Mr. Bento - A Review

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I was talking to my friend Mary, and she told me about a restaurant that Google named best burger in Hillsboro.  Naturally I had to give it a try.  I arrived at Mr. Bento (7568 NE Shaleen St Hillsboro, Oregon) around noon on Thursday.

The long, narrow restaurant was so packed with customers that people had to walk sideways to get to the back to order which is always a good sign. I wanted to know if they had the best burger in Hillsboro so I ordered their basic cheeseburger (half a pound of ground beef marinated in teriyaki sauce, topped with sweet grilled onions, arugula, Swiss cheese, American cheese, and mayo).  It's no use asking for ketchup or mustard because there is none on the premises.

The burger comes with three potstickers with a soy dipping sauce and an Asian salad for $11.  For traditions sake I ordered the fries as well for $3.50 and I washed it all down with a 16.9 oz glass bottle of Coca-Cola for $2.

The burger was sweet and the onions made it sweeter but it had a nice grilled flavor to the beef. The two kinds of cheese worked well together to give it a richness which counterbalanced the fresh taste of the arugula.

The potstickers were deep fried to a crispy golden brown and tasted like normal potstickers do.  The salad was a bit off-putting with a thick, gloppy orange dressing which was not at all appetizing.

As for the fries, they came spread out on a large metal tray with a nice coating of seasoning.  They were crispy, salty and delicious, reminding me of the fries KFC used to have in the early 90s.  Yet, with no ketchup on the premises one cannot dip, which I like to do.  I am a dipper.

All in all Mr. Bento serves a good burger with some unique sides.  Is it the best burger in Hillsboro though?  I don't think so.  It does not beat the burgers at Helvetia Tavern.  It takes a while to get used to a sweet hamburger. All things considered I give Mr. Bento 7/10 stars.
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The photographs below were taken on 05/18/17 for this blog.