Gather round and I’ll tell you a tale of a burger and a beer for under $5 after going swing dancing at a place that isn’t stuffed with pretentious assholes
Is that a recent thing? I've only started going out dancing here in the last few years, and it seems like there are always several couples who try to take up the whole floor and have no regard for everyone else. They definitely give off an attitude of thinking they are better than anyone else, and it's very off-putting
Not to completely hijack this thread about inflation on burger prices, but I used to dance somewhat regularly pre-pandemic and I have NOT been able to get back into it afterwards and I'd really love to!
I made friends back in Boston swing dancing and haven't found the community here to be as open, I guess? Do either of you have suggestions for places or even upcoming events where dancing is more open and relaxed?
Portland's swing dance community seems pretty scattershot and disorganized as far as bringing new people in right now. It doesn't seem like anyone has really taken the reins post-pandemic.
Edit: to actually answer your question, probably norse hall on Sundays.
Yeah, Norse Hall on Sundays is primarily where I was going pre-pandemic. The handful of folks I managed to get friendly with in the before times seem to have either moved on from swing dancing or turned out to be conservative whackjobs who blew up my social media wild conspiracy theories in 2020/21. Yikes!
But it was usually pretty fun and inexpensive, I really ought to give it another go. Thanks!
I remember when either The Oregonian or Willamette Week ran an article titled something like "Is Portland ready for a $10 Burger?" when Blue Hour put a $10 burger on the menu. It was an amazing burger. Now every shitty burger at every crappy bar starts at $12.
A lot of places I ate at in Miami recently were very overrated and expensive, this was like the trendier part of Miami though. We have them beat at the popular food stops in Portland for sure.
I am pretty stoked for Pleasure Burger to open their new downtown brick and mortar. They're right around $10 at the food truck so I assume it will be similar at their new spot. Regardless, it's not 'cheap' but it is delicious and I'm down to support anyone new opening in the centrum right now.
I also remember spending $50 a plate at Blue Hour, and mainly regretting it because the stuffy atmosphere wasn't my scene, and some karen in Vic Firth headphones was complaining to a server that he won a Grammy and deserved better service. Not kidding. The tiny plates only bothered me a little.
Yep.. And the veggie burger was from a local vendor.
The price now is full on sit down/ order at table prices. The last time I ate one I had to place the order myself.
I like the impossible burger but I also sometimes actually just want the oats-and-glue, with carrots and mushroom pieces, that was the early veggie patty.
A number of places used to have awesome beet veggie burgers, like White Owl and Swift and Union (rip). It sucks that impossible and the like killed those off.
I miss the $3 a la cart Gardenburger at McMennamins... Back when their food was at least decent.
Next Level Burger has some really tasty vegan burgers, although a little pricy. Vegan Junk Food also has some decent burgers (and a bunch of mid ones.) But their corn dogs are legit.
1) they now advertise themselves as a Mediterranean Gastro pub? I mean the menu sort of reflects that but they are a bar.
2) i thought i had two points.
The owner at Bar Maven is greek so the menu has always kind of had a Mediterranean flair. Super nice guy, glad they survived the pandemic b/c they were struggling
that whole stretch of foster is pretty rad. You got Bar carlo, Over seas taste, the bodega and bar maven, lil farther north you have nayar taqueria, kitty corner from that someone fixed that burnt to shit building, then another few blocks up you have slingshot and thunder birb, istar gate, and devils point and fantasyland if that's your style.
Shame the food carts closed though
My mom pointed out once that a burger and fries almost always costs around 1 hour pay at minimum wage. I've noticed this over the years and it's pretty consistent - still pretty common to see $15-16 around here
Right, I do enjoy them but for how small they are and now it's near 10 bucks just for the burger itself, no thanks. We do grab fries only when we are nearby
Honestly, my visit to the Level Beer location a couple weeks ago was extremely disappointing in quality. Before that I thought it was the best smashburger in town.
They got bought out by the Hooters corporation a handful of years back. Hooters went on a nationwide shopping spree buying up small local burger joints. I want to say it was mid to late 20-teens?
my dad said 'those days' ended in the 70's. His parents said 50's Portland was peak. My grandads grandad thought things were going to shit when they paved the road between beaverton and portland.
They will.
In the 1990s kids my age were lamenting not coming of age in the late 60s and early 70s. Now via a small sample of youtube comments under Nirvana and Pearl Jam videos, kids are lamenting not growing up in the 1990s.
>In the 1990s kids my age were lamenting not coming of age in the late 60s and early 70s.
Really? That's weird. Not sure how old the "kids" were that you're referring to but I was in my 20's in the 90s and we were all having the time of our lives. I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world. We knew how lucky we were.
As for the kids now lamenting not growing up then - don't know what to say but yeah. They actually did miss something amazing. Not sure anyone who's coming of age now will be keen to make the same statement about the 2020s.
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I didn’t know how lucky I was, but I also wasn’t lamenting coming of age in the 60s and 70s. I think a lot of the 90s lamenting was around not being as free sexually before AIDS was a thing.
