Burgers with a Twist
NorthWest Burgers offers local meat and vegan options By Mohammed Alkhadher
B
make it ourselves, we outsource to local companies.”
The tangy freshness of the ketchup is novel, replete with
seeds and tomato peel, and the homemade ranch outclasses
anything you could find in a plastic bottle.
The Kirsches rely on local businesses, including bakery
PHOTO BY MOH A M M ED A LK H A DH ER
orn and raised in Eugene, NorthWest Burgers
owner and chef Garrett Kirsch says he knows what
Eugeneans want: “They want local, house-made
products. I wanted to take something as simple as a
burger and see how it goes.”
NorthWest Burgers, tucked away in the upstairs of 5th
Street Public Market, puts a homemade twist on typically
mass-produced “All-American” food.
“I feel like that’s what separates us from other places,”
Kirsch says. “I think a lot of people just use pre-made
patties — frozen patties that aren’t cooked well. I wanted
to do a burger joint unlike what anyone else is doing in
town.”
Kirsch and his wife, Felicia, met in culinary school and
opened their restaurant almost a year and a half ago in the
Fifth Street food court. “We put a lot of love into it,” he
says. “We’re here every single morning.”
The menu at NorthWest Burgers displays a dedication
to creative burger options, as well as vegetarian and vegan
fare. The vegan burger boasts fresh mushrooms, yellow
onion and spinach with tempura, and the beer-battered
asparagus casts veggies in a whole new light.
Still, NorthWest Burgers is a burger joint, and meat
weighs heavily on the menu in a pleasing variety of
choices: BBQ chicken, salmon and “bork,” a blend of beef
and pork mixed with bacon and blue cheese, all round out
the more typical burger selections.
The meat is never frozen, Kirsch says. They buy it fresh
and grind it the same day, and the Kirsches makes all of
their dressings themselves. “We make every sauce, from
ketchup to mustard,” Kirsch says. “If we’re not able to
1.50
NorthWest Burgers is open 11 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday, 8:30
am to 7 pm Saturday and 8:30 am to 5 pm Sunday at 296 E. 5th Ave. #300
in 5th Street Public Market. Learn more at nwburgers.com.
NORTHWEST BURGER WITH HOMEMADE RANCH
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Reality Kitchen, for their buns. And while the fries may
be one of the only things on the menu grown out of state
(Idaho, of course), the spuds that come with the burgers are
both crunchy and delicious.
The space, nestled in the food court of 5th Street Public
Market, has all the options of a contemporary mall food
court but subverts the norm with fresh, local food. It’s one
way to marry the old with the new, while remaining true to
sustainable ideals. ■
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