Have It Your Way

BY EZRA JOHNSON-GREENOUGH @samuraiartist

As ubiquitous as burgers are, people don’t get sick of them. Whether they’re from a drive-thru, a food truck, a Thai restaurant, or an upscale eatery deconstructing the childhood classic.

You know what people also like? Secrets—hard-to-find treasures that make you feel in the know after that moment of discovery. White Pepper’s weekly burger pop-up combines those two things since it makes what may be one of the most difficult-to-find burgers in town, which is mercifully free of gimmicks and trends, and you don’t have to contend with line culture.

Most of the week, the kitchen at the 10-year-old Northeast Portland catering company is a quiet prep space by day, while some evenings its tasting room hosts weddings and corporate dinners. But on Thursday nights, White Pepper transforms into a neighborhood hangout serving burgers, cocktails and local beers. With just four hours of service a week, Burger Thursdays aren’t so much about seeding a new business or building something more ambitious—it’s not even about exclusivity. What Burger Thursdays offer is a way to connect with the community and a playground for the cooks otherwise occupied making large portions of celebratory cuisine for customers they will never see.

As you would imagine, catering companies are used to having their food photographed. The dishes have to make an impression on a brochure or website splash page. White Pepper’s burgers look like they came straight off the set of the most appetizing Burger King commercial ever shot—and there’s no disappointment when it comes to flavor like is so often the case with fast food.

While most bars and restaurants are falling all over themselves to jump on the smash burger trend, or re-create the vapid Americana burgers of their fast food-driven youth, White Pepper is making the “as seen on TV” version of a burger: fluffy, lightly brushed egg buns with sesame seeds, in perfect proportion to the patty, and just the right amount of classic toppings you would find in a by-the-book recipe. The Classic Burger ($12) is everything you want a Big Mac to be but never is: two housemade patties, American cheese, iceberg lettuce, mustard and mayo with ketchup on the side. No one element stands out; it’s just a harmonious combination that makes for the perfect summer meal.

The MOBB Burger ($13) is a more over-the-top, pub-style burger with all the toppings. The ground-beef patty is perfectly formed and layered with provolone, bacon, grilled mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, tomato and garlic aioli. I will take this gooey, filling burger with different textures and flavors over most others, and not the least because White Pepper doesn’t let any single one steer the ship.

The White Pepper Burger ($14) may be the namesake burger, but it is the least successful of the bunch. However, fans of rich, extra-savory burgers will find a lot to love: pungent feta aioli, peppery and grassy arugula, salty and chewy pork belly, with sweet roasted tomato and a little pickled red onion to cut all the fat.

The White Pepper menu is not just made up of straightforward beef burgers. It has non-red-meat options like the cult favorite salmon burger ($14), the Greek-inspired turkey burger ($13), and a fried chicken sandwich with ’Bama white barbecue sauce and housemade pickles ($13) during our visit. All sandwiches come with regular or Cajun house-cut fries.

The sharable sides are also pitch perfect. I can’t find any flaws in the beer-battered Walla Walla onion rings ($7) with a dash of Old Bay Seasoning, nor in the roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce, pickled onion, toasted pepitas and cilantro ($8).

On Thursdays, White Pepper is quietly one of the most dependable sandwich stops in Portland, popular enough that it prompted the