What does a winning cheeseburger taste like? This year alone, Melt Gourmet Cheeseburgers triumphed in our Best of NoVA poll and our heated Battle of the Burgers competition. But as a noob to NoVA, I hadn’t tried the Leesburg restaurant yet. It was high time I bite into some beef.
I was immediately impressed by the scope of options. Yes, there are more than 20 burger options alone, but even the drinks case is awe-worthy. From Southern Cheerwine to New Yorkers’ favorite Dr. Brown’s, there’s a soda for every craving. I had to actively stop myself from loading up on Lake Champlain Chocolates bars at the counter even before I ordered.
Deciding, is of course a challenge. I was tempted by this month’s special, an open-faced turkey and stuffing burger, but wanted to share options with readers that they can try past November. That included one basic and one of the “Kicked-Up Gourmet Beef Burgers.” All burgers at Melt are half-pound patties that are ground fresh daily and the quality of the fine grind speaks for itself. The homemade buns? They’re airy, egg-washed specimens that, like the beef, betray their freshness with every bite.
The quality of the ingredients is clear as soon you taste the extra sharp aged Wisconsin cheddar on the bacon cheeseburger. The bacon could use an extra minute or two of cooking to better retain its crispness, but the classic combo is still a winner. The Paris Burger combines roasted garlic with piquant melted Brie, sweet balsamic onions, baby spinach and a swipe of Dijon. It’s a smart blend of flavors that leans on umami but opens the door to other sweet and pungent subtleties with each bite.
The fries are uniformly crisp, though I could do without the heavy helping of cracked pepper that coats them. I also wasn’t a fan of this month’s mac and cheese, which lost its cheesy personality to too many toppings, including grilled onions, sundried tomatoes, capers, red peppers, artichokes and Italian sausage. I would love it if there were consistently a plain mac as well as the special — the base was too tasty to cloud with so many additional flavors.
Despite some minor quibbles, though, it’s easy to see why Melt is a winner. // 525 E. Market St., Leesburg
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