DaBo Burger. 600 Howard Rd., SE.
It takes three days to make the signature milk buns at the latest burger joint from Mélange and Doro Soul Food chef Elias Taddesse. DaBo Burger—whose name means “bread” in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia—differentiates itself with its French- and Japanese-inspired buns sprinkled with pearl sugar and a touch of salt.
“With the inspiration of pain au lait, it’s something that is a memory trigger for me, and that’s something I wanted to do,” says Taddesse, explaining it was his favorite snack while in culinary school in France. “I don’t know if anyone has done pearl sugar on their bread for a burger before.”
DaBo Burger opens inside Atlas Bridge District Brewery & Tap Room’s new location in Anacostia on Thursday, January 15 with a menu full of smash burgers, milkshakes, and more. The first 25 customers when the restaurant opens at 4 PM will receive free fries with a purchase of a burger.
Taddesse, a French-trained chef with a Michelin-starred resume in New York, is no stranger to beef patties. In 2016, he launched a burger pop-up in DC called Salt N’ Pepa. And burgers have been a focus of his French- and Ethiopian-inspired concept Mélange, which originally opened in 2020 and has found a new home in Shaw alongside fried chicken-focused Doro Soul Food.
But when Taddesse was approached by Atlas founder Justin Cox about collaborating at their new outpost, he decided to switch up his recipes a bit. And while the buns may be unique, DaBo Burger’s smash patties are familiar. Taddesse’s goal was simplicity, taking inspiration from former menu items.
The restaurant’s signature, “Le Royale” includes colby jack cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, and butter chive dijonnaise. Meanwhile, Taddesse nods to Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America with “The McDowell,” the restaurant’s version of a Big Mac with American cheese, diced onions, shredded lettuce, pickles, and the restaurant’s special sauce. There’s also a mushroom burger with smoked cheddar and roasted garlic aioli. Prices start at $9.95.
Taddesse is continuing to offer milkshakes too, including one inspired by cold cereal milk and a “PBJ + Toast” option with toast ice cream, strawberry jam, peanut butter, and sweet toast crumbles. All milkshakes are topped with whipped cream.
If milkshakes are not your drink of choice, there’s always beer from Atlas’s new solar-powered flagship brewery. There are at least ten drafts to choose from, including the District Common Lager or the Half Street Hefeweizen.
DaBo will be open Thursday through Friday from 4 to 9 PM, Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 9 PM, and closed Monday through Wednesday.
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