Once again, I’m on the road, and I am eating a burger worth writing about.
John Barleycorns is part of the McMenamins group of restaurants which seem to be everywhere in the Portland area. The bar and the food are both stars here. The clientele seemed like a lot of regulars, who were very ready/willing to chat with an out of towner.
All of the burgers looked good. Some familar, but with some interesting twists. It was a hard choice…the bar tender recommended the Communication Breakdown Burger (with grilled onions, mushrooms and bell peppers), but I decided to go more standard and get a bacon cheeseburger.
TASTE – Merely average. After enjoying the great ambiance, conversation, and beers..my expectations were high. The bacon and cheese (Tillamook cheddar) were good…even the pickles and “standard veggies” which usually seem so bland and un-thought-about were good. The problems here were that the bun was a bit dry and tough. It was like bread. Not a deal breaker, but something that could/should be easily improved by the kitchen staff. The biggest problem was the meat. Yeah, everything about the burger experience was great, except the burger patty itself. It was billed a 1/3 pound burger, but certainly seemed smaller. It was also billed as being “Country Natural Beef”, but the meat seemed more like something that had been frozen in hockey puck shape for months. This is well conceived, well executed burger, but proof the fresh/quality ingredients make a world of difference. Score:40
SELECTION – The is both a great selection of burgers, and a great selection of other items as well…plus about a dozen or more beers on tap. Plus you can choose soup or salad instead of fries at no additional charge. Score:9
CREATIVITY/X-FACTOR – The selection of burgers is great…while I didn’t order the most interesting thing on the menu, they definetly have some original stuff (the communication breakdown burger, is what I’ve got in mind to try the next time). The x-factor here is the beer and the ambiance. Top Notch. Score:10
RESTAURANT – The restaurant is what a modern day brew pub should be. In my mind Applebee’s epitomizes everything that is wrong with suburban, white culture…and a place like John Barleycorns is everything that is right with it. Great ambiance and charactre without looking/seeming fake. It is a nice friendly place. The choice of soup or salad or fries is a nice alternative. And the soups of the day sounded great, so maybe next time I’ll try those. The prices are very reasonable/normal. Score: 10
EXTRAS/FRESHNESS/ETC – Everything seems to be quite fresh and of top quality….except the meat patty, and to a lesser extent the bun. Score:3
SERVICE – I sat at the bar and found the staff to be very helpful, friendly and chatty. They really take pride in product that McMenamins puts out. Score:5
Aside from the all important category of ”TASTE”, the scores were as close to perfect as I’ve given. But this has gotten me fired up about going back and sampling the burgers at some of my favorite brewpubs. I can’t wait to get up to wine country to go to Bear Republic…and I’ve got a few other “old favorites” in mind for this quest. St. Johns and Faultline in Sunnyvale, Double D’s and Los Gatos Brewing in Los Gatos…and others…and of course, I’m always looking for suggestions.
OVERALL SCORE 77 out of 100.
Tags: eating, Hamburgers, burgers, fries, Food, rating food, rating burgers, san jose, san jose burgers, burger joints, best burgers, silicon valley, silicon valley burgers, sacramento, portland, mcmenamins, john barleycorn
