This all started because of the quest for the perfect burger. I tried a variety of burgers over the years of my foodie adventures. Lots of burgers were eaten, many forgotten and not worth mentioning. Then Willamette Week’s burger recommendations came out recently:
I have eaten at a few of these: Carafe, Foster Burger, and Toro Bravo. Here are my contenders for the tastiest Portland burger:
Carafe’s I had awhile back and was not very memorable.
Toro Bravo redeemed themselves from their initial manchego bacony impression. The burger is made of lamb with some cheese, sweet pickles and a spicy sweet pepper tapenade at number four. Many of my friends rate this as their favorite, I don’t agree probably because I am not a sauce person.
Number three is Kenny and Zukes pastrami burger. It’s only $7.50 during their happy hour (and goes great with a chocolate egg cream if you want to feel East Coasty). This beef burger has a slab of pastrami and cheese on top. Very melty and gooey.
Number two is Foster burger. The meat cut is high quality with clean, homemade pickles and iceberg lettuce. There also is a juicy greasiness to it.
Number one belongs to Gruner, the enchanting Northwest meets the European Alpine restaurant. The bun is probably the factor that determined my final decision. The bread is a seeded potato bun that does not weigh you down like other buns do. It also does not get very soggy. The burger comes with a choice of fontina or cheddar cheese (fontina adds to the lightness as well), bread and butter pickles, aioli, arugula and smoked bacon. There also is a side of a few delicately fried potatoes.
Gruner is much more than a tasty burger. Their salads deserve the highest accolade in all of Portland. My boyfriend and I ordered the endive salad, garnished with egg, chives, walnuts and gruyere. The dressing is a light salty-sweet mustard vinaigrette. Every bite is crisper and fresher than the last. From now on, every time we crave the perfect salad, we think Gruner.
The grand finale of our meal was again full of flavor but still delicate as the other courses. I feel like the chef really nurtures the food he prepares. We had the bavarian cream trifle with rhubarb sauce.
A blend of Northwestern and German cuisine emerges with this layered dessert because the richness of the cream and cake is muted positively by the tangy rhubarb sauce. Often European desserts feel weighty with butter and cream, but the fruit sauce left my palate satisfied and not overwhelmed at the end of my meal.
Your check to this European-esque establishment will arrive in a German book and you definitely will feel like you've tasted your money's worth. Here's the website for the restaurant: http://www.grunerpdx.com/
And keep watching for more of my burger updates. I am going to try to hit Metrovino, Biwa and other non burger places the rest of this summer.
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