I’ve expressed my love for the Shaw neighborhood before, but the excitement I feel when a new spot opens on my turf never gets old. Chalk it up to the fact that when I first moved here the closest gourmet restaurant to my apartment was a Subway and the bar down the street closed a few months into my lease, but now I have a plethora of options within a 15 minute walk and I couldn’t be happier I choose to plunk down in the “sketchy” area before it exploded with growth.
Needless to say, when Tasty Burger invited me to come sample their burgers and boozy shakes at their new location in North End Shaw, I was thrilled because 1) French fries and 2) I could add another eatery to my list of neighborhood restaurants.
Tasty burger is originally a Boston-based restaurant (they’re the official burger of the RedSox) and this is their first location in the Mid-Atlantic area. I got to chat with their CEO, David DuBois (who was seriously one of the nicest and most genuine people I’ve met) and you can tell he really puts his heart and soul into what the restaurant does. David and his team fell in love with Shaw the same way I did, except they saw through the grittiness over 4 years ago, which is how long Tasty Burger has been planning to set up shop in the Atlantic Plumbing neighborhood.
As someone who works for a design and strategy firm, (even though I’m on the marketing team) I’m intrigued by restaurant design and seeing how the designers envisioned the space is one of favorite things about visiting a new spot. The amount of detail that went into the decor is amazing. They pay homage to General Shaw (who the neighborhood is named after) in a mural of the Metro, incorporate the Howard University mascot into its wall art, and have fun quirky accents like a Coca-Cola bottle chandelier all throughout the space.
Now let’s talk about this bar – I’m obsessed. David told us their architects nearly cried when they saw the space due to the small square footage but they worked some magic and created an awesome beer garden atmosphere by centering the bar between interior tables and garage doors that open up to create a covered patio. Genius. Did I mention this is right next door to the 9:30 club? Literally the perfect spot to hang out before or after a show when it’s nice out.
Now what you’re really here for – the food review. I’m a vegetarian and have been for almost 6 years (we’ll save that for another post) but I can still appreciate burger joints and nowadays nearly every restaurant has a veggie friendly option. Tasty burger is no exception. The veggie burger tasted like it actually had some thought put into it, versus the frozen black bean burgers that most restaurants stick between a bun and that I have to slather with ketchup. My coworker got the regular burger and she said it lived up to the hype, comparing it to an In-And-Out burger, and I almost broke my vegetarian streak to try a bite of her chicken parm sandwich – that think looked dank. As if the photos don’t speak for themselves, the french fries, onion rings, and tater tots were ON POINT. I’ll definitely be back for them. The cocktails were dangerously good, and the boozy milkshakes tasted as amazing as I imagined they would.
I’ll definitely be back with the boyfriend in tow!
District Damsel 