This Week in the Mercury
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Food Enter the Voodoo Burger
Posted by Patrick Alan Coleman on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 3:38 PM
Today I ate this for lunch:
That’s a glazed Voodoo doughnut, split in half, concealing a ground hamburger patty topped with a slice of cheddar cheese. If that description reminds you of the Luther Burger, then you are truly an aficionado of fucked-up food. But whereas the Luther Burger is a cheeseburger using two Krispy Kreme doughnuts for buns, the Voodoo Burger has halved the amount of doughnuts used.
I found the above concoction downtown at The Original, which bills itself as a “dinerant,” a designation so precious and clever, it’s doubtful I will ever use it. The Original is heavy on tongue and cheek, but manages to create enough of a diner feel that the place doesn’t feel overtly gimmicky.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I wont be doing a full review of The Original for a few months. These are just first impressions from a very brief lunch trip. The main question to answer here is: How does that damn thing taste?
Not as bad as you would think.
In fact, it wasn’t that bad at all. The beef patty was well seasoned, and the slice of classic cheddar was melted just right. The sweetness of the doughnut was surprisingly muted by all the savor inside, making it just sweet enough to work. And it’s not surprising that it works. Throughout the world’s cultures, salty and sweet is one of the beloved flavor pairings. Here in America, the regional cuisine of the southern United States has been balancing the salty and the sweet to good affect for centuries. It’s no wonder then that the Luther Burger (named after singer Luther Vandross, who is said to have been a fan) was created in Atlanta, GA.
The only thing that the Voodoo Burger has going against it is the sheer amount of grease represented in this single dish. There is something off-putting about trying to lift it off the plate, only to have your fingers squish wetly into the bottom half of the sticky donut bun.
In the final analysis, the Voodoo burger may be good for a lark—it’s pretty and fairly tasty—but I seriously doubt I’ll ever have another. It was made for publicity, and this post is its bitch.
As for The Original, I glanced through the menu and became genuinely excited about returning for review. But from the outset, it may need to ditch the “dinerant” moniker and submit to years of hard living before becoming the icon (a la Hamburger Mary’s) I feel it wants to be. But, you know, it’s new.
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Paula Dean was talking about her making this a few weeks ago on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me". The only difference was (I think) she used filled donuts.
I heard about that... Didn't she say something about limiting them to "one per lifetime"?
Ooo, I'm looking forward to your review. I was waiting for the bus yesterday at the newly revamped downtown transit mall and quite surprised that the Original was there. Super new (at least in the ways that Mad About You reruns are new in the summer... that is, New to Me).
Sounds and looks like a good place, but the little video on their website is so painfully precious it kind of scares me away. iPhone! Tattoos! Coffee! I love all three, but serving them up like that is just too much pandering for words.
Some places in this town suffer from their earnestness: earnestly ethical, earnestly high-minded, earnestly down home... They can all be a bit much for a casual eater, just looking for a good meal. The Original appears to be earnestly hip. I hope it's tempered with time.
Hell, even I suffer from earnestness... No one's perfect. I hope my earnestness is tempered with time too.
PAC, I think I suffer from Earnest Goes to Camp.
i've passed by the dinerant and it looks new and clean. i look forward to the review. thank you for posting this.
$8.50 for pastry, juice, coffee and fruit?!
$9.50 for a ham and cheese omlette?!
christ.
Who knew an invented American word could be more pretentious than just using bistro or brasserie?
Looks pretty good though (including the fries in your pic). Are they open until four in the morning by any chance?
looks good, but i am not sure why people like voodoo, they have the worst doughnuts i have ever had!
A "dinerant" that charges nearly $4 for a "homemade pop-tart", and $12 for some of their (lobster corndog) appetizers, doesn't sound gimmicky to you?
Wow.
I can't imagine those prices are out of sync with, say, the Bijou and Mother's. Same neighborhood, same target audience. Lobster corndogs are pretty old hat, and when is anything with lobster cheap?
Earnestly hip? I don't know. I want to give it a fair shake, but my problem with the menu, the decor, the video, the comments from the Sage Restaurant Group, etc, is that it seems so lacking earnestness. It's a "concept" -- something contrived in order to appeal to demographics and give the impression that it's "original". You know, like TGI Friday's and all the crap on the walls and the "flare".
Go across the street from Mother's and get delicious quick, cheap, and wonderful service at Lorn and Dotties in a diner.
I find Mother's to be an overrated saltlick. (Although they do have incredible desserts.)
It's not just "new to you" - it's only been open a week. And they are open "late," apparently. What's late for this town - 11:00pm or so? I stopped in a few days ago and had a milkshake and a shrimp and grits appetizer. Both were pretty good, but the price tag ($6 for the milkshake and almost $10 for the app) won't have me running back.
I used to be a manager for Voodoo Doughnuts and now own Brunch Box, and trust me, this idea came up a few times. Ehhhhhh... turned it down *laughs/shrug*. Don't get me wrong, we definitely do ridiculous; this burger concept just did not have enough practical appeal for us--here's hoping it works for them.
Okay, wow Portland people, I have been in Portland for 3 years and have come to find one and one one common thing between all these people who call themselfs "Weird" is everyone likes, wait drastic understatement, loves to complain about everything. For the people in these "reviews" which I'm glad your reviews aren't posted anywhere but local web pages due to the fact no one would go anywhere if they read all of these. The person who was ragging on "The Dinerant" phrase, many companies form words out of common like wise words to make a phrase, "Pac-West" = Pacific West, "HP" = Hewlett-Packard, getting it? Now to the "I can't believe the prices" people, every menu has it's expensive items, I dare you to go to Jake's, Mother's or any restaurant that isn't fast food and order a similar item, I'll tell you what will happen, either it's gonna be straight from a freezer and over-priced or they will say they can't do it. And something you should think about when your bitching about prices, realize how much prep and effort goes into getting and making food, and not just food like other places, ie frozen fish in from the East Coast(Jake's Seafood) or frozen chicken(Mother's), they are using local fresh stuff, breads from a local bakery, beef ground fresh, fruits picked from local patches(farms), they aren't skimpping on anything nor it's not like they are making pure profit. And with that said, I gotta say to the guy who compained about 6 dollars for a milkshake... 3 scoops of home-made at a local creamery ice cream, fresh hand cut berries(or other toppings), covered in fresh whip cream and a cherry, o and can I saw the size, more than you can eat. Trust me, share it with a friend. And how he complained about the "ALMOST 10 dollars for shrimp and grits" okay lets break this down.. wild prawns and blue flint grits, I have ate this dish 3 times now, it's right on, the prawns are huge but perfectly tender, tastes as if someone just shucked the shells off before they came out and the red house-made olive oil that comes out perfectly drizzled on it so you get just the right amount in every bite, phenomenal tasting. So that's my review on "The Original: A Dinerant" Wow can you believe there is actually a review out there now that says something positive? -UrMann
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