Bend Burger Company

True to its name, Bend Burger Company, which opened in 2008, is all about the Bend experience. There’s the menu items, each named after a slice of Bend-iana: Burgers include Broken Top (blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions and Bend Burger’s own sauce); and Deschutes River (provolone, grilled ham, teriyaki sauce, pineapple, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise). Or there’s the screens inside the restaurant’s two locations (downtown and Third Street) that display slideshows of photos depicting typical Bend scenes of skiing, hiking, cycling and of course beer-drinking.

Of course, all this would mean nothing if the food wasn’t up to snuff. The ingredients are fresh and hand-prepped daily, and the all-natural beef patties are cooked to order (but fair warning, be prepared to wait to get your burger on). All this makes Bend Burger Company the city’s ultimate hamburger experience in the minds of readers. (bendburger.com)

Pilot Butter Drive-in

Pilot Butte Drive-In (pilotbuttedrivein.com), our readers’ second-place choice, has earned a reputation for great burgers (not to mention milkshakes and breakfast) since opening as a small diner in 1983; the drive-in now boasts two locations, on Century Drive and Greenwood Avenue.

Deschutes Brewery

Although it’s primarily known for (what else?) beer, Deschutes Brewery (deschutesbrewery.com) has found a place in local burger-lovers’ hearts, too.

— Brian McElhiney, The Bulletin