Grüner... and other burger ramblings

My boyfriend and I have an unhealthy obsession with finding the best burger in Portland.  We have our favorite hole in the wall burger joint- Foster Burger:

and our favorite fancy burger- Le Pigeon (I warn you, they only make 5 per night, so go early!):

but I think we found some middle ground the other day.  I'm talking about the burger at Grüner, that is.
We'd first dined at this German restaurant that describes its cuisine as "alpine cozy" a few weeks ago with Zephyr's parents.  Gruner means "greener" in German, and celebrates the "green" bounty of food that is available in the Northwest.  We had a fabulous dinner there and swore to return for the deviled eggs alone.

I've never been a huge deviled eggs fan.  To me they belong in the same category as the jello salads that every 60's housewife made and have since gone out of style.  But once I sampled one of these purple beauties I was hooked! You've just got to try these delicious finger foods.

But back to the burger...
After stumbling across an article about best burgers in Portland that listed Grüner, I insisted we return for lunch.  And that's when this baby showed up at the table...

It's delicious.  I actually ordered the reuben, appropriately dubbed the "grü-ben," but ended up trading half of my sandwich for Zeph's burger.  They bake the poppy seed bun in-house, and use the creamiest white cheddar to top off the meaty dish.  It's finished off with bacon, pickled onions, bread and butter pickles, and peppery arugula.  Best of all is the house made cinnamon ketchup!  Who would have thought to use cinnamon in a ketchup recipe? Delicious!  On the side were a crispy, albeit skimpy, portion of three smashed fried potato rounds.
Although we loved this spot for dinner, it can be quite pricy.  I recommend going for lunch and ordering this awesome new favorite burger!

Foster Burger
5339 SE Foster Rd
Portland, OR 97206


Le Pigeon
738 E Burnside St
Portland, OR 97214


Grüner
527 SW 12th Ave
Portland, OR 97205