AT LAST. After an entire year of waiting—you've been so patient!—the Portland Mercury's Burger Week is finally here!
From Monday, August 7 to Saturday, August 12, at more than 40 of Portland's finest restaurants, you'll find one-of-a-kind burgers that exist only for the Mercury's Burger Week! And even better? Each of these wondrous creations will cost a mere $5!
Will this be one of the greatest weeks of your burger-eating life? Damn straight it will.
Thanks to the Mercury and our friends at New Seasons Market, Jim Beam, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Satchel, and Reach Now, this will be a week long remembered.
Read on for mouth-watering descriptions of 2017's Burger Week offerings—but first, a few things to keep in mind!
Be patient
Everyone loves Burger Week, which means there will be lines. It's all part of the Burger Week experience—and if a burger sells out, you can always come back tomorrow.
Tip, and tip well
Feeding Portland's burger-crazed hordes is tough, thankless work—so make sure to show your appreciation to the brave chefs, wait staff, and bartenders who make Burger Week happen!
Drink (and eat) up
While burgers are the integral part of Burger Week, all our Burger Week restaurants have other excellent offerings—drinks, sides, salads, and more! Humans cannot survive on burgers alone. (Trust us, we've tried. RIP, Ben.)
Be social
Hit portlandburgerweek.com, use #portlandburgerweek, and check out the Mercury’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates, details, and reviews of the best Burger Week burgers—from this year’s most eagerly anticipated creations, to the unexpected ones that everyone will have to try..
Burger Week 2017 is here! Godspeed.
Because we know you will ask…
Alameda Brewing Co.
Not-Cho-Burger
What’s a cheese that’s not yours? Nacho cheese! What’s a burger that’s just for you? The Not-Cho-Burger! Alameda Brewing’s Burger Week offering is a beer drinker’s delight: a cross between nachos and a burger. Grab a pint of their signature crisp P-Town Pilsner and get to work on a one-third-pound chuck burger buddied up with all the trappings of killer nachos: housemade queso, green chili, chorizo, and tortilla chips. Unlike a plate of nachos, you don’t have to worry about someone stealing all the best toppings—this is all yours.
4765 NE Fremont; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-11 pm
Alberta Street Pub
The Smoke Break
If you love your burger with extra smoke, don’t miss the Smoke Break from Alberta Street Pub! This burger features a six-ounce Painted Hills beef patty generously seasoned with the pub’s smoky blend of spices on a crisp bed of romaine. Top that off with a savory barbecue/mayo sauce and onions that are slowly and lovingly caramelized in Breakside IPA, and you have a burger that that’s nothing less than addictive. Now there’s no reason not to step out for a quick, delicious Smoke Break.
1036 NE Alberta; burger available Mon-Sat 4-8 pm
Bar Bar
The 4B
A burrito and a burger walk into a bar. The burger says, “I like your toppings.” The burrito asks, “You wanna try them on?” The 4B (Bar Bar’s Burrito Burger) starts with extra sharp Tillamook cheddar on Bar Bar’s traditional charred all-beef patty. Then, the remix begins: Layered with house-made guacamole, shredded iceberg lettuce, and a dollop of cilantro-infused sour cream, this burrito burger brings together two glorious food worlds. Served on a pillow-soft Alessio bun, this is the burger/burrito Portland was born to eat.
3939 N Mississippi; burger available Mon-Sun 11 am-2 am
Bar Maven
Kimchi Korean Burger
The good people at Bar Maven make no bones about the fact that they were stoned when they came up with this bad boy. Easing their dry mouth with a heaping pile of Korean wings, they hit on the Kimchi Korean Burger—and now, the rest of us reap the benefits. We’re talking the rugged juiciness of angus beef, topped with pickled jicama, spicy mayo, sautéed kimchee with applewood bacon bits, pepperjack, and green onions. Plus, it all comes on a stout brioche bun from Grand Central! You don’t have to be high to eat this Burger Week offering... but it’d be a nice tribute if you were.
