Holy cow – sans the cow. I think we just found our new favorite fast-casual restaurant. Last week was #PortlandBurgerWeek, and the deal is, you can get a burger for five bucks at any participating restaurant. Of course, we’d be fools to miss out on this, so we immediately searched for a participating restaurant that offered an option for vegans. We found Next Level Burger, a small chain in Oregon – three locations to be exact – that truly live up to their name.
Upon stepping into Next Level Burger, on SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland, OR, the first thing that hit me was the large and eclectic mix of people who were eating there. I saw old people, young people, men, women, children, hipsters, squares, weirdos, nerds, freaks, geeks, jocks, etc… There didn’t seem to be a single demographic that wasn’t represented. Of course, I’m exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea.
I thought this was a great thing. There was nothing about the place that screamed, “THIS IS A VEGAN RESTAURANT!” It just felt like a normal burger joint. I’m not sure if half the customers even realized they were eating at a vegan place.
When we approached the counter, we asked for their “burger week special,” and they obliged, but didn’t tell us what kind of burger we were getting. It was cool, though, because we kind of enjoyed the mystery of not knowing. I think we got the quinoa patty with a slice of Chao Cheese and some kind of tangy, hollandaise-type sauce. It’s hard to know for sure because they have quite a few different patties on their menu.
Regardless, the burger was delicious! Really outstanding. We take great pride in our veggie burgers, and we’ve tasted some of the best veggie burgers from all over the country, so we don’t blow smoke when it comes to this subject. These were really tasty burgers, especially for only having a few toppings on them.
Now, if it hadn’t been “burger week” and we ordered off the regular menu, our burgers would have been a bit costlier – about $7 to $9 instead of $5 – but we still think they’d have been worth it, considering it’s hard to find a good sandwich for less than $7 anywhere these days. I’m actually dying to go back and try one of their signature burgers. In addition to burgers, Next Level Burger offers a wide variety of other fast-food favorites, such as milkshakes, fries, hotdogs, and sandwiches. They even have a breakfast menu and beer!
If you live in, or happening to be visiting the state of Oregon, you should definitely visit Next Level Burger. Now that we know how good it is and that it’s not too far from us, we will be stopping by frequently to sample more of their menu.
Oh, I almost forget to mention, Next Level Burger is 100% plant-based, so everything on their menu is vegan friendly!
Leave a Reply