PATTY DOWN: The Original

Name: The Original
Location: 300 SW 6th Ave., Portland, OR 97204 (map)
Website: www.originaldinerant.com
Twitter: @theoriginalpdx

Burger at The Original in downtown Portland (photo by Jeff Goodman)

There's a small Oregon town roughly 70 miles south of Portland, a place that only a few hundred people call home. It's a city whose post office was established more than 150 years ago, a city whose official area is less than one square mile. A city whose main street is called Main Street.

That pea of a place -- Scio, Ore. -- isn't exactly an economic juggernaut. But it can take credit for exporting at least one delicious product: beef. That's because it is home to Highland Oak Farm, a family-owned business whose mission is to "produce the finest and most nutritious beef possible in a responsible, sustainable fashion." Highland Oak, a hormone-free farm, provides quality meat to about a dozen Portland-area restaurants.

One of those restaurants is The Original, a self-described dinerant where restaurant-quality food is served in a sleek, modernized diner setting. It offers comfort-food favorites with gourmet-style twists, like the hamburger with shallot aioli ($9.95 including fries).

At this point, it should go without saying that the highlight of the burger is the meat. (That probably sounds silly, but too many restaurants engage in sly games of cover-up.) It is thick, juicy and flavorful, prominent in every bite. It's almost a blessing in disguise that the aioli is surprisingly weak; the patty does just fine with its closer friends (shredded lettuce, tomato, pickle chips and a couple onion slices). If anything, the aioli acts as eye-catching menu fodder.

The fries, meanwhile, are not oiled-into-your-brain memorable, but they aren't at all bad. They're tasty, carefully seasoned and uniquely presented in a waxy paper bag -- almost like a snack you'd eat while walking around at a county fair.

And the fun doesn't stop there. For instance, The Original dares its customers to finish a 5-pound basket of fries -- topped with cheese curds and gravy -- in 30 minutes or fewer. The downtown restaurant also features adult punch during its happy hour, Froot Loops pancakes on its brunch menu and a Pecan Waffle Sandwich on its dessert menu.

For its last trick, The Original uses a squeeze bottle -- one that would normally contain ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise -- to dispense soap in its bathroom. Wait ... was that surplus shallot aioli?