Best & Burger's, Iruma ベストアンドバーガーズ、入間

Situated amidst the sterile environs of Iruma’s Mitsui Outlet Park with its plethora of stores flogging low to mid-level brands at bargain prices, Best & Burger’s (sic) was better than Burger King, but not a patch on Giggle or Blacows.

Weary after traipsing around what felt like an average English town centre, less the roaming gangs of tooled-up hooded looters, my dining partners and I were happy to find a seat, some beer (Heineken) and something to eat.

Neither the burgers (we all had Avocado burgers) nor the fries were much to write home about, but could have been worse. No matter – you’ll never visit this particular eatery unless you visit that outlet park, which, I assume, is unlikely. 

04-2902-5269

http://www.31op.com/iruma/shop/iru1280.html

Blacows, Ebisu ブラッカウズ、恵比寿

Despite the boom in Tokyo burger joints over the last year or so I tend not to pay enough attention to them, probably due to the fact that they tend not to provide a suitably drawn-out dining/drinking experience, although my attempt to spend a full evening at Giggle proved enjoyable. Still, burger restaurants, no matter how fresh, healthy and handmade the cuisine they offer may be, suggest lunch or a quick bite rather than a leisurely evening meal.

I recall a flier for Blacows landing in the office post box a year or so ago. At the time it sounded interesting but somehow ended up being ignored, despite my passing it daily on my stroll through Daikanyama. But then, I suppose a couple of months ago, I started to notice how busy it was – any day of the week – and the frequent queues outside the place. Queues generally indicate decent food, or recent television endorsement by mindless “talent” well trained in the art of rolling their eyes while declaring something “oishii.” Either way, I decided to follow the herd.

Typically, on the evening my dining partner and I visited, Blacows was pretty much dead. A couple of sparkly forty-somethings with perfect nails and expensive looking skin, and a couple of neatly dressed, polite and ultimately soulless waiters were our only company. The interior was appealing, in that it felt a little more “restaurant” than burger bar/café – bright, clean, modern and kind of minimalistic. There was a counter overlooking the kitchen, but unfortunately we weren’t afforded the opportunity to enjoy that particular view.

The menu sounds appetizing enough. A selection of salads, Hokkaido fries (more like wedges really), a selection of beers and a respectable line-up of burgers. The burgers take centre stage, being lovingly prepared from 100 percent wagyu (Japanese Black Angus cows) so as to provide a delicious, wholesome meaty flavour and texture. You pay a little more for the privilege than you might elsewhere, but overall the pate is rather good. Most of the burgers you would expect to find are available, cheese, egg, bacon, avocado etc., along with more exciting fillings such as jalapeno and Italian mozzarella with prosciutto. The choice is not in the same league as the plethora of highly creative, often messy, towering burgers that Giggle provides, but it outdoes that which was on offer at Frisco Charcoal Grill.

Service is prompt, polite and informative. Prices reasonable, around a ¥1,000 for lunch and a little over for a burger in the evening. By time you add salad, Hokkaido fries and some beers (small and at Daikanyama prices) the final bill can add up.

We went for a salad, which was fairly pedestrian. The Hokkaido fries were actually rather good, a decent pile, and a higher quality of potato than one usually endures, nice and crisp on the outside and served with an assortment of three condiments for dipping. I went for the bacon and egg burger, which was delicious, neat and easy to eat without getting too messy. There’s even brown paper sheets in supply at each table, should you like to wrap your burger in that manner. My dining partner’s avocado burger was good too, although not a patch on Giggle’s take on the genre. The meat in both was excellent, and the bread rolls fresh and glistening, apparently supplied by Maison Keyser bakery. Each plate came with a gherkin, and a sprinkling of fries.

So, a decent enough burger restaurant, that provides quality rather than creativity. I’m still sticking with Giggle as my favourite, mainly for the choice and reckless abandon with which they pile up a great and gooey burger. Still, Blacows is well worth a visit, especially if you prefer not to get your hands messy and happen to be in the Ebisu/Daikanyama area. You’ll probably not prolong your stay though.

Tel: 03-3477-2941

Frisco Charcoal Grill, Shimo-Kitazawa 下北沢

Frisco Charcoal Grill was a wonderful little hole in the wall burger joint in Shimo-Kitazawa. A friend introduced me to the Frisco Grill, enticing me with tales of freshly made, lovingly crafted burgers and an interesting chef. His description was spot on.

Almost impossible to locate unless you were in the know, the Frisco Grill was hidden away at the end of a narrow alley loomed over by dilapidated buildings, its entrance unassuming. The tiny interior too – white walls, black stools and a basic kitchen dominated by a large grill – was unassuming too. The only real decoration were a few framed photos of San Francisco scenes, and newspaper cuttings and reviews about the shop, such was its fame.

The story behind the place was simple yet charming, very much like the menu. The owner-chef, “Mike” had spent around 40 years in the U.S. working in sales. Finally, once his kids had been put through college, he decided to return to Japan and fulfil his dream – to open a burger bar serving good to honest “real” American burgers. I don’t know if they were exactly like “real” American burgers, but they were very good. Apparently, “Mike” scoured the land for a bakery that could make bread rolls (buns, baps, cobs, whatever you choose to call them…) to his liking, and had fresh Australian beef delivered from which he made the burgers. He made a set amount each day, and when all sold, he shut up shop.

The Frisco Grill was tiny; probably no more than seven or eight diners could be accommodated at any one time. The menu was very simple, a few options of toppings – lettuce, cheese, gherkins, tomato, onion, mustard etc, etc. – and stacks of pates, and some lunch sets providing variations on the basic burger together with crinkle cut fries and a soft drink. Draft beer was available too. Certainly the choice on offer was severely limited when compared to the plethora of exciting, even outlandish, variations on the burger between bread that places such as Giggle provide. But that was the point, or so I like to believe.

