Yelpers regularly make the pilgrimage to this tiny burger joint for 20 different specialty patties—including 100% Angus beef, salmon, crab, lamb, even bison—grilled to perfection and tucked into one of Melt’s house-made sourdough buns. The impressive size, stature, and quality of these half-pounders—from the top-selling Bacon Cheeseburger to Tex-Mex and Philly Cheesesteak burgers—have earned Melt a “wall full of awards” and reputation as “burger royalty.” Even monthly specials, like the Peking Duck Burger and Pizza Burger, have a devoted following.

Owners Stephen and Debbie Hancotte, both former fine-dining chefs who met while working at an upscale Virginia restaurant, brought many of their favorite dishes and techniques to Melt. Their black bean cakes became Melt’s “Veggie Burger”—crafted from beans, corn, sweet chile peppers, and smoky chipotle peppers. Their caprese salad inspired the Caprese Burger, made with mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil aioli.

Read the complete review here

© Foursquare user Laura V.

With help from the folks over at FourSquare, MSN rounded up the top-rated burger shop in each state… and MELT Gourmet Cheeseburgers has once again made the list with the best burgers in Virginia!

“Holy cheeseburger! Huge and delicious burgers ????” – Foursquare user Josh Witmer

View Source at MSN.com

MSN Lifestyle and PureWow have listed the 50 Best Burgers for each state in America, placing MELT Gourmet Cheeseburgers as the #1 pick for Virginia!

VIRGINIA: MELT GOURMET CHEESEBURGERS
What’s the only thing better than munching on a buffalo burger with roasted garlic, caramelized onions, Wisconsin sharp cheddar and horseradish sauce? Washing it down with a double dark chocolate milkshake.

View source at msn.com

Outdoorsy.com has announced its list of “The Best Burgers in Every State” and Melt made the list for Virginia’s most delicious burger!

Outdoorsy provides the highest level of safety and service for every RV owner and renter, so they can focus on traveling and making memories to last a lifetime. In their announcement they said, “Great food makes for great memories! We are the travel guides for nearly 200k people a year and we want to let them know about your great burgers!”

See the full list of state by state winners here.

Every now and then, I find a burger that makes up for all my late-night trips to McDonalds over the years. The All American Bison Burger at MELT Gourmet Cheeseburgers in Leesburg, Virginia, is one such burger.

My friend Jimmy and I discovered MELT in late June, looking for a place to meet between his apartment in northern Virginia and mine in Frederick, and we’ve already been two times in as many months. As the “gourmet” in the name suggests, MELT burgers are both higher quality and more expensive than your average chain, but even when Jimmy and I went all out on our second trip, ordering two burgers, milkshakes and a side of cheese fries, the bill only came to about $50, earning MELT a spot even on my notoriously cheap culinary lineup.

As much as I enjoyed my first experience with the Bacon-Blue Burger, for our second trip as official reviewers, I set my sights on the $17.95 bison burger, menu’s single-most expensive item. Meanwhile, Jimmy opted for the Tex-Mex Burger, one of six “kicked-up” burger options that cost an average of around $11.95.

For comparison, the no-frills hamburger costs $6.95, while a slightly more advanced cheeseburger is $7.95.

Read the complete article at The Frederick News-Post

Leesburg loves MELT, having voted it Loudon County’s Best Burger for six years running. While the burgers are worth the trip alone, the milkshakes, malts, and floats are what make MELT stand out to us. Choose from twelve unique milkshakes with delicious renditions lie Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies, “Black and White,” and Rich Smooth Mocha. Over 21? Go for the Stout Beer milkshake. The floats, too, come in the over 21 varieties, as well as the usual kind. Don’t forget to ask about the Shake of the Month.

via bestthingsva.com/milkshakes/

Each year, the Washington Post polls readers, industry insiders and fellow Washington Post staffers to find the area’s most essential dishes, to be featured in their annual 40 Eats issue. To land a spot on the list, each nomination has to pass a taste test. Then it is pitted against other contenders as they curate a selection that could cater to meat-eaters and vegetarians, sweets lovers and fried-food fans, suburban dwellers and urbanites without cars.

This year, Melt Gourmet Cheeseburger made the list for the most essential Cheeseburger in the D.C. area! The Washington Post writes:

“Is there such a thing as a destination hamburger? If so, it’s found at Melt Gourmet Cheeseburger in Leesburg, a solid hour’s drive northwest of Washington. The standard cheeseburger here is a statuesque beauty, a half-pound patty formed with an Angus blend of short rib, brisket, chuck and other trimmings. Tucked inside a house-made sourdough bun, the patty comes draped with a melted, semi-translucent blanket of American cheese, as surreal as a Dalí painting. One bite, and the burger drips its juices all over the place, suggesting that Melt not only knows how to buy and hand-form good ground beef, but also how to grill it.”

My cheeseburger was textbook. The thick, one-inch patty was seared and coated with cheese that clung like a wet suit. The interior, pink and inviting, oozed juices all over the wax-paper-covered waiter tray that ferried my burger to the table as if it were being presented to royalty. The burger was a tad underseasoned, but, given how much I loved it, my complaint carries all the authority of a film critic who claims “La La Land” would have been better if Ryan Gosling had worn better shoes. The only issue I had with the Paris burger and its ripe, runny Brie was that I couldn’t finish it all.”

Read the complete article at The Washington Post

Written by Tim Carman, who serves as the full-time writer for the Post’s Food section and as the $20 Diner for the Weekend section, a double duty that requires he ingest more calories than a draft horse.

MELT Gourmet Cheeseburgers is a catchy name for a restaurant and it should clue patrons in to what’s next: an array of over-the-top burgers finished with a melt of cheese. Not a chain eatery, this small and straightforward Virginia spot becomes jammed even before mealtimes. It’s no wonder, as who would not want to indulge in a well-stacked bacon-blue cheese burger piled up with glazed onions, bacon, lettuce and Gorgonzola?

Click here to read the article on gayot.com

Gayot.com goes on to review MELT by saying:

MELT Gourmet Cheeseburgers is a catchy name for a restaurant and it should clue patrons in to what’s next: an array of over-the-top burgers finished with a melt of cheese. While the concept may seem simple, creating such a diverse line of burger flavors — 19 in all — must have challenged the owners. Not a chain eatery, this small and rather straightforward eat-in or take-out place becomes jammed at and even before mealtimes. It’s no wonder, as who would not want to indulge in a well-stacked bacon-blue cheese burger piled up with glazed onions, bacon, lettuce and Gorgonzola? Or why not a fire-roasted green chile cheeseburger with garlic, green chiles, sharp cheddar, crispy bacon and shaved red onion? Not satisfied with beef as the foundation, the kitchen creates lamb, turkey, shrimp, crab, tuna, vegetable or bison burgers, too — even a Peking duck burger — to keep customers happy. Sides include the usual fries plus sweet potato fries with Marshmallow Fluff for dipping. Don’t miss out on the thick, icy milkshakes, so when it’s time for a dessert like one of the Chocolate Bars it’s easy to skip past them.

The April 22, 2016 article for “The 50 Best Burgers in America, by State” by MSN & PureWow has given the win to MELT Gourmet Cheeseburgers for the state of Virginia! They write:

“What’s the only thing better than munching on a buffalo burger with roasted garlic, caramelized onions, Wisconsin sharp cheddar and horseradish sauce? Washing it down with a double dark chocolate milkshake.”

Click here to read the article