6219 SE Foster; burger available Mon-Sat 4 pm-1 am
Biwa
Instagram Burger
A burger so good you won’t be able to stop yourself from hopping on Insta to show it off to everybody (#foodporn #burgergoals). You’ll definitely get a lot of likes. Biwa, Southeast Portland’s hip Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar, is making the Instagram Burger for Burger Week: It’s a classic summer burger with goat cheese, colorful heirloom tomatoes, and fresh handmade pickle slaw. In other words? The Instagram Burger perfectly highlights the smell and flavors of the summer garden lifestyle—no filters needed.
215 SE 9th; burger available Mon-Sat 11:30 am-2 am
Boise Fry Company
Real American Hero Burger
The United States is in peril, so we need Boise Fry Company’s Real American Hero Burger more than ever before. It’s an all-natural, seasoned chuck patty topped with delicious charred onion aioli, thick-cut bacon, house-made dill pickles, and American cheese on a sesame seed bun. USA! USA! While you’re there, you should probably order a side of fries, too: There are six BFC locations, and the other five are in Idaho, so they really know how to serve a potato.
1902 W Burnside; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-9 pm
BRIX Tavern
Norm's Burger
BRIX Tavern’s Burger Week entry is a throwback to Chef Kevin Kennedy’s childhood on Puget Sound. He’s recreated the burger he and his father used to get at the classic drive-in a half-mile from their house. “After harvesting shellfish or mushrooms with my father,” he remembers, “we would always stop by Norm’s Drive-In on Sunday afternoons. No seats, just a walk-up. They had five sandwiches and sodas.” BRIX’s Norm’s Burger is a recreation of the cheeseburger Kennedy would order each time—with grilled Oregon Farms sirloin, Tillamook cheddar, heirloom tomatoes, shredded iceberg lettuce, caramelized onions, and chipotle aioli. It’s summer nostalgia, in burger form.
1338 NW Hoyt; burger available Mon-Thurs 11 am-midnight, Fri 11 am-1 am, Sat 9:30 am-1 am.
Delicious Donuts
3 Pigs Breakfast Burger
Big, bad wolves rejoice! The 3 Pigs Breakfast Burger will have you huffin’, puffin’, and blowin’ down the door of Delicious Donuts (but please don’t, it’s a family establishment). Celebrate the physical incarnation of your most gluttonous desires this Burger Week with the three squealers—sausage, ham, and bacon—and American cheese, egg, and hashbrowns, all sandwiched between grilled, glazed raised donuts. This raconteur of a burger knows it’s challenging hallowed breakfast tradition, but asks—nay, insists—that it be the most important meal of your day (and maybe even your life). Succumb to the 3 Pigs Breakfast Burger, and perhaps you will find true happiness.
12 SE Grand; burger available Mon-Sat 5 am-2 pm
Double Barrel Tavern
Curd Is the Word!
Here’s a burger the Trashmen would approve of: Double Barrel Tavern’s Curd Is the Word! boasts the undeniable pairing of ground beef and squeaky, chewy cheese curds. More specifically, it’s Painted Hills beef, so you know exactly where it came from, and the cheese curds are accompanied by gravy and crisped potatoes in what I can only imagine is a wise homage to Canadian superfood poutine. (There’s also butter lettuce, because they had to get a veggie in there somewhere, right?) It’s enough to make you manically repeat the phrase “The curd is the word!” Or you would, if your mouth weren’t full of delicious dairy and protein.
2002 SE Division; burger available Mon-Sat 2 pm-2 am
Doug Fir Lounge
Smoke N Fry Burger
Of all the magically delicious famous food pairings, burger and fries top our list. And while others are trying to fix what’s not broken with outrageously innovative burgers, Doug Fir is upping their Burger Week game by going back to basics. How, you ask? They’re combining burgers and fries in an unforgettably delicious tryst. Starting with a hand-pressed Angus Beef patty, the delectable Smoke N Fry burger is topped with slow-smoked onion fry sauce—smoked daily at the restaurant—and a thick-cut, seasoned waffle fry. Add a few more classically delectable burger complements—a perfect slice of cheddar and shredded lettuce—and you’ve got yourself a burger done right.
