The metro area’s second Hi-Pointe Drive-In location opened yesterday in the former Porano space, at 634 Washington Avenue downtown. (The drive-in isn’t even a drive-in, but no one cares because the food is so good.)
The flagship, an old Del Taco location transformed into a wacky burger joint thanks to some creative cargo-tecture, opened just over two years ago. The design included repurposed “one-use” shipping containers, bold graphics and bolder colors, quilted stainless steel, a neon-lit rocket ship, a mini security van, and a cow named George Moo-he grazing on its roof. (See and read about all that here and here.)
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Although the former Porano was less of a blank slate (and way more of a design challenge, according to partner Charlie Downs), the same space-themed touches are evident in the new location.
Visitors enter through a loose interpretation of the Arch and encounter the 20-foot-Hi! sci-fi mural, delivering the goods, backed up by jet-propelled burgers. Silver warehouse lights throughout the space mimic the blast-off theme. A floor-to-ceiling corner tower of red-painted metal recalls the flagship’s shipping container roots.
A greeter says hello, provides a menu, and points you in the direction of a “Come and Get It” sign floating on an oversized pegboard. French fries conga-dance down the fast-casual food line. Hi-Pointe hats, both naughty and nice, are a convenient arm’s length away, begging to be impulsively donned (backward is appropriate) and purchased.
At the end of the line a cubby holds a Husky toolbox that’s chockfull of silverware, condiments, and sauces. Round the corner into the dining room, and discover a giant pegboard wall without tools, just like the toolbox.
The concept might be sideways, but the food is not.
The signature burger—made from chuck, brisket, and rib—is all-natural, all-Angus, and deserving of its multiple first-place finishes in burger competitions. Destined for signature burger status is the Arch D-Lux Burger (pictured at right), a double American cheeseburger with peppered bacon, ketchup, special D-Lux sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles on a sesame potato bun. The restaurant donates $1 from every Arch D-Lux to the Gateway Arch Park Foundation.
To celebrate the opening, both Hi-Pointe locations will launch revamped menus, with such new additions as the French onion burger, the Cuban sandwich, and the salmon BLT. Lighter options include an Impossible burger and T.L.T. sandwich (house-made tofu bacon, lettuce, tomato, fried green tomatoes, and garlic mayo on hearty wheatberry).
Shakes (and boozy shakes) are optional, though recommended. Sides include green beans with bacon and onion, as well as three cheese mac n’ cheese. That’s in addition to the restaurant’s not-so-usual suspects, such as Belgian-style frites, vinegar slaw, and barbecue Hi. chips. A new addition is the Fryer Festival, a send-up of the ill-fated Fyre Festival. (This one is a success).
Hi-Pointe joins a handful of busy restaurants in the 600 block of Wash. Ave., including Crazy Bowls and Wraps, Snarf’s, Taze Mediterranean Street Food, Pi Pizzeria, the new Gringo, and Sugarfire Smoke House (Hi-Pointe’s sister concept). BLT’s and Kiin Essentially Thai are located nearby on adjacent numbered streets.
Like City Museum a few blocks to the west, the Hi-Pointe is wacky, clever, and altogether too much fun.
