It would seem to be a no-brainer for Marriott International to serve the famous Mighty Mo burger from the Hot Shoppes restaurants that laid the groundwork for the international hospitality giant it is today. Nowhere would it make more sense to be able to buy a Mighty Mo on a daily basis than at the company's downtown Bethesda headquarters, and adjacent Marriott Bethesda Downtown hotel. It happened quietly and briefly this week, but only for 120 minutes.
Marriott HQ's ground-level cafe at 7750 Wisconsin Avenue offered the legendary burger, with a side of chips, for $10.49 Wednesday at 11:30 AM. By 1:30 PM, the burgers had sold out, an employee said yesterday. The cafe plans to offer it again for one day sometime this fall.
Because I was not aware of the Mighty Mo special in advance, I was not able to compare it to the original I used to get at Hot Shoppes in downtown Bethesda. This video may give us an idea, however, because it was filmed at the headquarters this past May.
You'll notice, like the Mighty Mo served at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., and in the bar at the former Key Bridge Marriott in Rosslyn, the burger patties are thicker than those in the original Mighty Mo. This is probably a concession to modern standards, much as few restaurants would dare to serve the crab cakes of the 70s and 80s that were more cake than crab. The original was closer to a Big Mac patty, and the burgers were well-done, not the medium rare David Marriott asks for in the video. And if you're having a Mighty Mo, onion rings and an Orange Freeze are essential, I might add.
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| You can't get a Mighty Mo in Bethesda, but you can in Sri Lanka! |
I will continue my futile quest for a Mighty Mo burger. And continue to urge Marriott to add permanent Hot Shoppes menu items to the restaurants at the Bethesda HQ and hotel. The Mighty Mo is served more often than one would think around the world, but not as much to the customers who would remember and appreciate it most in our area. Consider that the Marriott empire's Sheraton Kosgoda Turtle Beach Resort in Sri Lanka began serving the Mighty Mo this month!
Bottom photo: Marriott Bonvoy
8 comments:
Good luck on your quest! :-)
Noooooooooo!!!!!
How could they fox-&-grapes up like that, teasing so callously. Please, Marriotters, do the area a solid and bring back permanently a delightful bit of yesteryear, (which, as Robert points out, does require onion rings and Orange Freeze, please.)
Imagine the meetings and conference calls that went into making that happen... for 120 minutes.
Idiocy on a corporate scale.
Seeing the sauce is basically like a mayochup… which so many people seem to love (Raising Cane’s, In ‘n’ Out). Funny thing is I hate ketchup and my partner hates mayo, so we just can’t do it.
Not hard to make, it's basically a big mac without frankenfood ingredients.
2 patties + 3 toasted bun halves + butter
lettuce, dill pickles
sauce:
copycat big mac sauce:
1 cup Mayo
¼ cup Sweet Pickle Relish
1 ½ tablespoons Prepared Yellow Mustard
1 teaspoon White Wine Vinegar
½ teaspoon Paprika
¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
¼ teaspoon Onion Powder
Since one of the other commenters suggests the Mo sauce is ketchup + mayo, one could easily sub ketchup for the mustard above. I recommend homemade mayo with real minced garlic and onion added to recreate that restaurant taste.
In no way to disparage our true neighbors in Bethesda, the Marriott clan and Co., does anyone remember Ollie's Trolley? I loved their Ollie Seasoning and Ollie Fries. There is one in a building downtown but isn't quite the same. I remember Lums acquired licensing many decades ago but that fizzled out, as well. Man, I loved Ollie Burgers. There was one in SS, I remember.
The good old days! Still miss Shakey's taco pizza.
What about the noodle O's soup?!?!
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