PATTY DOWN: Suki's Bar & Grill

Name: Suki's Bar and Grill

Location: 2401 Southwest 4th Ave., Portland, OR 97201 (map)

Website: http://sukisbargrill.com

Angus Burger with fries at Suki's Bar & Grill

When you crave a good hamburger, you don't immediately think of heading out to a dive bar, let alone one that fills the space of a motel's basement.

But there's a nearly religious phenomenon that is happy hour in Portland, and it somehow transforms deal-seekers into explorers of the city's great gastronomical unknowns. For example, it drives a group of twenty-somethings to Suki's Bar & Grill -- which shares its parking lot with a dingy Travelodge -- for a Friday afternoon of cheap eats and fairly priced pints.

Suki's, south of downtown amid a web of busy one-way streets, doesn't seem to mind its less-than-desirable location. It offers weekly karaoke and open-mic comedy nights, and those are only two of the 30 reasons for an outing at the spacious den-like hideaway (free pool, anyone?).

Its happy hour menu should be No. 1 on that list. A third-pound Angus beef burger -- with fries -- for four bucks? That would be an acceptable deal for a bad burger. Granted, this is obviously a pre-made patty without much flair, and the fries are salty even by dive bar standards. Still, the food pairs quite nicely with a lemon-spiked Pyramid Hefeweizen, satisfying palates and wallets. You'll get for $7 what would easily pull at least twice the cash during regular hours at some other establishments.

Suki's is miles from patty paradise, yes, but its overall value means that it suffices as a satisfactory stop along the way.

PATTY DOWN: The Ram Restaurant & Brewery

Name: The Ram Restaurant & Brewery
Location: 515 12th Street SE, Salem, OR 97301 (map)
Website: www.theram.com
Twitter: @theRAM 

'All American' burger and sweet potato fries at The Ram

When it comes to food, locals usually know what they're talking about. You can read every tourism pamphlet, scan a few recommendations websites and ultimately Google your way to the good places. Residents, however, will point you to the great places.

That's how I ended up at The Ram in Salem, a family-owned brewpub that operates 17 restaurants in five states. The one in Salem, approximately 50 miles south of Portland, is situated along Mill Creek, making its outdoor patio the perfect place to soak in a summer evening.

The Ram serves standard but well-executed pub fare, including sandwiches, deluxe fries and buffalo wings as well as steak entrees and enticing desserts. The menu is not unlike one you'd see at Chili's or Applebee's, but it doesn't make you feel like you're filling the pockets of a shrewd chain restauranteur.

What immediately stands out about my selection, the All American burger, is the massive bun. Looking at it is like seeing an especially interesting movie trailer on TV and just knowing the movie itself will live up to the hype. All American? They should call it The Breadwinner. It costs $9.59 including fries, and it's worth the dough.

As I learned later, the hamburger buns are specially made for The Ram. They're sweeter than sourdough, fluffier than kaiser rolls and much softer than ciabatta bread. They don't have sesame seeds, and they don't need 'em. Even a knuckle sandwich would taste good on these brilliant baked creations. So many burgers are satisfactory but not memorable; this bun -- and, therefore, this burger -- will be hard to forget.

I know, I know, man does not live by bread alone; he needs a side dish and a drink as well. And yes, the rest of the meal was tasty in its own right. Lettuce, tomato, onions, ridged pickle chips and ketchup came along for the ride, as did delicious sweet potato fries and Buttface Amber Ale. The Buttface (no joke), which is described as a malty caramel beer with a smooth, slightly sweet finish, was easily one of the most enjoyable pints of my drinking life. The best ever? Hard to say. Memorable? Definitely.

So thank you, Random Salem Resident, for the restaurant recommendation. Now I can pass it along.

(Also, bonus points for restaurants with gargantuan overeating challenges that aren't just created to nab spots on food TV shows. The Ram dares its customers to conquer the BeHemoth Challenge, a 5-pound mountain of a burger couple with a pile-sized batch of fries that must be finished by one person in a single seating. If you're able to clear your $24.99 plate, you win a free T-shirt!)

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?

PATTY DOWN: Burgerville

Name: Burgerville
Location: 3432 SE 25th Ave., Portland, OR 97202 (map)
Website: www.burgerville.com
Twitter: @BurgervilleUSA

A fast-food chain -- with compost bins?

It sounds strange, yes, but these Pacific Northwest hot spots serve their meals with a side of sustainability and an extra helping of everything else you probably wouldn't expect at a drive-through diner.

