A celebrity chef and reality show contestant will open a burger joint on Capitol Hill this spring.
Chef Spike Mendelsohn has worked in famous restaurants such as Thomas Keller’s Bouchon and Le Cirque in New York City. He is competing on Bravo’s “Top Chef” program this season.
The restaurant will be called Good Stuff Eatery. Mendelsohn did not return requests for comment Friday, but according to his Web site, the restaurant will be at 303 Pennsylvania Ave. and feature handcrafted burgers with farm-fresh ingredients such as Vermont cheddar, homemade milk shakes with flavors such as marshmallow, and seasoned fries with fancy dipping sauces.
“We’re on a mission to bring together good food, good people, good times and goodness to a place where good stuff means more than just better-than-average food,” the chef said on his site.
Mendelsohn’s family, including his parents, will run the operation. He described the D.C. eatery as a pilot for what he hopes will be a national chain.
The Washington area is no stranger to upscale burgers. Versions of the sandwich made from high-quality ingredients can be found at finer establishments such as Palena, Marvin and Michele Richard’s Central for anywhere from $10 to $18.
“I think it’s a national trend in the high-end restaurants to come up with very high-dollar burgers,” saidHans Hess, founder of Elevation Burger in Falls Church, which serves organic burgers and french fries made with olive oil. “There’s something appealing for chefs to take something that’s perceived as a humble product and try to elevate it.”
