The Industrial Cafe sits 2 blocks west of NW 23rd Ave on NW Vaughn Street. In true fashion to the area, the small but very hip and cool restaurant is branded with iron and steel decor, aluminum chairs, levers, pulleys, valves and gauges, and even a red and green light that goes on and off in the restroom. Don’t let the size or the rather cold decor fool you, this place has great food, great service, and despite all the iron and steel it’s a cozy place to eat. Here’s the address and phone…

2572 NW Vaughn St
Portland, OR 97210-2555
(503) 227-7002

DudeSweet Reviews:

Chipped Beef on Toast: The Industrial Café is just down the street from my office, so we end up there for lunch meetings on occasion. So when a meeting had me back there a second time, I went completely out of my normal lunch zone fare and had the Chipped Beef on Toast.

What a great move! The Voget chipped beef is oh-so-special. From the Voget Meats web site: “Well trimmed beef rounds are dry rubbed and cured for two to three weeks before smoking with genuine hardwood smoke and then sliced thin (’chipped’).” It’s served with a “rich cream sauce” over toasted sourdough bread and rich doesn’t begin to describe it. The buttery cream sauce (see picture above) gets soaked up in the toast and beef creating a mouthful of fantastic flavor. I found myself wanting more chipped beef and toast if for no other reason than to soak up the sauce. In fact, I got a side order of fries and found myself dredging them in the sauce.

I would definitely order this dish again – for lunch or dinner. Now I gotta find my way to Hubbard, Oregon to visit Voget Meats. What have I gotten myself into…

4.5 out of 5 tomatoes

Cajun Burger: I was thinking I wanted the spicy bacon burger, but then wasn’t feeling in the mood for bacon. While this is a rare occurrence for me it does happen and this was one of those times. I was feeling like something a little spicy though and the waitress offered to have the burger “Cajun-ized”. Smart move and nice suggestion! With the addition of cheese and fries, the burger was quite tasty! It had a nice blackened flavor without being too hot. Nice and juicy too!

The Industrial Café uses beef from Lucky Tough Land & Cattle Company out of St. Helens, Oregon. It was definitely good meat, but I can’t say it’s the best burger I’ve ever had. It was a little over cooked for my liking, though surprisingly not dry. Would I order it again? Yes. Should they put it on the menu? Yes. Why isn’t it on the menu? I don’t know.

3.5 out of 5 tomatoes

Spicy Bacon Burger: Just the name of this burger enticed me to get it. With what seems to be my two favorite things these day, spice and bacon (not necessarily in that order) I really couldn’t pass it up.

The burger comes with a sesame seed bun, crispy bacon, pepperjack cheese, and fried jalepenos. The combo was awesome. I think I raised my cholesterol a few points with this one. I will say that I was not a huge fan of the way the jalepenos came out. Deep fried with batter they were basically jalepeno poppers on a burger. I would have preferred grilled peppers but, in defense of the restaurant, the menu does say “fried”, not “grilled”. Nonetheless grilled peppers would have sealed the deal.

So a good burger with a nice side salad equaled a very recommended meal.
4 out of 5 tomatoes

Muffaletta: One of my favorite sandwiches is the Muffaletta and at The Industrial Cafe and Saloon they make it great. The Muffaletta, according to this restaurants menu, is a New Orleans style baked sandwich with spicy olive spread, swiss cheese, smoked ham and salami on a ciabatta roll. I say the Muffaletta is just pure goodness!

This is the type of sandwich that clouds your vision to anything else on the menu. Add a nice side salad and an Arnold Palmer (lemonade/iced tea) and your set.

I give this sandwich a 4.5 out of 5.

OH! And I can’t forget to let you know they end each meal with Dum Dums, and the check of course. Get down to Industrial Cafe and Saloon and try one of these, or the many other, yummy dishes.

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