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| Classic Burger at Uptown Tap House |
Uptown Tap House has been open for less than nine months, but has clearly settled into a nice groove in the former digs of Ireland's Four P's in Cleveland Park. You can tell a lot about a bar from their burgers, so I decided to order one for take away.
My first visit (back in October of last year) didn't go too well; but I was really impressed with the attention I received on a busy Friday night. It started with a warm greeting from both hosts at the front door: From there, I was directed to the bar to pick up my order. I only had to wait a few seconds before a potential Miss Universe contestant/bartender found me through the crowd at the bar. Not only was she gorgeous, but she was friendly, outgoing and (best of all) eager to find my burger! She came back after a minute or so, apologized and said she couldn't find it; but to give her another minute and she'd try again. 30 seconds later, she popped back (burger in hand.) A- for customer service.
Great service goes a long way. When I got home and opened the food container, I wasn't all that impressed with how my burger & fries looked. But guess what? I was happy, and optimistic: Maybe it will taste better than it looks (try feeling like that, if you get shoddy help beforehand.) To my surprise, it did. The fries were handcut and tasty; and the burger was really good. I'd asked for MEDIUM, but it was WELL-DONE... but still juicy and packed with flavor: Finally a bar cook that knows how to use salt and pepper! It was really thick too, and the bun was given a few seconds on the grill (cheer!)
The bar had a great energy and a good-looking crowd in their 20's/30's. I'll definitely be back for another burger and a beer... only this time, eating in.
Atmosphere: B+ (I was tempted to change my mind and eat it there.)
Burger: B (Would have been higher, but it wasn't cooked as requested.)
Fries: C+
Service: A- (Above and beyond, considering how busy it was.)
Value: B (Only $9!)
Overall: B (Uptown Tap House has made drastic improvements since my last visit.)
