Burger Delite

5650 Edsall Road
Alexandria, VA  22304
703.751.9692


My parking spot in my building's garage sits right beside a concrete pole.  Every night that I pull in, I always cut the turn a little tight so that my car is pretty snug against the pole.  So, being the dumb ass that I am I was pulling out one morning this past week not realizing how close I was actually to that pole and chipped off a piece of my side mirror.  Subsequently, I brought it to the dealership, got a loaner car and I picked up today.  $334 (the part cost $49 and the rest was basically highway robbery) and a head bowed in shame later, I needed some lunch and more importantly, a cheap lunch! Across the street from the dealership just happens to be Burger Delite which looked like it fit the bill.


Now, I'm still feeling out what this blog is supposed to be and at first I thought it would highlight just my best or what is supposed to be my best culinary experiences.  But, I have lapsed in including some experiences like Babbo, Chez Panisse, WD-50, and many others in this blog because I simply didn't put pen to paper before I forgot the finer details of the meal.  So, I guess it's evolved into writing about the unique (or what I view as unique) food experiences I've had.  Besides, I'm a sucker for finding hidden gems of places, especially if its a hidden greasy spoon of a place.

Burger Delite is just that.  I think it's slogan is something like like "Making good food happen" or "We make good eats" or something like that, since 1962 (or was it 1958).  So, its been around for a long time and looks like a classic drive-thru/burger stand from that time period but with a parking lot full of luxury cars.  When you walk in, its basically a dingy diner with the menu plastered all around the counter.  I, of course ordered, the burger combo (rather the Cheesburger Royale Combo) with some Sweet Tea.  In the age of the burger explosion, portions seemed to get bigger and bigger.  Not at this place, they seem to have the same philosophy as Corner Bistro and portion to the just the right size.  The burger was hand packed, cooked to about medium, and served with lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mayonnaise.  It was juicy and moist and satisfies what you're looking for in a burger.  I would definitely visit this place before you decide on fast food and probably rank it ahead of a place like Five Guys and Corner Bistro only beats it out because they server beer and this place doesn't.  So, while the burger was good, they won me over with their fries.  They were thick cut (some were technically potato wedges but I have a soft spot for thick cut fries) and deep fried to a gold crispness.  Why most places don't serve thick cut fries, which highlights the potato, in the fries escapes me.   I only had the burger but I would guess that the rest of the menu from their pulled pork barbecue sandwich to the philly cheesesteak would offer the same level of comfort at the burger.

Burger Delite won't be getting any Michelin stars any time soon.  But, if you're looking for a cheap place to have some lunch and enjoy some classic American staples, this joint won't disappoint you.