Wednesday, March 17, 2010

and the winner is...

not the California burger, that is for sure.

We tried it this past weekend...it had the limp bacon that accented all the other "American" burgers...but what made it "Californian" was the red wine sauce...and wine-y it was...it almost seemed as though they didn't burn off the alcohol (if there was any alcohol in the sauce to begin with).

Satoshi and I halved this sandwich and I also had 2 bites from the Big Mac that he ordered.

It had been many moons since I'd had the "2-all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun" (was that how the song went??)...THAT actually hadn't changed and was a nice change from those "American" thingies!

Anyway, those "American" burgers are done with, we won't be going to McD's for awhile...moral of the story: eat American burgers in America...back to real food.

18 comments:

Rona Y said...

OooooohhhhH! You must not have tried Awaji Burger, yet!

Seriously good burgers. I found them by accident a few years ago (I was lost on my bicycle), and whenever I get a craving for onion rings and a burger, I go there. They got really busy for a while after they were promoted on TV and in magazines, but I think it's calmed down a bit.

It's very inconvient from your area, but it's worth it if you want a good burger (and onion rings!). Really! It would make having a car worth the pollution, parking fees, high gas prices, etc.! (not that I think you should get a car just to go to Awaji Burger. . . )

paulgambrill said...

I found that KFC in Japan tastes much better than it does in the US and UK. I didn't get to try any burgers while I was there...

KirkK said...

Ooooh if you don't cook off the alcohol in a red wine sauce it'll be pretty nasty.

Rowena said...

I give you credit for trying this -- it doesn't even look that appetizing! Anyhoo, after that McItaly MISTAKE, I'm reluctant to head over there again to try anything else. To wit: I copycat'd their kiwi on a stick. And paid much, much less! lol!

K and S said...

Yes I remember you told me about this place Rona, I still want to try it (maybe on a weekday??) I also want to try Yokoji Burger in Osaka.

I do like KFC Paul, especially their "karauma" which is a garlic shoyu fried chicken.

Nasty it was Kirk, nasty it was...

Good for you Rowena! Is kiwi on a stick like yakitori (chicken grilled on a stick)?

Take care everyone!
Kat

Patty said...

I actually like the McDonald better in Japan weirdly enough, the teriyaki burger is the bomb! Hope you're having a great time there.

K and S said...

Patty, I am curious if they used the pork sausage patty for your teriyaki burger, the last time I tried it they used the pork sausage patty for my teriyaki burger. :( But I do like their filet-o-fish.

Take care.
Kat

blukats said...

Bravo on trying this, does not sound so good. I'm surprised, if I was going to make a California burger I'd use avocado and maybe some red onions or a bit of salsa. Not bacon and red wine.

Opps, almost wrote wince instead of wine. =)

K and S said...

"Wince" may have been a Freudian slip, Blukats :)

Take care.
Kat

Deb in Hawaii said...

What? No avocado on it?! Bummer it wasn't good. Probably best to stick to the classics! ;-)

Rona Y said...

I must sound like a broken record. :D! But they really do have good burgers!

Weekdays are probably better than weekends (unless you get there right at opening), but they're closed Wednesdays. At their busiest, they sold out of burgers by 5:30pm, but I went around that time a few weeks ago on a weekday, and it was fine.

Yokoji Burger has been on my list forever! I tried to go once, and I even managed to find the place, but it was closed. Then I checked my print out and it turned out they were closed on national holidays!

There's supposed to be another good burger place in Ashiya or somewhere in those parts, but I can't speak from experience.

BTW, I had a filet-o-fish and an apple pie at McD's today! My very last fried apple pie in Japan. They only have crappy baked pies in Canada. :-(

K and S said...

are you moving back to Canada, Rona? I hope not, you have such good foodie tips :)

Take care.
Kat

Costea said...

You have a sensational Japanese cuisine.
Americans do not own a kitchen.
We recommend trying Romanian cuisine.
Cheers from România!

K and S said...

Thanks Costea, not sure what you mean but I hope to try Romanian cuisine one day.

Take care.
Kat

Rona Y said...

My time here is up, and I'm headed back to Canada next week (after a short stay in Tokyo)!

I will definitely miss the food here (and sharing my finds with others!). The Kansai area is the best area for food, in my opinion, and I've always loved it here.

Speaking of food, I went back to the pizza place in Ikeda (Pizzeria Pancia Peina) and had a great time! The only think I don't like about their pizza is that they use too much fresh mozzarella, so the pizzas end up with a pool of liquid when they're baked. But the flavours rock! And their chili oil is really spicy!

We went to the Instant Ramen Museum that day, too. Making instant ramen from scratch was one of my top experiences in Japan, for sure! And that's with 11 years of experiences! If you haven't done it, I hope you do, and you post about it! I'd love to do it again, even vicariously!

K and S said...

sad to see you go Rona, thanks for all your foodie tips, I still want to try that pizza place in Ikeda, we tried the Instant Ramen pre-blog, but I wouldn't mind making another one some day. Good luck to you!

Take care.
Kat

Cindy said...

Reminds me of the old commercial with a lady yelling "Where's the Beef?"

K and S said...

I remember that commercial, Cindy, wasn't that Wendy's?

Take care.
Kat