http://burgerdays.com

At first look (and, actually, on second and third, too) it appears to be another version of the fast-food style, but-good-for-you (grass fed beef, organic ingredients, omega-3's and all that healthy stuff) burger restaurant. In fact, the inside of Burger 7, their menu, food presentation and even the website look like an Elevation Burger knock-off. But, whatever, we just want to know if they can kick out a good burger. ('Cause really, who's eating burgers for their health anyway? Definitely not our greasy-asses.) The first thing we noticed as we rolled up to Burger 7 at their nondescript location in Falls Church's Idylwood Plaza (Route 7, Burger 7, get it?) is the big red "7" door handle. That was kinda cool. The inside is rather minimalistic and a bit impersonal: high ceilings and exposed pipes, wooden booths with red, cushioned backs and signs letting us know how good we should feel eating there. We did feel good, but it had more to do with the fact we'd soon be stuffing large, cheesy, beefburgers into our faces. When it comes to the burgers, your first choice is one (B7 Jr.) or two ( B7) of their fresh ground daily, black Angus patties (there's a veggie option available, but please, if that's how you roll, keep it to yourself). Because we ain't no juniors and for real, we run a site called Burger Days“ we got the doubles; I opted for the B7 Loaded with a white bun (carbs be damned), lettuce, tomato, pickles, American cheese, grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms and their B7 sauce, while fellow Burger Day-er Matty Saps went for the B7 with lettuce, tomato, cheddar and B7 sauce. As for the presentation, it's no-frills, and we're cool with that. A bit of that old-school, diner vibe; the burgers are wrapped up in paper, the onion crisps in a paper tray, fries in an aluminum bucket, all served up on a metal tray. First off, these are not gourmet burgers. Whoever started calling any burger outside a McDonald's or Burger King "gourmet" needs to be kicked in the teeth. No, these are "fast-food" style burgers. And since they are of the "fast-food" variety, they're not cooked-to-order and come only one way: medium. That's fine, as the thin patties really don't allow for rarer options. But one of the first things I noticed when I bit into my burger was that mine was pink on the inside. Now, I'm not complaining as I prefer the rareness, but I know some people who'd have nothing to do with that. Doneness aside, this burger was just about everything I expected. It was juicy. It was greasy. It was messy. It was good. Served on a white, squishy, toasted sesame seed bun, the beef was nicely seasoned and each patty was topped with a slice of melted, gooey American cheese. The lettuce and tomato inside gave it a decent amount of crunch, while the mushrooms and onions added just the right bit of flavor. As for the B7 sauce --a glorified Thousand Island-- it was just OK. It provided a hint of tang, but the main thing it succeeded in doing was making the burger that much sloppier. But I'm not knocking the slop --I liked it-- and the bun held together pretty well through the whole thing, soaking up all the greasy, juicy goodness. And we had a load of napkins, too.  (FYI, the B7 sauce comes on all the burgers, so if you ain't down with it, be sure to tell them to nix it.) Matt agreed with my assessment on the burger, and enjoyed his as well....with one big caveat. Now, Burger 7 has a sizable list of free and premium toppings, but there's one, huuuuge, glaring omission. There's no bacon. Oh yeah, they have turkey bacon, but don't even bring that noise. Turkey bacon is NOT bacon. Bacon comes from a pig. Turkey is a friggin' bird. Not the same. And, as expected, it did not go over well with Matt. The words "limp," "chewy," and "blah" were uttered, while we prefer "salty," "crispy," and "glorious" used when describing our bacon. Our advice to Burger 7: get some pork on the menu ASAP. There's gotta be some healthy pigs out there. As for the sides, we were split on our orders. The fries we had were pretty good. We got the regular (sweet potato is also available) and they were freshly cut, fried up in olive oil and nicely salted. Not crispy, but not soggy either. We'd definitely order them again. Pass on the onion crisps though-- they're a salt-overload, and, after only a top-most layer of actual onions, we were left with a tray of crunchy, salty crumbs. The good ones we did manage to get out of the order would have made for a nice burger topping, but surprisingly, they were missing from the list. You can also top off your fries or crisps with cheddar cheese or chili. (Totally missed this when we placed our order-- woulda been all over it.) In addition to the burgers and sides, Burger 7 offers up "sliders," hot dogs and what look like pretty solid shakes (made with organic milk, of course) . The prices were ok-- a two-pattied cheeseburger with fries and a soda runs a little over 10 bucks. Seems to be in line with most of the other fast food-y, alterna-burger joints like Z Burger, Five Guys and Elevation. And speaking of Elevation, which seems to be what Burger 7 most closely resembles, I liked the burger from these new guys better. From my experience, Elevation's fries are too soggy, the burgers on the small-ish side and, overall, not worth the price. Burger 7 trumps them on all fronts. While we can't call it one of the best, we have to say that Burger 7 serves up a really, really decent fast-food style burger. It won't blow you away, but it's tasty and fills you up and that's what we expect, and want, from this type of burger joint. It's a solid addition to the Falls Church scene, but they need to get some pig on that menu soon. Maybe then they can be as boisterous as this.   Burger 7 | 7505 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church | 703-442-8777 | www.burgerseven.com