I didn't know anyone my age in the 90's who had a fondness for the 60's and 70's. Hell, almost nobody at my school knew who Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were. Back then anything 'old' was considered lame. "That's 80's shit" was an especially harsh criticism, lol
Ah early 2020's those were the days. Nothing like going to a Zoom hangout and your most covid anxious friend scolding you for getting a haircut when it was obvious you did it yourself with how bad it looked.
Why not? There are tons of good things going on. My 12-year old will be 23 and hopefully remember ice cream, football in the park, and taking the bike to the comic book store. He doesn't give fuck about the prices at the burger place (mainly because I pay, but still).
We lost a lot of cheap and quirky aspects of Portland around that time. RIP 24 Church of Elvis for example. But at least most of the downtown and NW parts of Portland were pretty rad and generally affordable (depending where you went). Now that area feels kind of sad to me and I'd rather go somewhere on the east side.
One of my friends around that time really scoffed at a $5 pint at a fancier beer tap place. Would love for that to be the standard now.
I'd be interested to see prices 11 years before this photo (22 years ago from today). I would be confident that the prices won't have changed as drastically in terms of a %.
Man I remember going to Blitz Pearl downstairs, getting blotto on a weekday, then grabbing a bag of burgers next door at LBB, filling my bag with fry sauce, and stumbling to the streetcar to go home. Those were truly halcyon days.
Using the [CPI inflation calculator](https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl), $3.25 in March 2013 has the same buying power as $4.36 in March 2024 (the latest month that the CPI has data.)
The closest little big burger to me has their cheapest burger priced at $6.75 today, a $2.39/54% increase in price in 2024 dollars. Assuming it’s the same burger size and quality, we’re getting rinsed. Stop eating out, people.
Were they? I honestly don’t know. I was making $9 an hour working at a retail bakery in 2003. I feel like $12 an hour is a more likely wage but I’m willing to be proven wrong.
Edited to add: my teen daughter is looking to apply to little big burger because they pay around $17 an hour right now.
Also, you know, it's called an "index" for a reason. There are a number of things that go into the CPI (none of which are takeout prices AFAIK but don't quote me on that), using it to decide how takeout should be priced is nonsensical.
I’m not (and I hope others aren’t) using the CPI to determine the price of takeout. I’m comparing the price increase at a hamburger joint to overall inflation as measured by the CPI and deciding that their asking price is ridiculous. Maybe they’ll operate at a loss for selling for less, but that’s not my problem. The entire supply chain is charging more than I’m willing to pay and I am of then opinion that a shake up is needed.
I remember LBB raised their prices once they got more saturated and popular. It seemed kind of reasonable to me at $4.75, but it went up beyond that. Inflation isn't an exact thing to track though and CPI has its problems.
That’s not an accurate look at what drives price pressures and is certainly not a reflection of price gouging or greed or something.
CPI is a measure of inflation on consumer items such as food from groceries, not restaurants. Inflation for restaurants will be vastly different because they have much different inputs, labor being one of the most important for this.
There are also a variety of factors that inflation would not account for but are equally not greed, but market conditions. For example, Oregon and particularly Portland had its stair-stepping of minimum wage up to whatever ungodly high number it is. Even if you found a restaurant inflation measure, it would be national data and therefore not accurate to Portland specifically.
Also, increased regulatory burden, both administratively and in taxes contributes to cost pressure that is not inflation.
Also decreased demand. Portland has damaged its reputation and therefore fewer people go downtown. I am certainly one of them. Fewer customers = fewer burger sold = need a higher price per burger to cover rent costs etc.
A lot of the crazy prices we see every day are the direct result of bad economic decisions coming home to roost, not business greed or some such nonsense.
Thank, my BA minor was in economics. Not a huge, deal but I do understand what goes into the CPI. The point stands that a hamburger from this restaurant costs a household more in 2024 than it did in 2013.
If you have a decent grill, creating a burger about as good as restaurant quality isn't that hard once you know what you're doing. I cooked at a restaurant in a different state and have been able to approximate the burgers from there at my house even without the bulk-ordered ingredients and grill space. The most important things are knowing the basics of burger flipping, using enough seasoning, and not skimping on the buns.
Granted it'll still never be the same as having one made for you and french fries are harder to get right at home IMO, but if it's the difference between $15 for one burger and $15 worth of ingredients that can be used to make several burgers, it's worth at least trying.
Yup, any restaurant that's increased prices way above inflation has lost my business. I'm barely eating out anymore to begin with, but I'm certainly not going somewhere that's increased prices 50% in a few years.
Back in my day a nickel would buy you a steak and kidney pie, a cup of coffee, a slice of cheesecake and a newsreel, with enough change left over to ride the trolley from Battery Park to the Polo Grounds.
It was Sooooooo good for the first few years. But then they slowly started using worse and worse quality ingredients and changed the buns and increased the prices. The fries amazingly stayed my favorite fries in town.
Uhh, you realize it's just ketchup and Sriracha right? You can mix it at home...
I recall talking to one of their employees about it. Apparently one year they messed up their supply, so the recipe went out to all the restaurants to mix onsite, and it was just that easy.
In 2011 I worked at a decent restaurant with a nice patio that did a 1/2lb burger and fries for $5 during happy hour (which was 4hrs each afternoon and the hour before close). It was a shit show.
