Tasty Burger Opens in Shaw on Thursday
Tasty Burger will open its first restaurant outside of Boston in the Atlantic Plumbing building, 2108 Eighth St. NW, near the 9:30 Club in Shaw at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
The Boston-based Tasty Burger opens in Shaw’s Atlantic Plumbing building on Thursday. (Photo: Tasty Burger)
Tasty Burger, part of the Franklin Restaurant Group, was founded by three chef friends in 2010 behind Boston’s Fenway Park. The Shaw location will be the chainlet’s sixth restaurant. It features counter and bar service, free foosball, a digital jukebox, takeout window, a full bar with indoor and outdoor seating, and late night hours.
The restaurant serves all-natural, hormone- and antibiotic-free one-third pound beef patties including its signature burger, The Big Tasty made with a 1/3-pound patty on a bun from Gold Crust Baking out of Landover topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle and Tasty (thousand island) sauce.
The Big Tasty is the chain’s signature burger, shown here served with Tasty Ale and French fries. (Photo: Tasty Burger)
Other burgers include a bacon cheese burger; the spicy jalapeno with pepper jack cheese and house roasted jalapenos; the chili cheese burger with chili, cheese sauce and scallions; the gorgonzola with melted blue cheese and crumbled bacon; the mushroom with roasted mushrooms, cheese and steak sauce; the rise ‘n shine with cheese, bacon and ketchup topped with a fried egg; a BBQ onion burger with cheese, sautéed and crispy fried onions and smoky BBQ sauce; and a veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and hummus.
The Chicky Chicky Parm Parm is topped with fried and melted mozzarella and tomato sauce, (Photo: Tasty Burger/Twitter)
Other menu items include 1/4-pound all-beef hot dogs, crispy chicken sandwiches including the Chicky Chicky Parm Parm with fried and melted mozzarella and tomato sauce; a garden salad; and chicken nuggets along with French fries, onion rings and tater tots. Desserts include double chocolate, red velvet or a monthly cupcake and shakes.
Shaw will be the first Tasty Burger location with a full bar with microbrews from Atlas Brew Works, D.C. Brau and Duckpin, as well as a raspberry gin rickey cocktail, which pays homage to the gin rickey’s D.C. roots. Other drink options include a bloody mary made with Bazaar Spice’s spice blend and a smoked bacon chipotle salt rim; a pickle back made with a shot of whiskey and pickle juice; and the Shift Drink, Narragansett and a shot of Fernet Vittone, as well as adult milk shakes like the grasshopper, the Monk with Melleti green chartreuse, white Russian, strawberry daiquiri and pina colada. The restaurant will also serve Cheerwine, a wild cherry soda from North Carolina.
The 1,800-square foot restaurant seats 44 in the dining room and another 22 around the indoor/outdoor bar that opens onto Eighth Street with giant garage doors. And while it may be a Boston-based restaurant, the red and white interior is all Shaw with local graffiti highlighted in original photography and a custom mural that features sheet music from Duke Ellington. Other design details include a glass Coke bottle chandelier and a giant image of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction eating his very own tasty burger.
A portrait of Samuel L. Jackson eating a Tasty Burger in Pulp Fiction hangs in the restaurant. (Photo: Borderstan)
The restaurant, just a few blocks from Howard University, will offer a Starvin’ Student special – a basic hamburger or cheeseburger with fries and a can of beer for $10 with a student ID. Happy hour will feature $5 cocktails and $3 beer from 5-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and Yappy Hour will include $5 cocktails and $3 beers from noon-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with a free dog bone and outdoor water bowls.
Tasty Burger is open from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.
