FOR: RED MEAT
525 E, Market St., Suite J, Leesburg; meltgourmetcheeseburgers.com
The burger trend spreads to Leesburg with last summer’s opening of MELT.

Debuting indulgent mashups, The Diner Special invokes the 24-hour comfort classics of bacon and fried egg with the Southern charms of pimento cheese.Unfortunately, the bacon isn’t as crisp to contrast against the juicy burger.
Black beans mold into a well-formed veggie burger that texturally mimics the real thing. A bit more fire—more jalapeños or Pepper Jack instead of the mild Jack—would kick this up.
Fries cloaked in cheese—and too-large, hard-to-eat chunks of grilled jalapeños—are a disappointment.
The coffee shake needs more java flavor than the house-made syrup provides, but the dill pickle relish, dotted with chilies, is good enough to eat alone.
(February 2013)