Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Skyline Burgers, You Know, For the Kids


O RLY?; At Skyline's newest outpost on NE Broadway, a 12 foot wall of projected cartoon network welcomed me upon entry, and though it tickled me, it also arose in me a very specific worry; is this a place for kids? The answer is a resounding yes, and the parental units may be disappointed. I deeply hope this place will mature faster than the audience it shares with the cartoon network.

BURGER; Underdeveloped and banal, but with a certain promise. The bun was huge and mealy, completely overwhelming the rest of the ingredients. The beef was overcooked, but not burnt. I ordered the hawaiian burger and was disappointed with a few details (small chunks of pineapple as opposed to a thick, freshly cut ring, heavy onion and sparse, bottled teriyaki sauce). My companion was also bummed out on the mushroom swiss burger's ridiculous amount of mayonnaise. But somehow I get the feeling that with time, this borderline theme restaurant will come into it's own, finding the balance between kiddie burgers and artistic, well thought out burgers for the grown folks. And with a name like Skyline Burgers, they got some proving to do.

FRIES
; Again, geared towards a younger set of taste buds. Frozen and fried up crispy, they weren't the most amazing fries, and I probably wouldn't order them again. The salad was friggin hilarious. It was huge, and it came with a sandwich slice of cheddar cheese on top. Otherwise it was a bowl of iceberg salad mix with slices of tomato and cucumber.

SERVICE; I nicknamed our sever "mumble-core" about halfway through our meal. His awkward approach and whispery voice was that of a man who has little to no interest in service. He's probably saving up to tour with his band or surf Malaysia or something. It created an experience that was borderline surreal. Full bar with an adults-only gambling area in the rear that makes the kid-friendly vibe lean into the weird zone.

WHERE; 2200 NE Broadway St Portland,
Skyline Burgers on Urbanspoon

Portland Burger Blog; Newport Edition. Cafe Mundo


LOCALS ONLY; From the excess of multicolored Christmas lights on the enormous stone patio to the kinetic dias de los muertos paper-mache art, this place reeked of beach hippy. I wouldn't hold that against this joint, because it wears it's flower child attitude very well. Heavily saturated with the acoustic guitar playing, bald-with-a-ponytail, loveable, non-profit boomer dudes, I recommend against this place if you're a card carrying republican or you're into taking yourself real seriously.

BURGER; Having eaten my body weight in seafood, I was ready for something different. Cafe Mundo's specials included a "rueben burger". As a big fan of the classic rueben, I figured this menu item would be amazing! The house baked rye bun was disappointingly bland with a texture similar to cheap white bread. The 1/3 lb McK Ranch organic beef patty was overcooked, which is damn disrespectful to McK Ranch organic beef. The burger missed the mark, but if there is seitan on the menu in more than one dish, the chef probably doesn't want to cook you a burger anyway. The hubby's fish tacos were dang awesome though. And every longhair in the place looked especially stoked on their world-cuisine.

FRIES; Yea right. The salad was gorgeous. Fresh local field greens, a ripe tomato that must have come from someone's home garden, and the house made poppy seed dressing were all a nice pat on the back after my burger letdown.

SERVICE; Great laid back servers, who are professional and charming, serve a limited amount of pricy craft beers mostly produced locally. The cocktail menu was also a bit steep considering the laid back atmosphere. Apparently hippys only drink top shelf liquor.

WHERE; 711 NW 2nd Court, Newport, OR www.cafemundo.us