21 April 2013

#139: BurgerFi

Date Visited: 10 April 2013

Meal: Dinner

Diners: Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience: We’d heard there was another high-end burger place in Leesburg that might give Melt some competition, so off we went to try BurgerFi.

For review, there are twelve restaurants now open in the Village at Leesburg: Flame Kabob, Faang Thai, Noodles & Company, Travinia Italian Kitchen, Eggspectation, Finnegan’s, Firebirds, Pinkberry, King Pinz (yes, they have a restaurant), Cobb Theater (yes, a real restaurant too), Wegmans (yeah, it's technically a restaurant), and the subject of this review, BurgerFi!

BurgerFi is a relatively new chain with about 36 locations nationwide, and the name is short for “Burgerfication of the Nation.” In their own words, “BurgerFi picks up where the other ‘better burger’ franchises leave off. First, BurgerFi focuses on all-natural, grass-fed beef. We do this because it tastes better, and it's better for you- with no chemicals, and no additives. Also, where others limit their menu to just the basic, no-frills options, BurgerFi has built a menu with specialty items like Kobe beef hot dogs, gourmet toppings, delectable desserts, craft beer & wine, and an overall focus on a healthier menu selection.”

For this inaugural visit, all three of us selected the BurgerFi Cheesburger (“Double Natural Angus burger, double American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and BurgerFi sauce”), and also paid extra for the Hickory Bacon (naturally!) These were indeed tasty burgers! We all remarked on the perfectly grilled patties and cheese melted all over. The BurgerFi sauce is some kind of ketchup-mayonnaise mix and helped bring out all the flavors. As an extra touch, the buns are toasted and branded with the BurgerFi logo on top. Being double burgers, we were plenty satisfied. We also got a large order of Crispy Onion Rings, which lived up to their name and were some of the thickest, fattest, sweetest, tastiest rings we’ve ever had. Wendy ordered an additional “Cry & Fries,” which is a combo basket of some Crispy Onion Rings and Fresh Cut Fries. She added the Salt & Vinegar topping too, which she said was nice and evenly distributed over the whole thing. The fries were hot, crispy, and dense. Andy got a Vanilla Shake, which we all judged kind of average, and maybe a touch too sweet.

Overall, we liked BurgerFi a lot and will certainly be coming back. There is plenty of seating both indoors and out. We still think Melt is the best in the gourmet burger category, but Melt is closed on Sundays and BurgerFi is open!

Location: 1608 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg, VA, 20176, 703-669-3300

Web site: http://burgerfi.com/

Total bill: $49.60