The food is fresh. The meat is hormone-free. Many of the ingredients are locally grown. The chain's slogan -- "Fresh, Local, Sustainable" -- is emblazoned on in-store merchandise. It almost feels uncomfortable at first, as if these two worlds were meant to be mutually exclusive. Sit down with a Colossal hamburger, fries and vanilla shake at Burgerville, though, and ... hey, no wonder this place has been around for 50 years.
 

Colossal Burger, fries and vanilla shake at Burgerville

The burger is served with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles as well as ketchup on one side of the sesame seed bun and the restaurant's special sauce -- likely some combination of mayonnaise, mustard and diced pickles -- on the other. It was a nice touch on an otherwise straightforward sandwich (one that loosely resembled an onion-less and gastronomically lighter version of the Whopper at Burger King).

Burgerville is often compared to In-N-Out, the California-based chain known for its cleanliness, tastiness and simplicity. I would probably choose Burgerville's fries over In-N-Out's; they're plumper, firmer and not quite as salty. The shakes are similar in that upgrading your soda to a rich, cold treat is a wise move at both establishments. (For what it's worth, there's something about In-N-Out's burger that, at least for me, would give it the nod in a comprehensive showdown.)

One thing that might give Burgerville a few bonus points, however, is its rotating cycle of seasonal specialty items: fried asparagus spears, fresh strawberry shortcake and Oreo mint sundaes, to name a few. And to think -- "asparagus at a fast-food restaurant" was once used as a synonym for "flying pig." Perhaps pigs fly now?

Nutritional information on the Burgerville receipt

Speaking of pigs ... The discourse on obesity in the United States, it seems, always centers around the evils of fast food. Burgerville's solution: including your meal's nutritional information on your receipt, presumably to force you to evaluate your diet as your wait hungrily for your food. The lesson, apparently, is that "fresh" and "sustainable" should not be blindly associated with "healthy." Indeed, the receipt is an unintentionally quizzical marketing strategy because it ironically suggests, "You probably shouldn't be eating here."

Don't let the receipt spoil your meal, though. Just put it face-down on the table and throw it into the recycling bin on your way out. And remember: Almost all of the other remnants of your meal belong in the compost receptacle.

PATTY DOWN: Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse

Name: Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse
Location: 1920 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704 (map)
Website: www.triplerock.com
Twitter: @TripleRockBeer

Come for the beer. Stay for the burgers.

That's how Triple Rock could market itself, not that the brewpub really needs to advertise. Students and senior citizens alike crowd its classy wooden interior seemingly throughout the week, especially when the 8.0% alcohol-by-volume Monkey Head arboreal ale flows from dark bottles each Thursday night.

For all of its homemade beer and enjoyable ambiance, though, Triple Rock's third rock might be its food.

Mill Grinder burger at Triple Rock

When you start getting hungry, you don't have to leave to find a restaurant with quality grub. Just ask for a menu and order the Mill Grinder ($7.25), a half-pound hamburger served with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a paper-thin layer of mayonnaise.

(Note: You're out another $1.50 if you want to replace house coleslaw with fries, which is a pretty ridiculous concept. Burgers come with fries. This is America. How about serving them standard at $8.75 and giving a $1.50 discount to patrons who choose to sneak around a longstanding cultural icon?)

The burger, although a tad undercooked on the inside for a "medium-well" meal, delivered on most fronts. It tasted fresh, didn't fall apart with toppings heaped above it and was large enough for Triple Rock to serve it with a fork and knife. (As usual, those went unused.) It hit the proverbial spot.

The downsides were found in the details. The fries, nonetheless worth the $1.50 upgrade, were somewhat overcooked and slightly too salty. They actually did well on the burger (as they almost always do), where the salt seemed to fade into the rest of the flavors. Also, what good is a pickle wedge to a burger plate? Its presence put me in a pickle about what to do with it. For what it's worth, it should've been sliced into disks for convenient stacking or omitted entirely.

Triple Rock, apparently one of the country's first brewpubs, surely can thank its food for some of its longevity. And while a markedly better burger at Barney's is just five blocks away, a hand-crafted beer is within arm's reach here ... or should be, anyway.

Patty Down is an ongoing series of burger reviews. For other installments, click here.

PATTY DOWN: Eureka!Burger

Name: Eureka!Burger
Location: 7775 Palm Ave., Fresno, CA 93711
Website: www.eurekaburger.com
Twitter: @EurekaBurger

The restaurant's website lists a common dictionary definition of "eureka" -- an expression of triumph upon discovery -- and adds "the enlightening burger experience" as a second meaning. But gastronomical gold was nowhere to be found.

Image source: Eureka!Burger

I was sent to Fresno a few weeks ago to cover the Central Section girls' tennis Division II championship match, so I figured I'd make the 120-mile trek worth it by exploring a new eatery. A Google search of quality burgers in the area yielded Eureka, a relatively new establishment that also has a location in Redlands and a coming-soon site in Claremont. Its website and menu felt similar to those of The Counter, not that a burger should be judged by its creator's marketing strategies.

