Dream Burger

Slow Bar

533 SE Grand Avenue Portland, OR 97214

The website of Slow Bar states they are “Home of the Best Burger in Portland” so I made this burger top priority on my list. The sandwiches at Slow Bar come with choice of either french fries or salad.  At the time of my visit, they were offering a Summer Slowburger” in addition to the mainstay,the Slowburger.  I decided to try out the original. The menu description:

Slowburger: 1/2lb. Painted Hills natural beef, Gruyere, onion rings, butter lettuce, pickle relish – $9.50

I am always into onion rings on burgers, so it was a no-brainer. The wait was a bit longer than most other places, but not anything absurd. About 15 minutes later, my plate finally arrived.

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Steak ‘n Shake

650 Waterfront Drive Homestead, PA 15120

Steak ‘n Shake is a 50′s diner-style burger chain located in the Mid-West and Southern U.S.  It can be considered fast food, as most restaurants have a drive-thru, but you could also dine inside if you’d like.  Steak ‘n Shake is most known for the “Steakburger” which is a mix of sirloin, t-bone, and strip steak as well as their “hand-dipped/real-milk” milkshakes and malts. This particular visit, I decided to have an original Steakburger with cheese and a side of french fries.  The wait time is only about 5 minutes, and you can watch the cooks grill and prepare you food for you behind the counter.

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Big Jud’s

401 W Cedar Street Rawlins, WY 82301

Big Jud’s is a tiny burger shack in Boise, Idaho. The inside only contains about 10 or so tables, and seems like it used to be a pizza shop. They sell cheeseburgers in various sizes and types. The place was recommended to be by a native, so I felt inclined to make a special stop to try it out en route to Oregon.  I ordered a standard cheeseburger as-is.

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Sanford’s Pub & Grub

401 W Cedar Street Rawlins, WY 82301

While driving through the entirety of South Dakota and Wyoming, all I was concerned with was getting a good cheeseburger made from the beef of one of the many, many cows I passed along the highway.  When I actually tried to stop at one of the local restaurants, I had to find one that also served vegetarian items to satisfy my driving partner on this road trip. Most of the places we went past seemed to only serve bar food, so we settled on Sanford’s Pub & Grub in Rawlins, Wyoming.

The inside of the place is your standard “shit on the walls” type of place, but uniquely – the shit on the walls of this place just so happens to be that of a racist tone.  Additionally, most of the fellow patrons inside actually took a moment to turn around and glare at me as I was walking past them to my table.  I wasn’t wearing anything ridiculous or offensive, so I’m not too sure what that was all about.  I think it may have stemmed from my lack of cowboy boots, polished brass belt buckle, and 10-gallon hat.

After I placed my order for a cheeseburger and the “famous” onion rings, I immediately wished I had ordered it to-go instead.  This began what seemed like the longest wait ever, when really it may have been 10 minutes.

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Vincent A Restaurant

While staying in Minneapolis, I wanted to try out their locally famous burger – the Ju(i)cy Lucy.  For those not in the know – the Ju(i)cy Lucy is a burger made with the cheese inside the meat patty, rather than on top.  It was invented either at Matt’s Bar (using the term “Jucy Lucy”) or at The 5-8 Club (using “Juicy Lucy”).  My initial plan was to head down to South Minneapolis to check them both out and decide for myself which was better, since they’re essentially right next to each other.  However, after some brief burger research, I decided to try out the gourmet-version of the Juicy Lucy – the Vincent Burger at Vincent A Restaurant.  Making this idea even better, was that I went during happy hour – so the Vincent Burger was half off, and drinks were more reasonably priced.  The happy hour menu is a bit limited, but I ordered the Vincent Burger as-is along with a side salad and several local beers.  The burger description:

The Vincent Burger -  Ground Beef, Braised Short Ribs, Smoked Gouda Cheese

Sounds delicious.  We were seated outside and the weather was gorgeous, so I really didn’t mind the long wait for my food.

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Bella’s Fat Cat

2974 N. Oakland Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53211

Bella’s Fat Cat is a classic “burgers and shakes” type of restaurant, also offering frozen custard, served quickly.  As soon as you walk in, you check out the large, unorganized menu, and place your order.   A “jumbo cheeseburger” – which is a singular “jumbo” patty – is $3.49.   If that isn’t enough, you could add another patty to make it a “double jumbo” for about a dollar more. You can add french fries, onion rings, or a mix of the two for an additional $1.89.   After you order, they hand you a number to place on your table, and they’ll bring the food out to you whenever it’s ready.  I ordered the “jumbo cheeseburger” with ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickle with a side of french fries.  It was only after I ordered that I saw that they offered a 50/50 mix of french fries and onion rings for the same price.. son of a bitch.  Anyway, the food was delivered after about 5 minutes – so there wasn’t much of a wait at all.

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GET READY, AMERICA

Burger Tour 2009 begins later this week. I’ll be driving across the country, eating as many cheeseburgers as I can from Pittsburgh, PA to Portland, OR.

~~~REVIEWS TO COME~~