Inside Rogue States in Dupont/Photo by Rachel Levitin
Every two weeks when pay day comes around I like to treat myself to a lunch that isn’t home-made, off the dollar menu, or from Subway. While I’ve done the whole Five Guys thing, I’ve still never made it to any of the gourmet burger joints in town (shocker, I know, since there are so many). Today I changed that.
Rogue States is right around the corner from my office so I moseyed in around 11:50 to avoid a rabid and hungry lunch crowd. The menu features seven pre-seasoned half pound burgers with cutesy, pun-filled names like “Now & Zen”, “Curried Away” and “Pardon My French” at $7 each (and that’s $2 more if you prefer the turkey version).
Complimentary toppings including lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions are offered but cheese, applewood smoked bacon, grilled red pepper, and wild mushrooms all cost extra.
When I forked my debit card over to the cashier, I definitely cringed at the price tag. My meal of “No Burger, No Cry” with American Cheese, all complimentary toppings, sweet potato fries, and a fountain drink came out to just under $15. As I sat and waited close to 10 minutes for the freshly made celebratory pay day lunch of my choice I wondered, “Is this worth it? It really better be.”
It was. Thank goodness.
The “No Burger, No Cry” with sweet potato fries at Rogue States/Photo by Rachel Levitin
While I managed to forget my disdain for spicy house jerk blends (Side Note: This isn’t Rogue States’ fault. It was a poor judgment call on my end. The last time I had a jerk blend rub was at Buffalo Wild Wings as an experiment and I ended up hating the flavor despite how appealing the name sounded.), I scarfed down the burger faster than it took for it to arrive at my table. This burger was juicy and tender, albeit gigantic. The sweet potato fries were close to the best I’ve ever had, beating Chef Geoff’s out for a new top spot in my heart as far as the orange fries are concerned. They were perfectly crisp as opposed to that all-to-often fry flirtation between dry and soggy.
Was it worth the price tag? Heck yes.
All in all, I’d recommend going to Rogue States if you work in the Dupont area or want a nice new spot for a weekend lunch. Next time I go, I’m getting “The Rogue State” rubbed in their house spice blend, chipotle, and cilantro. I suggest you do the same.
Update, 3:56 p.m.: I can’t believe I forgot to mention this earlier but Rogue has beer on tap from Blue & Gray Brewing Co. and wine by the bottle. That’s not a selling point for a weekday lunch in between staring at your office computer screen but a post-work nosh or a weekend treat could be enhanced by such a beverage option.
Rachel moved to DC in the fall of 2005 to study Journalism and Music at American University. When she’s not keeping up with the latest Major League Baseball news, she works on making music as an accomplished singer-songwriter and was even a featured performer/speaker at TEDxDupont Circle in 2012. Rachel has also contributed to The Washington Examiner and MASN Sports’ Nationals Buzz as a guest blogger. See why she loves DC. E-Mail: rachel@welovedc.com.
I went for the first time this week too! I’m a major Ray’s lover, and I like BGR too. I liked Rogue States. I imagined it to be dark and divey but it wasn’t at all. I got The Rogue State and sweet potato fries, and I enjoy making my own fountain soda (2/3 diet coke 1/3 root beer). Very reasonable. I think there’s a $3 upcharge on the Pardon My French, just for info’s sake (truffles…so pricy).
This place is close to my office and they keep great hours. However, I was totally surprised to find they offer no veg options at all. Our office had to cancel a group outing there because three of us would have had nothing to eat. Boo.