Under Wonder Lounge
128 NE Russell Street Portland, OR 97212
Under Wonder Lounge is a restaurant/bar located, as you would guess, underneath the Wonder Ballroom. The drinks are cheaper than they are upstairs, and I was hungry, so I decided to check it out. Their small menu consists of two sections, Under $5 and Under $10. Here’s the menu description of their burger:
Wonderburger 8.00
Choice of flame-grilled all beef or traditional Garden Burger ($7) patty
Choice of cheddar or Swiss cheese. Served with lettuce, tomato, red onion and garlic aioli. Add smoked bacon $1
I ordered the beef (of course) burger with cheddar, cooked Medium with a side salad and a large side of Russell Street Fries ($3). I probably definitely should have just went with fries as a side, seeing as whenever I order a salad, the lettuce only serves as a tool to hold ranch dressing en route to my mouth. This practice is only one step away from eating ranch dressing with a spoon, and two steps away from drinking it from a bottle.
Anyway. The wait was really short despite the place being rather crowded due to the show going on upstairs. The burger:
Confession: I ate so much food here that my body was unable to process it all. About 2 hours later, I ended up running outside so I could throw up beef and grease/bile onto the street. I guess I shouldn’t say the word “bile” in a burger review, but I guess there’s a first time for everything, RITE?!
Burger Ratings:
Burger: 7
Two words to describe this burger: surprise deliciousness. I was totally not expecting this burger to be as good was it was. Everything came together well, and the meat was cooked perfectly.
Side: 8
When I first saw the fries, I thought “Son of a bitch. Frozen crinkle-cut fries? Seriously?!” But then I tried one. And it was delicious. No idea how or why, but the fries were so good that I could not physically stop myself from eating an entire large plate of them in addition to my burger and salad. Really.
Environment: 9
I really, really, really like the atmosphere here. It’s relaxed and welcoming, and service was prompt despite how busy they were. My only complaint would be the temperature – I’m not sure if it was too early for them to turn the heat on, or what their deal was, but it was unusually cold inside.
Value: 8
The burger and fries are $8. This is pretty standard for Portland, but the food/atmosphere definitely exceeds the norm. I’ll probably get this burger each and every time I check out a show at the Wonder Ballroom. A+
OVERALL BURGER REVIEW:
Under Wonder Lounge
128 NE Russell Street Portland, OR 97212
(503) 493.0371
Tags: garlic aioli, portland, surprise deliciousness, under wonder lounge, wonder ballroom
Listed Under: 8 - Fuckin' good