Whitlow's on Wilson

2854 Clarendon Blvd
Arlington, VA  22201
703.276.9693
www.whitlows.com
Whitlow's on Wilson on Urbanspoon

It's amazing that some of places are still around after all these years.  Whitlow's used to be a favorite of mine and my co-workers about 13 years ago when I first lived in Arlington.  I remember we used to go religiously to half-price burger night every week and I remember that the burgers used to be great and they were great before burgers became the next thing in culinary circles.  I decided to try it out again after all these years to see if the food still stacked up to my memory.


I have to say, the place certainly hasn't changed in all this time.  The surroundings are drastically different with shiny new buildings, stores and condos popping up all around Whitlow's but from the parrot sign to the quirky decor on the walls, it feels like I was never away for such a long time.  When I got there I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was half-price burger night (it looks like Mondays if you're wondering).  So, I decided to order my old reliable which is called the Yodeler.  It's a burger with sauteed mushrooms, swiss cheese, lettuce and raw onions.  They still cook to order (medium rare of course) which is a welcome change from most burger joints.  The first thing I noticed was the fries had some sort of breading on them which gave them an unexpected texture and slightly different taste from your traditional fries and to me, it seems like an unnecessary change in the french fry.  The burger itself was a generous portion but not too big that you'd be regretting it.  It was cooked perfectly to medium rare and still a nice, juicy burger.  I did notice that it was well under seasoned and the cheese, mushrooms, etc...seemed bland.  The onions and lettuce also felt a bit stale and not as fresh & crisp enough to add that extra crunch to the juiciness of the burger.

It's great to me that Whitlow's has endured as a local watering hole institution  and I would probably keep going back to half-price burger night.  But, I came looking for the classic American burger that I craved constantly over a decade ago and while I got a good burger, it wasn't the great burger that I remember.

The Yodeler

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