The Great Burger Debate

Last Friday Shawn and I finally checked out Foster Burger in SE Portland. I've been hearing about this place for ages and now that we live in SE, there's no excuse. I admittedly went into with very high expectations. I'm no expert, but I definitely know a good burger when I taste one. Overall, I was very satisfied and it was a tasty burger. Although enticed by the special Asian-themed burger of the day that was described to us as coming out looking like a Japanese pagoda, I had to go with the classic Foster burger for my first time. As I told Shawn, to me it was a really well-made version of a McDonald's type hamburger. Not that they are even in the same universe as far as quality, but it was a classic American hamburger right down to the creamy Thousand Island-esque sauce, although served on a brioche bun. Overall a good experience and we'll probably go back again at some point to try one of the specials (and get a shake this time!), but definitely not my favorite.

Pause burger, courtesy of Portland Hamburgers blog

Which brings me back to our all-time favorite burger at Pause. Granted I'm now a little biased, but there was a time when I had never been there and had no expectations. The in-house ground meat makes a difference, but I think it's the consistency in cooking it that seems to set it apart. The meat is flavorful and when you ask for a medium burger, you get a medium burger (medium rare in Shawn's case). There's nothing too fancy about it, but it just tastes good. I have yet to try the burger at Gruner, but I'm sure it's going to live up to its reputation given that everything else there has for me so far.

Which restaurant makes your favorite burger? What makes it so special?