The Best Burger in Portland Might Be Made with Frybread

A Review of Javelina 

It probably won’t come as a shock to anyone to learn that my understanding of frybread is, to put it kindly, minimal. Despite my longstanding interest in trying new foods, and constantly going out of my way to try and explore different cultures through their cuisine, frybread had managed to elude me. That changed this weekend, thanks to Alexa Numkena-Anderson’s Javelina. 

Javelina has become one of Portland’s hottest pop-ups over the past year, going from strength to strength (and sellout to sellout) since its first event on November 12, 2023. I’d actually attempted to go to an earlier event, but the ice storm got in the way of that plan. However, once I finally got my hands on the food, it proved itself to be worth the wait.

Since I went with a group of friends, I was able to steal bits of three different dishes: the  Sonoran Hot Dog, the Frybread Taco, and the Powwow Burger. The Frybread Taco was a fun solid dish, if not a little overwhelming due to the sheer quantity of ingredients stacked on each other, which made it impossible to fold and eat easily. I enjoyed the Sonoran Hot Dog much more; the combination of mayo, mustard, and pico de gallo with some beans worked incredibly together whilst not overpowering the slightly nutty flavor coming from the Bolillo bun. The real star of the show for me, though was the Powwow Burger; the homemade tombstone sauce was delightful, however, the real mind-blowing aspect of the dish was its frybread bun. The controlled use of toppings in the dish allows you to focus on the pillowy yet crispy bread in all its glory, which combined with the warmth of the rest of the dish comes together to make what in my opinion is one of, if not the best burgers in Portland. Beyond the quality of the food though, Javelina stands as a beautiful tribute to the experience of indigenous people in the United States. I implore anyone to go to one of their upcoming popups, order something with frybread, and enjoy.