dad's backyard burgers

for anyone who lives near the gallows/29 intersection in merrifield knows how long dad's backyard burgers has been "coming soon." and for those of you who don't know? it's been over three years. it was the first tenant announced in the new retail development at the intersection, but since then carvel, cinnabon and z pizza have opened.

in what began as excitement for a new burger place opening right near my house turned into an obsession over when the place would actually open. everyone had their own theory on why it was taking so long (they ran out of money, they couldn't get permits, etc.) and everyone also had their own ideas of how far along they had come. whenever i drove by i would see someone peeking into the windows to see the progress (and yes, i'm guilty of this as well).

so as i said before three years had passed since the initial "coming soon" sign had gone up. at this point i had pretty much given up hope that it would ever open (despite the build out looking somewhat complete). then last friday when i drove by at 7am en route to ct i saw the sign: "opening 9/10." could it be for real??

in the days of five guys and elevation burger i was pretty excited for another non-fast food burger place (i mean does anyone actually like mcdonald's burgers??). so this week when my coworker asked if i could help her move on thursday i suggested we grab a burger first.

after confirming it was actually open (apparently it didn't quite make it open on monday - or tuesday - or maybe even wednesday) we left work starving and ready for a burger. we got there and there were only a few customers (and nearly four times the number of employees!). we walked up to the register to order and they handed us a menu and an order sheet. it's kind of like how they do it at jettie's - for those of you familiar w/ the process. you check off what you want and write and special instructions and jot your name down at the top.

so, what do they have on their menu? obviously they have burgers - but they also have hot dogs, grilled chicken and grilled fish. (i honestly wonder how long the fish will stay on the menu - no offense, but why would a vegetarian go to a place called dad's backyard burgers??). everything comes with fries and a drink. for the burgers you have a choice of 8oz ($8) or 5oz ($6.50) and pretty much everything you could think of is available as a topping.

since it was our first time there we decided to get a burger and a hot dog so we could try both. i settled on a cheeseburger w/ cheddar and my friend got a cheese and bacon hot dog. we put our orders in, got our drinks and settled in at some seats at the bar (no, they don't serve alcohol).

as expected the service was extremely slow. they had about five too many people behind the counter assembling the meals. and they weren't preparing the orders in order - about four people who ordered after us got their food before us. but luckily we weren't in a hurry and we were actually kind of enjoying watching the show by the grill (which is wood burning, by the way).

it was probably at least thirty minutes before they called our number - but the unusually long wait was more than worth it. the burger was honestly one of the best burgers i've had. the patty was stuffed with herbs of some sort and the wood burning stove really brought out the flavor in the meat. the hot dog was a big fat hebrew national hot dog (in other words - it was delicious!).

the fries were good, not great. they need to work on getting them a bit crispier since they were on the soggy side. but the flavor of the fries was good so i have faith that they can get the cooking style right.

now the real reason i wanted to go was because it was a brand new place in the neighborhood. i honestly didn't have high expectations about the food. i stand corrected. if you're looking for a good, fresh burger look no further than dad's. oh and i heard a rumor that they are going to offer half price burgers on tuesdays after a skins win - much better than that papa john's deal (gross).