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MidCity SmashedBurger
Graphic of an anthropomorphic hamburger wearing a hat and pointing finger guns; there is also a checkered circle enveloping the burger and the text "MCSB", "MidCity SmashedBurger", and "Est. 2020"
Restaurant information
Established2020 (2020)
Owner(s)Mike Aldridge
ChefMike Aldridge
StateOregon
CountryUnited States
Websitemidcitysmashedburger.com

MidCity SmashedBurger (also known as MidCity SmashBurger) is a small chain of restaurants based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Chef Mike Aldridge founded the business as a pop-up restaurant in New Orleans in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, then relocated and relaunched as a food cart in Portland in early 2021. MidCity specializes in smash burgers, featuring meat pressed directly on a flat-top grill. MidCity has also operated in Bend and Beaverton. The restaurant has garnered a positive reception and has been praised for serving some of the best burgers in Portland and Central Oregon.

Description

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MidCity SmashedBurger is a small chain of restaurants in the U.S. state of Oregon, operating in Portland and Bend, specializing in smash burgers, described by Michael Russell of The Oregonian as "burgers made from meat smashed directly on a flat-top grill".[1] Beyond regular and vegan burgers,[2] MidCity serves fish sandwiches,[3] chicken nuggets,[4] French fries, and milkshakes.[5] The burger sauce is a blend of ingredients, including mayonnaise and mustard.[1] One Portland location features an illustration by local artist Mike Bennett of a cheeseburger pointing finger guns.[6] The cartoon burger, Smashy,[7] has become MidCity's mascot.[8]

History

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Chef and owner Mike Aldridge founded MidCity as a pop-up restaurant, selling burgers from his porch in New Orleans during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][9] He moved to Portland and re-opened in January 2021,[10] operating a food truck on Stark Street at the intersection of 11th Avenue in southeast Portland's Buckman neighborhood,[3][11] where he sold approximately 1,000 burgers in his first eight days. The business quickly built a social media following,[5] selling up to 300 burgers per day.[10] By September 2021 MidCity had sold tens of thousands of burgers.[12]

In 2021, Brooke Jackson-Glidden of Eater Portland wrote that Aldridge hoped to open a brick and mortar location on Lombard Street in north Portland's St. Johns neighborhood, in a space that previously housed a Bernstein's Bagels shop.[13] Restaurateur Eric Nelson (of local establishments Eem and Langbaan) collaborated with Aldridge to create a new menu featuring burgers, hot dogs, and margaritas.[14][15] The St. Johns location did not materialize;[16] instead, Aldridge opened a new food cart at a pod on North Williams Avenue near the Moda Center.[17]

In 2022, MidCity expanded outside Portland when Aldridge opened a food cart next to the Boneyard Beer taproom on Northwest Lake Place in Bend's Old Bend neighborhood.[18][19][20] By mid 2023, the cart had relocated to Third Street, operating outside the Waypoint Hotel's Hosmer bar, which was operated by Aldridge and his brother.[21]

MidCity's original food cart moved in 2022.[22] Aldridge declined the nearby space offered by food cart pod Lil' America, relocating his cart to the Level Brewing taproom on Sandy Boulevard in the northeast Portland part of the Kerns neighborhood.[23] In March 2024, the business announced plans to relocate a cart to Belmont. The cart opened at the Ship Ahoy Tavern in southeast Portland's Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood on March 27.[24] MidCity also began operating at Binary Brewing in Beaverton in 2024.[25]

Reception

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In 2021, Michael Russell of The Oregonian said MidCity had Portland's best smash burger.[26][27] He also included the business in an overview of the city's best new food carts.[12] Karen Brooks and Katherine Chew Hamilton included MidCity in Portland Monthly's 2021 list of the city's best new food carts.[28] Alex Frane included the business in Thrillist's 2021 overview of "must-hit" restaurants in Portland.[29]

