Burgers
In our increasingly complex world, there are a lot of seemingly simple things we take for granted, like doorknobs and anti-fungal cream and bendy straws and the humble burger ‘n fries, one of the most perfect and complimentary food pairings ever created. It’s important to pause now and then and think about how lucky we are that White Castle founder Walter Anderson came up with the bright idea of putting hamburger on a bun nearly a century ago. There’s nothing quite like a juicy meaty patty sandwiched between soft fresh bread with all the fixings, alongside a pile of hot, golden fries. It sounds simple enough, but these days, everyone’s trying to build a better and more bewitching burger. From the best chefs in the world to intrepid home BBQer’s, everyone is exploring fat-to-meat ratios and challah verses potato rolls with a studious concentration generally given to finding major medical cures. Drop in to one of these local restaurants to do some research of your own.
50 Plates
How can you resist ordering something dubbed a “Silver Dollar Sammie?” It would take a stronger girl than me. 50 Plates’ list of three bites-sized sliders runs the gamut from pulled pork to fried green tomato, but it’s the beef I’m interested in. The Lil’ Kahuna Burger is a cradled in a sweet potato roll with sweet tangy BBQ sauce and slaw, while the Old Faithful is just that–a reliably tasty stack of tender juicy Kobe beef, Tillamook cheddar, and homemade relish. Say yes to to the menu’s “Fries With That?” inquiry, and you can pair your sliders with hot fried Burbank Russet french fries for $2.50.
- Location: 333 NW 13th Ave. Portland (Pearl District) Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.228.5050
- Hours: Mon-Thu 11:30am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-12am, Closed Sundays
Bridgeport Brewpub
The Bridgeport Burger is a thick savory half pound of freshly ground Cascade Natural chuck piled with Tillamook white cheddar, lettuce, tomato and mayo, and accompanied by a pile of golden brown, uber-crispy thick cut fries ($10.25). If you’re feeling slightly unconventional–a few pints of Bridgeport’s IPA generally has that effect on me–pony up another quarter and opt for the burger with pepperjack, jalapenos, house-made fire sauce ($10.50), the burger with smoked cheddar, ipa bbq sauce, and an onion ring ($10.50), or the black + blue burger (blackened cajun spices and blue cheese, $10.50). There’s also a house-made veggie burger ($9.75). And of course, any burger is that much better with a pint of one of Bridgeport’s excellent ales, especially when both are consumed outside on the old loading dock-cum-shaded and very social terrace.
- Location: 1313 NW Marshall St. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.241.3612
- Hours: Mon-Thu 11:30am-10pm; Fri-Sat 7am-12am; Sun 1pm-9pm
Brunch Box
These days, the humble burger is getting fancier and pricier, as burger bars let you customize your hunk o’ beef with asparagus and truffle oil, chefs experiment like mad scientists with patty thickness, shape and seasonings, and fries are served with increasingly embellished dipping sauces like orange-saffron aioli. So when you visit The Brunch Box on SW 5th Avenue, you might do a double take when you see the menu–a basic quarter pounder with all the traditional trimmings–lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion–for $3! Or upgrade to the YouCanHasCheeseburger, for $5 your patty comes cradled between two Texas-toast grilled cheese sandwiches. And Spam lovers (you know who you are) only have to fork over $4 for the 5OH! Burger with spam, pineapple and sweet teriyaki glaze. Chips are a dollar, and sodas and Capri Suns will only set you back 50 cents.
- Location: SW 5th Ave & SW Stark St, Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.477.3286
- Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm, Sat 9am-4pm, closed Sunday
Clyde Common
The Clyde Common burger reminds me of the restaurant–simple, stylish, and belly-friendly. It’s a classic juicy burger-meets-soft bun romance, but you can spice things up a little by adding cheddar, blue cheese, bacon or a fried egg. The fries are thin, hot and slightly addictive (kind of like Robert Pattinson), and served with Clyde’s signature and sometimes controversial housemade harissa ketchup. The burger appears on the lunch ($9) and happy hour ($6) menus, but you’ll find it curiously absent from the dinner offerings. Not a problem–just ask your server to hook you up and they’ll gladly do so, especially if you are Robert Pattinson.
- Location: 1014 S.W. Stark St. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.228.3333
- Hours: Lunch Mon – Fri 11:30-3pm, Dinner nightly 6pm-11pm (starting at 5pm on the weekend)
Davis Street Tavern
Oldtown/Chinatown, bless its heart, is not known for its fine dining. That changed when Davis Street Tavern opened in late 2008 at the corner of NW Davis and NW 5th. The restaurant and adjoining bar are sophisticated in a comfortable sort of way–red brick walls, low leather banquettes, loungey bar sofas, flattering lighting, very interesting metal and wood chandeliers, and a huge portrait of half-naked Bathsheeba covering most of the South wall (you can buy it for $28,000). The burger matches the ambiance–sophisticated but approachable, a strip loin burger topped with braised pork belly, sharp Tillamook cheddar, tomato jam, and romaine lettuce, served with a pinch of the house pickled vegetable salad and a pile of perfectly light, fresh and salty shoestring fries ($10). During DST’s daily happy hour (4-6:30pm), you can get the burger for $6–paired with the $3 happy hour microbrew, you’ve got a superb under-$10-meal.
