We have officially entered the age of the $32 burger. Sticker shock? Sure, but when said beef-and-bread behemoth is served at Heirloom, Metropolitan Hospitality Group’s hidden Reston restaurant, you won’t find yourself pinching pennies.
The Heirloom Burger arrives at the table with a bee-emblazoned Laguiole knife sunken into it, apparently both to hold it together and prove its heft. The patty is made of wagyu beef from Paris’ local Ovoka Farm, but that’s just the beginning of the extravagance. A smear of white-truffle aioli bestows the fatty patty with a crush of earthy flavor. Then there’s the melty layer of Alpine Gruyère, meaty roasted mushrooms, and the crunch of skinny batter-fried onions, all stacked on a puffy brioche bun. The term “umami bomb” has become hackneyed, but it could have been created for this dish. And it only gets better. Fries would be too plebeian for this architectural marvel. Instead, the potatoes are pavé-style, skinny layers of fried spuds topped with fresh herbs and grated Parmesan.
During a phone call with executive chef Dane Sewlall, I learned the Heirloom Burger started life at his previous stomping grounds, Salt in Rosslyn, another MHG restaurant. “It’s fatty, but it eats clean,” he says of the burger. I disagree, but that’s what I love about it.
Heading inside a speakeasy to eat a supremely scrumptious pile of greasy beef has a romance that can’t be captured with a mere tipple. Yes, a speakeasy. Heirloom is hidden behind an unmarked pair of black doors inside Reston Town Center’s Open Road Distilling Co., which makes bourbon, gin, vodka, and rye and has a full menu of its own. Heirloom boasts a separate kitchen, so don’t expect nachos in the darkened, dramatically lit hot spot.
Despite any difficulties finding it, Heirloom has no problems drawing a crowd. Even on a Monday night, hearing your dining partner beneath the chatter of neighboring guests can be difficult.
They’re likely treating themselves to a drink or two, many made using the spirits created just feet away. The inventive cocktails include choices such as the Silly Rabbit, which blends gingery carrot juice with house vodka, Ancho Reyes Verde chile liqueur, lemon, and Angostura orange bitters.
Overall, the food menu lacks the innovative spirit of the drink list, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat at Heirloom. Though the comforting victuals sound like they could be on one of dozens of local menus, in Sewlall’s hands, they are eminently craveable. One example is his roasted chicken. Far from boring, the half-bird is brined for 24 hours, then left to “dry age” in the walk-in for two days. The result is a juicy interior and crisp, salty skin that withstands a dip in its lush mustard chicken jus with ease. Served over colcannon potatoes with a grilled lemon on the side, there’s nothing about the dish that would offend unadventurous eaters, and it’s simply satisfying enough to command repeat performances from those with more demanding palates.
I usually grimace at bread service that isn’t included in the price of the meal but grinned instead at the housemade herb focaccia. For $5, I added Edwards Virginia Smokehouse Surryano ham (an American equivalent to Serrano) to the $9 tray. But I almost didn’t need to. As much as I appreciated what essentially became a charcuterie platter, the fluffy, herb-dotted loaf is even enough when presented with flavored ricotta, sweet onion jam, and tangy apple butter.
Other starters include mussels in spicy tomato sauce with truffled garlic bread or oysters Rockefeller, but on my second visit to Heirloom, I realized that the best way to start a meal there might be with pasta. A server advised me that the noodle dishes are on the smaller side for an entrée, so splitting a bowl of freshly extruded rigatoni with someone you love could be the ideal path to dining enlightenment. The $19 dish costs roughly the same as many of the appetizers, so why not dig in? I only wished that there had been bread to dip into the spicy combination of Italian sausage, spinach, broccoli rabe, roasted peppers, pecorino, and toasted pine nuts in charred spring onion pesto.
Sewlall says that he hopes to add tasting menus to the options at Heirloom soon, and I hope he’ll include more ambitious dishes like the crisp-edged pan-roasted Chilean seabass. He serves it over a carrot-ginger purée with wilted spinach that’s punctuated by soft slices of garlic. It’s topped with sauce vierge, which includes fresh chopped tomatoes and micro basil. But it doesn’t end there: There’s also a lemony beurre blanc to illuminate the bright flavors even further.
Desserts are a weaker point at Heirloom. “Unfortunately, I do do some of the desserts,” jokes savory specialist Sewlall. But he shouldn’t feel too bad about his Americanized take on sticky toffee pudding. Less sweet than the typical British dessert, it features a crisp little cake that, while unlike the classic, is enjoyable in its own right, especially thanks to its base of butterscotch sauce.
Not that you’ll have room for sweets after an encounter with one of the most memorable burgers in Northern Virginia. Slip into the speakeasy for a dinner that will please eaters of all stripes. The dishes are tried and true, but Sewlall elevates them beyond mere basics.
Heirloom
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
See This: Enter speakeasy-style through unmarked doors. Lighting plays a major role here, with the bottle-filled bar dominating the view.
Eat This: Housemade rigatoni; Heirloom Burger; dry-aged, roasted Free Bird chicken
Appetizers: $9–$20
Entrées: $18–$75
Dessert: $8–$14
Open for dinner Monday through Saturday.
1871 Fountain Dr., Ste. 300, Reston
Feature image by Rey Lopez
This story originally ran in our June issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
