Portland, OR – Theo’s (Chinatown)

Theo's Portland, Interior

Theo's Portland, Interior

One all-day, late night option in Portland’s Old Town/Chinatown is Theo’s, on NW Fifth Avenue.

Offering a variety of burgers, sandwiches, sides, and so on, Theo’s is a great quick stop for a bite, or call ahead for take-out.
I was wasting time in the neighborhood, and stopped in to get a burger to go.  I had previously tried their Chicago-style hot dog.

In my previous post, I had referred to their service as “pokey”, and that hasn’t changed.  If you’re the only customer, or one of many, it’s gonna take a bit to get your food.
This day, I went with the “Bac-N-Blue” Burger, their 1/3 lb, all-natural beef, flame broiled, topped with thick-sliced bacon, chunky blue cheese dressing, and dressed with garlic mayo, lettuce, and tomato.  I upgraded for a side of natural cut fries, and Theo’s offers a number of dipping sauces for their taters, and I went with the Cilantro Mayo.

Examination?  Soft bakery roll, slightly toasted;  machine formed patty; crisp lettuce; meager bacon; tomato AWOL (so often these days, but they SHOULD tell you); more than ample blue cheese dressing with substantial chunks of cheese in it.
Natural cut (I still haven’t figured out what this means) fries, and a ramikin of the dipping sauce.  The fries are nice, lightly salted, crispy outside, soft inside.  The sauce, although flavorful, has me a bit worried.  It was squeezed out of a standard plastic condiment bottle into the ramikin.  Not refrigerated, in fact kind of warm.  I pass on using it.

The burger flavor is good, and it’s a fairly coarse grind, so there is some heft to it, which is nice.  I like the blue cheese dressing a lot, and give a thumbs up too, to the garlic mayo, tho for my taste, they could slow down on that condiment.  With the dressing and the mayo, you have a little bit of a mess on your hands.
Will I return?  Yeah, maybe.  I work in the neighborhood, which has a limited number of lunch options beyond the half-dozen Chinese restaurants.

Would I find Theo’s appealing late at night, if I was in the neighborhood?  I think at the same price point, and with similiarly pokey service, I’d probably opt for People’s Sandwich, a couple blocks away.
So have fun, check out these places, especially if you are in the neighborhood clubs, late.  But please, beware the local indigenous population of the ‘hood when you are walking around here late at night.  Menu on our menu page!

Theo's Bac-N-Blue Burger

Theo's Bac-N-Blue Burger

Theo's Bac-N-Blue Burger

Theo's Bac-N-Blue Burger

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