JFG Nation, I know many of you have been wondering (based on the emails, tweets, and FB messages you’ve sent me): “WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THE JFG? You don’t write, you don’t call, you CERTAINLY don’t review junk foods. WHAT IS HAPPENING?? And don’t give me that website re-boot BS because I’m still here and IT ALL LOOKS THE SAME.”

Fair enough, fair enough. Well, I know I can’t snap my fingers and make it all better, so I’ll start out by explaining ONE thing that has changed in my life…back in July, August, whenever it was that I decided to start to reboot the site behind the scenes, I had a good rhythm going. I would put up a post, go to work, do my legal things, and then come home and resume the JFG lifestyle. It was so so cushy.

And then, all of sudden, in my every-day-persona: I GOT A NEW JOB.

Hurray for me, right? Well, yes, it WAS good news. Except here’s the thing – the new gig is REALLY consuming. Like, REALLY consuming. Like, 11-to-12-hour-days-consuming. And it’s a great job, so I’m not complaining – but MAN. This whole working for most of the day thing? It’s for the birds. ANYWAYS, It basically means that my normal break from reality of writing blog posts has been replaced by OH GOD LET ME GET TO SLEEP SO I CAN FUNCTION IN THE MORNING. Yep, I’ve become one of you in the rat race.

So yeah, that’s been a big change…and that was only ONE of the big changes that happened! Now, luckily, even if I haven’t been posting about every single holiday item I’ve consumed, there have been some partners that are still right there with me even in my half-year-semi-hiatus. And one of them is the Hard Rock Cafe, here in DC. And today, I’ll be reviewing their Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburger!!

Now, I was hoping to try this burger with the Junk Food Gal, because she enjoys a nice Modelo – who doesn’t? Unfortunately, her availability was not in the works this time. Instead, I grabbed my friend Robert, who helped inspire this blog from the very start. He was more than happy to help me chow down.

So, the Hard Rock DC’s Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburger is a “Half Pound Certified Angus Beef patty with grilled poblano chilies, garlic aioli and applewood smoked bacon, topped with a Modelo Especial chili-cheese sauce.” I immediately looked up from the menu. “A half pound?!” I mused to Robert. “I didn’t know I’d be needing my sweatpants tonight…” 

My contact Katie wasn’t there that night, but managers Jeff and Lauren were, and they were great – they introduced us to our waitress Kanea and made sure we felt right at home. We put our burger order in and grabbed two Modelo Especial beers. I’ve drunk plenty of Negro Modelo – a darker beer from the same company – but I haven’t had a lot of Especial before. As the card above states, “Rich full-flavored pilsner beer brewed with premium two-row barley malt that gives it a slightly sweet, well-balanced taste with a light hops character and crisp finish.” Well alright, then, bring ’em on!

Ah, beer: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems. The beer was great – just a nice, crisp, middle-weight beverage. And then, before we knew it – the Modelo burgers were HERE.

You know, I will never know how to pose for these pics without looking totally goofy. Anyways, the Hard Rock DC’s Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburger. I got mine cooked medium because THAT’S HOW BURGERS SHOULD BE COOKED.

The Hard Rock DC’s Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburger came with a side of their seasoned fries, ALSO covered in their Modelo beer cheese sauce and sprinkles of bacon.

The Hard Rock DC’s Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburger itself was pretty hefty. I mean, this sucker was BIG. The two strips of crispy bacon hung off the sides, welcoming me. I could see the Modelo cheese sauce dribbling off the patty. I needed to open this sandwich up and take a look under the hood..

The Hard Rock DC’s Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburger isn’t complicated. Burger patty. Modelo beer pepper cheese sauce. Bacon. Grilled slices of poblano chiles. And garlic mayo. BOOM. DONE.

I’ve had beer cheese plenty of times, and it typically has a yeasty flavor. This beer cheese sauce was loaded with chopped chiles, and then had more chiles on top in strips.

One side note: kudos to the Hard Rock DC putting the thin strip of lettuce BELOW the patty. It kept the bottom bun from being soggy. FOOD HACK.

This is a gratuitous cross section shot of the Hard Rock DC’s Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburger. See? Nice and pink, like it ought to be.

I chomped into this burger and immediately nodded in approval. All the main points were there – decent beefy flavor. The beer cheese was definitely pepper-y, and the entire burger had a good amount of salt, both from the cheese and from the bacon, which was nice and crisp. The bun? Fell apart a little bit under the weight of burger, but tasted great all the same. The poblano chiles were the kicker though – helped take the burger from just a normal bacon cheese burger to something else entirely.

I have friends from Arizona and New Mexico who swear by green chiles on all foods, all the time. While a bit inconsistent with the distribution, the poblano slices were my favorite part of this burger. I didn’t get much beer from the Modelo beer cheese sauce, but when the poblano chiles were chewed, they really helped accentuate the pepper-y aspects of the cheese sauce. The chiles gave good heat, and the entire burger felt very Southwestern – I loved it.

I will say that I would’ve loved even MORE green chiles / poblano peppers, and mentioned this to the chef, Thomas, when he came out to say hello. He agreed and said they were still tinkering with the balance. Those bites when the burger, cheese, chiles, garlic mayo, and bacon came together just right? Perfect burger taste explosion.

Now, the Modelo beer cheese fries that came with our Hard Rock DC’s Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburgers? THOSE I got more of the Modelo beer flavor from. Without a large meaty patty or the bold flavor of poblano chiles districting my tastebuds, I was able to taste the cheese sauce itself. It was good, and pair with the bacon perfectly, the salt helping to cut the yeastiness. These fries were killer.

We ended our meal at the Hard Rock DC with some gigantic desserts – Oreo Cheesecake for Robert, Apple Pie Crisp Cobble Explosion for me. I think that was the name of it. Whatever it was, it hit the spot – that nice cinnamon-y sugar-y apple pie flavor topped with vanilla ice cream. I mean, what can I say? There was nothing wrong with these desserts.

In conclusion: Modelo Especial Bacon Cheeseburger? GREAT – but needs to amp up the poblano chile content. Model Especial Bacon Cheese Fries? SUPERB – I want them at every ball game I go to from now on. Modelo Especial beer? Yeah, I could see myself slurping down kegs of it in the future. And the desserts? The perfect way to end a meal, if you’re still looking for an additional 1000 calories.

Thanks again to Katie, Lauren, Jeff, Kanea, Chef Thomas and the rest of the Hard Rock DC for making sure this JFG was taken care off. Now if you’ll excuse me – I have to get back to work…

PURCHASED AT: Hard Rock DC

COST: The burger was $16.95, add cheese sauce to your fries for $2 more

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy