Date Visited: 4 May 2012
Meal: Dinner
Diners: 2 - Me and Wendy
Experience: Melt has been open for about a month now. They are located in the Bellewood Commons shopping center, in the location recently vacated by Quiznos. Other restaurants there include Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Red Kabob, Papa John’s, and Josefina Market. Melt is owned by Debbie and Steve Hancotte, and Debbie makes it clear to inquisitive guests that this is NOT a chain! Melt has an extensive burger menu, categorized into “All-American Premium Beef Burgers” (Classic, Bacon, Bacon/Blue, Create-your-own), “Additional Gourmet Burgers” (Crab, Tuna, Lamb, Turkey, Veggie), and “Kicked-Up Gourmet Burgers” (Tex-Mex, Paris, Hatch Chile, Diner, Caprese, Swiss). There are also lots of sides, milkshakes, malts, floats, and endless other options.
We got one order of the Serious Melt Fries (“Our Delicious Crispy Fries topped with melted Tillamook Cheddar Cheese”) to share. My first reaction was what a generous serving size it was. Taste-wise, there was something about the combination of their perfectly crispy fries, and this particularly silky cheddar cheese, with a little pepper, that made these perhaps the best cheese fries I’ve ever had. Next time, I think I’ll try the Decadent Fries (“Seared Foie Gras & Crumbled Bacon”) - wow.
I ordered the Bacon/Blue Cheeseburger (“a Bacon Cheeseburger with Imported Gorgonzola Blue Cheese, Balsamic Glazed Onions, Crispy Bacon, Fresh Lettuce, Sliced Red Ripe Tomato and a Touch of Our Own Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing”). All Melt burgers are made of “aged, hand trimmed, 100% Angus Beef,” and I thought the quality was noticeable. Melt cooks all burgers medium-rare to medium unless you request otherwise. This is another gourmet touch that was executed perfectly - this is the way burgers are meant to be cooked and eaten! The Gorgonzola Blue Cheese was a thick slab (maybe ¼”), not a thin, wimpy slice. They also manage to keep the bacon crispy (mmm... bacon)! Which brings us to the bun - they bake them fresh, on-site, twice daily, and are unlike any other burger bun I’ve ever had. Deelish!
Wendy got the Paris Burger (“our Premium Beef Burger, Char-Grilled with Roasted Garlic, topped with Melted French Brie, Balsamic Glazed Onions, Baby Spinach and a Smear of Dijon Mustard”). She noticed that when you squeeze down on the bun, your fingers don’t just go right through it. She also appreciated the “wonderful combination of different tastes.” The Melt burgers are huge, and with the medium-rare cooking you might think the juice would be going all over the place. As we were finishing, Wendy noticed that there was hardly any grease dripped onto our plates. This is high-quality beef, cooked right!
On top of the food quality, the atmosphere and service were delightful. Debbie came out to check on us and chat a bit, making us feel right at home; she is a very perky lady too! If it sounds like I’m gushing over Melt, well, I guess I am; it was so refreshingly good in many ways. You can check out the Yelp reviews which confirm this. We felt that Melt totally lives up to their byline of “Gourmet Cheeseburgers.” You do pay a bit of a premium for this experience, but it is good value. We felt quite pleasantly full when we finished. Go visit Melt right away!
Location: 525 E. Market St., Suite J, Leesburg, VA, 20176-4171, 703-443-2105
Website: http://meltgourmetcheeseburgers.com/
Total bill: $30.05
3 comments:
We were anxious to try MELT out as we had heard it was the "new" burger joint in Leesburg. We went to MELT tonight, May 11, arriving at about 5:15pm. We placed our order at the counter and were ready to dig into a great meal. We ordered a Classic burger a cheeseburger, one order of fries with cheese and two canned sodas, totalling $26.95. I was quite disappointed with my burger. The oversized bun is too big to bit into. The fries, previously frozen were served with what looked like queso, not gooey cheddar cheese. The cheese was brought to the table in a plastic to go box and poured onto the fries. Yuck!! MELT does not offer a fair value for the price. There isn't a fountain system for beverages, so sorry kids, no free refills. When we asked about silverware, the girl who berought our food just pointed to the back of the restaurant and we had to get it. The plasticware is cheap and flimsy and needs to be upgraded. As far as service or a manager availability it is non-existent. We visited MELT and took them off of our Bucket List. I see a MELTdown coming. For my money I am going to go back across Main Street to Tenderjacks, where I can get a great burger, hand-cut fries and fountain beverages, plus the service from a very knowledgeable staff. Adios MELT.
Bill:
I'm so sorry your experience was not up to expectations. As you see in my review, our experience was almost exactly opposite. The challenge in a "gourmet" restaurant is to deliver high quality food very consistently. Maybe they were just having an "off" day, or something went wrong. I urge you to give them another try. We'll do the same and see what we find.
Thanks for commenting!
Check out Blaire Elizabeth's great photos of Melt behind the scenes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/not_arealphotographer/sets/72157629949200203/with/7135813949/
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