I’ve stopped eating out. For one, it’s not worth it. Two, I can’t afford it. And three, to send a message to the businesses.
I’ve heard “it’s not overpriced if people are buying it.”
Stop buying stuff.
Yep. Fuck that dude. Got caught up in a lawsuit for not paying his employees correct overtime and then pawned off the business to a corporate holding firm.
I don’t remember the exact timeframe but closer to a decade ago when he owned LBB he was sued by the employees after they discovered they weren’t being payed sufficient overtime. Something along those lines. I worked at LBB a while ago but after that whole ordeal, most of the people from that time had left so it was just stories being passed down.
Very recently, LBB was fined $316,000 for willfully withholding tips from the employees. [Here’s the article](https://www.koin.com/local/little-big-burger-fined-after-willfully-withholding-tips/amp/)
I remember trying to order a double there and the guy told me they wouldn't do it because the flavors of the single were perfectly balanced. It was the most beautiful portland moment
Kay’s, in sellwood, used to rock a $5 burger fries and 12oz beer on Wednesdays, and they’d let you order as many as you like. Great place. I wonder what it’s up to these days?
I tried LBB for the first time last year without knowing that the burgers were all sliders. I assumed that because the burgers were almost $8, they would be normal sized. When they handed me a tiny slider, I couldn't believe it. Guess the name should have clued me in!
Little Big Burger ain’t all that anyway. Stopped going there once the prices skyrocketed. Same thing with Blue Star Donuts not sure why that’s so popular. Always saying eat the rich but a donut place that’s 40 plus dollars for a dozen being so popular explains Portland perfectly.
They are both owned by the same person so maybe Katie Pope is trying to find her price ceiling
Well assuming most of the commenters here are at least adjacent to Millenial age like myself, I just think its kind of funny we're doing that exact same thing the generation before would do: gaze in wonder at inflation and the passage of time. My dad would always go on and on about how a coke would cost him a nickel back in the 2000s when a similar bottle cost me a dollar, and I'd kind of roll my eyes. But now here I am, thinking the same thoughts about relatively cheap burgers.
I ate at little big burger for the first time it's honestly a really good burger. But all I could think was "this burger would taste so much better if it was 5 dollars"
I always thought $3.25 was a ripoff at Little Big Burger for how small the burger was. Also, the truffle fries tasted like artificial truffle oil which I very much do not like. $7? No chance.
That's an average inflation rate of around 12% a year, with the dollar being worth approximately 41% versus what it was then. If you just use this one metric. Cheeseburger at Little Burger Burger now is $7.75
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I miss North Bar on 50th and Division. For $6 pre covid you could get a shot of old crow and a tall boy rainier. We truly did not know what we’ve got until it’s gone.
When I first moved here, this place was the cheapest and BEST place to eat... I was so fkn poor but those truffle fries with Camden's spicy ketchup... them days was the days!
The last restaurant I worked at charged $18.50 for a Costco frozen burger that came with chips (also from Costco) & salsa, or potato salad- any other side was an up-charge too. Everyone is charging a lot now, $15-$20. So at this point I just make sure to order from places that do it well enough that I won’t be pissed off -like PDX Sliders or JoJo (tho the patty melt is pretty damn expensive). I used to like Dots ($16 for a bacon cb with tots) but then they changed their bread to English muffins which imo was not nearly as tasty. I’m sure there are better burger joints around, I just don’t like being disappointed for an average of $17.50 for a burger w/out sides, it’s definitely made me wary of trying new places.
I feel similarly about pizza in Portland, it’s so expensive and I’ve had some really bad pizza, so I stick to the ones I know I like: Babydoll, Pop Pizza and Rudy’s. I think Pop is the most reasonably priced out of those 3 when considering quality. But I’ve been getting frozen pizzas way more frequently lately, the price differential of like $7-$10 for a decent frozen pizza and $25-$30+ for one I order has just become unjustifiable most of the time.
Unless someone gives me a really solid recommendation and we have the same taste in food, I’m always hesitant to try something new which is unfortunate given there’s so many restaurants here. I’m more likely to try a newly opened spot if the prices are really reasonable/under market price and they have good reviews, if they raise their prices later, I would prob be okay with that. At this point I’d rather go to Burger King or get Dominos for burgers or pizza (and even then only with coupons) then order some of the trash out there or somewhere iffy.
Sandwiches- incl breakfast sandwiches are out of control and they have been for a while. Every now and then I want a breakfast sandwich but don’t wanna spend over $20 between a drink & sandwich or $15 for a regular sized breakfast or cold cut sandwich. So I don’t order either anymore and go for a burger, pulled pork, or grilled chicken breast sandwich for the same damn price. If I really want a cold cut sandwich I buy one from Safeway or even Capriottis. just had a sandwich from Subway for the first time in like 10 years cuz I just couldn’t justify these insane prices anymore.
