We have tried Ray's the Steaks in Arlington once and want to go back, but this was our first trip to it's new neighbor and younger brother at 1713 Wilson Blvd, RAY'S HELL BURGER. The place seems unmarked and it is as basic as it gets with several "B" (or worse) movie posters, small tables, wooden chairs, paper towels and signs asking you not to "save" tables until you have ordered.
After heading to the rear area you can pick up a menu which a choice of ONE ITEM: a Premium Aged 10 ounce burger, hand trimmed and freshly ground served with lettuce and tomato on a toasted (seeded) brioche bun with an orange smile at $6.95. Then there are the toppings:
Four choices of styles:
Grilled
Au Poivre
Blackened
or Diablo (Chipotle Marinade)
the choice of temperatures:
Recommended -warm red center
Medium
or Cooked Throughout
the toppings with a charge:
Seared Foie Gras with Truffle Oil which tops the prices at $10
Roasted Bone Marrow with Persillade for $3
and Black Forest Ham, Guacamole or Applewood Smoked Bacon for $1.50 each
The choices of cheese are American, Swiss, Vermont White Cheddar, Smoked Mozzarella, Muenster, Pepper Jack or Fontina at $1.00 each
Aged Danish Bleu, Gruyere, Imported Double Cream Brie or Dutch Mustard Seed Gouda at $1.50 each
Chimay a la Biere for $3.00
Roque Creamery Smokey Bleu, Queen Anne Stilton, Cave Aged Amish Cheddar at $4.50 each
and Epoisse de Bourgogne at $5.00 (I would have had this, but felt the price was a bit outrageous...)
NO CHARGE for the following:
the dreamiest COGNAC & SHERRY SAUTEED MUSHROOMS
Grilled Red Onions
Sauteed Peppers
Roasted Garlic
Raw Red Onion
Charred Jalapenos
Bread & Butter Pickle Chips
Dill Pickle Chips
RAY's HECK SAUCE (described as tangy and special, but not spicy)
Piranha Sauce (fiery, spicy, green sauce)
There are lots of varied chips and some potato options as well...we skipped these as the burgers are HUGE. Samuel joined us and finished off 1/2 his plain burger which was really excellent.
Of the four adults (our friends' one month old chose not to have a burger as he was asleep!), the burgers did seem to all come a bit past medium rare as requested, which was truly the only problem.
There are 10 pre-designed burgers as well and two folks tried the SOUL BURGER NUMBER ONE with the Applewood Bacon, Swiss Cheese, Mushrooms and Grilled Red Onions. I created my own from the superb BLACKENED BURGER which had just a slight bit of spicy Cajun seasoning and did not overwhelm at all combined with those to die for MUSHROOMS, the VERMONT CHEDDAR and the HECK SAUCE....I loved it.
Ray's Hell Burger is fun, and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely for a very reasonable price and the toppings are what makes the burger here on top of excellent beef. If they can get the temperature correct...it'll be a star!