830 E Burnside; burger available Mon-Sat 7 am-3 pm and 5 pm-sold out
Elephants Delicatessen
The Pig Kahuna
Keeping in tradition with their previous Burger Week offerings the Pig Lebowski and the Pig Mac, Elephant’s Pig Kahuna burger is constructed around a pork-based patty that sets it apart from more traditional beef offerings. Utilizing a staff favorite “hamloaf” recipe for the base, Elephant’s then coats the meat with a pineapple-bourbon sauce that brings things to just the right level of sweetness, before balancing it out with a little spice in the form of roasted jalapeños and pepperjack. Add a layer of shredded lettuce to provide a bit of crunch that doubles as a cooling note, then stack it all up on a homemade sesame seed bun, and you’ve got a scrumptious Burger Week offering.
5221 SW Corbett, 877 SW Taylor, 115 NW 22nd, 2730 SW Moody; hours vary by location
Fifth Quadrant
General Tso's Double Stack
You think General Tso’s culinary magic only works on chicken? Then you need to get a load of Fifth Quadrant’s Burger Week masterpiece, which combines the spicy/sweet flavors of Chinese American cuisine with burgerlicious beef. The General Tso’s Double Stack is indeed two patties tall, giving you plenty of meat for your Burger Week dollars, and it’s topped with a special General Tso’s pepper slaw, giving the burger a nice crunch. But they didn’t stop at that—there’s yet another patty to top things off! This final patty is made of egg foo young, the omelet-like egg dish you might find next to General Tso on the menu of your favorite old-school Chinese American restaurant. That this is all delivered in a burger-shaped package will be a thing to behold—and eat.
3901 N Williams; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-11 pm
Foster Burger
Escape Hatch
Portland burger lovers know that Foster Burger does not mess around when it comes to mouth-watering patty/bread combos. And they’re going all out with this year’s Burger Week submission, the Escape Hatch. Imagine one of Foster Burger’s juicy homemade patties nestled on a bed of fresh arugula. Now top that with some melted pepperjack, crispy bacon, red onion, house-made pickles, and a Hatch chile! And because you need an additional sweet taste of heat, there’s chipotle mayonnaise and a sprinkling of cilantro! For fans of burgers with a flavor-packed kick, the Escape Hatch is the way out you’ve been searching for.
5339 SE Foster; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-10 pm
Holsteins Shakes and Buns
Bánh mì Burger
There are scads of cheap, great banh mi options in this city, but only the shake-slingers at Holsteins had the integrity to toss the noble burger into this delicious commingling of French and Vietnamese influences. Ladies and gentlemen: the Bánh mì Burger. This sweet mama’s got dry-aged beef and pork belly that’s slathered in oyster mayo, pickled daikon and carrot, jalapeño, cilantro, and, of course, sriracha. Wash it down with one of Holsteins’ alcoholic shakes, the way the French would want (probably).
1139 NW Couch; burger available Mon-Sat 4-10 pm
Home, A Bar
The Dirty Picnic
The best part of a picnic is that last bite, when all the flavors come together, like a family reunion without fighting and disappointment (if those exist). Home, A Bar captures the fleeting feeling of that last bite with the Dirty Picnic, featuring beans, chips, coleslaw, meat, bacon, cheese, hot dogs, and a bun. This is a feat of burger engineering: using the space between a bun as a vehicle for an entirely separate culinary experience! But that’s the Dirty Picnic’s deal—it just loves bringing people together. Come Home and get yours.
719 SE Morrison; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-11 pm
Iconic Lounge
Southern Chowdown
We have no beef with Iconic’s Southern cookout-inspired burger, made with ground pork and bacon. This piggy patty is coated in dry rub and grilled with barbecue sauce for extra goodness, just like they do in the southland—calories be damned.That hyper-juicy meat is set atop a chewy cornbread bun that’s been bedecked with a delicious housemade Southern chow-chow chutney, and then covered in a cabbage slaw. Wash it down with an iconic bourbon-based drink and you’re set for a real hootenanny.
