Pause, located at 5101 N. Interstate, is the more upscale version of its older brother, The Low Brow Lounge. The food we saw coming from the kitchen could come from the kitchen of much more upscale restaurants, yet the bar/club atmosphere was much more user-friendly. Comfortable booths and well spaced tables provided for a nice lunch dining experience. You can really escape work for an hour at Pause – a name perfect for a place like this.
Pause Kitchen and Bar
5101 N Interstate Ave,
Portland, OR 97217
(971) 230-0705
The Reviews:
[singlepic id=51 w=240 h=320 float=right]“Freshly ground Strawberry Mountain aged chuck.” Sounds divine and it was! I ordered my burger medium-rare, with crumbled blue cheese and bacon. It came cooked to perfection and was extremely tasty, though very rich – perhaps because of the blue cheese, perhaps because of the fact it was medium rare. Either way it was tough to finish. I tried the pickle on a dare from Jason and was equally as blown away as he was. Not sure how they could put this on the plate and call it food. Luckily I don’t really eat pickles, so I still rated this burger very high on my list of tasty burgers reviewed thus far.
At $10, it won’t rate higher than a 4. Just too costly compared to other burgers like Stanich’s. The fries were excellent though and you do have a choice between them, soup or salad which is nice. Just steer clear of the pickles and you’ll really enjoy this burger!
4 out of 5.
[singlepic id=49 w=320 h=240 float=right]A few days ago I hadn’t heard of Pause, and I’m going to assume many of you haven’t heard of it either until now. I mean, I know what “pause” means, temporary inactivity, but I can tell you the only thing that “paused” at Pause was my ability to control my appetite. I’m supposed to be “watching” what I eat you know. So I watch every bite, right into my pie hole.
Order your burger medium-rare, medium, or medium-well, who cares, it’s going to be perfect. If you like bacon you’ll love theirs, perfectly crisp and salty with saltiness. What?! Anyways, If you don’t like bacon then I’ll pause a moment in silence to grieve for you. Ok…so the burger had blue cheese, bacon, and all the fixin’s (veggies), it was dude, sweet! For fries they serve fresh cut potatoes that still carry some skin for that home-style flavor.
A couple negatives, one major and one minor. The minor downer was they serve RC cola, not my fave, but on the flip side they have a full bar to mix your cola with a shot of rum if you like. The MAJOR downer was their pickles. I’m not kidding when I say I gagged. I was quick to say to Chuck and Jeremy, “Dude, these pickles are nasty, you have to try’em.” But hey, the moral of this review is don’t put the pickles on the bun and you’ll be set with a great burger.
Get over to Pause. 4 out of 5.
When we first walked into Pause, I had to stop and do a double take. Serving the patrons of Pause was a former server from one of my favorite lunch spots that is no more, The Green Room. The familiar face threw me for a loop.
After I snapped out of my deja vu; my cheese burger had arrived and I was ready enjoy. The burger had a good, rich taste and was cooked perfectly. I was pleased that we had a choice on how dead we wanted the former cow, and the burger was not simply cooked as they pleased.
The burger was cooked spot-on to my request, medium-well. I really like the build-your-burger plating with all the vegetables on the side. All in all, I really enjoyed the burger; regardless of the pickles (which, in my opinion, cannot be called a pickle unless it is a dill) and the lack of beverage-filling left me wanting.
I have to rate it a 3.5 out of 5.
Popularity: 48% [?]
3 Comments
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Thanks for the reply. I think that it’s only fair to point out that the prices remain the same for dinner, as well. And, all we are saying, it give pickles a chance.
Carmel,
Thanks for your comment. I think all three of us really enjoyed our experience at Pause and our ratings certainly suggest that. The meat was delicious, the fries were great, and no, we didn’t have to order the blue cheese and bacon, though they were mighty fine as well. In terms of the price, it’s just a little steap for a lunch burger. If you’ve read our reviews you’ll see that we said similar things about the Paragon Burger (also tasty). We’re trying to balance the price with what you get in terms of value for a lunch. Is the experience better at Pause… sure, but I think that most people would agree that it’s hard to beat the “value” that Stanichs offers for a burger.
In terms of the pickle… I think that’s an acquired taste, much like a fine wine. Your blog title says it all… “evolving epicurean” which speaks to the finer dining experiences Portland may have to offer. I think our blog title also does that “DudeSweet – Dudes Reviewing Portland Food” and who we’re catering to.
Thanks again, Carmen. Happy blogging.
I have to respond to this given that Pause is one of my favorite Portland eateries (partly due to the fact that is only a few blocks from my house). I think saying that $10 is too expensive for a burger and fries is misleading. You don’t HAVE to get the bleu cheese and bacon. The Tillamook cheese burger is only $8. Secondly, we’re talking about freshly ground meat, hand cut fries, and homemade pickles. I’m sorry Stanich’s has NOTHING on this place. When I went to Stanich’s, the burger tasted pretty good, but it was SO greasy. And, YES, pickles…referring to the preparation, not Vlassic or whatever you use to measure your standard of “pickle.” You’re just wrong on that one. The pickles are phenomenal (as well as the $2/person pickle plate, which includes some amazing hot pickled items). Read my review of Pause here: http://evolvingepicurean.blogspot.com/2008/12/eat-here-pause.html.