The infamous Perkin Burger, named after a grumpy prick.
  • The infamous Perkin Burger, named after "a grumpy prick."

This announcement is part of our 2013 Burger Week (Aug 5-11), where we team with local restaurants and vendors to bring you $5 gourmet hamburgers!

Club 21, which seems to have been the one-story, step-saver castle of a weird little old man who liked owls, privacy, and alcohol, has joined the Burger Week fray. This gem of a therapeutically dark, immaculately cluttered, yet polished and respectable dive is offering their legendary Perkin Burger for only $5. As the story goes, Mr. Perkin was a grumpy old prick of a regular, and he made the barkeep at Club 21 cook him this sandwich so often they added it to the menu sometime in 1978. During a recent remodel, the below photograph of the Perkin, with its customary glass of milk and cigarette, was discovered and hung over the very stool where Portland's own Elliott Smith used to sit and let the universe crush him to pieces one watery Scotch and soda at a time.

The Perkin burger is: a fresh, juicy, salted and peppered burger patty, served on a hoagie roll (a nice specimen, not one of those plastic-suffocated sponges from WinCo), with club sauce, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, and a side of au jus for dipping. It's sweet, salty, rich, and it eats well through the end.

Long on history, short on fuss, the Perkin is one of Burger Week's most traditional offerings. Wander in, let Amy the affable bartender take care of you, let the charming chef Meriel prepare your meal, and raise a glass to history in the dark of a Portland icon.

Elliott Smith and Mr. Perkin are long gone, but sit here and drink in their roost.
  • Elliott Smith and Mr. Perkin are long gone, but sit directly below this photo and drink in their roost.

Click for more details!
  • Click for more details!

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