Killer Burger Russell — Restaurant in Portland

My wife and I tried Killer Burger for the first time yesterday. We were so disappointed. Seeing all the glowing reviews here, I can only guess we had bad luck? I had the Classic, my wife the BLT Chicken and we added side of onion rings. Both sandwiches were very salty. Perhaps because of the bacon. Her sandwich had pickles, which were not listed on the menu, and she does not like pickles. She did not finish her sandwich because the pickle juice ruined it for her. Nothing remarkable about the chicken, it was ok. The onion rings were unremarkable with a few tasting "off", so we didn't finish them. My Classic had my personal pet peeve: chemical lettuce. Pre-washed and treated lettuce tastes awful. When I find a business uses that, I order w/o lettuce. But I miss having the real thing. I realize it's a chain restaurant, but even Wendy's uses real lettuce. My bad for not asking, but we placed the order for pickup online and it just did not occur to me a higher end burger would use that stuff. Tomatoes did not seem fresh, but perhaps they suffered from the time between pickup and getting home. The good - burger patty was cooked great and tasted good. Bacon was not under cooked (limp) or overcooked (crumbles at touch). The buns were good. Staff was very good. It was all handled and packaged and presented nicely.

We'd give a pass on a few of these negative things (pickles and lettuce) as a learning experience, but all these things combined have left us leery about giving it a 2nd chance...

Being a patron of the long standing Portland favorite that previously occupied the building, I was apprehensive to enter, not wanting to face up to the loss of the Russell Street BBQ. The renovated restaurant was no longer dark, dank and dreary. It was bright, spacious and sparkled. Outdoor seating was repositioned alongside the building from the sidewalk, making it a bit more private and less traffic noise. Although the music was too loud for my taste.

The service was friendly and imo more competent than many restaurants I've been in the pre-covid era. The burger was made just as it was layed out on the menu. I have a little aversion to Thousand Island dressing and should know by now when I see words like "special ", "secret", "house favorite" followed by SAUCE, to ask what is in it or just have it on the side. I wish I could remember to do that.

That being said, I take full responsibility for not enjoying an excellent burger. Bottomless fries ! You'd think that there isn't much that could be done to make bad fries, you may be right. On the other hand, you must do a lot to produce perfect fries. These fries should be award winning. You'll have to stop by for a batch to see what I'm talking about, they are that good!!

I think I will be eating...

The burger is what brought me here, it's honestly the best I've had in a DECADE. This location has NOBODY in it when I walked in the cashier was on his cell phone & I mentioned I was concerned with no customer's if my order was going to be OK he said No Problem! We'll it took over 24min for 2 burgers & 1 fry TO GO. There was NO previous order & 1 customer came in 10min after me. It was ridiculous & they served 2 guests before giving me my food. Was my food perfect...yes. was it hot...yes. Was I happy with the price & quality...yes. Will I come back...not to this location. Service ignored me twice & when I was at the POS to order the 2nd burger after I decided 1 wasn't enough, I had to wait for the guy to drop my fries before he would take my order for the 2nd burger...seemed like A LOT of people for NO BUSINESS and I waited a long time for food that could have been delivered much more efficiently. Maybe I am wrong but I've seen restaurants work right & this day this location was not firing on all cylinders...AGAIN, THE FOOD WAS 110% ON POINT. NO QUESTION about the food. Just the service, time &...