2226 NE Broadway; burger available Mon-Thurs 3:30-11 pm, Fri 3:30 pm-midnight, Sat noon-midnight
Kells Brewery
Ballycastle Sausage Roll Burger
Kells, the great, family-owned Irish pub in Northwest Portland, always manages to work up delicious Irish-themed burgers for Burger Week (last year was the Shepherd’s Pie Burger). This year is no different, as they introduce the Ballycastle Sausage Roll Burger. It’s a ground pork sausage roll—with onions, spices, demi glace—in a burger! Order one, pair it with a pint, watch some rugby or soccer, sit back, and enjoy the experience.
210 NW 21st; burger available Mon-Thurs 11:30 am-midnight, Fri-Sat 11:30 am-2 am
Las Primas
Tangy Peruvian Cheeseburger
Las Primas’ Burger Week offering was inspired by the sangucherías (sandwich stands) that line the streets of Lima and serve classic Peruvian-style cheeseburgers to late-night customers. The restaurant’s Tangy Peruvian Cheeseburger is a twist on that tradition, and Las Primas promises that it’s “juicy, tangy, saucy, and just a little bit spicy.” They aren’t fucking around when they say it’s saucy: It has a bunch of them—chili-pepper mayo, a tangy marinade, AND Peruvian chili-pepper sauces—mixed with layers of house-made pickles and Peruvian-style slaw with cabbage and jalapeño, all piled over a fire-grilled patty with pepperjack on top.
3971 N Williams; burger available Tues-Fri 11:30 am-8 pm, Sat noon-8 pm
Lay Low Tavern
Club 26
The Club 26 burger is an homage to the now-shuttered Club 21 that used to live on Northeast Sandy—and also a nod to the owners’ new spot, the Lay Low Tavern on Southeast Powell. The burger itself is stacked with the appropriate Portland goodness as well: a beef patty topped with bacon, PNW staple Mama Lil’s Peppers, chevre, and arugula all rest on a Portland French bun with a spreading of lime-cilantro aioli. Devour this burger and fries on the bar’s semi-covered patio, then wash it down with one of the many beers they have on tap.
6015 SE Powell; burger available Mon-Sat 11:30 am-2 am
Lightning Will Bar & Grill
Bánh mì Burger
For their Burger Week debut, Northwest Portland’s Lightning Will Bar & Grill decided to combine their passion for crafting tasty and unique burgers with their love of bánh mì sandwiches—resulting in a mouthwatering winner that’s guaranteed to lend plenty of Burger Week clout to this new kid on the block. Starting with a seasoned pork patty, Lightning Will’s doubles down on meat with a layer of braised and fried pork belly strips, then piles on a refreshing, pickled jalapeño Asian slaw that adds a flavorful burst to the burger’s hefty base. Add a fresh ciabatta bun that’s been coated with a sriracha mayo, and you’ll be savoring every crispy bite.
305 NW 21st; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-2:30 am
The Lompoc Tavern
Proletariat BBQ Burger
Lompoc Brewing’s Proletariat Red Ale is one of the local brewpub chain’s flagship beers—so why not put all that malty, hoppy goodness into a Burger Week burger? That’s exactly what Lompoc did, topping a hot slab of their custom beef blend with Proletariat Red BBQ sauce, creating a barbecue-flavored burger that’ll go well with a pint of the titular beer. Plus, the burger is topped with a jalapeño-bacon jam, which sounds like unadulterated breakfast heaven, and bourbon-caramelized onions, so this’ll be a cheesy, oniony, beefy, beery, bourbony, bacony, barbecue-y burger for the ages.
1620 NW 23rd; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-11 pm
Loyal Legion
The Kahuna Burger
Get a taste of the islands with Loyal Legion’s Kahuna Burger—a sandwich featuring flavors straight out of Oahu! A perfect blend of sweet and savory, the Kahuna Burger starts with a succulent teriyaki-seasoned beef patty, topping it with sweet onion, arugula, and warm, grilled pineapple. Finishing with a kicky sriracha/aioli sauce on a pub-style bun, the Kahuna is bursting with the Hawaiian flavors found at cookouts all over the islands. So don’t delay, because when it comes to great taste, the surf is definitely up.
