The burger at Parc de Ville in Mosaic District is one of the best in Northern Virginia. “We kind of modeled Gee Burger on that,” says owner Ian Hilton. Gee Burger is a ghost kitchen that launched just before the start of the new year out of Parc de Ville’s kitchen. It’s expanded to Cafe Colline in Arlington and will open in Falls Church’s Solace Outpost brewery and Crimson at the Motto Hotel in DC’s Chinatown late this week or early next week.
Hilton says that since restaurants are not open at full capacity, he decided to use his space to serve customers with a new delivery business. He and chef Brendan L’Etoile created a menu of eight smashed patty-style burgers, which Hilton says they will continue to workshop and expand. Highlights include the Gee Washington Carver, loaded with crispy fried shallots and bacon and made creamy with American cheese and peanut butter. The Kickin’ Gee pairs kimchi and pickled jalapenos with American cheese and “top secret sauce.” There’s also a chicken option, the Crispy Gee. Of course, the same well-seasoned fries served at Parc de Ville are also on offer. The burgers and fries were chosen for their ability to withstand travel.
Diners can pick up directly at Cafe Colline, but the business exists primarily through delivery. Hilton uses DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats to shuttle burgers and fries to diners, but says that he is working on finding local delivery solutions. Possibilities include DC To-Gogo, a homegrown app that launched last year.
Hilton is looking to continue to expand locations to feed as much of NoVA as he can. Though smaller kitchens like Cafe Colline’s won’t be able to create the necessary large quantities of quality burgers once the restaurant is again at full capacity, the restaurateur says that he hopes to continue Gee Burger at some locations even after the pandemic.
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