Garden State
4237 N Mississippi Street Portland, OR 97217
Garden State is a food cart located in NE Portland at Mississippi & Skidmore specializing in Italian street food. They also have another location in SE Portland at 13th & Lexington. Their menu:
Burger – Highland Oak beef, provolone piccante cheese, pickled red onion, chili aoli – $8
I ordered the burger, gave my name, and took a seat. The wait was rather long for a food cart, but it was near closing time (7pm) so it wasn’t a big deal. After a while, they called my name and I picked up my order. The burger:
The burger looks absolutely delicious. I took a bite, and was quickly overwhelmed with an intense burning sensation from the aioli that took over my entire mouth. Disclaimer: I am not tolerant of spicy food. It’s not so much that I dislike spicy food, it’s more that it actually burns the fuck out of my mouth and it is in no way enjoyable. Also, making this even worse, was that the chili aioli was generously spread on both the top AND bottom bun. I have never had a burger with shit slathered on both buns, and I am not a fan of this practice.
To their credit, the crew running the cart at my time of arrival may or may not have been new to the operation. According to reports, previous burgers tasted were nowhere nearly as spicy as the one I had tried, so I’ll give them that. However, there definitely should have been a warning about the level of heat on this burger.
Burger Ratings:
Burger: 6
My expectations for the Garden State burger were pretty high – both from the hype from the Willamette Week article & from rave reviews from a friend. What I actually received was nowhere near the bar I had set in my head, and I was pretty disappointed. The beef itself was overcooked, and any potential deliciousness was overshadowed, if not completely obliterated, by the intense heat of the chili aoli. I tried scraping off what I could, but because it was totally slathered on both sides of the bun, it was mostly a lost cause. All I could taste in each bite was goddamn chili aioli.
Side: n/a
The burger here doesn’t come with a side.
Environment: 7
There is plenty of covered and uncovered outdoor seating available. Despite a seemingly constant flow of people coming in and out, the entire area felt very clean and well-kept. Definitely enjoyable to eat here on a nice day.
Value: 5
$8 for a just a burger from a food cart is pretty high for my standards. I don’t care how good this burger is supposed to be, it just wasn’t - and it was certainly not worth the $8 price tag.
OVERALL BURGER REVIEW:
Garden State
4237 N Mississippi Street Portland, OR 97217
(503)962.9265
Tags: food carts, garden state, NE, portland, unnecessarily hot burgers
Listed Under: 6 - Good