710 SE 6th; burger available Mon-Thurs noon-midnight, Fri-Sat noon-2 am
Migration Brewing
PHO King Best Burger
“Imagine the desire we all get for an amazing bowl of pho. Now imagine that amazing sensation you get between a bun,” proclaim the food wizards at Migration Brewing. “That is the PHO King Best Burger.” How is this even possible? Why, through the miracle of cooking, of course! The PHO King Best Burger is a feat of burger construction, which boldly begins with a deviation from your average patty: It’s got a pork/beef base! The meat puck then gets slathered with luscious condiments—hoisin chili aioli and fish sauce—and topped with fresh cucumber, pickled carrots, fresh jalapeño, and a cilantro-basil slaw, which is the Justice League of garnishes.
2828 NE Glisan; burger available 11 am-10 pm
New Seasons Market
The 84
“We love partnering with local producers and supporting our regional food economy,” the folks at New Seasons tell us. To that end, they’ve used five local purveyors of delicious foodstuffs to create their Burger Week offering: The 84. While the Beeler’s bacon comes from Iowa, the rest of the 84’s accoutrements are pure Pacific Northwest: the house-made patty is made with Jacobsen sea salt and is topped with Tillamook cheddar cheese and a special Red Duck Spicy Ketchup sauce. Plus, it features sweet Walla Walla onions, all packed onto a bun made with pFriem Wit Ale. The 84 is available at seven New Seasons locations in the Portland area, so your next one is right around the corner.
3495 SW Cedar Hills Blvd; 5320 NE 33rd; 15861 SE Happy Valley Town Center Dr; 1453 NE 61st; 1954 SE Division; 2170 NW Raleigh; 3445 N Williams; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-8 pm
Next Level Burger
Summa' Time Burger
If you’re going to eat a plant-based burger, you better make sure you’ve got all the right fixins and flavors. Luckily, Next Level Burger—America’s first 100 percent plant-based burger joint—has alllllll the fixins available: from grilled onions and pineapple to mushrooms, sautéed kale and chili, plus a slew of sauces. Their Summa’ Time Burger is loaded with a bunch of organic summer flavors, and like all their burgers, is served on a whole grain bun. The housemade quinoa and black chia seed patty gets a helping of tempeh bacon, a thick slice of ripe hothouse tomato, avocado, red onion, and a fresh basil aioli.
4121 SE Hawthorne; burger available Mon-Thurs 11 am-10 pm, Fri 11 am-11 pm, Sat 9 am-11 pm
Nick's Famous Coney Island
Pho-Getaboutit
Once we got the pho-rito, it was only a matter of time before the best Vietnamese soup would make its way to the best American sandwich. While Nick’s has an 82-year history of making dogs and burgers in the old-fashioned US-of-A way, their twist on these two far-flung classics will have everyone’s mouths watering. They’re blending fresh ground chuck with a pho mustard-rubbed and marinated roast pork loin, adding the necessary crunchy mung bean sprouts and house-pickled red onions, plus arugula for bite, basil creme sauce, and a savory pho-inspired sauce. Put down the spoon—all you need for this tasty treat is your own two hands.
3746 SE Hawthorne; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-9:30 pm
Noraneko
Nacho Burger
Let Noraneko open the door to your heart with their delectable Nacho Burger, a concoction inspired by the restaurant’s legendary Ramen Nachos and summertime Ramen Taco Salad. First and foremost, this is a cheeseburger—a reliable stand-by that everybody knows and loves. But it’s made great by Noraneko’s house-made nacho ingredients, like habanero and cumin crema. Though uniting burgers and nachos is a bold move—it’s like putting a teacup pig and a puppy in a room and trying to decide which is cuter—Noraneko pulls it off.
1430 SE Water; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-2 am
Oaks Bottom Public House
Oregon Bounty Burger
Lots of people in this city like to talk about their Oregon authenticity these days, but Oaks Bottom Public House’s Burger Week offering can wipe the floor with the lot of them. Yes you’ve lived here for a decade—but are you slathered in hazelnut blue cheese spread? Well, the Oregon Bounty Burger is, and FYI, they’re “filberts,” not hazelnuts. Wow, you climbed Mount Hood? I don’t see you topping yourself in caramelized pears and fresh arugula! And come to think of it, you’re not even a delicious juicy beef patty! The Oregon Bounty Burger has you owned. Poser.
