Taste Testing Our Way Through BRB’s Potential New Burgs

27
Jan
2012
Just six months old, Be Right Burger is already in the process of a menu makeover, looking to add, and subtract, some burgers from their lineup. The fast-casual joint in Reston Town Center (a second, larger location is coming to The Yards in D.C. later this year), sent out a survey last November, asking for the public's input on some new creations. After much, and we imagine delicious, deliberation, the BRB team has narrowed down the field to nine burger finalists. Always eager to spit our burger knowledge, when the Crew was contacted by BRB and invited to taste test the final nine, we didn't hesitate to RSVP with an enthusiastic "hell yes." On tasting day, it took us under two hours to plow through nine burgers, leaving us stumbling out of American Tap Room with a serious case of the meat sweats. Two weeks later, with the final bits of beef just now leaving our systems, we present you with a sneak peek of the burgers that may, or may not, make the final cut on BRB's new menu.  

Burger 1: Wildfire

The Wildfire is BRB's Italian take on a burger, hooking up provolone, ham, jalapeno and peperoncini on a ciabatta bun. Simple and neat, the Wildfire comes sans sauce, so there wasn't a whole lotta mess to this burger. The Crew was split on this one, but three members ranked it among the best they had on the day.  

Burger 2: The 'Shrooms

Your typical 'shroom burger with Swiss, bacon and sautéed mushroom, BRB adds a bit of a fancy with some rosemary, arugula and a garlic aioli. It got points for the crispy bacon and tasty garlicky spread, but it fell flat for some and didn't win over the whole Crew.  

Burger 3: Macho Nacho

Swap out a plate full of tortilla chips for a bun and a slab of beef and that about sums up the Macho Nacho. Monterey Jack, avocado, refried beans and jalapenos get piled on top of a burger and it proved to be one of the Crew's top picks of  'em all.  Burger Days #3 Pick (tie)  

Burger 4: Cuban

Now this was a surprising performer. The Cubano/burger hybrid brings all the standard ingredients –Swiss, ham, pickles and yellow mustard– drops them on some beef and slaps it between pressed French bread (though ours was served on a regular bun.) Regardless of the bread, this burger proved to be a Crew favorite, even winning over some of the most anti-mustard of the group. It received almost universal high marks and we hope it makes the final cut. Burger Days #2 Pick  

Burger 5: The Couch Potato

The rock star of the group, the Couch Potato's description alone makes it worthy of a menu addition. Borrowing a page out of a certain Iron Chef's playbook, the burger takes kettle chips and puts them atop blue cheese, bacon, sautéed onions and more of that tasty garlic aioli. The key here is the extra crunch from the kettle chips--  no crumbs or shitty potato dust on this one. The chips added a great mouthfeel to each bite and even though some might see it as a gimmick, it's a tasty gimmick that works. We'd be shocked if this didn't end up on the new menu. Burger Days #1 Pick  

Burger 6: Orchard

Another burger with a less-than-conventional make-up is the Orchard. It's not often we run into a topping we've never had before, but the sautéed apples on this one was a first for the entire Crew. Maple bacon, cheddar, red onions and Dijon accompanied the apples on toasted, buttered sourdough. We dug the whole, fresh mix, but don't go thinking this is some light and dainty burger-- we went through a stack and a half of napkins wiping the butter from our hands after this one. The Orchard gets our seal of approval. Burger Days #3 Pick (tie)  

Burger 7:  Bison Burger

Ahh, the first non-beef burger of the night was also the first burger that didn't make any of the Crew's top picks. That's not to say this burger didn't try. The buffalo was topped with super-duper fancy Cabernet caramelized onions, white Wisconsin cheddar and Dijon. It was by far the hoity-est toity-est (yeah, those aren't words) burger of the bunch, and it might have succeeded if not for the bison. Most of the Crew agreed the leanness of the meat took away from what could have been a solid burg.  

Burger 8: Spicy Lamb Burger

Continuing with the non-traditional burgers, this lamb creation was all dressed up with mint, cilantro, feta, molasses and red pepper flakes. It was alright-- we'd even so far as to say it was good, though our affinity for the beef makes every other meat take a back seat. And because of our lack of objectiveness when it comes to non-cow burgers, the spicy lamb did not show up on any of the Crew's list of favorites.  

Burger 9: Sesame Citrus Tuna Burger

Oh Lordy. The first and, thankfully, only one of the group that failed our definition of "burger."  We've ranted before about the term "burger" being thrown around too loosely-- we're firm believers of only four-legged animals earning the title. But semantics aside, what really shocked us here was that, while comparing notes, we discovered one member* of the Crew deemed this sucker one of his faves. Yeah, holy shit is right. Anyway, this fish sandwich brings wasabi-yuzu dressed arugula and wasabi mayo on the tuna served on a ciabatta roll. (*Send us your resumes, we just might have a spot in the Crew opening up.)  
  The ETA on the new burgers has still yet to be determined, but the Be Right Burger folks tell us they're working on the timeline and hope to debut them sometime in the next month. No word on how many of the above burgs will earn a spot in their new lineup. Be Right Burger | Reston Town Center | 1820 Discovery Street | Reston | eatbrb.com | @eatbrb



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