When I decided to go on the hunt for the best burger in DC, I promised myself I would be true and honest to the process. I would, to the best of my abilities, remove all bias and provide my unvarnished opinions. It is with this in mind that I decided I must provide an update on the burger that started it all at Trio. Last night, after a very long and drawn out week, The Boy and I decided to pick up a couple of burgers from Trio (and dessert…but we’re not here to discuss my ever increasing sweet tooth). I had already had Trio’s burgers twice (and obviously loved them…leading to this mad, wonderful, beef fueled quest), so I wasn’t thinking of this trek as a part of the Great DC Burger Hunt series. Because I wasn’t planning on reviewing it, I decided to opt for their Mushroom Swiss Bacon burger. When we got home, I happily sat down to this lovely looking burger…and was utterly disappointed. Oh yes, you read that right…I was disappointed.
I will admit, I was floored…flumoxed…shaken to the very burger core. Wait, okay…let me start from the beginning. First off, I took these pictures of the burger with the intent of captioning them “The Lovely Burger That Started It All…” But when I looked at the burger closer, I noticed the bun wasn’t shiny like Stoney’s or even DC Chophouse’s burger buns. But I did notice the even toasting of the bread. As you can see, the bacon was fully cooked and crisp, but the mushrooms (which you can’t really see) were rather dry looking. In my previous mushroom and swiss burger experiences, the mushrooms are usually sauted in a light sauce before topping the burger. These looked like reconstituted mushrooms or actually dried bits of shoe leather. My heart was starting to sink a little. I looked over at The Boy, who had already bitten into his burger.
“Is it as tasty as we remember?” I asked him, hopeful.
“Ehhh…it’s allright,” was his response.
It’s allright??? Seriously? You mean I have proclaimed how amazing this burger was on my blog and you’re saying “It’s allright”????? Oh this was not good, I thought as I nervously bit into my burger. And sadly, he was right…it was only “allright”. I could barely taste the cheese. Not that it wasn’t present in each bite, but the flavor was missing. A good swiss cheese has a nice bite to it with a silken undertone of quality milk. This swiss cheese had no flavor to it at all. In fact, I may as well have been eating a plain hamburger for all the “flavor” the cheese added to it. Then there was the patty…oh the humanity! The patty had absolutely no seasoning to it at all. Not even salt or pepper from the taste of it. I could still tell that it was fresh ground beef and not a thawed out patty, but that was the only good thing about it. In vein, I took several more bites, hoping the burger would improve. But it didn’t…and that’s just sad.
I wondered, had I imagined the gloriousness of my two previous Trio burgers? Well, no because then that would mean The Boy was also in on my delusions (and that’s just weird). So what could it be? Perhaps Trio was having a bad night…or maybe their carryout burgers aren’t as good? I don’t know how to explain it but all I know is that Trio is in danger of losing it’s top spot. I will try them one more time and if I get another disappointing burger, I will be forced to rate them on that experience and not my previous ones. Ohhh Trio, say it ain’t so!
If it turns out that my first few Trio experiences were an illusion, at least they started this wonderful, crazy almost Monty Pythonesque quest for the best burger in DC, right? Tonight we dine at Kemble Park Tavern and if City Girl DC feels better next week, she’s accompanying me to Palena! So stay tuned!
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a failing for seriously good burgers – could easily join you on this hunt!
Are you going to include Five Guys in your hunt? The boyfriend and I are such burger snobs that we usually make them ourselves when the mood strikes, but a Five Guys burger is always sooo tasty and satisfying to us.
@ Sara – I honestly have never understood people’s obsession with Five Guys. I used to live down the street from one in NC and never cared for them. Their burgers always seemed greasy and flavorless, while the buns were always squished down and soggy. I’ve since tried it a few times in DC and still don’t think they make a good burger. But you’re not the only ones who love them!
@recipes2share – The hunt is always fun when shared
You should try the Full Monte burger at Union Jacks at the Ballston Mall in Arlington. Yes, I know it is not D.C., but it was a very tasty burger.
@ Kelly – I’m looking all over the metro DC area, so thanks for the suggestion
Good Stuff Eatery… GO!
and once Biddy Mulligans opens again, the burgers there are excellent…. but Spike ( of Top Chef fame) opened Good Stuff and they are awesome burgers!