Hellburger is Heaven

Valentines Day, the most romantic day of the year, is a day couples venture out to expensive restaurants with fixed menus, flowing red wine and heart-shaped chocolate desserts with the token raspberry sauce. Not this couple. We instead opted for a greasy, cheesy, ooey, gooey, mouth-watering cheeseburger from Ray's Hellburger in Arlington, VA. We had been meaning to try this place out for what seems like ages, and for a couple on the hunt for the world's best burger, this was the most romantic way we could think to spend our day together.

When we got there, it was insanely crowded- apparently we weren't the only burger romantics out there. Looking over the burger menu, I knew this would be a great contender for the area's best burger. There is a vast variety of toppings and cheeses, from guacamole and bacon to double creme brie and stilton. We went with the following...

Heather's Burger: Soul Burger Number One- applewood bacon, swiss, cognac and sherry sauteed mushrooms, grilled Red Onions

Joe's Burger: Montecristo- ham, gruyere

We grabbed our numbers and hovered over people until we finally got a table. We sat and stared at each other with an excited anticipation as if we were about to be given a million dollars.

Our burgers were delivered and our pupils dilated with delight. Let's get down to the good stuff:

Heather's Burger- LOVED the fact that it was cooked a perfect medium rare. It was probably the juiciest burger I've ever tasted. The flavor burst from the sauteed mushrooms and oozing swiss cheese. I actually refused to have any condiments on my first burger bite. After that, I decided to experiment between the ketchup and the catsup (tangy version of ketchup). I liked both, but the condiments were not the star here. The only criticism I have is that I DON'T LOVE the mess. It's impossible to get through the whole burger w/out resorting to the use of fork and knife. I wasn't thrilled about the bottom bun becoming soggy and saturated either, but I suppose that's what you get for having a delectably juicy burger.

Joe's Burger: I tasted Joe's burger, but only for a bite. I was so busy concentrating on my juicy, meaty goodness I barely had time to worry about sampling, and to be honest, I'm not sure he was too eager to share his delicious burger as he was eating it with a concentration that could not be broken. His burger was something to envy. It had the same beautiful and juicy tenderness as mine, but the added saltiness of the ham and gruyere. There was no way we were leaving without being members of the clean plate club.

Did I forget to mention we got a side of mac n cheese, too? Well that is also amazing. It was creamy, smooth and delicious. I probably don't want to know how many cheeses or cream or other fatty goodness is in there and I don't care. It rocked.

Go to Ray's Hellburger. We drove 35 minutes to go and it was worth ever second.