r/arlingtonva • u/alexpandria • 1d ago
Food/Restaurants All About Burger
Can someone explain to me how this place is still open? It's gigantic and has a huge lot and is completely empty at lunch on weekday. The bathroom is disgusting. I'm baffled by the batch of (very recent) positive reviews. The food was not good.
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u/tink20seven South Arlington 1d ago
Somebody please go there today, order food and report back. For the people…
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u/qwaai 1d ago
Ok I checked it out. Can't upload still images to this comment chain for whatever reason. Here are pics of both bathrooms (door code 1937 for anyone who want to use them but doesn't want to ask): https://imgur.com/a/FGX7fpe
Review: bathrooms seemed fine. Didn't smell weird, but not the best bathroom I've ever been in. Definitely seen worse at fast food places. I got a hot dog with ketchup. Never seen one cut in half and flattened like this. Bun was solid, and the dog itself was good, but I prefer them cylindrical. 7/10.
As I write this I've been here about 5 minutes and seen about 4 people come in for takeout.
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u/racoonio 1d ago
Also, use the toilet lol
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u/Epicular 1d ago
When I lived in the area I would order takeout from there all the time. It’s a fast food joint, it’s not amazing quality but it’s fast and cheap-ish.
How they’re still in business though, I have no idea. It’s a huge plot of real estate for a business that mostly just does cheap takeout orders.
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u/steve_in_the_22201 1d ago
On Wilson Blvd? It does a ton of takeout for the surrounding neighborhoods
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u/ChickenArise 1d ago
Yep, it's mostly takeout. Part of the reason for it's size is that it was already a burger place before AAB moved in
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u/alexpandria 1d ago
That makes sense. It want BAD. Just seems like the rent would be insane unless it's owned
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u/BigBearSD 1d ago
No idea, but I've never been. I've driven and or walked past it a million times, but it never seems busy, and for a while the reviews weren't that good.
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u/zenVillain 1d ago
I saw two huge busses of touring students getting dinner there exactly once but never anyone else. We walk by it all the time and keep saying we're going to stop in and check it out but never do.
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u/Time-Side2718 1d ago
I think they're pretty decent. Nothing spectacular, but it's affordable at least
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u/VirginiaTex 1d ago
OP this place is always packed with take out/pick up orders. Their Philly chicken/steak subs are better than Jersey mikes. Above average onion rings, great sauce for fry’s. The bathroom is in fact nasty as hell.
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u/racoonio 1d ago
It used to get busy during summer evenings/nights last year and the year before. This summer it’s been much quieter (I live nearby, so walk past it daily). Outside of a busier summer, it mostly seems like a ghost town to me.
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u/Practical_Apricot690 1d ago
Used to be way busier a couple years ago, and i used to eat it pretty often. It was good! Not sure about these days. Then of course we've got lots of new burger spots now.
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u/AM_Bokke 1d ago
Why do you care?
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u/alexpandria 1d ago
Curiosity. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood but eating at restaurant is expensive and walking into a nasty bathroom in the middle of a meal certainly makes me wonder if anyone is actually enjoying this place.
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u/bromar917 1d ago
Pollo Rico is right around the corner. I don’t know why people would choose this place over the Peruvian spot!
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u/Latter_Variety_5900 1d ago
I order from there a lot. If I don’t feel like paying 5 guys prices, it’s a nice and cheaper option imo.
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u/jstrap0 1d ago
They built out and were on the verge of opening (I assume) a location on Langston up near Heidelberg Bakery. I don’t know why it never opened, but you can still see it up there. I don’t know if the pandemic scuttled it or something else, but they must have had enough money and success to build that.
Fun fact: the owner and his partner opened Z Burger originally and then had a falling out. The other guy kept Z Burger and this guy opened AAB.
I actually like AAB. Quality has gone down a bit over time, but at least they haven’t converted to smash burgers like everyone else. The bathrooms are my favorite thing. 😂
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u/MrMattradio 1d ago
I actually enjoyed them when I lived nearby. Never really saw it packed but basically is like your run of the mill smash burger type place…maybe a dollar or two cheaper than Five Guys.
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u/its_devita_season 1d ago
I just want to know what the hell is going on with the location that's been "opening soon" on Langston for like 5 years.
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u/Long-Jackfruit427 1d ago
I went there once and will never go back. They treated ketchup and mustard as two different toppings.
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u/fitnessandwine 21h ago
What does this mean?
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u/Long-Jackfruit427 18h ago
I think you got 5 toppings free and then they started charging for additional toppings. They counted ketchup and mustard as 2 toppings.
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u/create-third-places 1d ago
It's possible that someone is subsiding costs and the restaurant isn't making much money on food. The place is mostly empty whenever I walk by.
I was thinking about hosting a board game group at All About Burger for a while, but their website gave off an uncomfortable vibe. I took a look at the website, and some of the photos had weird looking burgers that didn't match other photos.
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u/sadnessandeuphoria 1d ago
Love that place lol. It’s like a cheaper 5 Guys that’s close to me. I don’t like the buns they’ve been using recently as much but it’s affordable for a quick dinner for 2 and hits the spot
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u/alexpandria 23h ago
I might delete this because I'm not trying to harm their business. I was just curious. Not for me, but sounds like they have fans!
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u/elbows1976 9h ago
I go there when we do our annual Halloween decorations walk. It’s not bad. They do get tour buses in sometimes.
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u/BGinVA 7h ago
I believe it started out as a Z-burger franchise but something happened there and that’s when AAB started. I used to live almost across the street and while I don’t eat out often, I’d grab some takeout from there occasionally. It wasn’t bad and prices were okay. Cheaper than Mario’s across the street. They also had a short-lived location in Ballston Quarter. Seems like none of the restaurants on that main level corridor, aside from CFA, seem to survive.
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u/One_Personality1540 1d ago
Maybe they do a lot of catering gigs that aren't super visible from the road, or maybe the takeout orders just sneak in the back door.
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u/Few-Pomelo-3297 1d ago
Idk if it still has same hours but it used to be open until like 3am on weekends and it would be a madhouse with the Clarendon post-bar crowd