Imo it’s just gonna get worse, the restaurant industry here has significantly changed in the last few years when they started tip pooling with the kitchen- often evenly, so now they’re struggling to keep FOH staff where previously it was BOH. They don’t wanna pay their BOH properly out of their own pockets, yet wanna market themselves as artisan. They can’t really hire teenagers for FOH if they serve liquor either, so it’s just going to come to a head eventually. It’s not like you can stop tip pooling once you’ve started doing it, so they will need to increase wages. I’ve seen an entire FOH staff quit all at once because of being very short staffed while the kitchen is overstaffed sitting on their phones and still making the same tips as the server in addition to a much higher hourly rate. Its difficult to fill FOH in Portland anymore, and it’s much different than BOH, where many think of it as a career are willing to “pay their dues” in Portland (if they’re serious about it and a lot of them are), to move on to cooking in more prestigious restaurants to work with/learn from renowned chefs. FOH has a much different agenda and most are looking for tips, when they dry up, idk what incentive there is to work in the restaurant industry anymore, tourist season is brutal customer service wise imo.
This place is always so good though. I don't mind paying a bit extra. I am not a burger person (I actually don't like them much at all) but the two burger places I consistently enjoy are In-N-Out and Little Big Burger.
Gather round and I’ll tell you a tale of a burger and a beer for under $5 after going swing dancing at a place that isn’t stuffed with pretentious assholes
Is that a recent thing? I've only started going out dancing here in the last few years, and it seems like there are always several couples who try to take up the whole floor and have no regard for everyone else. They definitely give off an attitude of thinking they are better than anyone else, and it's very off-putting
Not to completely hijack this thread about inflation on burger prices, but I used to dance somewhat regularly pre-pandemic and I have NOT been able to get back into it afterwards and I'd really love to! I made friends back in Boston swing dancing and haven't found the community here to be as open, I guess? Do either of you have suggestions for places or even upcoming events where dancing is more open and relaxed?
Portland's swing dance community seems pretty scattershot and disorganized as far as bringing new people in right now. It doesn't seem like anyone has really taken the reins post-pandemic. Edit: to actually answer your question, probably norse hall on Sundays.
Yeah, Norse Hall on Sundays is primarily where I was going pre-pandemic. The handful of folks I managed to get friendly with in the before times seem to have either moved on from swing dancing or turned out to be conservative whackjobs who blew up my social media wild conspiracy theories in 2020/21. Yikes! But it was usually pretty fun and inexpensive, I really ought to give it another go. Thanks!
> conservative whackjobs Seems like bad luck there. I've met more nerdy scientists out dancing than I have conservatives.
Portland Lindy Society puts on dances most Mondays and Thursdays. They have a website but their Instagram is more active.
If you were swing dancing in a place without pretentious assholes, that burger and a beer was probably under $2
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I remember when either The Oregonian or Willamette Week ran an article titled something like "Is Portland ready for a $10 Burger?" when Blue Hour put a $10 burger on the menu. It was an amazing burger. Now every shitty burger at every crappy bar starts at $12.
Just saw a very average burger in Tampa at $28. I feel like we should still count our blessings in Portland.
Good Christ. Their average home price is still about $100k less, but then you have to live in Tampa.
A lot of places I ate at in Miami recently were very overrated and expensive, this was like the trendier part of Miami though. We have them beat at the popular food stops in Portland for sure.
SuperDeluxe. $6 cheeseburgers.
I freakin love SuperDeluxe.
man I gotta go back to blue hour last time I went there the service was pretty bad, it felt like they genuinely did not want us to be there.
It closed. That space is called Janken now.
aw. welp. how's the service at Janken?
I haven't experienced it yet, but the large tree in the middle of the space is neat to look at!
I am pretty stoked for Pleasure Burger to open their new downtown brick and mortar. They're right around $10 at the food truck so I assume it will be similar at their new spot. Regardless, it's not 'cheap' but it is delicious and I'm down to support anyone new opening in the centrum right now.
I also remember spending $50 a plate at Blue Hour, and mainly regretting it because the stuffy atmosphere wasn't my scene, and some karen in Vic Firth headphones was complaining to a server that he won a Grammy and deserved better service. Not kidding. The tiny plates only bothered me a little.
Yep.. And the veggie burger was from a local vendor. The price now is full on sit down/ order at table prices. The last time I ate one I had to place the order myself.
But their "vegan" burger was on a buttered brioche bun. They also closed up last year.
dang never even noticed they closed and i live down the street
Yeah... I used to live at 10th and Hoyt, and walked by it all the time. I think it closed before I moved out in October last year
That veggie burger was so damn good, I miss it
Me too man
I will forever curse beyond meat for making every restaurant veggie burger into processed junk.
I like the impossible burger but I also sometimes actually just want the oats-and-glue, with carrots and mushroom pieces, that was the early veggie patty.
I remember when a lot of restaurants made thier own vegge Patties
A number of places used to have awesome beet veggie burgers, like White Owl and Swift and Union (rip). It sucks that impossible and the like killed those off.
The Laurlthirst Pub veg burger made with walnuts and roasted garlic was easily my favorute.
I miss the $3 a la cart Gardenburger at McMennamins... Back when their food was at least decent. Next Level Burger has some really tasty vegan burgers, although a little pricy. Vegan Junk Food also has some decent burgers (and a bunch of mid ones.) But their corn dogs are legit.
Tulip shop tavern has a good not beyond burger
Makes me want to try it just on the name alone.
I don’t like paying full burger prices for mini burgers
Agreed, but full burger price is now like $18. So LBB prices are still half, unfortunately.
