AT LAST. After an entire year of waiting—you’ve been so patient!—the Portland Mercury’s Burger Week is almost here!

From Monday August 7-Saturday August 12, at over 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 and ReachNow, this will be a week long remembered.

Read on for the mouth-watering descriptions of 2017’s Burger Week offerings in SE Portland from Foster Burger, Lay Low Tavern, and Bar Maven.

Check out the full 2017 Burger Week map here.

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

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 off of Southeast Powell. The burger itself is stacked with complimentary 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

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

And don’t forget…

• 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 almost here. Godspeed.