Good Stuff Eatery

July 24, 2014

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About a year and a half ago, I decided to sample cheeseburgers served throughout the city to determine the five I found most satisfying. I prefer a good, juicy medium-rare burger on a soft bun. My favorite is the one offered at Devil’s Den.

Last month, Good Stuff Eatery opened on South 18th Street near Rittenhouse Square. It is owned by chef Spike Mendelsohn and his family. Mendelsohn competed on “Top Chef” in Chicago as well as in the All-Stars competition. His mother is a chef, and his grandfathers were butchers. One would think he would know much about beef.

Good Stuff Eatery is a funny name for a burger restaurant. Mendelsohn uses buzz words such as natural farm-raised beef and handspun shakes to give patrons the positive impression that this place is not the average fast-food joint. There are a few tables outside and seating upstairs.

Mendelsohn says his are hand-crafted burgers. The menu states “Our farmhouse burgers are topped with farm fresh ruby red tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, crisp lettuce and pickles, served on a sweet, buttery soft, freshly baked Pennsylvania Dutch bun with a loving spoonful of Good Stuff sauce.”

The farmhouse bacon cheese ($6.95) was prepared with Applewood smoked bacon and dairy fresh American cheese. I took a bite and did not get that pleasurable sensation that usually accompanies a burger. It was too overcooked. I don’t mind American cheese because it melts beautifully, but this offering lacked that marvelous juicy quality I was seeking. However, it was tasty. Those red ripe tomatoes from Jersey and Pennsylvania farms are bursting with flavor, but the one on my burger was pale and anemic. The sauce made the bun a bit soggy.

We also tried the Farmhouse burger with caramelized onions ($6.50) and the big stuff bacon meltdown ($8.50). The latter is built with a double burger, bacon, double cheese and the aforesaid condiments served on a sesame seed bun. As in the bacon burger, the sauce made the bun soggy.

Spike’s village fries ($3.89) were sprinkled with fresh thyme, rosemary and sea salt. They could have been hotter and crisper, but the flavor was there. The portion was big enough to share.

There are two beers on draft, including a Kelso IPA from Brooklyn ($5), which was fine for the price.

It is ironic that my favorite dish at Good Stuff Eatery was the classic wedge salad ($7.49). Immaculately fresh cold iceberg lettuce was chopped into bite-size pieces and topped with scallions, sweet red onion, crumbled Applewood smoked bacon, a generous amount of blue cheese and a fine homemade blue cheese dressing. Since much of its business is takeout, the ingredients are chopped for easy eating should one want to carry it to Rittenhouse Square and lunch in the park.

I had not sipped an ice cream float in many years. When I noticed the Creamsicle float ($3.75), childhood memories came back to me. I loved those yummy pops made with vanilla ice cream and covered in orange sherbet. It was so cloyingly sweet, I could not eat it.

I kept in mind that Good Stuff Eatery is a fast-food restaurant. The beef used here is good quality, like customers would find at Shake Shack. The prices are spot on for what one gets.

Since the chain’s flagship restaurant is in Washington, D.C., you will find a Prez Obama burger ($7.25) made with bacon, onion marmalade, Roquefort cheese and horseradish mayo sauce and a Michelle melt ($6.98) made with free range turkey, caramelized onion, Swiss cheese, tomato, lettuce served on a wheat bun with Southlawn herb garden mayo.

Two tips of the toque to Good Stuff Eatery.