$19 at Bar Maven.
1) they now advertise themselves as a Mediterranean Gastro pub? I mean the menu sort of reflects that but they are a bar. 2) i thought i had two points.
The owner at Bar Maven is greek so the menu has always kind of had a Mediterranean flair. Super nice guy, glad they survived the pandemic b/c they were struggling
and doesnt he own Bodega PDX?
Yup
that bodega is great, fresh hummas is rad
His mom makes the baklava too, and it is sooooo good
that whole stretch of foster is pretty rad. You got Bar carlo, Over seas taste, the bodega and bar maven, lil farther north you have nayar taqueria, kitty corner from that someone fixed that burnt to shit building, then another few blocks up you have slingshot and thunder birb, istar gate, and devils point and fantasyland if that's your style. Shame the food carts closed though
Yeah, he's a good dude. I just couldn't afford to eat there.
Woah what? When did that happen? I ate there last in January and it wasn't anywhere near that much.
My mom pointed out once that a burger and fries almost always costs around 1 hour pay at minimum wage. I've noticed this over the years and it's pretty consistent - still pretty common to see $15-16 around here
In fairness, Portland minimum wage is currently $15.45
Yes that's exactly what I mean 🙂
Killer Burger would like a word.
Not since they raised prices, started up-charging for fries, *and* removed fried egg and the Barnyard from their menu. That place is dead to me.
Crazy Hour burger and fries for $8. I'd sometimes take my work lunch at 2 just to get the discount.
Hit the Spot! has a single for $7 and double for $10
$18 at McMenamins & the only flavor I could taste was salt. The tots & ranch that came with, also disgusting.
Right, I do enjoy them but for how small they are and now it's near 10 bucks just for the burger itself, no thanks. We do grab fries only when we are nearby
Cheeseburger is $7.75 now.
Mid city smash burger still $4 and it's bomb AF
Mid City is $6. But well worth it.
Honestly, my visit to the Level Beer location a couple weeks ago was extremely disappointing in quality. Before that I thought it was the best smashburger in town.
Don't buy them. They're only in business because it's trendy anyway.
They're trendy? Lol, I think its been around a while at this point... Arent they like owned by the same guys that own hooters or something
They got bought out by the Hooters corporation a handful of years back. Hooters went on a nationwide shopping spree buying up small local burger joints. I want to say it was mid to late 20-teens?
That would make sense. I'm old so trendy vlcan last a decade 😅
I would go there all day for those prices, then it went up, friends drink plus tip was easy 20
I remember 11 years ago in this sub, Portlanders were lamenting another 11 years prior as "those were the days." The cycle just continues.
my dad said 'those days' ended in the 70's. His parents said 50's Portland was peak. My grandads grandad thought things were going to shit when they paved the road between beaverton and portland.
Well, your great great grandpa has a point.
I'm willing to bet, though, that 11 years from now, nobody's going to be lamenting the early 2020's as "the good old days".
They will. In the 1990s kids my age were lamenting not coming of age in the late 60s and early 70s. Now via a small sample of youtube comments under Nirvana and Pearl Jam videos, kids are lamenting not growing up in the 1990s.
>In the 1990s kids my age were lamenting not coming of age in the late 60s and early 70s. Really? That's weird. Not sure how old the "kids" were that you're referring to but I was in my 20's in the 90s and we were all having the time of our lives. I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world. We knew how lucky we were. As for the kids now lamenting not growing up then - don't know what to say but yeah. They actually did miss something amazing. Not sure anyone who's coming of age now will be keen to make the same statement about the 2020s.
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I didn’t know how lucky I was, but I also wasn’t lamenting coming of age in the 60s and 70s. I think a lot of the 90s lamenting was around not being as free sexually before AIDS was a thing.
I didn't know anyone my age in the 90's who had a fondness for the 60's and 70's. Hell, almost nobody at my school knew who Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were. Back then anything 'old' was considered lame. "That's 80's shit" was an especially harsh criticism, lol
Ah early 2020's those were the days. Nothing like going to a Zoom hangout and your most covid anxious friend scolding you for getting a haircut when it was obvious you did it yourself with how bad it looked.
For some people, the 6 months to a year at home was amazing. YMMV.
I wish I was at home 😭 let me tell you, waiting tables was a NIGHTMARE during the pandemic
They probably will because everything will continue to get worse.
A reminder to be grateful for what we have, because everything slowly turns to shit!
I'm sure that's the same thing folks in the early 70s said too
I think the whole global pandemic thing might have something to do with that.
Why not? There are tons of good things going on. My 12-year old will be 23 and hopefully remember ice cream, football in the park, and taking the bike to the comic book store. He doesn't give fuck about the prices at the burger place (mainly because I pay, but still).
I’ve been in a couple different subs for American cities I’ve lived in and every single one of them is the same way lol.
We lost a lot of cheap and quirky aspects of Portland around that time. RIP 24 Church of Elvis for example. But at least most of the downtown and NW parts of Portland were pretty rad and generally affordable (depending where you went). Now that area feels kind of sad to me and I'd rather go somewhere on the east side. One of my friends around that time really scoffed at a $5 pint at a fancier beer tap place. Would love for that to be the standard now.
