3529 Connecticut Avenue
NW Washington, D.C. 20008
Score: 7.0
$$$$$
Tom: One finely crafted burger… but that’s all. That’s what Palena restaurant/café/market in NW Washington DC offers. This no muss, no fuss burger is cooked on a wood fire grill and is the only sandwich-type fare presented on the menu, offered simply as the Palena Cheese Burger. Left with no options, I ordered my meal of the mid-rare variety and waited hungrily. My experience with restaurants that only offer one burger has been very good in the past. It usually means they feel the chefs have achieved some sort of perfection and there is no need to water down the creation with different choices. On the contrary, if they are wrong, they are usually gloriously wrong. The burger was delicious. The meat was an expertly crafted balance of flavor that sent my taste buds spinning. Blanketing the meat was a truffle-infused sharp cheddar and a modest spread of house aioli. Often referred to as culinary sorcery by my wife, the truffle oil added a bit of exotic wonder to the already flavor packed burger. The aioli did its job perfectly by adding a touch of creaminess without overpowering the beef. The burger came on a platter the size of Kentucky and was accompanied by 4 house made pickles. This is a great way to visually demonstrate how badly you are ripping-off your patrons. For $13 you get a tasty, but modest burger and 4 bizarre pickled items (who’s going to put pickled cauliflower on a burger??). When this appeared before me I instantly knew I would leave hungry. It may sound piggish, consumeristic, or plain American but a 6oz meat patty with a bun, no matter how delicious, is just not enough food for a burger night. When referring back to the menu for the ever-important side of fries I was slapped to see: shoestring fries - $8. WTF! Somehow the “shoestring” bit of the name made the whole experience seem even stingier. Good burger, but the restaurant cheapery lessened the overall ranking.
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