1621 SE Bybee Blvd; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-11 pm
Rock and Roll Chili Pit
Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap)
When your burger is named after an AC/DC song, you know it’s gonna flout convention. The Dirty Deeds burger has beef, sure—a third-pound patty, to be exact—but it’s then topped with Andouille sausage and something called Cajun sludge, which for the uninitiated, is all the tasty remnants left over from a New Orleans-style shrimp barbecue. The burger and sausage are smothered with the sludge, and it’s all tied together with chicharrón slaw made from pork rinds. This high-voltage burger isn’t for the faint of heart: If it were described in terms of AC/DC vocalists, it’d be more Bon Scott than Axl Rose.
304 SW 2nd; burger available Mon-Thurs 11 am-9 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-midnight
Rocky's Sports & Spirits
The Balboa Burger
Like its cinematic namesake, the Balboa Burger from Rocky’s Sports & Spirits is a hot (and delicious) mess. You’ll think “Philly Cheese Steak” when you bite into this 100 percent all-natural ground chuck patty piled with marinated sliced steak, grilled onions and bell peppers, shredded lettuce, and smothered with Rocky’s creamy cheese sauce, garlic aioli, and their famous Coney sauce on a fresh pub bun. Truly, it’s a champion of burgers—but if you decide to accept the challenge, don’t forget to napkin up! It’s sloppy, hot, and not afraid to make a mess! (In other words, you’re perfect for one another.)
7610 SE 72nd; burger available Mon-Wed 2-9:30 pm, Thurs-Sat noon-9:30 pm
Slowburger
The Slow Trotter
During Burger Week, cows get all the attention. This year, Slowburger is making sure we don’t forget about the other savory meats that can make a burger extra special. Keeping it local, they’re teaming up with Tails and Trotters and Allen Brothers Beef to make a pulled pork burger. Their hazelnut-finished pulled pork ensures a flavorful, juicy patty—when topped with light garlic lime slaw and a rich Carolina barbecue sauce, and served on a potato bun from Grand Central Bakery, this burger will leave you oinking for more.
2329 NE Glisan; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-10 pm
Spirit of 77
Keith Hernandez's Mustache
This year’s Burger Week “genius-in-marketing” award goes to the folks at Spirit of 77, who assumed that by naming their offering after a man’s facial hair they’d attract only the most discerning sando-fans. Well, we’re foiling the ruse. Go Google a photo of all-star first baseman Keith Hernandez and zoom in on that ’stache. Squint a bit, and there in the bristly bounty, you’ll see pork ribs slathered in zingy sauce, topped with pickles and onions, and jammed into a hoagie roll. Zoom harder, squint more, and suddenly there you are, eating this masterpiece with immense satisfaction. Spirit of 77 calls this its answer to the McRib. It is so much more than that.
500 NE MLK; burger available Mon-Sat 3-10 pm
Sunny's Diner
Mac Daddy BUMB
BUMB stands for Big Ugly Messy Burger, but don’t let that stop you from diving in, because this classic American diner is promising a beautiful experience. Sunny’s is taking a half-pound all-beef patty and cooking it up good on its well-seasoned griddle before adding a healthy heap of cheesy bacon mac ’n’ cheese. Like all their bread, the bun is made in-house, and it gets a lettuce, tomato and mayo treatment, along with a house-made bacon chutney. Don’t be dumb, get this BUMB.
9993 SE 82nd; burger available Mon-Sat 7 am-8 pm
Swine Moonshine & Whiskey Bar
The General
The folks at Swine Moonshine & Whiskey Bar know whiskey. They also know how to make a hell of burger. The General is a house-ground burger cooked to order with country ham, pimento cheese, green tomato, and jalapeño ranch on white bread—a nod to the southern cuisine. The tomatoes are pickled, seasoned, breaded, and fried, and the spicy smoked jalapeño ranch adds just the right amount of kick. Pair it with one of their signature cocktails—it’d go great with a Portland Proper.
