burger blow-out in which we compared our fav DC area burger joints. His, Five Guys, came out as the best burger sans accoutrement while mine, Lindy’s Bon Appetit ( 2040 I Street NW), came out as best messy burger with their Burl Ive’s Burger – two 1/2lb patties slathered in BBQ sauce topped with a fried hot-dog. Needless to say I love me some good burgers and those two burger stands out-do Elevation completely.

I was very excited about Elevation, obviously I went there immediately after reading Bridge’s write-up, but unfortunately I left disappointed and with a bad taste in my mouth.

Originally published on February 18, 2006.

This was a rebuttal to another Metroblog writer's rave review of Elevation Burger. Unfortunately I am unable to find an active link to his article in 2010.