It took 75 years, but Skyline has branched out to a second location (expect a North Portland outpost in 2086). If you're specifically looking for the same food you're used to eating up on the hill, you won't be disappointed; if familiar food isn't your draw, you very well might be. If Skyline's burgers haven't changed drastically over the years, our estimation of what makes a great burger surely has. These are nowhere in the neighborhood of spots like Little Big Burger or Foster Burger, let alone the many gourmet options in town. I'm afraid that without history as an accoutrement, the mediocre food at Skyline Burgers on NE Broadway is just mediocre food.

The new space is big and open, and dressed up like a '50s diner. One wall is painted with a mural of the West Hills, and another is used as a huge projector screen (the size made seeing Atreyu's horse die in the Swamps of Sadness all the sadder). The back of the restaurant is partitioned off as a sports bar.

The basic Skyline hamburger ($4.25, or $4.74 with cheese) is a six-ounce grilled patty, served on a brushed-butter sesame bun with iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion, dill pickles, and mayo. The "giant-size steak burgers" look comically large, as the half-pound patty is pressed thin enough to spill over the sides of its six-inch bun. Most are in the neighborhood of $8 to $11, and varieties range from standards like BBQ or mushroom and Swiss to more adventurous concepts, like pineapple, ham, and teriyaki or pastrami, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island.

Burgers don't come with sides, but you can get a big basket of fries or onion rings—quality wise, about what you'd expect at a bowling alley—for a couple bucks more.

I can imagine that kids will love the place, the same way I loved going to the '50s diner in my neighborhood growing up. But if you're really looking for the past, you may as well take that pretty drive up into the hills. And if you're looking for a James Beard-quality meal, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. -TONY PEREZ