Shocking, just shocking. With such a broad menu ranging from Hawaiian to Japanese to Chinese,…read moreThai, and American... I expected only mediocre execution, but I was hungry, had no car, and this was a short walk from the Hood River Hotel. But, the food was... incredible!
So, I was so hungry for a burger, I could have gone to Mickey D's. Yup, that's a pretty strong craving... just shy of willing to trade your shirt and socks, so it looked like a burger and that was enough. Service was super friendly and we chatted a bit while I sat at the bar. The interior is ... interesting... sort of a mix between a typical diner setup for tables and chairs, but then a fairly nice bar off to the side, not so swanky as to be incongruous and uninviting, but still very nice and a great place when dining alone. And, then the burger came... and my world changed for good.
I think this was a 1/3 lb bacon cheeseburger. That's it, just a bacon cheese with fries, ho hum..., NOT. Look at the picture! From the fresh roll and crisp veggies to the thick bacon, well-melted cheese and then... the pièce de résistance... the burger patty was FLAME BROILED. Look, this ain't no cheap old BK flame-broking neither, this is the real deal, cooked over an open pit, like a great steak. And, it tasted just about that good. They told me it might have American wagyu in it, which would not surprise me, as it had a huge beefy taste which, when added to the char ... lordy... I'm just in heaven. This burger is next level about Killer Burger and that lot. At the moment, I can't think of a better burger that I've had... anywhere, from NYC to Fl across the Gulf through AL, MS, and LA to TX, NM, AZ and then up CA to OR and all the way to BC... I just can't think of one that tasted SO good. And so, OK they are a great burger joint, but surely Miki's Hawaiian Unagi Bowl would disappoint...
NOPE. Hey, look, Miki is first generation, born in Japan, Japanese and has very Japanese tastes. She's a great person to tell you how good the Unagi (one of her favorites) is, and she LOVED it. She said it was full of veggies that were crisp and fresh, that the eel was good quality and correctly prepared, the rice was properly seasoned and altogether the whole thing was just super tasty! Short of an eel grill that sources Unagi live and grills it up until crisp and charred before adding their own secret sauce, this was about as good as its every gonna get on our side of the pond.
Oh, and the fries were good too. They called them "twisted." The effect is like a cross between a fry and a jojo, a bit thick at points, but crisp on the outside and thinner toward the ends. Good alone or with ketchup.
Thank goddess I don't live in Hood River. I'd be eating here nightly and be about the size of a manatee.
Pro Tip: Well, not sure if this qualifies, but I walked in around 5 and had the place to myself. It apparently gets pretty busy by dinner hour, so there's that. Oh, and don't get confused by the maps, they moved. I tried to correct things on Google, but they are right beside Hood River Tap House, fronting on 4th. Hope that helps!