In this week’s Last Supper, we get a bit excessive with Foster Burger. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I headed into Foster Burger for the first time a couple weeks ago. The fact the place was headed by critically acclaimed chefs Andy Ricker (Pok Pok) and Daniel Mondok (late of the fire damaged Sel Gris), made me wonder if I was about to sit down to one of those high-minded $20 burgers loaded with ultra-expensive out-there ingredients.
Nope. There isn’t a single mention of Kobe or Waygu. There is no foie gras. In fact, the joint has a distinct low-brow neighborhood feel. The walls sport posters from old punk shows (some dating back to the days of La Luna), the booths are roomy, and the atmosphere loud. The place is so exceedingly family friendly it seemed to be literally crawling with children every time I went to eat, which may or may not be a selling point depending on how you feel about burger-munching toddlers.
All that aside, I really enjoyed what Foster Burger was doing with their star attraction: The patties were very tender, spot-on medium, with a decent grill char. The beef for the patties is ground in-house and combined with backfat, the result being standard burger texture but a tenderness that’s sought after by those connoisseurs of massaged, beer fed Japanese beef.
Of course that’s only part of the story. The rest of the magic happens with the toppings. If you’ve read this week’s column, you know where I stand. But I’m curious, Blogtownies, what do you look for in a perfect burger, and where are you getting yours.
Not enough burger action for you today? Why not check out PortlandFood.org where the astonishingly never-sated Nick Zukin continues to eat his way through the area’s burger joints.
The problem with Foster Burger is that now even the previously “good burger” places are just meh-worthy. FB changed the game. And they didn’t go nuts on the price. The Pile Up is only, what? Eleven bucks? It’s seven for just a plain burger and fries.
I hope that other places pick up the gauntlet that Foster has thrown and show ’em what for. That would be great.
Even though I live right down the street from it, I haven’t been to foster burger yet because their hours are terrible and they’ve been closed during regular hours twice when I’ve tried visiting. On top of that, down the street the Slingshot’s burger is so good I can’t really imagine piles of toppings can make that much of a difference. That being said, the best burger I’ve had in portland is the pastrami burger at kenny & zuke’s
Actually, Foster Burger has offered a foie gras topped burger as a ‘daily special’ on more than one occasion.
Foster Burger rocks. The pickle plate is always interesting and my fave is still the Kiwi burger. Be sure and say how you want your burger cooked because they don’t always ask, to which it will be very pink if you do not specify.
Also, try going later otherwise the place is a complete zoo and a long wait. I’m glad they are getting their wings though. Although there are some great places (Bar Carlo, Slingshot, An Xuyen), the Foster-Powell area still needs some more business love.
@Fo-po’boy
D’oh! Never saw it when I was in. Interesting. Thanks for the correction.
where the hell is foster burger no mention in the article. I need one!! The Biwa Burger is also awesome only after 10pm $7, off the hook.
@mole harvey
Calm down, friend. The address is 5339 SE Foster. They open a 5 pm. Can you make it?
Best condiments on a burger ever.
I live down the street from Foster Burger, own part of Kenny & Zuke’s, and still go to FB now and then. 😉 Foster Burger has lunch, at least on weekends. I highly recommend giving it a try then. Less busy. They have a big patio when it’s warm, too. Their basic burger is under $8 with fries. Almost impossible to find a burger of that quality under $8, even at chains like Fuddruckers or Red Robin.
I finally went to FB a couple of weeks ago. My companion ordered a burger with egg. They forgot to add the egg. We sent it back. After a couple of minutes waiting for it to be cooked (plus a couple of more minutes of it sitting on the pass), our waitress picked it up and showed it to the cook, indicating that there was something wrong. He directed her to take the order away. Indeed, when the burger arrived, the egg wasn’t fried properly. The white was uncooked, and maybe he thought that since it would be sitting underneath a piece of bread it would go unnoticed. Obviously, we sent it back a 2nd time. Since we were sitting at the bar, we could see the waitress pointing both fingers at the cook and saying “I told you!” as she dropped the burger on the pass. They fired another egg, and finally sat it on top on the now-cold patty. This whole affair took over five minutes, and they didn’t have the decency to fire another whole burger. They weren’t that busy (four tables already with their order, two tables still ordering, and two more people at the bar).
In my book, this is unacceptable, especially when another member of the staff points out that there’s something obviously wrong with the order. But who cares, right? The joint is owned by the guys from Pok Pok and Selgris, so it must be good.