Burgers Ordered: Yakuza Burger
The Experience: Considered by some to be the home of Portland’s best burger, the Yakuza Lounge can be found in Northeast quadrant of Portland. The Japanese pub takes its name from the mid-Edo period caste of misfits and undesirables rather than the more commonly assumed organized crime syndicate. They did so because they felt the tattooed and unconventionally hair-styled Yakuza of the Edo period would feel at home in their restaurant. Portland Burgermeister Calvin decided to put their burger to the test.
The Taste: The Yakuza Burger is loaded with nearly 1/2 pound of medium-rare Durham Ranch Kobe beef. The best burgers, in Calvin’s opinion, don’t have one dominating ingredient. The Yakuza burger demonstrates this well with the perfect amount of chevre (goat cheese), paper-thin crispy shoestring potatoes, house-made catsup, and spicy mayo (something you’d expect to find in your spicy tuna roll, but not a burger). Of course, the bun can’t be ignored – it makes or breaks a burger, if you ask me. The Yakuza Burger is set between two delicious Pearl Bakery brioche buns.
Yakuza Lounge is located at 5411 Northeast 30th Avenue in Portland, Oregon.
