ray's hell burger

ray's hell burger
1713 (1725?) wilson boulevard, arlington, VA 22209
tel: 703) 841-0001
hours: monday 5pm-10pm, tuesday-sunday 12pm-10pm

what was consumed: burgers (i asked the guy at the register which one represented ray's the best, and that's the one i had - with blue cheese, grilled onions, mushrooms, and a patty covered in pepper) and a soda ... no fries (i know! no fries! minus 1)

burgers, burgers, burgers! burgers are so delicious. i love them so much! so when the famous "ray's the steaks" (which i haven't been to, yet ... but they're famous) openened a burger joint, i wanted to try. in fact, i had wanted to try for some time, but it wasn't until only recently that i was able to try ray's hell burger for my own.

i took the metro out to the country of virginia and got off at courthouse, like many recommended. the thing is, ray's is right in between rosslyn and courthouse. i.e., either way, you'll have a bit of a walk. the question is, do you want to walk uphill or do you want to walk downhill. good thing i got off at courthouse because my walk was downhill. more specifically, ray's hell burger's current location is where ray's the steaks used to be. i.e., just down the street from the 1713 wilson boulevard address. but the sign still says "ray's the steaks" so it's really confusing. on top of that, ray's is next to guajillo, another popular restaurant. so be patient and look closely! you'll find it ...

we got ro ray's just as it was dinner time (7ish). the place was packed. while people kept getting up to leave, there were more people waiting for those seats. luckily for us (there were only 2 of us - leonard and me), there were a couple of 2-seater tables available. supposedly, having to order before grabbing a table is to help with the turnover with tables, but you know how people are - they'll grab a table first and have one person go and do the ordering. oh well~

we stood in line to place our orders. but what to order? so many options, so many choices ... but no fries! i LOVE fries, so not having fries was disappointing (even though i knew, going in, that they didn't have fries - minus 1 again, even though i took a point off earlier. yes, that's how much i love fries - haha). i was thinking about ordering what president obama ordered, but i couldn't remember what it was (turns out, no one really knows), so i asked for recommendations from the staff immediately in front of me instead.

anyway, we ordered our burgers and then proceeded to wait close to 20 minutes for the burgers to be served. that's a long time for a place that reminds you more of a fast food joint than not. minus 1.

but here come the burgers! the patty, nice and large, was bound to fill my emaciated self (ok, so i was just really hungry, but i felt like i was starving). i ordered my burger medium rare (because then they'll cook it medium), but leonard ordered his burger rare, so maybe that's why mine came out pretty rare as well ... ? minus 1. that's ok, though. i cut my burger in half (as i often do with larger sandwiches and the like) and when i picked it up, the burger fell through my fingers - minus 1. i should've just stuck to my usual plan of cutting my food with a fork and knife instead (don't ask) - minus 1 for me ... ? i proceeded to finish off my burger with a fork and knife and while i didn't eat it like a burger, the flavor combination was totally delicious - plus (as in the opposite of minus, not "and") lots of points. the flavor made all of the bad stuff up until now easier to forget ... i've since been told that i should order my burger "medium" (even though the ray's people say that it's best medium rare) and that that'll make for the perfect burger. oh, and also that the burger i ordered, while the ray's peeps said that that's the most representative of ray's burgers, it's really not. argh!

and oh - ray's hell burger is cash only - minus 1. don't forget!!

so, despite the minus points, i'm sure i'll be back at ray's some time. if not for anything else, to try the cheesy potato puff/tater tot-y things that people keep telling me about. must try!

online: none. what sort of place these days doesn't have a website? argh ... minus 1.