We rolled into Cascade Locks on a Sunday in July, the kind of Gorge afternoon where everyone within…read morefifty miles has the same idea: get out, get sun, get a burger. Eastwind Drive-In sits right on Wa Na Pa Street, red and white building, that iconic soft serve and hamburger sign swinging out front like it's been doing this since before any of us were born. And it has. The line was out the door and down the sidewalk by 3pm, easy thirty minute wait, and nobody seemed to mind. That tells you something before you even taste the food.
We ordered the double bacon cheeseburger, and it did not disappoint. Real griddled beef, two patties, melted cheddar doing exactly what melted cheddar should do, crisp lettuce, all of it stacked on a sesame bun that held together through the whole ordeal, which matters more than people think when you're eating standing up in a parking lot with a dog giving you the full guilt trip.
Speaking of: we took our food down to the park by the lake, picnic tables under the trees, and Willow, our English lab, decided that burger was the single most important object in the entire state of Oregon. Nose right up against it, patient as a saint, working every angle. She didn't get any. She deserved some. That's the tension of loving a good dog and a good burger at the same time.
Prices are fair for what you get, hamburger starts under seven dollars, the shakes and soft serve looked like the real draw for half the line, and the menu board out front covers everything from tater tots to Italian cream soda, which is a detail I did not expect and now can't stop thinking about.
If you're passing through Cascade Locks, Eastwind Drive-In is worth the wait. Bring cash patience, bring an appetite, and if you bring a dog, be ready to share eye contact you won't win.
