You see burger? Me see burger. Actually the “C” is for the location, “Couture Ultra Lounge.” The C Burger was such a popular option INSIDE the club, management decided to sell them out of the back of the kitchen to late night clubbers in search of a burger fix, and that proved to be so popular, that they have been peddling them for a month out of their street-side location, on Couch, between 3rd and 4th.
This is al fresco at its ultimate, like a food cart (but no wheels) in that there is no seating, no inside dining. Strictly take-away, as they say in remnants of the former Empire.
Stephan Stills once sang, “When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you understand why you came this way.” Such is how I felt today, “when you feel the C burger sauce running down your chin, you understand why you came this way.” Man oh man.
C Burger starts with Cascade Natural Beef, which is a reliable supplier to a lot of burger chefs in the Portland area. But it takes more than a supplier to “grind out” a good burger, and the grind was one of the stand out features of the C burger. A little coarser than many chefs opt for, but that makes good tasting meat an even more pleasurable tactile experience, in the opinion of both your reporter, and frequent co-burger gobbler, Portland small biz attorney extraoridinare, William Duval.
Your standard C burger comes with American cheese, burger sauce, lettuce tomato, onion, house pickle, on your choice of a bun or English muffing. We both opted for the buns, firm yet soft sesame seeded, soft enough to gently give with each bite, solid enough to support a juicy burger.
Upgrades are available, as are a chicken burger, and a veggie burger. House cut fries come with an aioli and spicy ketchup; the butter milk Walla Walla sweet rings (which we opted for), with a jalapeno ranch sauce on the side.
Don’t know what is in C Burger’s “burger sauce”, but this is the first one I remember liking in a long time. It’s not overpowering, as so many are.
So, campers, to recap: great meat, great bun, nice sauce, fresh, crisp vegetables, and unbelievable thick onion rings.
In my opinion, which is worth nothing, C Burger climbs right up the ladder and is perched next to Foster Burger – and at half the Foster price. Those rings are a little spendy, boys…..but yes, to me, they are worth it.