Food

Left Coast Burger Company in Northwest Crossing’s food hall, The Grove, serves up a mouth-watering burger with classic fries and milkshake. And they’re making a concerted effort to accommodate vegans — for those willing to swallow the upcharge.

The Beyond Burger ($12) is a whopping $5 more than the regular hamburger ($7). There’s also the option to choose vegan fries ($3-$4) over regular fries ($3.50-$4.50), made sans added beef fat, according to one of LCBC’s associates.

I ordered the cheeseburger on a gluten-free bun and my colleague the Beyond Burger, each with a small order of fries. The buns were lightly toasted and the gluten-free bun was so fluffy and moist it could have easily been mistaken for a glutenous burger bun. Both were topped with just the right amount of veggies and condiments, resulting in the ultimate classic, juicy burger.

The fries were thin, freshly cut and irresistible straight out of the fryer. Once cooled, they became crunchy. The fries came with containers of ketchup and a fry sauce with what seemed to be paprika and parsley.

For those who live on the north side of Bend, LCBC has another location in the Cascade Village Shopping Center.

Service

Despite ordering separately, my colleague and I asked our orders to be linked to the same buzzer. When the buzzer beeped, one order was ready but not the other. The time between the two being ready was about five minutes.

Atmosphere

The Grove was bustling with students from Summit High School when we arrived just after 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday. After placing our order, there was scant seating available, so we used a few personal items to reserve a table for two as we perused The Grove’s fresh seafood and specialty market.

As it neared closer to 1 p.m., I overheard a student say, “We’ve got class in four minutes!” Shortly after, the food hall cleared out and the hectic atmosphere was replaced with a sense of calm.

More info

The Grove

Location: 921 NW Mt. Washington Drive, Bend

Contact: 541-668-7240, lcbcbend.com

Cascade Village

Location: 63455 N. Highway 97, Suite 50, Bend

Contact: 541-797-6820, lcbcbend.com

Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily

Price Range: $7-$18.50

Cuisine: burgers, fries and shakes