This is the best burger I’ve ever eaten SO FAR. There are so many burgers I haven’t tried in Manila and in other countries but for now this is the BEST burger ever.
Before going to the USA for a vacation I really planned to try as many burgers as I can to find the best burger. In Manila I already declared Chili’s as the best with Borough as a close second.
I’ve tried In-N-Out and Five Guys on previous trips and I wasn’t really impressed. Upon Sha’s recommendation La and I went to Ray’s Hell Burger for a late lunch. 
It was around 1 pm and the line was out the door. Nobody minded standing under the hot, hot sun as long as we all got our burgers. 
Remember the soup Nazi from the tv show, Seinfeld? The staff in red shirts reminded us of the soup Nazi. “Compress and move forward!” “Stay close to wall.” It was really effective though. The line moved fast. 
The restaurant was your basic self-service restaurant. You get your own plastic utensils, condiments, water, napkins and even the take-out box from a table across the counter.
The place didn’t even look as nice as fast food joints. But then nobody cared about the ambiance. Everyone was there for the burgers. 
Our time in line went by pretty quick. We amused ourselves by reading the signs on the wall and looking at the world map. 
Diners stick pins on the countries where they come from. 
We stuck a pin on the Philippines. 
The prices here are cheap!!! 
Yes, we did order milkshakes. Who wouldn’t with those prices?
This is their menu. Crumpled pieces of photocopied paper passed around. No fancy laminated sheets, no fancy lighted menu boards. 
(click to enlarge)
You step up to the counter and order from one of the 3 cashiers. 
Ray’s Hell Burger serves 100% premium steak cuts, aged in house, hand trimmed, ground finish through out the day and loosely and formed into massive 10 oz. burgers for an extra juicy, extra rich burger.
This is why these are the best burgers for me. 
Initially I wanted to the burger with seared foie gras and truffle oil for an additional $9 to the burger priced at $6.99. Then I thought I wanted to enjoy the taste of the burger first and not get distracted by the foie gras and truffle oil. So I ordered the next best thing. Roasted bone marrow on my burger. So sinful right?
burger w/ roasted bone marrow w/ persillade $9.99
This is the only burger that I’ve eaten that tastes like chopped steak instead of ground beef. I could really tell the difference with the aged beef. I think another reason it was so good because the beef was still slightly pink. It was indeed the juiciest, tastiest and richest burger I have ever eaten. The price I paid was definitely a steal.
The sweet potato fries were the best and sweetest I’ve ever eaten too. 
As usual I left the bread behind. The burger was so big I definitely couldn’t have finished it if I ate the bread too. 
La ordered her burger with cave-aged Irish cheddar for an additional $3. The cognac & sherry sauteed mushrooms were free. 
burger w/ cheese & cognac & sherry sauteed mushrooms $9.99
I got a blood orange milkshake which was sooooo good. It tasted like a creamsicle. I really liked the small size of the shake. La had the brown cow. 
I didn’t really appreciate the bone marrow on my burger. The beef patty didn’t really need anything on it except maybe a dash of salt and pepper.
Next time and there will be a next time I plan to order a plain burger. Hmm maybe I’ll add some mushrooms and roasted garlic. Then after that I’ll go back another day and try it with foie gras and truffle oil.
When you have a good product you don’t need fancy, schmancy decor, expensive advertising or even a good location. If the food is good people will talk about it and try it and they will share their experience with more people. That is good business.
Please do yourself a favor. Go try Ray’s Hell Burger. It will ruin all other burgers for you. Why even President Obama brought Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to eat there!
Ray’s Hell Burger
1713 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA, 22209
telephone: (703) 841-0001
Shoot First Eat Later 
Leslie! I LOVE YOUR WEBSITE! I too am a foodie, originally from Union City (Bay Area) California, but I moved here one year ago to go to medical school at UST. Your website was and still is, thus far, my FAVORITE foodie website here in the Philippines. I’ve tried many places that you have blogged and I love them all! One thing that made me super proud was that you tried Ray’s. It’s MY FAVORITE burger as well! We truly have the same taste, it’s almost unbelievable, sometimes I’d try places, check your blog and realized you have tried it and enjoyed it too! I always recommend your website to everyone who wants to find a good place to eat. Thanks so much for blogging! I don’t know why it took so long for me to leave a comment, but when I say this Ray Hell’s Burger post, I just had to! Will be looking forward to your other blogs in the future!
LikeLike
Leslie! I LOVE YOUR WEBSITE! I too am a foodie, originally from Union City (Bay Area) California, but I moved here one year ago to go to medical school at UST. Your website was and still is, thus far, my FAVORITE foodie website here in the Philippines. I’ve tried many places that you have blogged and I love them all! One thing that made me super proud was that you tried Ray’s. It’s MY FAVORITE burger as well! We truly have the same taste, it’s almost unbelievable, sometimes I’d try places, check your blog and realized you have tried it and enjoyed it too! I always recommend your website to everyone who wants to find a good place to eat. Thanks so much for blogging! I don’t know why it took so long for me to leave a comment, but when I saw this Ray Hell’s Burger post, I just had to! It felt like fate! Will be looking forward to your other blogs in the future!
LikeLike
Hi Marianne! What a wonderful comment. You should share with me your favorites in SF and other places so I can try them out the next time I go back. We might discover more food favorites in common. Thanks for sharing with blog with all your friends! See you on my blog’s facebook page 😀
LikeLike