Farm Burger (Athens, GA)

 100 Prince Ave Suite 102, Athens, GA 30601

 

Farm Burger is a chain of "grassfed" burger joints in the South East. It originated in Atlanta and now has 13 locations in 4 different states. The Athens location opened recently so I went with the family to check it out. The menu consists of several different burgers (and build-your-own) and sandwiches, sides, salads, and shakes and floats (as well as some alcoholic drinks).

 

We order a whole lot of different stuff. First, to keep the kids busy, we got a Basket of Fries & Rings ($5.75). The fries were pretty good, the onion rings were mainly fairly flavorless crust.

 

 

 

Then, my wife had The Chicken ($9.25), ground chicken burger, smoked gouda, kale coleslaw, crispy onions, and sherry-date bbq. She liked it. I had the DBL Bacon Burger ($10.99), which included "two 50% beef/50% bacon patties, Tillamook yellow cheddar, grilled onions, pasture-raised bacon, house pickles, and dijon mustard" -- I replaced the mustard with "fb sauce" and skipped on the cheese. Overall, it mostly tasted enormously salty.

 

After all of that, we also got a Seasonal Shake ($6.25), which was strawberry. I had expected it to have fresh strawberries in it, but it was a thick syrup. I was also a bit dismayed by the fact that they made it and poured the relatively small glass full and kept the rest (roughly one-third of what they made). At that price, a bit more would have been appropriate. Then again, it was mostly sweet and not particularly flavorful.

 

VERDICT: 80/100

Farm Burger is an upscale burger chain but the prices rather than the quality are upscale. Most of the dishes were underwhelming and too expensive. I ate at the Decatur location a long time ago and had a pretty similar experience.

Chicken + Whiskey (Washington, DC)

1738 14Th St NW, Washington, DC

Chicken + Whiskey is a hip eatery/bar with a curbside bar at the busy street, one of the top nightlife streets on the weekends-- there is a location in Columbia, MD. At the back is a place for whiskeys but up front is a Latin rotisserie chicken fast-food restaurant that serves a variety of dishes, from various pieces of roasted chicken to sandwiches of different sorts and salads.

I get La Comadre ($9.99), which is an arepa, a deep fried bread in the shape of a pita, which comes with two plantains, a heap of pulled chicken, sofrito, jalapeños, cilantro and aji amarillo mayonnaise. The combinations of flavors is absolutely divine! Unfortunately, the toppings are not well distributed, so the last third is just chicken and maduros (still yummy) but the combination of all flavors was incredible.

 

VERDICT: 98/100

Can’t wait to go back!

Ghostburger (Washington, DC)

1250 9th St NW, Washington, DC

Ghostburger is a kind of pop-up inside an upscale Latin restaurant, Espita, in downtown DC. It was created during the pandemic and still mainly operates as take-away and delivery, but you can also get it inside the restaurant (but you have to ask for the menu). They serve a couple of different burgers, some sandwiches, and sides and desserts.

 

I get the Guacamole ($12) from the Espita menu, which is amazing, and the original Ghostburger ($9) with a single patty and no cheese. The patty is thin but perfectly grilled and goes well with the red onion and dill pickles and the somewhat citrusy “Spooky sauce”. Together with the potato bun, flattened by the grill, it is a very tasty burger.

 

VERDICT: 86/100

While Ghostburgers serves very nice burgers, they are (far) too expensive for what it is, which is essentially the size of a Shake Shack burger.

Nando's PERI PERI (Washington, DC)

1210 18th Street NW, Washington DC 20036

Nando’s PERI PERI is an international chain of South African-type chicken restaurants that does roasted chicken by the piece as well as in bowls and sandwiches. It has a variety of heats and sauces, which can also be found in supermarkets.

 

I get the classic Nando Chicken Breast Sandwich with two sides ($13.99) and a Lemonade ($3.69). The piece of chicken is disappointingly small and the “heat” comes from the sauce rather than the (nice) seasoning. Despite lacking heat (I got Medium as they described it as quite spicy and it was very hot outside), the sandwich has good flavors, including from the nice roll. The slaw is very creamy and has an original mix of flavors (do I taste dill?), while the garlic bread is simple and very tasty. The strawberry lemonade was a bit too sweet but with some added water quite refreshing.

 

I later get a Naughty Nata ($3.62) for dessert. The nata came from the fridge and was then heated up on the grill, which is a different approach (and took quite long). It comes closer than most natas, but is overly sweet and dough too soft.

 

VERDICT: 85/100

While a bit disappointed by the sandwich, I overall really liked the (original) flavors.

Dolcezza Gelato & Coffee (Washington, DC)

904 Palmer Alley NW, Washington, DC

 

Dolcezza Gelato & Coffee is an upscale local chain of ice cream and coffee places with six locations in DC. I visit the one in an open mall of very expensive brand stores in downtown DC. It’s quite spacious and has about 10 flavors of gelato and 6 of sorbetto.

 

I get a Large Cup ($7.87) that comes with three flavors. I choose Hazelnut Crackle, which has a smooth hazelnut taste with some cracks of nut (?) in it; Clementine, which is a light and fresh sorbeto; and Pistachio, which is creamy and smooth.

 

VERDICT: 92/100

While it is a bit pricey, given the location and quality it is well worth it. Old country flavors. True gelato and sorbetto!

Shemali’s Café (Washington, DC)

3301 New Mexico Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016

Shemali’s is a small deli inside a mall that sells a variety of Mediterranean foods, mostly in jars, as well as some basic shawarma (beef, chicken, lamb) and falafel wraps and plates.

 

I get a Falafel Sandwich ($8.99). Although there are few orders, it takes quite a long time. The sandwich itself is very tasty. There are about four falafel, normal size, good taste if perhaps a bit dry (there is not much tahini so that might explain it too). All the flavors of the vegetables (tomato, onion, cucumber, beet, cilantro) are really fresh and strong.

 

VERDICT: 85/100

A very nice falafel in a tucked-away place.

The Halal Guys (Buford, GA)

 2925 Buford Dr Ste #1210, Buford, GA 30519

 

The Halal Guys is an international chain of shawarma places that started in Manhattan and has since moved across the US and into Canada and the UK. It has a very limited and simple menu, mostly plates or sandwiches with gyro, chicken, or falafel and a couple of sides (fries, hummus, baba ghanoush). It gets very good reviews online (at least the Buford location), so I decided to check it out. It works similarly to Chipotle, which means that you go through all the choices and pay at the end.

 

I got a Chicken Sandwich ($8.99) and a side of Hummus ($4.99). The pita is thick and fluffy, the chicken are cubes with a slight flavor, and then you can choose your toppings - I chose lettuce, tomato, onion, and "white sauce". Altogether it was a huge sandwich, but also a fairly flavorless one. The hummus was also mediocre, despite the fluffy pita.

 

 VERDICT: 80/100

Just like Chipotle, The Halal Guys offer pretty basic "ethnic" food in a clean and fast setting at fairly high prices. Good as a fallback option but in most cities you should be able to do much better.