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Today Eater reported on a rumor about a possible lawsuit brought against Spike Mendelsohn-owned Good Stuff Eatery in Capitol Hill by D.C. area-based burger chain Five Guys, as discussed on the blog Amuse-Biatch. Here's what they wrote:
Spike’s dad stands at the door and loves to make conversation... He likes to talk to everyone and told me and my friends that the restaurant is being sued by DC chain Five Guys since the burger “Spike’s Five Napkin Burger” sounds too much like something they have. Spike’s dad didn’t go into details, but he said that he was delighted to be sued and hoped it would bring in publicity.We heard from Spike's sister, Micheline Mendelsohn, who confirmed that there is no such lawsuit and that the story is not true. She said she has fielded about 10 phone calls on the matter. It's unclear how such a rumor could even be believed anyway, since not only is it almost impossible to copyright a recipe, but also the Five Napkin Burger is served with cheese, applewood bacon, and a fried egg on brioche -- not exactly like anything Five Guys serves. Hopefully it won't take more than five napkins to clear this one up.
Photo by Greg McElhatton
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don't worry, america. your hipster-burger is safe....
....for now.
Anyone know if it takes less than an hour to get your food at Good Stuff yet? I'd like to give it a try.
That's a great pic. It looks like the burger is pooping itself.
Spike was a douche on TV, is he any better in real life?
Egg on a burger? Hmm. Well If you're looking for breakfast at Dulles Airport before catching your 8 a.m. flight, you pop by either of the two Five Guys locations in the terminal and order a bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg on it. Ya know, for breakfast. It has egg on it, right?
Maybe it's not brioche, but Good Stuff just can't satisfy my early-morning-artery-clogging-beef/pork/dairy/egg-desires. Slackers.
Know what's missing from that picture? A couple of diaphragms. Rest assured you'll never be served an incontinent burger at IHOT. Can I recommend our signature Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity Twatwaffle? Goes great with Ma Twatwaffles Kentucky Flayed Chicken. Every mouthful is searing agony. Fries extra.
Wait, wait, wait....there's a burger I can get in this city that has cheese, applewood bacon, and a fried egg on brioche?!?!?!?! Why isn't this begin, middle, and end of this story!?!?!?
(excrement+food) OR (prophylactics+food) = comment gold?
please show all your work, class.
I tried Good Stuff last week. Count me as a non-believer. The burgers are really small for the price. If you live/work on the hill and you have a burger and fries craving, I suggest the the Johnny Rockets at Union Station.
You can't copyright a recipe but you can certainly have a trademark on a name..
Red Robin has a good burger with a fried egg on it.
When's Matchbox opening their Eastern Market location? And why can't the Capitol of the Free World have a Big Kahuna Burger? WTF?
The lines at Good Stuff are definitely shorter now, I'd go check it out. I thought it was good. It's definitely nice to have another lunch option on the Hill.
Man, it would be nice to have a good lunch option on the hill that wasn't full of hill staffer douchenozzles... count me out on Spike's (aaaand it's not that good)
Sorry but
5 Guys > *
at least on the East Coast...can't comment about In-And-Out
Uh, this is news, why?
I will say that I LOVE to grab a salad at Cosi and sit outside watching the line up outside Good Stuff waiting to get in like some kid waiting on Christmas morning. They're ever SO amusing with the pretention and absolutely inane chatter. It's like some twisted National Geographic special on the arcane habits of the strange tribe of humans that history wishes it could forget.
Well, lawsuit or no, it apparently is bringing them that publicity, with a mention on DCist and at least two other blogs. Publicity stunt, perhaps?
Fuck Burgers - they went out with the Little Taverns. What this town needs is a Wahoo's Fish Tacos!
like some kid waiting on Christmas morning
Only slightly related: I went by Georgetown Cupcake this weekend, and the line was out the door and up the block. With a thunderstorm looming overhead. Now I've been to Magnolia, so I guess I'm guilty of this, too, but ... really. They're cupcakes. You're standing in line to sink your teeth into a handful of soft sweet preciousness. To top it off, my friend in Manhattan told me that cupcakes are so last year. Now it's all about Pinkberry, which started in LA, I guess.
I wish I was a visionary. I wish I could drop my pants and shit out the next Big Ridiculous Thing. How about ice cream floats? The servers could wear funny paper hats. The root beer would be made from real sarsaparilla. The ice cream would be made from the breast milk of a Scandinavian pastry chef. $17.50 a glass. Fuck you, get in line.
I wish I could drop my pants and shit out the next Big Ridiculous Thing. How about ice cream floats?
IHOT has been serving "Pinch Loaf Floats" since forever, and toppings are FREE. (Try the corn and celery.) Based on an old Henry Ford recipe. Apparently, the old antisemite liked to mix a concoction of heavy cream, sugar, and rock salt and ram the whole mixture up his ass. Then, he'd seal his rectum shut with a piece of duct tape and curl up in a fetal tuck in the icebox. When the guests arrived, he'd burst forth, leap on the table, and offer everyone a complimentary bowl. "Any flavor you want. As long as it's chocolate."
A hundred years later and his company's bankrupt. They need to go back to the antisemitism and icecream biz, iffen you ask me.
Pretty sure the line out the door at G'town Cupcake had to do with Frank Bruni's piece in the NY Times last week where he raved about their cupcakes. Just a hunch.
Excellent post, Monkey. Way to tie in Ford's famous 'any color you want' mantra.
It's so good there...I keep going back. The line isnt that bad and it's a pleasant wait, any way. I've actually met some cool people. Spike is such a nice guy. I'm glad he's not getting sued. It would be sad to see Good Stuff go, it's gotten alot of us excited.
Went there last week and I was definitely underwhelmed, I order a plain cheeseburger with bacon, and while the meat was very nicely done medium well with just a light pink look to it, the bottom of the bun was so soggy I had to peel it off the paper and the bacon tasted like it was precooked. I have not tried any of the specialty burgers.
"Man, it would be nice to have a good lunch option on the hill that wasn't full of hill staffer douchenozzles... count me out on Spike's (aaaand it's not that good)"
They'd probably flock to a bar that was named "Douchenozzles". Hmmmm, I smell easy money!
So long as it served $2 Miller Lites, you could name it "Hill Interns Blow Dogs for Nickels" and they'd still flock to the place.
In the battle between drinking-on-the-cheap and dignity, guess which one wins?
umm... Awesome reporting dude!
In other breaking news, my brother's landlord's girlfriend's neighbor's maid thinks that the Falafel place has the best fries in DC... and they stole the recipe from Five Guys.
This dude goes to "culinary" school and he opens a fucking burger joint?
What a fucking moron.
NONE of these people going on TV want to be Chefs. They want to be celebrities. They dont want the long hours with low pay. They want to write cook books and go on TV.
Fuckem. I have more respect for the El Salvadorian line cooks, bus boys and dishwashers then I have for morons like "Spike".
Give me Five Guys, or Weenie Beenie or better yet Little Tavern but get rid of this pretentious yuppie dressed burger place.
Just a hunch.
Yes, yes, I know about the Times article. DC upstages NY, etc. But you and I both know that that article merely fanned the flames of cupcake trendiness. If we beat Manhattan at a silly game, it's still a silly game.