Skyline Burgers: A Famous Portland, Oregon Restaurant

If you hadn't heard of or seen Skyline Burgers it may be because of its out of the way location. In fact I had never once driven by this place and only found out about it while doing a search for restaurants in the Portland area. There are many search sites dedicated to this sort of thing and one of them that I read was Citysearch.

According to many reviewers Skyline Burgers has the best burgers in the Portland area. Other reviewers mentioned the onion rings and the shakes as being the best they've ever had. Reviewers had written that they go out of their way to stop off at this restaurant, or cafe, whenever they are in town because the food is so good. I also had read that the prices were cheap. Sounded like my kind of place.

So my husband and I decided to go to the Skyline Burger for lunch to find out what all of the fuss was about. Being a lover of onion rings and milkshakes I couldn't wait to get there and try them out. When we walked in we didn't have to wait long to be seated. However we did have to wait some time for a waitress to come and take our order. After scanning the restaurant there appeared to be just one cook and two waitresses working. Even though the restaurant isn't large scale most of the tables were taken and the waitresses seemed out of breath trying to keep up with the customers.

When our waitress finally did arrived she appeared too worn out to be friendly. The smile was missing and she seemed relieved when I told her I needed a few more minutes to decide on what to order.

For the main course I decided to go with the Bratwurst dog which cost me $4.75. On the side I order onion rings for $2.95 since the bratwurst didn't come with an included side dish. To wash it all down I ordered a malted vanilla shake for $2.95. All together my meal came out to be $10.65 which left me a little confused over the "cheap price" part of the reviews.

My husband who is a lover of chili burgers ordered the Chili Steak which came with a hamburger patty with cheese topped with chili and served on an oval platter. On the side was half of a hamburger bun split and buttered, a house salad, and french fries. The price for this menu item was $9.75. His soda cost $1.95 and came with bottomless refills.

My husband was served his salad first before even the drinks arrived. The salad appeared to be none other than Fresh Express Iceburg mix topped with ranch dressing, sprinkled with paprika, and topped with a single asparagus spear and a third of a slice of American cheese. The funniest part of the salad was the fact that they crammed it all on a plate the size of a saucer. This didn't really disappoint seeing as how it was coming from an old fashioned diner but I think the plate could have been a tad bigger.

Next the drinks arrived approximately five minutes after the salad. The milkshake was served in a simple paper cup, like the kind you would find in a cafeteria, along with a long plastic spoon and straw. I was disappointed. I would have figured that since the Skyline Burger is an old fashioned diner that their milkshakes were going to be out of this world. Not to mention all of the reviews that I had read about them. Who knows, maybe I should have tried one of their more fanciful flavors such as Vanilla and Lime or Mint Chocolate Chip. The milkshake appeared to be nothing more than cheap ice cream slightly melted and stirred with a handful of malt thrown in. Honestly if I wanted a delicious milkshake I could have gone to our local Carl's Jr.

Promptly after being served our drinks our meals came out. Nothing fancy as to be expected from an old fashioned diner such as the Skyline Burger. My plate was simply a hoagie roll split open with a bratwurst sausage not quite big enough to fit the bun sitting on top. The onion rings were nicely browned and looked delicious. My husband's platter was overflowing with chili which sat atop his hamburger log with cheese.

I can say that I have had a lot of delicious bratwursts in my life. State fairs, Johnsonville at home, or even the ones served at Good Dog, Bad Dog at the local mall have all been tasty. Sad to say I could not add the one from Skyline Burger to that list. In their defense however I must state that they are known for their burgers and not their bratwurst. However, I couldn't resist as I am a big fan of the bratwurst and sausage in general.

The onion rings were sitting on their plate calling out to me and asking me to try one. As soon as I picked one up and felt the slight greasiness I felt that I was going to be in love. When I bit into one the crunchiness of the coating impressed me but then first impressions aren't always right. Besides the crunchy texture on the batter there isn't much else to rave about. The onion rings lacked flavor and even the onions themselves were subpar. Of course I have never found another onion ring that can compare to the ones you can get at our local Red Robin's burger joint. Even the simple beer and flour onion rings I make at home tasted much better.

As for my husband's Chili Steak he said, "It tasted good but it wasn't anything that I would go out of my way for." As for the onion rings he thought they were "good" but that they weren't "great". And all of this is coming from a man who will finish his plate even if he doesn't like the food.

After we finished eating we walked up to the register to pay. Unfortunately the waitresses, who also acted as cashiers, were busy attending to customers. Apparently there was something about this place that people kept wanting to come back for. You can see newspaper articles and even an award from 2000 given by Citysearch for having the "best burgers". Finally after a five minute wait at the register we paid and went on our way.

If you are interested to check out the Skyline Burgers diner you can find it at 1313 NW Skyline Blvd in Portland, Oregon. The Skyline Burgers diner also offers a To Go menu for those interested. Prices range from $3.50 for a Fried Egg sandwich on up to just under $10. Most items on the menu are within the $7 to $8 range. At the Skyline Burgers diner you can expect to find soups, salads, giant burgers, specialty sandwiches, sandwiches, regular burgers, hamburger steak specials, and Skyline specialties. There is also a kids menu with all priced at $4.25 including fries.