September 24, 2008
The New Alley Burger?
The media has long been hovering around former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn and his D.C. burger joint, Good Stuff Eatery. The latest is this WTOP report about health violations at the restaurant. According to the story, the restaurant was cited for storing beef in the alley behind the restaurant; photos of buns by the dumpster have apparently surfaces. Mendelsohn explained that they were in the alley for only a few minutes after a delivery.
Other citations recently received by Good Stuff included things like hand washing facilities not being accessible to employees, cutting board that were not properly sanitized, and food not properly segregated, separated and protected.
These types of citations are fairly commonplace in the industry; Mendelsohn just happens to be a celebrity. In a way, he appears to be a victim of his own media machine and success. Even so, he may want to consider emptying out some extra space in his ugly hat storage room for food supplies.
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ouch. bitter much?
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Look past the high-ass hipster factor and you'll find the food here is really good. The burgers are a bit small by comparison to the giant monstrosities we are used to, but very good. The fries and onion rings are some of the best I've ever had.
What's equally astonishing is the speed of service. Lines are often long, but they really get you in and out pretty darn fast.
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"Storing beef in the alley?" Is that what they're calling buttsecks now? You kids with your dope, fresh lingo.
I guess they must have improved the service speed since opening, since that was a major complaint. But I dunno, there still seems to be a lot of bitching about the lines.
The dude @ the Good Stuff Eatery has a mural that mocks Ray Kroc, but apparently thinks it's perfectly okay to wait 30 minutes to ORDER, and then another 15 or so to get your food. I guess Hill staffers have 2 hours to get to and from lunch.
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In the first link, change:
href=http://goodstuffeatery.com/'
to:
href=http://goodstuffeatery.com/
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ha! Spike does love those fugly hats.
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I can say, I was one of the first customers when good stuff opened up who was agreeing with everyone that the food was subpar and the time and lines were really not worth it. That being said, I've been back twice since all the mania had died down and it is more like a regular burger place, and the service is great and the food has definitely improved as well. Still a little over priced, but it is good stuff. OMG, good stuff. lolz.
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No offense, but these types of citations aren't "fairly commonplace" in the industry.
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OK, now change:
http://goodstuffeatery.com/"
to:
href=http://goodstuffeatery.com/
or to:
href="http://goodstuffeatery.com/"
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I wouldn't be surprised if he is having conflicts with his neighbors. I was going there a week or so ago, and one of the friends I was with decided he'd rather go to a place with table service. As we were walking away, someone from GSE yelled at us, "If you want table service, go next door. If you want good food, come here." That is not the way to endear yourself to your neighbors.
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food properly segregated?
wtf, yo? i thought brown v. board of education of topeka ended that practice.
guess this nation is slipping backwards.
next thing you know, kkk burger will be opening locations on h street, georgia avenue, and at the corner of minnesota and benning...
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my six word review - food good, prices not, size small.
think these are more "new business" growing pains than anything else, these things are only "fairly commonplace if you're Steak n Egg Kitchen (yes I pick on them a lot, for good reason)
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I CAN HAZ ALLEYBURG... ah, hell with it.
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I am on Spike's Good Eatery list and they just came out with the Back Alley Burger. The man is a good cook, the burgers rock and now it's confirmed he has a sense of humor. Something a lot of DC restaurants lack.
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food properly segregated?
As in not storing the steaks on top of the cruelty-free freerange tofu, and not using the same cauldron you boiled the pig's blood in for your salad tossing.
n-th level vegans can get kinda bitchy about that stuff.
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these things are only "fairly commonplace if you're Steak n Egg Kitchen (yes I pick on them a lot, for good reason)
If you keep picking at them, they'll never heal.
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