Load up on the condiments when you go to Tasty Burger, now open in Shaw. (Photo by Christina Sturdivant)

I’m a self-proclaimed condiment connoisseur. I trace my love for dips and sauces back to my high school days—friends and I frequented our neighborhood carryout and drenched our chicken wings with the best dressing known to man, mumbo sauce: D.C.’s favorite condiment. When I learned that Tasty Burger, a Boston-based franchise whose burgers and fries are accompanied by more than 15 condiments, was opening in Shaw, I was elated.

And, as it turns out, Tasty Burger said it’d have mumbo sauce (which I believe was invented D.C., while some may say Chicago) on the menu.

As part of a media invitation, I visited the restaurant with my friend Jay. After we ordered three sandwiches, fries, and onion straws (which the restaurant shamefully labels as onion rings), I asked the waitress for all of the condiments on offer, including the signature mumbo sauce. A few minutes later, co-founder David DuBois informed us that he could not honor that request. No mumbo sauce.

Devastating.

The restaurant’s saucier isn’t in-house, DuBois explained, which means they had to send him the mumbo sauce recipe to produce in 200-gallon batches. “It didn’t translate well,” he continued, noting that the contractor is a former employee of Heinz and creates many of Tasty Burger’s condiments to perfection. But after several failed attempts at producing mumbo sauce, DuBois realized that some people just don’t get it, saying, “They think it’s duck sauce with ketchup in it.”

The trained chef, who says he’s up to his knees in mumbo sauce after sampling from several of the city’s carryouts, now thinks that this is one condiment that must be mixed in the Shaw kitchen: “I’m just nervous about putting that one thing out. I want people to go ‘Mmmm… that’s good’,” he says.

Most of the condiments placed on each table are the standard commercial varieties of mustard, ketchup, malt vinegar, and so forth, but there are also two standout items: Tasty’s own homemade spicy tomato ketchup and fry seasoning. The ketchup has a satisfying kick compared to its traditional counterpart, as expected. The fry seasoning, however, was a surprise. I assumed that it would mimic seasoned salt, but after dusting our half-and-half basket of fries and “onion rings”, we instantly picked up sweet notes courtesy of the sugar, cinnamon, and brown sugar in the mix. This made for a delicious addition of sweetness to the onions, but I still prefer straight-up salt on my russets.

Tasty Burger’s zesty housemade condiments. (Photo by Christina Sturdivant)

A sampling of other sauces from the kitchen—barbecue sauce, honey mustard, blue cheese, nitro sauce, spicy blue cheese (a mix of blue cheese and nitro), and Tasty Sauce—was a toss-up. While I’ve never been a fan of barbecue sauce as a dip, this one had a good balance between sweet and tangy; the other sauces were underwhelming—too thin and lacking character.

As far as food goes—clearly secondary on my list of priorities—Tasty Burger offers sufficient options for sandwiches and sides (not to mention a full bar, which is not available at the Boston locations). The Big Tasty, an all-beef patty topped with American cheese, lettuce, red onion, tomato, and Tasty Sauce, served on a bun from Gold Crust Baking Company in nearby Landover, was a good size and tasted fresh. The veggie burger, an original recipe, according to a cook, was a bit of a miss for Jay: “It wasn’t spectacular—it tastes like a veggie option that needed to be on the menu for people who don’t eat meat.”

We got some burgers, fries, and onion straws to go with our condiments. (Photo by Christina Sturdivant)

The crispy chicken sandwich, which we shared, turned out to be a split decision in more ways that one. Jay’s conclusion is that “you can’t really mess up a chicken sandwich,” but I think the chipotle mayo would have been better served on the bottom of the bun, layered under the toppings, because the sauce soaked into the fried chicken, causing the sandwich to lose its crisp factor.

Shaw is one of two neighborhoods that DuBois “really fell in love with” when he scouted the city for locations about four years ago (he also had his eye on Navy Yard). “Everybody was like ‘You’re crazy, you got to go to 14th Street or Dupont Circle,’” says DuBois. “Tasty’s is neighborhood place—it wasn’t about making a statement for the brand, it was about being in D.C. in a place that we like.” Since Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Georgia Avenue recently closed, Tasty Burger should fill a void with hungry Howard University students and other locals.

And in Tasty Burger tradition, customers can also order via a to-go window, something that D.C. customers have told DuBois is unique in the city.

Tasty Burger is located at 2108 8th Street NW.