808 SW Taylor; burger available Mon-Sat 3 pm-close
Triple Nickel Pub
Sweet & Spicy Bacon Mac Attack
Hail to this burger—it’s four great American favorites between one bun! The Triple Nickel’s Sweet & Spicy Bacon Mac Attack comes at you from all sides, with a third-pound of Angus beef serving as the battleground for a glorious collision of mouthwatering flavors. Duking it out: rich, gooey sweet-and-spicy bacon and beer mac ’n’ cheese, sriracha, and a big ol’ seasoned waffle fry. This burger’s inspired by some of the best comfort foods: beef, bacon, cheese, and something fried. Pair with one of Triple Nickel’s 70 beers (!) and you’ll be one happy camper.
3646 SE Belmont; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-2 am
Tryst
Sisig Burger
Tryst’s Sisig Burger takes its name from a Filipino drinking food that’s traditionally made with parts of a pig’s head and liver, and meant to be paired with an icy cold beer. This sisig is a little bit different, but should still go well with the frothy beverage of your choice. The spicy Sisig Burger starts with a pub bun dressed with lime aioli and banana ketchup, then fills it with an umami beef patty and layers of minced garlic, fresh red onions, serrano peppers, and housemade pork cracklins. Tryst calls it a “deliciously savory” treat “for those hot days with beer chasers and lively company.”
19 SW 2nd; burger available Mon 4 pm-midnight, Tues-Sat 4 pm-2 am
Vagabond Restaurant
Oh My Gravy
Chef Christian Mikkelsen’s culinary inspirations span the globe, but Vagabond Restaurant prides itself on using quality, locally sourced ingredients. For Burger Week, their Oh My Gravy creation hits particularly close to home. The inspiration for the burger’s name came from the song “Oh My Gravy,” an original tune the chef would routinely sing when making the pork gravy for the brunch menu’s biscuits and gravy. It’s an all-beef patty on a housemade potato bun, topped with gruyere and an onion ring, wetted by a luscious truffle mayo, and doused in mushroom gravy.
4828 N Lombard; burger available Wed-Sat 3-10 pm
White Owl Social Club
My Bleu Heaven
Remember when the label on your dad’s smelly salad dressing spelled the word “blue” all weird? White Owl remembers—with their My Bleu Heaven burger, which ties together cheesy funk (the aroma kind, not the music kind, although dad loved that too) with another dad-related memory, the Steve Martin/Rick Moranis comedy My Blue Heaven. We’re pretty sure your dad will dig this burger, too, which features an all-natural beef patty and a special “bleu cheese” spread. Plus it’s topped with fried red onion sticks, dressed with balsamic/red wine aioli, and mixed greens. Eat one of these and call your dad to tell him all about it. Better yet, bring your dad so he can have one, too!
1305 SE 8th; burger available Mon-Sat, 3-10 pm
Ya Hala
Shawarma Burger
Ya Hala’s Lebanese cuisine is some of the best in town, and their take on a burger is like nothing you’ve tried before. Their beef has a world of new flavor, jam-packed with their house Shawarma spices—bring on the garlic!—and perfectly balanced with a dollop of creamy traditional Lebanese cow cheese. That dollop is conveniently and neatly stuffed inside the savory patty. Caramelized onions and savory tahini yogurt sauce seal the deal for this creative twist on the traditional hamburger.
8005 SE Stark; burger available Mon-Fri 11 am-9 pm, Sat 9 am-9 pm
Zoiglhaus Brewing Company
Schnitzel Burger
If there’s anybody in town who knows the benefits of meat and beer, it’s the Zoiglhaus Brewing Company. They’re locally famous for mixing German tradition with hearty, mouth-watering pub food—and their Schnitzel Burger (built exclusively for Burger Week) is just another great example. Reminiscent of their haus-made pork schnitzel, Zoiglhaus breads and pan-fries their beef patty and then piles on the flavor with smoked gouda, fresh lettuce, tomato, and onion, before finishing this work of gastronomic art with beer-mustard aioli on a firm, fresh bun. Rich, decadent, and decidedly delicious, this is the guilty pleasure of your German dreams.
5716 SE 92nd; burger available Mon-Sat 11 am-10 pm