In 2023, Eater Portland's Katrina Yentch lauded MidCity's affordability,[4] and Jashayla Pettigrew included the restaurant in KOIN's list of the seven best smash burgers in the metropolitan area, based on Yelp reviews.[30] Ron Scott and Janey Wong included the restaurant in Eater Portland's 2024 list of twenty "mind-blowing" burgers in the Portland metropolitan area.[31] Bend Magazine has also included MidCity in its overview of the best burgers in Central Oregon.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Russell, Michael (March 16, 2021). "Smash burgers, everywhere: 2 new Portland carts make 2 of our favorites: Takeout Diaries". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. ISSN 8750-1317. OCLC 985410693. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Wu, Waz (March 16, 2023). "Meet Portland's Glittery, '90s-Themed Vegan Smash Burger and Wings Pop-Up". Eater Portland. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 24, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Cohen, Jason (September 22, 2021). "These Four Portland Eateries Finally Give Fish Sandwiches the Spotlight". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Yentch, Katrina (July 17, 2015). "20 Knockout Spots for Affordable Dining in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Michelman, Jordan (February 5, 2021). "Mid-City Smash Burger Is Portland's New Orleans–Born Burger Cart". Portland Monthly. ISSN 1546-2765. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Wong, Janey (October 18, 2022). "Portland Artist Mike Bennett Opens Fantastical Cafe Wonderwood Springs". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  7. ^ Cohen, Jason (May 5, 2021). "Smash Burgers Are on Trend in Portland, and Two of the Best Can Be Found Just Blocks From Each Other On Southeast Stark". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  8. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (August 30, 2023). "Artist Mike Bennett's Guide to Dining in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  9. ^ Stole, Bryn; Calder, Chad (June 13, 2020). "The New Orleans economy is bad now. Come August, things could get much worse". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Trueherz, Matthew (July 29, 2022). "Are $5 Cheeseburgers Gone for Good?". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  11. ^ "Portland Smash Burgers". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Russell, Michael (September 22, 2021). "Portland's best new food carts of 2021". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  13. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (August 13, 2021). "Portland's Destination Thai Restaurant, Langbaan, Is Moving to Northwest Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  14. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (September 14, 2021). "The Most Anticipated Portland Restaurant Openings, Fall and Winter 2021". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  15. ^ Russell, Michael (August 12, 2021). "MidCity SmashBurger is expanding with new North Portland restaurant and bar". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  16. ^ Russell, Michael (November 7, 2021). "12 new Portland restaurants we can't wait to try this fall". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  17. ^ Frane, Alex (November 12, 2021). "Loyal Legion's New Tap Room Opens in Beaverton Tomorrow". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  18. ^ Russell, Michael (June 3, 2022). "MidCity SmashBurger expands with new Bend cart next to original Boneyard Beer taproom". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  19. ^ Wong, Janey (June 10, 2022). "Buzzy Food Cart Mid City Smash Burger Expands to Bend". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  20. ^ Vulcan, Nicole (August 3, 2022). "From Portland to Bend, Smash Burger Location Opens". The Source Weekly. Bend, Oregon. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  21. ^ Vulcan, Nicole. "In Midtown, a Mocktail-Forward Bar". The Source Weekly. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Trueherz, Matthew (July 26, 2022). "New, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+-Focused Food Cart Pod to Open in Southeast Portland". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  23. ^ Russell, Michael (April 1, 2023). "Meet Lil' America, Portland's new BIPOC/LGBTQ-focused food cart pod". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  24. ^ Wong, Janey (May 9, 2024). "Buckman Bar There Be Monsters Closes After a Near Decade-Long Run". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  25. ^ Harlan, Kohr (May 27, 2024). "Kohr Explores: MidCity Smashburger gets grillin' for National Burger Day". KOIN.[permanent dead link‍]
  26. ^ Russell, Michael (March 30, 2021). "Portland's 13 best smash burgers, reviewed and ranked". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  27. ^ Evensen, Julie; Russell, Michael (October 9, 2023). "The No. 4 best burger in America is in Portland". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  28. ^ Hamilton, Katherine Chew; Brooks, Karen (September 17, 2021). "Portland's 9 Greatest New Food Carts of 2021". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  29. ^ Frane, Alex (September 11, 2020). "Where to Eat in Portland Right Now". Thrillist. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  30. ^ Pettigrew, Jashayla (August 25, 2023). "Where to find the Portland's best smash burgers". KOIN. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  31. ^ Scott, Ron; Wong, Janey (May 9, 2024). "Mind-Blowing Burgers in Portland and Beyond". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  32. ^ "Where to Find the Best Burgers in Central Oregon". Bend Magazine. June 22, 2018. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
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