The Farmhouse bacon cheeseburger from The Good Stuff Eatery.

The average American eats 120 hamburgers per year or more than 2 hamburgers every week. The annual average is about to skyrocket in the nation’s capital. With a dozen specialty burger restaurants already in the DC area and another wave slated to open this year, if you dig juicy, gooey, beefy, cheesy bliss then you’re in the right place.

Is the slump in the economy the reason for the DC burger craze? Celebrity Chef Art Smith of Art and Soul and Judge of TLC TV show, BBQ Pitmasters, said he thinks the revived interest in the American classic is due to diners seeking out quality food at a good value.  Daniel K, a Washington area gourmand said, “Hell Burger, without a question is not only the best, but easily the best value. $7 for a 10 oz. burger!” Warren Rojas, Food Editor for the Northern Virginia Magazine indicated that BGR offers his favorite upscale burger. He says, “The reason: everyone loves burgers. And they are infinitely customizable.”

President Obama with Russian President at Ray's Hellburger. Photo by Mikhail Klimentyev, AP.

The DC burger craze is also part of the growing national fast casual dining trend. The fast casual concept, considered a step up from fast food, but below fine dining, was pioneered by Baja Fresh which opened its first restaurant in August 1990. Burger joints quickly followed suit. There are many choices to grab a burger in DC area and there are even more planning to join the burger blitz. Northern Virginia is booming with a hand full of restaurant opening adding to the burger mania. Burger 7 (7505 Leesburg Pike) in Falls Church opened last month offering a nutritious, gourmet burger with free-range beef and olive oil cooked French fries. Brgr:Shack (4215 Fairfax Dr., Arlington) just opened in the Ballston neighborhood. Arlington is quickly becoming a crowded market with competition from Five Guys and Obama favorite, Ray's Hell Burger (1713 N Wilson Blvd.), arguably the best burger in DC. In fact, Food & Wine Magazine ranked Ray’s as one of US’s best burgers. According to the article, fans “come here for he freshly ground burgers with and complimentary toppings like grilled onions and mushrooms sautéed in sherry and Cognac.”

Another Obama favorite, Good Stuff Eatery (303 Pennsylvania Ave., SE) owned by Top ‘Cheftestant’, Spike Mendelsohn, said he has plans to franchise the popular Capitol Hill burger joint with more locations opening in the DC area.  If Good Stuff’s juicy handmade burgers, hand-cut fries and handspun ice cream are good enough for the POTUS, they’re good enough for anyone, right? Try the official ‘Obama Burger’ with bacon, blue cheese, onion marmalade, and horseradish mayo.

DC's own Jeff Tunks and partners Gus DiMillo and David Wizenberg of Passion Food, LLC are preparing to open their sixth restaurant, Burger, Tap & Shake (2200 Pennsylvania Ave.), in the bustling West End area in Foggy Bottom. They will be servin’ up fresh patties on house-made buns with hand-cut fries and adult milkshakes next summer. Guests can opt for counter service or café seating inside and on the sidewalk facing Washington Circle.

BGR: The Burger Joint

To pile it on, the famed New York-based chain Shake Shack, will open its first DC outpost in Dupont Circle (1216 18th St., NW) late spring. “Washingtonians are burger experts," restaurateur Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group said in a press release, "and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to open a Shake Shack in this city — especially in the dynamic Dupont Circle community." Shake Shack serves "roadside" burgers which are patties that are cooked on a griddle. BGR The Burger Joint founder and co-owner of BGR, Mark Bucher said, “Shake shack is welcome, but they need to be ready. This is my home court.” BGR The Burger Joint just opened a new location in the DC ‘burbs in Springfield, VA and is slated to open another location in Clarendon Center in Arlington, VA.

Bobby Flay has plans to bring his “Iron Chef” skills to the District with the opening of Bobby's Burger Palace late spring at 2121 K St., NW. “People say I’m so smart to have picked the right time with this economy to open a burger place,” he said. “But I don’t think burgers are working in this economy in particular. I think burgers work in every economy — if they’re good.” The ‘better burger’ market is very crowded now, Flay said, “but I feel we have an advantage. When I open a restaurant, people come."

So what does DC say about all of these chefs coming to open restaurants in our town? Rojas adds, “Let the 'cheflebrities' come.  In the end, only the strong will survive.”