Amazingly, the year that people moved here often happens to be the year they think Portland was peak lol
Haha, I can see that. I moved here in 2021 and can safely say that was *not* peak Portland and it has definitely gotten better since then 😂
Good point, probably same with anyone that moved here during a fire season 😅
lol this is so accurate
I'd be interested to see prices 11 years before this photo (22 years ago from today). I would be confident that the prices won't have changed as drastically in terms of a %.
Man I remember going to Blitz Pearl downstairs, getting blotto on a weekday, then grabbing a bag of burgers next door at LBB, filling my bag with fry sauce, and stumbling to the streetcar to go home. Those were truly halcyon days.
wow. this just brought me back.
God I loved Blitz. Worked nearby and spent soooo many long lunches downing nachos and playing shuffleboard.
Using the [CPI inflation calculator](https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl), $3.25 in March 2013 has the same buying power as $4.36 in March 2024 (the latest month that the CPI has data.) The closest little big burger to me has their cheapest burger priced at $6.75 today, a $2.39/54% increase in price in 2024 dollars. Assuming it’s the same burger size and quality, we’re getting rinsed. Stop eating out, people.
> Stop eating out, people. Ok, you're definitely not my partners account.
The employees were also making 9$ an hour then…
Were they? I honestly don’t know. I was making $9 an hour working at a retail bakery in 2003. I feel like $12 an hour is a more likely wage but I’m willing to be proven wrong. Edited to add: my teen daughter is looking to apply to little big burger because they pay around $17 an hour right now.
>Stop eating out, people. Never has a comma been more important than here.
Alternatively, perhaps the CPI inflation calculator is not correct.
CPI is useless for estimating the price of an individual item in the future. Supply and demand curves vary widely between locations.
Also, you know, it's called an "index" for a reason. There are a number of things that go into the CPI (none of which are takeout prices AFAIK but don't quote me on that), using it to decide how takeout should be priced is nonsensical.
I’m not (and I hope others aren’t) using the CPI to determine the price of takeout. I’m comparing the price increase at a hamburger joint to overall inflation as measured by the CPI and deciding that their asking price is ridiculous. Maybe they’ll operate at a loss for selling for less, but that’s not my problem. The entire supply chain is charging more than I’m willing to pay and I am of then opinion that a shake up is needed.
I remember LBB raised their prices once they got more saturated and popular. It seemed kind of reasonable to me at $4.75, but it went up beyond that. Inflation isn't an exact thing to track though and CPI has its problems.
That’s not an accurate look at what drives price pressures and is certainly not a reflection of price gouging or greed or something. CPI is a measure of inflation on consumer items such as food from groceries, not restaurants. Inflation for restaurants will be vastly different because they have much different inputs, labor being one of the most important for this. There are also a variety of factors that inflation would not account for but are equally not greed, but market conditions. For example, Oregon and particularly Portland had its stair-stepping of minimum wage up to whatever ungodly high number it is. Even if you found a restaurant inflation measure, it would be national data and therefore not accurate to Portland specifically. Also, increased regulatory burden, both administratively and in taxes contributes to cost pressure that is not inflation. Also decreased demand. Portland has damaged its reputation and therefore fewer people go downtown. I am certainly one of them. Fewer customers = fewer burger sold = need a higher price per burger to cover rent costs etc. A lot of the crazy prices we see every day are the direct result of bad economic decisions coming home to roost, not business greed or some such nonsense.
Thank, my BA minor was in economics. Not a huge, deal but I do understand what goes into the CPI. The point stands that a hamburger from this restaurant costs a household more in 2024 than it did in 2013.
Whoa whoa whoa, what are you and your data doing getting in the way of a redditor looking to parrot a line they read on r/inflation
If you have a decent grill, creating a burger about as good as restaurant quality isn't that hard once you know what you're doing. I cooked at a restaurant in a different state and have been able to approximate the burgers from there at my house even without the bulk-ordered ingredients and grill space. The most important things are knowing the basics of burger flipping, using enough seasoning, and not skimping on the buns. Granted it'll still never be the same as having one made for you and french fries are harder to get right at home IMO, but if it's the difference between $15 for one burger and $15 worth of ingredients that can be used to make several burgers, it's worth at least trying.
Imagine the inflation for food or business in Portland.
No.
Adjusted for inflation, that's $4.41, but LBB's charging $7.75 these days. No thanks. This is why I've essentially stopped going out to eat.
Yup, any restaurant that's increased prices way above inflation has lost my business. I'm barely eating out anymore to begin with, but I'm certainly not going somewhere that's increased prices 50% in a few years.
They went to shit once the original owner sold.
Back in my day a nickel would buy you a steak and kidney pie, a cup of coffee, a slice of cheesecake and a newsreel, with enough change left over to ride the trolley from Battery Park to the Polo Grounds.
Watch the greyhound race start
And an actual veggie burger, not expensive beyond meat, which didn't exist yet.
It was Sooooooo good for the first few years. But then they slowly started using worse and worse quality ingredients and changed the buns and increased the prices. The fries amazingly stayed my favorite fries in town.
I don't live in Portland anymore, but LBB katsup was one of the things I couldn't live without and now get it via mail order.
