How many of us beleaguered commuters were stuck underground due to Metro’s latest Red Line debacle this morning? I generally measure my commute by podcasts – Harry Shearer’s Le Show begins when I board in North Bethesda and ends as I get to my office downtown. For the slightly longer commutes, a dose of Adam Corolla or Bill Maher’s Real Time helps. Then, there was today, one of those mornings where the ole’ iPod’s hard drive doesn’t have enough memory and iTunes doesn’t have enough podcasts to occupy the time spent underground.

Standing on a crowded train for almost two hours under the Nations’ Capital is not my idea of “relaxing,” especially when the only news we received was “there’s a train directly in front of us” and “there’s smoke between the Gallery Place and Metro Center stops.” That’s reassuring, you know? Thanks for easing our collective anxiety, Metro.

Lunch today needed to be something that was actually reassuring, not in the same sense as my snarky, sarcastic use of the same word in the paragraph above. I have heard good things about Good Stuff Eatery, and have tried to go before, but the usual crowds and a short lunch time allowance made previous trips unsuccessful. After developing a sudden case of Metro-induced claustrophobia, I was not about to quibble about minor things like “fat content” and “cholesterol.” I’ll take the extended lunch hour as personal time if I must – I was not to be denied in my quest.

And, for good reason, too. Chef Spike Mendelsohn’s shop serves up a tasty burger – made to order, not overcooked and dressed with fresh toppings. The lunch special includes a burger, fries and a fountain drink for a reasonable ten bucks. I went with a bacon cheeseburger, the Village fries seasoned with rough cut rosemary and thyme, and sampled Good Stuff’s specialty mayo flavors – Old Bay, Mango, Chipotle, Sriracha – and topped it off with a milkshake. Usually, milkshakes are like $5 cupcakes – tasty, but nearly as good as you hope for. Except in Good Stuff’s case. The Toasted Marshmallow milkshake could change lives. It could end wars. It is every bit as delicious as you may have heard.  The fries were a little overcooked, and the burger isn’t as big as the meat slabs from Ray’s Hell Burger in Arlington or The Burger Joint in Alexandria/Bethesda, but honestly, after this morning, I’m just happy to have a real burger that doesn’t require another Metro ride.

Still, Good Stuff is *just* pricey enough to keep themselves from being in my regular Cap Hill lunch rotation. If you don’t order the special, the burger, fries and milkshake is nearly 20 dollars.  The shakes are not cheap, and you could certainly save money by sticking with a fountain drink. But that would be like taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris and not going to the Louvre, or going to Vegas and not stepping foot in the Bellagio.  Disappointment on an epic scale. Worry about the calories later. The best thing about exercise is that you can always do it tomorrow. Get the shake.

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Good Stuff Eatery earns 8 of a possible 11 Whammies!. Whammies were earned for the relative speed of service, the delicious burger, the fine custom mayo choices, the good Good Stuff Sauce on the burger, seeing Spike himself tend to his business in the flesh (lots of other chefs could learn from that) and for having the best milkshake I’ve had in years. Whammies were not earned for the “Environmental Charge” of 1% on my bill, the somewhat smallish burger compared to the price, and for having the best milkshake I’ve had in year. Thank goodness I have to walk up Cap Hill to get there, or I’ll be the size of a Tourmobile by Thanksgiving.

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Good Stuff Eatery

303 Pennsylvania Avenue SE

Washington DC 20003

202-543-8222

-RAY