I first visited Violetta’s mobile kitchen in mid January, right after they first opened. Read about that visit here. I was wandering around downtown today just pass the lunch hour, thinking of trying something new, when the bright yellow ‘Etta wagon caught my eye.
For those of you who don’t know the story of ‘Etta, they were supposed to open a free-standing restaurant in Director’s Park (across from Nordstroms), and still will, but a construction fire has delayed their opening. Rather than make the public suffer, they have been dishing out their delights from a mobile kitchen at the restaurant location.
Today, I went with their premium burger, the Oregon Blue, 1/3 pound Nicky Farms, grass fed beef, topped with bacon, Rogue River Creamery Gorgonzola, grilled onions, and their house ‘red relish’, which is kind of a spicy, creamy catsup. Burgers come standard with a side of house-made potato chips, and if you’ve ever tried frying chips at home, you know it’s no easy feat. Their chips are thick, hot and delicious.
I often find I am disappointed with follow up visits to new places, some seem to full into a rut quickly, or develop kinks that prevent them from delivering the “like new” goods. Such was not the case today with Violetta’s Oregon Blue.
Slicing the burger in half reveals a perfect medium rare burger, aplomb with the promised toppings, the cheese amply sprinkled chunks across the top of the burger, flavorful smoky bacon, and a slightly toasted sesame topped “hazelnut” bun. I didn’t know what to expect from a “hazelnut” bun, but it didn’t put me off, and I’m a bun snob. If anything, it had a slightly “deeper” flavor to the bread, the only way I can think to describe it.
Violetta continues to impress. Their menu is much deeper than just burgers, including breakfast, but so far I have been happy to stay narrowly-burger focused.
Oh, finally, everyone that has been to Violetta knows they are even meticulous about their packaging. One new thing that they had today over my previous visit, was slide out cardboard burger boxes, kind of like White Castle. Prevents bun smash, nice touch!
