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Update: Washington City Paper's Tim Carman followed up with Ray's Owner Michael Landrum, who told Carman that there are no plans to open a Hell Burger in Adams Morgan. He chalks up the chatter to his business relationship with property owner Wilma Roumel, who he is assisting with modernizing the space. However, he is not ruling out a location there in the future.
So Ray's Hell Burger is going to open in Adams Morgan. If the emailed tips in my inbox are any indication, a lot of folks are pretty psyched about this news. You know, because 18th Street isn't already sufficiently stuffed to the gills with too many people waiting in lines.
In all earnestness: yum! Not having to trek out to Arlington to get one of these famous burgers will be awesome. We just wish Michael Landrum had considered moving in to a neighborhood that's maybe slightly less conducive to chaos. It's been tough enough to get a seat in the original location since President Obama and Vice President Biden ate there. To that end, we're also intrigued by this little scooplet from the WashBizJo: Landrum is also planning a new Ray’s the Steaks in Northeast D.C. Hell yes.
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Never been there. Is there any reason to go to them over 5 guys?
I'm not really a fan of Five Guys so you can take this how you want. Ray's has an amazing array of toppings with really high quality cheese. Bone marrow and foie gras if you like that kind of thing. Also the blend of meats used comes from the trimmings from his steak house and other whole cuts. I've watched them bring out the pieces to grind. They're gorgeous. If you like thick, juicy, cooked to order burgers then YES. If you like being overcharged for McDonald's type burgers than... maybe not.
Five Guys is to Ray's as Mussolini is to Hitler. They're both sinister, but nobody talks about how something is "worse than Mussolini."
Ray's Hell Burger blows Five Guys away - the 10 oz. patties are HUGE and taste great.
That being said, I'm a little concerned that the Ray's model isn't exactly going to mesh with the Adams Morgan scene. One of the best things about Ray's is that it's NOT fast food. The burgers at Ray's usually take 15-20 minutes to cook, and making drunk folks wait that long for a hamburger has trouble written all over it.
True, but the demographic for that area is spot on. It's a good business model, if "trouble" is properly managed.
There are actually people that live in Adams Morgan that are not always drunk and looking for a burger at 2AM. Ray's will do great there during the week and at normal dinner times.
Can they possibly compete with the jumbo slice places?
Jumbo Slice Pizza Meets Ray's Hell Burger. I hope Jim Graham is on top of this!
I think Ray's is a bit too classy for Adams Morgan. Adams Morgan is really nothing more than a half-way cleaned-up slum.
Yeah, but the half that is clean is pretty nice. Kinda like if the East Village didn't have all those @$$hole New Yorkers in it.
This is great. There is a dearth of good burger opportunities in the area. The regional burger vaccuum enlargened with the recent closure of the Childe Harold and the vanishing of its delicious black & blue burger.
awesome! i live in the neighborhood and am psyched. have never felt like trekking out to the virginia location, but i've heard great things.
like runningtwig said, not every restaurant in adams morgan is jumbo slice/amsterdam falafel. there are actually some really good finer dining establishments (a few ON 18th street, even!) and i think ray's will be an excellent addition.
Oh. Word. I think overall, this is great success. But I share others' concerns about whether the finer touches of a Ray's Hell Burger will be lost on Pops McCollar and the rest of the Phi Delts on a projectile-vomitous Saturday night. If it were me, and it ain't, I would open my shop off the main strip, say up Columbia towards Dupont a piece, and close at 11 or 12.
I'm actually suprised the vegitrolls haven't showed up to whine about how hamburgers are stampeding our wives and raping our livestock.
where does it say that it will be open at 2-3 AM like jumbo slice, mcdonalds, etc in Adams Morgan. I think this place is going to do extremely well during the daytime. I would love this if I was hungover and didnt wait to wait for a table at Bourbon.
hell yeah
I've always thought a poutine stand would do well in Adams Morgan. I'd want to use the high-quality cheese curds so the profit margin wouldn't be tremendous, but I think we could make up for it in volume. Anyone wanna go in with me on this?
I had the poutine at Pommes Frites in NYC. This place would make bank in DC. Tiny space, couple of chairs, they fry right in front of you, buncha different dipping sauces. DC needs this AND the teppanyaki big-goddamned-meat-and-WTFever-pancakes bars.
Oh wow, poutine would be so perfect for Adams Morgan. If I weren't so lazy, I'd go in on this with you.
Woops. I meant for that to go up above, in response to the post by Skittles.
I dunno....I'm happy overall that they're moving to AdMo, but 10oz seems just a wee bit too big for a burger. In fact, that's just outright huge. Do they have a junior burger?!
They do have a junior burger, but it's only available on the kids menu. Plus you have to wear a skirt and pigtails in your hair.
I have no qualms in doing so. Thanks for the info!
disproven by Washington City paper. try the Black Squirrel burger instead.
Ha! I knew it was too good to be true. Way to piss in everyone's frenchfries.
Ray's the Junkpunch will still be opening next Summer in Swampoodle, hopefully in time for National Junkpunch Day.
Aw, hamburgers.
This is not okay.
I feel junkpunched.