Eureka has a unique vibe for a burger bar. It attracted a noticeably young crowd, with some groups of twenty-somethings apparently gathering there just for drinks. That wasn't extremely surprising, though, considering the long list of beers on tap and the nighttime atmosphere that centered on particularly low lighting and a live band that locals seemed to recognize. In that sense, its niche in the restaurant world was admirable; it aimed to create a bar-like ambiance without sacrificing the quality of its food.

The burger, however, didn't quite match the brand.

The Triumphant Hickory Burger ($9.25 including fries) stood out on the menu simply because it would come with "homemade beer barbeque sauce." But that teaser led to one of the biggest disappointments of the evening; the charbroiled patty was topped with nothing more than a stingy spoonful. It tasted good -- nothing to blog home about -- when it wasn't lost in the burger's other flavors, but it almost always was. Surely there was something else that made this meal ... triumphant?

PATTY DOWN: Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers

Name: Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers
Location: 1600 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709
Website: www.barneyshamburgers.com

Before I left for college, a family friend sent me a list of must-try eating establishments within the Berkeley campus bubble. One such place was Top Dog, an overrated but culturally embedded hot dog stand known for its late-night lines and thought-provoking wall clippings. Another was Zachary's Chicago Pizza Inc., whose uniqueness -- "toppings" are served below the tomato sauce -- is widely and unfortunately mistaken for superiority.

For no good reason at all, Barney's wasn't checked off until very late in the game. And that was an unforced error. Barney's, which now exists throughout the Bay Area as well as in Los Angeles, has earned dozens of awards for its burgers since opening in 1978. The menu there features an impressive variety of ingredients, which extends the visit simply because of the lengthy selection process at the beginning.

From the 27 options, I settled on the "Teriyaki Burger" ($8.50 not including fries). Its patty is topped with sauteed bell peppers, onions and mushrooms and brought together with a teriyaki glaze that is sure to drip from the bottom as it's eaten. Also on the plate are a few lettuce leaves, pickle strips, an orange slice and a tiny container of Thousand Island dressing. Which brings us to the all-important breakdown:

Teriyaki Burger at Barney's

The bun: It's nothing special, really -- a pair of pretty standard sesame seed saucers. However, it is important to note that this particular bun a) does not fall victim to the potentially hazardous wetness of the sauce and b) is thick and durable enough to contain the abundance of toppings. The bread, therefore, is not inherently outstanding but does its job in reserving the attention for the star actors performing between it.

The patty: It has been argued that a truly fantastic burger needs no decoration. To be sure, it's no easy task to assess the merits of meat when it's covered with fixings and sauce. Somehow, though, the strengths of this eight-ounce patty were not completely drowned out. The medium-well request was accurately addressed, and the blackened edges didn't mean that the rest of the ground chuck was dried out. Anyone who has used a grill a few times could probably duplicate it, but that shouldn't necessarily count against it.

The toppings: Without a doubt, they are what make the "Teriyaki Burger" so memorable. The green and red bell peppers were neither too slimy nor too crunchy; the onions were recognizable but not overwhelming; the mushrooms were portioned somewhat modestly so as not to dominate the congregation with their squishy texture. It was immediately evident that these piping hot additions, which spilled generously onto the plate, were cooked to order. Ultimately, the vegetable medley was the reason I chose this burger in the first place, and it's the reason I'll order it again when I return.

The sauce: This hamburger is proof that chicken shouldn't have a monopoly on teriyaki overtures. The sauce not only seeped gently into the meat and brought it to life, but it also orchestrated the fusion of the vegetables. It was not too sour, not too sweet, and, unlike many teriyaki glazes, not too salty. Perhaps most importantly, its presence didn't obstruct gustatory access to the other flavors of the meal.

The fries: The basket of sweet potato fries was empty by the time our burgers arrived. The slightly crispy orange sticks were excellent with ketchup, Thousand Island or with no condiments at all. Sweet potato fries are all the rage these days, and some restaurants have them on the menu simply to keep up with the trend. If that's the case with Barney's, I'd never know it.

The end: It seems somewhat surprising that the "Teriyaki Burger" is featured on the homepage of Barney's website, especially considering some of the restaurant's other offerings -- home-style guacamole, French baguettes, sun-dried-tomato pesto sauce and grilled zucchini. But perhaps the teriyaki-tinged creation is a fitting representation of Barney's as a whole. The experimentation, it seems, hasn't disrupted the production of good, solid hamburgers.