Ray's Hell Burger Review

1713 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22209
(703) 841-0001

When you ask people around Washington, DC where is the place to go for burgers, you generally get two replies: Five Guys and Ray's Hell Burger. Earlier this year, Barack and Joe stopped by the latter, which boosted their popularity exponentially. People talk about the line that goes out the door, so a coworker and I went on a Sunday afternoon. It didn't matter; there was still a line. Before going, I searched online what are the things to get. There are so many combinations and suggestions that it seems one of the popular things to do is get the burger of the day so I did that. I don't remember the name of the burger, but it was pretty typical: lettuce, tomato , pickles, and a Thousand Island-ish sauce on a sesame bun. As for sides, the cheesy tater tots were highly recommended, so I got that. I don't drink soda, and even less, root beer; I ordered it, though, since this was mentioned a lot. I was excited about going to Ray's. There is so much hype. The burgers in the pictures look great, and in person, even better. We waited in that long line in the *hot* summer day. We finally get to the store, and it's a typical hole-in-the-wall, which is what I like. There is someone directing traffic in this tiny place. We finally order, sit, and wait for the food to be brought to us. Man this thing looks good. I bite down, and... what happened? Wait, let me try again; this time I'll bite deeper. Nope, same thing. Really? This is what everyone's going crazy about? There really was not much flavor to the burger. My friend's burger gave him the exact reaction, and he ordered something different. Okay, let me dig into the cheesy tater, which also look good. Meh, mushy. I had to add salt to dig the flavor out. And mustard. Okay, we'll just cut our losses and eat. After eating half the burger, I was it down with the root beer.

Whoa...

Let's do that again. Nice! And this is coming from someone who doesn't drink pop, let alone root beer. This is pretty darn good. I would have loved a refill, but the place was too packed for me to even try it.

In the end, would I go again? Maybe for the novelty and if there is no line. I wanted to like this place. I mean, look at my picture of the burger - looks delicious, right? Obviously I'd try a totally different burger. But for now, there is a Five Guys everywhere, and I don't need to hunt down this place which I passed a few times since there's no sign, just a plain door.