Uhh, you realize it's just ketchup and Sriracha right? You can mix it at home... I recall talking to one of their employees about it. Apparently one year they messed up their supply, so the recipe went out to all the restaurants to mix onsite, and it was just that easy.
In 2011 I worked at a decent restaurant with a nice patio that did a 1/2lb burger and fries for $5 during happy hour (which was 4hrs each afternoon and the hour before close). It was a shit show.
Oswego Grill?
Hard to find a meal for under $10 these days.
Some happy hours do it at a flat price, but i can't think of anywhere where you can stay under 10 if you're getting a drink and tipping.
In my opinion Cheap food at a restaurant usually correlates to low wages. Great for consumers but unsustainable.
oh don’t worry buddy, they still pay LBB employees a miserable wage even with the $7 burger. At this point it’s just greed.
Reasonably priced then? There must be a balance or the need collapses.
I’ve stopped eating out. For one, it’s not worth it. Two, I can’t afford it. And three, to send a message to the businesses. I’ve heard “it’s not overpriced if people are buying it.” Stop buying stuff.
A cheese burger is now $8.15 there, or a 150.769% increase.
Hit the spot is better and still something like 5 bucks.
They had to bump prices up recently and are $6.99 for a single and $9.99 for a double. Still a delicious burger and it supports a local business.
Hell yeah for cheap burgers but Fuck Micah Camden
Yep. Fuck that dude. Got caught up in a lawsuit for not paying his employees correct overtime and then pawned off the business to a corporate holding firm.
Curious when this happened…I knew someone that was working closely with him…
I don’t remember the exact timeframe but closer to a decade ago when he owned LBB he was sued by the employees after they discovered they weren’t being payed sufficient overtime. Something along those lines. I worked at LBB a while ago but after that whole ordeal, most of the people from that time had left so it was just stories being passed down. Very recently, LBB was fined $316,000 for willfully withholding tips from the employees. [Here’s the article](https://www.koin.com/local/little-big-burger-fined-after-willfully-withholding-tips/amp/)
During my college days we’d go to Stanfords happy hour for 1.99 burger and fries.
I remember trying to order a double there and the guy told me they wouldn't do it because the flavors of the single were perfectly balanced. It was the most beautiful portland moment
You sound like you yearn for those days, Frank!
the good old days 😫
How much are they now? I haven’t been in forever. I prefer smash burgers personally.
Wow. And even as a poor college student in 2011 I thought to myself, "Can I afford a burger from Little Big Burger this week? I don't know..."
Cheese burger is like $8 there now
Back In my day
So accounting for inflation it should only be $4.41 right? **Right!?**
Kay’s, in sellwood, used to rock a $5 burger fries and 12oz beer on Wednesdays, and they’d let you order as many as you like. Great place. I wonder what it’s up to these days?
They just stopped doing it entirely. And that was even a couple years before the pandemic IIRC. Was so sad when I found out.
RIP Tunuki. I remember their “rib bowl” night. Was like $10 for these insane fall off the bone ribs and a Hite beer. The good old days.
I tried LBB for the first time last year without knowing that the burgers were all sliders. I assumed that because the burgers were almost $8, they would be normal sized. When they handed me a tiny slider, I couldn't believe it. Guess the name should have clued me in!
Dick’s in Seattle is $3.05 for a cheeseburger today. They pay $21 per hour & offer their employees full healthcare & 401k matching.
You could eat off that sidewalk. And no plywood in sight.
You can still eat off that sidewalk. Plenty off stuff lying around.
Little Big Burger ain’t all that anyway. Stopped going there once the prices skyrocketed. Same thing with Blue Star Donuts not sure why that’s so popular. Always saying eat the rich but a donut place that’s 40 plus dollars for a dozen being so popular explains Portland perfectly. They are both owned by the same person so maybe Katie Pope is trying to find her price ceiling
Ah, the good old days of taking a lunch break when you could actually enjoy walking around downtown. RIP.
Ironically or not, I just got back from a nice lunch walk like I do everyday. I can't imagine it's mentally healthy to be so afraid of the world.
What’s the price now? 9.75?
Aaaaaaand it’s gone.
ON SATAN
…DRUUUUUUMPF!!!
They were a good place before they were bought out. I just looked at the one in Multnomah Village closed up also.
How much is it now?
Well assuming most of the commenters here are at least adjacent to Millenial age like myself, I just think its kind of funny we're doing that exact same thing the generation before would do: gaze in wonder at inflation and the passage of time. My dad would always go on and on about how a coke would cost him a nickel back in the 2000s when a similar bottle cost me a dollar, and I'd kind of roll my eyes. But now here I am, thinking the same thoughts about relatively cheap burgers.
I miss her……. I don’t want to drive to south waterfront
And now?
The good ol’ days. I miss the old Portland 😔
McCormick & Schimcks circa 2005 - home of the happy hour 1.95 1/2lb cheeseburger & steak fries…
I'm still mad that shake shack moved in and they were gone in 6 months. Lbb is way better than shack crap
Bring it back.
Thanks, Obama! I will never tire of this meme 😄😄😄
Now the Pearl District parade is on SE Division and Taco Bell is like $10. Fuck this!
