Lamb is on the menu this April at Red Apron Burger Bar. (Photo by Red Apron Burger Bar)
Dish of the Week: Lamb burgers
Where to get it: Red Apron Burger Bar, Busboys and Poets, Bourbon Steak, Desperados, Codmother
With Passover beginning today and Easter coming next Sunday, many restaurants are focused on one of the season’s most popular proteins: lamb. Tradition favors a roasted leg or shoulder, but lamb is also great as a juicy burger.
Most lamb burgers take inspiration from the flavors of the Middle East or the Mediterranean, pairing the protein’s subtle gamey flavor with plenty of herbs and spices (like parsley and oregano) and yogurt-based sauces. Here’s where to find these delectable burgers around the city:
For the month of April, Red Apron Burger Bar (1323 Connecticut Ave. NW) is featuring a doner-spiced lamb burger topped with harissa mayo (it has a real kick to it), oregano yogurt, iceburg lettuce, and not-to-sweet pickles on a challah bun. Like the restaurant’s beef patties, the lamb is sourced from Virginia. In this case, it’s from Heritage Hollow in Sperryville. And although it’s on a limited run for now, Red Apron head butcher Nathan Anda admits he originally had much bigger plans for the sandwich but ran into supply issues.
“This lamb burger was something that we had actually hoped to put on our regular menu when we opened,” he says. There are no concrete plans for it to stick around after the end of the month, so get it while you can.
The sprawling menu at Busboys and Poets (multiple D.C. locations) includes a lamb burger that channels Greece with onions, parsley, tomatoes, cucumber, and a garlic-yogurt sauce. It all comes stuffed inside an herbed pita bread, and a Middle Eastern-syle tabbouleh salad can be substituted for fries at no charge. The “El Griego” at Desperados Burgers & Bar (1342 U St. NW) is a similar style. It’s made from ground leg of lamb seasoned with cumin, mint, and garlic and finished with feta cheese, onion, and tzatziki sauce.
If dive bars and burgers are appealing, check out the subterranean Codmother (1334 U St. NW), which despite its name serves up a tasty lamb burger on its short menu of fish and chips, bar food, and beer-and-a-shot combos.
For a decidedly classier option, look no further than the lounge at Bourbon Steak (2800 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) inside the posh Four Seasons hotel. The upscale burger menu here includes a berbere-spiced lamb patty with confit tomatoes, pan-seared onions, tzatziki sauce and feta. It comes paired with a choice of truffle-Parmesan duck fat fries or a salad, plus a seasonal cookie, for $22.
