Good Stuff Eatery Lives Up to Its Name

I finally got to Good Stuff Eatery last night for dinner following a screening of "Endless Summer" at the Library of Congress. A free movie + dinner at Spike's new hamburger joint = a perfect downtown date with my girlfriend. Good Stuff Eatery opened a couple of weeks ago with a great show of support from the DC community; lines to get in went down the street. We figured that a Tuesday night meal around 9:30 might be a little quieter, and while the lines weren't as bad, they were still practically to the door. And with good reason - the whole experience was great.

Walking through the door, we were met by Spike's father Harvey who greeted everyone with a smile and kind word. He seemed so happy to be there and it is evident he is so proud of his son who was working hard behind the counter making milkshakes, pulling pints, and handing everyone their meal. I knew that Spike would be working in the kitchen, but I didn't expect him to be right out front in the thick of it. I actually saw his hat first when I walked in the door and jumped back a second thinking "Aren't you supposed to be on Channel 39 on my TV, not 10 feet in front of me?" (What can I say? I get a thrill out of celebrities, even if they are of the reality-show kind)

I ordered my meal, a Farmhouse Cheese Burger (tomatoes, onions, pickles, lettuce, and "good stuff" sauce) with a side of handcut fries and a Red Stripe beer and took in the scene. Two levels, well-lit, lots of seating upstairs and outside, and a quality soundtrack provided XM Radio's Top Tracks. About 15 minutes later (I said it was busy), my pager was buzzing and we went to pick up our food from Spike. "Thanks for coming to DC," I said shaking his hand. "You guys been working hard?" "Oh yeah," he said. Though you can tell just from looking at him it's been a long few opening weeks. "Is it good to have the whole family here?" I asked. (His mom and sister are also involved in the venture). "Definitely," Spike responded. "People say, 'Why would you want to go into business with your family?' I say, 'I wouldn't have it any other way.'" I agreed with him, noting that my family had run a business together for over fifty years. "Enjoy your meal guys, thanks for coming in," he said.

My girlfriend and I grabbed seats out on the street and dug in. Now I'm no food or burger connoisseur, so let me just say simply that the burger (and particularly the fries) were great and I definitely recommend anyone in the area to go check it out. Though there are no shortage of burger options in the DC area, it is well worth investigating. Before leaving, my girlfriend wanted to get a menu signed and Spike happily obliged (though we aren't sure what he wrote under his signature - "I'm the Weab" or is it "I'm the Weaz"? - is that chef-speak for something?) We'll find out next time we stop by.

It was a great end to our little date and we both agreed that Good Stuff Eatery lives up to its name.

Good Stuff Eatery is located at 303 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. You can check out their menu here.

***Update***: Famous DC linked this post to their website here.