Ames Meat Research — Restaurant in Milwaukie

04/09/2022: 4.9 out of 5 - This review is long overdue. I have eaten at a lot of food carts all over the United States, and I can honestly say that Ames Meat Research is THE BEST FOOD CART of all the food carts I have tried.

I first came to Ames Meat Research at the Milwaukie Station Food Pod back in late February 2021, after being displaced out of my home due to the extreme winter storm Oregon had in February 2021. It was a nice comfort to have some very tasty food options nearby to my temporary housing since I don't have much of a kitchen option.

So, one of the nights, my wife and I trekked over to the Milwaukie Station Food Pod where there are many good food options. Ames Meat Research's old shiny airstream is such an attention-getter, so why not, right?

This was my first time trying the Ames Meat Research cart. I had the cheeseburger...it wasn't just a cheeseburger, but it was an amazingly delicious cheeseburger! I was hooked!

Naturally, I wanted to try more. But, there was a dilemma.

Unfortunately, due to the issues brought about by COVID, Ames Meat Research was closing early in the day, sometimes not opening, to eventually temporarily closing. 😱

So, fast forward to 2022 (mid-March), Ames is back! And, I finally was able to get my second try in!

Ever since, Ames has reopened, my wife and I, and other fellow foodie runners have been frequenting Ames Meat Research often as we can.

The owner, Amanda, and her staff have been friendly, attentive and personable which obviously makes a more enjoyable experience. If mistakes were made, they would own up to it and go above and beyond to make it right.

Many of the "foodie" runners I run with have returned on their own with their families and friends.

I highly recommend them if you want to try something different but not different. I often find myself ordering one of the 'Specials' and often checking out the 'Soup Special' as well.

Everything is very tasty!

Also, THIS IS A MUST TRY. Try Ames Meat Research's special sweet selection (s); moon pie. Doesn't matter which one, just get one, or get each of the special flavor. Those moon pies do not disappoint.

All in all, at the end of any meal I often will ask, "Would you come back?". My answer for Ames Meat Research Milwaukie Station is pretty apparent.

The owner and staff have been great, the food is extremely tasty, the prices (wow...such great prices!) and there is an outside seating area available, which is typically very clean.

So, as I always say, if you ever get a chance, definitely try it once and decide for...

This place is pretty good! I think it's best burger option in the Milwaukie area we've found so far.

We hadn't tried it for a long time; this probably sounds silly, but it's because of the name. We assumed it was fake meat or something weird; they were doing 'meat research'. But no, it's a normal burger truck.

We got two different burgers; they were both good. Nice fluffy bun, reasonable quality meat, good ingredients. They were also pretty big which is nice. I also found it be a little less greasy and salty than a lot of burger places; that's awesome. I think it's easy to 'cheat' a bit with burgers and just dump fat and salt into it without going for a more refined flavor profile. This place isn't doing that, they've got a bunch of interesting flavor combos on their menu that are unique,

I placed an order on their website, and they had it ready a few minutes earlier than they said. I showed up early, so that's good. But I like it when places have it ready right around the time they say so you can get it home in optimal condition.

When I placed the order, I checked a box for 'no mayo'. They put some on anyways. That was annoying, but an honest mistake I'm sure. Still, when you're running a take-out place, it's important to get this stuff right. I didn't discover it until I was home with it and wasn't about to drive all the way back there.

Overall, good food! MUCH better than the awfulness of Mike's, better than Killer Burger (much less greasy / salty), probably comparable to PDX Sliders, but I think I'd lean Ames.

We'll be back to try it...

I really enjoy this spot… when it’s open. It’s Saturday at 5 pm and… nope. Again. It happens regularly. Oh well I guess. Just disappointing when there are hours posted. I would say 4 out of 5 times I try, it’s closed. I know times are hard but for them it could be cause they’re missing 3/4 of their customers to just being closed.

Edit for response: wow. Ok. I feel like that was a little unnecessary considering all I said was I really enjoy this spot, I’m just disappointed it doesn’t keep regular hours. Which you apparently admit is true. I obviously know nothing about your health issues and would never encourage someone to work until they ‘die’. If you know you have recurring health issues, then maybe limit your posted hours to something more manageable for your condition because of course your health should be considered. I will also consider it when it comes to the unnecessarily snarky...