- Location: 500 NW Davis St. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.505.5050
- Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30 am - midnight, Fri 11:30am to 1am, Sat 4pm-1pm, Closed Sunday
Paley’s Place
Paley’s Bistro Burger holds its place in the echelons of Portland best burgers, a thick, pink-centered mound of just-ground and grilled American Kobe beef dripping with juices and topped with a tender ring of grilled onion and melted cheddar, served on a poppyseed-sprinkled brioche bun spread with ketchup and a sharp whole grain mustard aioli. Plated with pickled vegetables and a light salad of fresh greens, the only thing that could make this burger more perfect is a deftly mixed drink–try chef Vitaly Paley’s favorite, the Tanqueray No. 10 martini, served up with a twist.
Saucebox
With its trendy good looks and stylish Pan-Asian menu, Saucebox isn’t the first restaurant that comes to mind when you’re craving a hearty burger. But their happy hour menu–one of the most popular late-afternoon draws in the city–features not one but three gorgeous burgers. All three burgers offer something a little different–the classic Sauvie Island Burger has bacon, Tillamook cheddar, tomato and a secret “special sauce;” the lively Crispy Onion Burger sports crispy onions, tomato chutney, and scallion-black pepper mayo; and the exotic Miyako Burger is topped with teriyaki sauce, wasabi mayo, avocado, and roasted chiles. And since these are happy hour burgers and all, you’ll pay a mere $4 for them, which means you can afford another boxcar or two before last call at 6:30pm.
- Location: 214 SW Broadway, Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.241.3393
- Hours: Tue-Fri 4:30pm-close, Sat 5pm-close * Happy Hour Tue-Fri 4:30-6:30pm, Sat 5-6:30pm
Slow Bar
Slow Bar might emit a dive bar aura, but the black napkins are cloth, the mesclun greens are organic, and the Dom Perignon 1996 Rosé is $300 a bottle. In accordance with its surroundings, the famed Slow Burger is also somehow simultaneously primitive and luxurious, presented with a serrated steak knife stabbed through its heart–both for visual effect and as a means to secure the two nearly inch-wide golden fried onion rings that top the half pound Painted Hills beef burger. Shrouded in gruyere and served on a Grand Central Bakery bun with crisp butter lettuce and pickle relish, this Angelina Jolie of burgers comes with hot hand cut fries and makes an excellent companion for your Dom Perignon.
- Location: 533 SE Grand Ave. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.230.7767
- Hours: Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:30am, Sat-Sun 5pm-2:30am * Happy Hour daily 3-6pm
The Grilled Cheese Grill
Oh, behold the Grilled Cheese Grill’s Cheesus Burger! This burger wasn’t named after the Lord in vain–it’s the most sacred use of grilled cheese sandwiches and a burger patty I’ve ever eaten. The Cheesus Burger’s brilliance lies in the “bun,” which is two basic grilled cheese sandwiches, one containing American cheese and pickles, the other pairing Colby Jack with soft grilled diced onions. Add a juicy 1/3 lb burger, crisp fresh iceberg lettuce, red ripe tomatoes, ketchup and mustard, and you’ve got something heavenly, all right.
- Location: 1027 NE Alberta Ave. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.206.8959
- Hours: Tue-Thu 11:30am-10:30pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-2:30am, Sun 11:30am-3:30pm, closed Mondays
The Original
When I saw The Original’s Voodoo Burger on the menu, at first I laughed incredulously, then I snorted disdainfully, then I turned the page and checked out the salads, like a sensible person. But as I debated the Cobb verses the Caesar, I couldn’t stop thinking about a big beef patty fused to two halves of a glazed raised Voodoo Doughnut with cheddar, even as I decried the revolting, shameless, grandstanding novelty of it all. Naturally, I ordered it. And I must say, that doughnut burger was awful good. Meaty, cheesy, soft and sweet, it went down way too easily. Next time, I’ll definitely get the Caesar. I think.
- Location: 300 SW 6th Ave. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.546.2666
- Hours: Mon-Thu 7am-10pm, Fri-Sat 7am-midnight, Sun 7am-9pm
Urban Farmer
I’m always suspicious when my burger doesn’t look like a burger. For example, when my burger looks like an Egg McMuffin, I get a little weirded out. So, when my first Urban Farmer happy hour burglet arrived, I blanched. Was it supposed to be on an English muffin? Had they run out of buns? Turns out, there is a method to Urban Farmer’s muffin madness. The dense, slightly chewy housemade English muffin actually makes an excellent foil for the richness of the kobe beef burger patty, which is topped with savory melted cheddar cheese and spread with creamy housemade aioli. And since Urban Farmer is, after all, a “modern steakhouse,” you could hardly expect them to serve a regular old burger on a plain old bun, right?
- Location: 525 SW Morrison St. Portland Map it!
- Phone Number: 503.222.4900
- Hours: Sun-Thurs 6am-11pm, Fri-Sat 6am-midnight; Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-6pm www.urbanfarmerrestaurant.com
Yakuza
“The fries were inside the burger,” my father blurted as we were leaving sleek little North Portland eatery Yakuza the other night. “They were inside.” My dad’s a pretty old-fashioned guy, so I wasn’t sure how he’d take this assault on french fry tradition. “What did you think?” I asked hesitantly. “It was darn tootins good burger!” he replied enthusiastically. And there you have it, straight from my dad. The exalted Yakuza burger, darling of the haute burger world and recent Portland Monthly cover model, with its thick round of Highland Oak Farms beef piled with Cypress Grove chévre and secret sauce and of course, the mound of misplaced shoelace potatoes mentioned above, makes for a darn tootins good burger.