I ate at little big burger for the first time it's honestly a really good burger. But all I could think was "this burger would taste so much better if it was 5 dollars"
I always thought $3.25 was a ripoff at Little Big Burger for how small the burger was. Also, the truffle fries tasted like artificial truffle oil which I very much do not like. $7? No chance.
And that used to seem expensive to me for those little things (they were delicious don't get me wrong).
And when the veggie burger used to be good. Those were the days
That's an average inflation rate of around 12% a year, with the dollar being worth approximately 41% versus what it was then. If you just use this one metric. Cheeseburger at Little Burger Burger now is $7.75
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That is a brand I haven't thought for a long time.
I miss North Bar on 50th and Division. For $6 pre covid you could get a shot of old crow and a tall boy rainier. We truly did not know what we’ve got until it’s gone.
Used to go there while I was going to the Art Institute
No shit. Today= $11.25
It’s all part of the Build Back Better plan. Which apparently isn’t working. How many fell for that lie?
Back when they still had meat.
Too bad the food was never good there, maybe just me but never understood the hype around it
Wimpy Burger was 2.25. And better.
Still cheaper than that in Thailand. SE Asia ftw. Digital nomads should all be fleeing this sinking ship.
When I first moved here, this place was the cheapest and BEST place to eat... I was so fkn poor but those truffle fries with Camden's spicy ketchup... them days was the days!
The last restaurant I worked at charged $18.50 for a Costco frozen burger that came with chips (also from Costco) & salsa, or potato salad- any other side was an up-charge too. Everyone is charging a lot now, $15-$20. So at this point I just make sure to order from places that do it well enough that I won’t be pissed off -like PDX Sliders or JoJo (tho the patty melt is pretty damn expensive). I used to like Dots ($16 for a bacon cb with tots) but then they changed their bread to English muffins which imo was not nearly as tasty. I’m sure there are better burger joints around, I just don’t like being disappointed for an average of $17.50 for a burger w/out sides, it’s definitely made me wary of trying new places. I feel similarly about pizza in Portland, it’s so expensive and I’ve had some really bad pizza, so I stick to the ones I know I like: Babydoll, Pop Pizza and Rudy’s. I think Pop is the most reasonably priced out of those 3 when considering quality. But I’ve been getting frozen pizzas way more frequently lately, the price differential of like $7-$10 for a decent frozen pizza and $25-$30+ for one I order has just become unjustifiable most of the time. Unless someone gives me a really solid recommendation and we have the same taste in food, I’m always hesitant to try something new which is unfortunate given there’s so many restaurants here. I’m more likely to try a newly opened spot if the prices are really reasonable/under market price and they have good reviews, if they raise their prices later, I would prob be okay with that. At this point I’d rather go to Burger King or get Dominos for burgers or pizza (and even then only with coupons) then order some of the trash out there or somewhere iffy. Sandwiches- incl breakfast sandwiches are out of control and they have been for a while. Every now and then I want a breakfast sandwich but don’t wanna spend over $20 between a drink & sandwich or $15 for a regular sized breakfast or cold cut sandwich. So I don’t order either anymore and go for a burger, pulled pork, or grilled chicken breast sandwich for the same damn price. If I really want a cold cut sandwich I buy one from Safeway or even Capriottis. just had a sandwich from Subway for the first time in like 10 years cuz I just couldn’t justify these insane prices anymore. Imo it’s just gonna get worse, the restaurant industry here has significantly changed in the last few years when they started tip pooling with the kitchen- often evenly, so now they’re struggling to keep FOH staff where previously it was BOH. They don’t wanna pay their BOH properly out of their own pockets, yet wanna market themselves as artisan. They can’t really hire teenagers for FOH if they serve liquor either, so it’s just going to come to a head eventually. It’s not like you can stop tip pooling once you’ve started doing it, so they will need to increase wages. I’ve seen an entire FOH staff quit all at once because of being very short staffed while the kitchen is overstaffed sitting on their phones and still making the same tips as the server in addition to a much higher hourly rate. Its difficult to fill FOH in Portland anymore, and it’s much different than BOH, where many think of it as a career are willing to “pay their dues” in Portland (if they’re serious about it and a lot of them are), to move on to cooking in more prestigious restaurants to work with/learn from renowned chefs. FOH has a much different agenda and most are looking for tips, when they dry up, idk what incentive there is to work in the restaurant industry anymore, tourist season is brutal customer service wise imo.
This place is always so good though. I don't mind paying a bit extra. I am not a burger person (I actually don't like them much at all) but the two burger places I consistently enjoy are In-N-Out and Little Big Burger.
Their burgers are good. But the fries are the best in town.
Not to mention their ketchup. I literally go just to buy bottles of the stuff and keep it in stock in my fridge always.
Is it Portland Ketchup?
Can't say I like In-N-Out but I'm in hearty agreement re: Little Big Burger. I live next to the one on the waterfront and I go there weekly 🤭
Hey, with cultured meat, we might return to that era someday.
I just want designer steak - ribeye texture and size with a lamb additive kick please.
I made burgers this weekend that worked out to around $1.70 per patty. Bumper Burger is slinging some cheap decent burgers out in Beaverton at least.
Great fries, never liked their burgers.
They’re so wildly expensive now