The bread tasted fresh and bready. Not dry, and robust enough so as not to become floppy once encasing a perfectly grilled, meaty burger. Neither too thin nor too thick the meat itself was free of gristle or otherwise unidentifiable chewy bits, and tasted like real food. Not processed, frozen or warmed up from the day before. The lettuce, tomato and cheese were standard, but again fresh. Nothing more or less than they should be. The fries, crisp, not oily and actually surprisingly potatoey were rather good too. I’ll say it again; really simple, really fresh, really well made and really, really tasty.

So it was that when I headed there for lunch today I was dismayed to find the Frisco Grill is no more. At first I though I’d got the wrong street, maybe the wrong alley. A walked around a little, checked, asked a gypsy woman. Eventually plucking up courage, I headed down the alley, and sure enough could see the shop sign peeping from behind the plywood nailed over the entrance. Just as friends, lovers, even spouses, come and go, so too do great eateries. The Frisco Charcoal Grill is no more. Just like dear Masako, another Shimo-Kita gem is lost.

A little glum, I had no choice but to lunch elsewhere and so ended up sucking cold noodles at Mitsuya-Douseimen, before returning home. Once safely plugged back into my Mac, the Google pixies provided me with news, from this gentleman here, that the Frisco Grill closed just last month, as the building in which it was concealed is to be demolished, but will (happily) arise phoenix like once again. Certainly hope so.

Tel: 03-3468-5744

Giggle, Soshigaya-Okura Giggle、祖師ケ谷大蔵

GIGGLE is a rather funky little basement burger and beer bar located some way down the main shōten-gai off Soshigaya-Okura station. Famous for Ultraman, hence the ghastly statue of him outside the station, the town is not exactly one of the funkiest parts of Tokyo. GIGGLE goes some way to remedying the situation. 

Once inside the bar is actually much larger than you might imagine. Plenty of tables and chairs, and a small bar with high stools in front. The bar itself is rather appealing, with various knick-knacks, toys, and bottles arranged upon it. Pumps serve draught Bass Pale Ale, Hoegaarden and Asahi beer. Above the bar tins of canned food, American I’m guessing, add some colour while behind the bar rows of spirits promise warm oblivion. 

The room itself is simply decorated. Bare concrete walls covered in beer and burger posters, collections of British beer mats and football team badges, shelves with books and magazines and rows of empty beer bottles. Two large glass-fronted refrigerators house an impressive away of world beers. In the background, folksy American guitar plays and the friendly staff busy themselves taking orders and supplying customers with well-stacked burgers. The atmosphere is truly relaxed, funky, kind of cute and probably more befitting areas such as Kichijōji, Shimo-Kitazawa or Harajuku.

The menu offers up an impressive variety of traditional burgers as well as some novel variations on the theme, such as the crushed-pepper burger. Toppings and additions can be requested at your pleasure. Other dishes include fish and chips, nachos, fried chicken, salads, taco rice and some rather naughty looking chocolate cake.

The drink menu is also enticing. Besides a good selection of teas, coffees, fruit juice, soft drinks, spirits and cocktails a truly awesome range of world beers is presented. Most I’d never even heard of, and indeed half the fun of the place was reading the descriptions of each and admiring the bottle and label designs.

Some of the beers were: Corona Extra; Salitos; Heineken; Newton; Warfeiner; Samuel Adams; Becks; Brooklyn Lager; Satan Red; Pink Killer (a fruit beer); Leffe; Pilsner; Mongozo Coconut Beer; Mongozo Banana Beer; Chimay; Duval; Red Stripe; St. Sebastian; Carilo; Orval; Delirium Tremens and Guinness, from countries such as: Germany; US; Belgium; Mexico; Africa; Australia; the Netherlands; Jamaica; Ireland and Britain, to name but a few. The prices of the more exotic beers can be a little steep, ranging from ¥900 – ¥1200 per bottle (and the bottles are not always large.) More pedestrian offerings, such as the Asahi are more reasonable with the daijoki coming in at ¥880 and the smaller “lunch beer” at ¥300. Some of the beers are very strong, as much as 9.2% ABV.

Various lunch-set deals are on offer, and there’s a happy hour from 5-7pm each evening, during which beer becomes substantially cheaper.

So, what of the burgers? I went for the chili-cheese burger served with potato wedges. I have to say that it was not only huge, but also fresh, clean and cooked to perfection. This formidable stack of goodness contained lettuce, onion, buffalo tomato and a thick burger of lean juicy meat on top of which was plenty of chili-con-carne and melted cheese. The potato wedges were also delicious, although I think the dish could have benefited from a few more of them. A delicious, if messy affair, and at ¥1,000 pretty good value for money.

My dining partner opted for the salsa burger, also served with potato wedges, which consisted of the same ingredients as my chili-cheese burger with the salsa replacing the chili-con-carne and cheese. Again, a devilishly tasty burger. That said, and I’m not really one for burgers especially from certain famous chains, after eating them we felt no regrets. The burgers at GIGGLE are fresh, handmade, contain “real” / natural ingredients and were not at all oily.

I’d certainly go back for more. A good place for a quick lunch, and I’m also of the opinion that the bar – especially during happy hour – would make a good spot to settle down with a book and a glass or two for a few hours. Although I’ve yet to try GIGGLE of an evening, I get the distinct impression that it would be a lot of fun. Indeed, it reminds me of some of the café-bars in my native England. The thought of spending a night there sampling the beers, after dining on burgers, is strangely appealing.

Open from 11.30am – 11.30pm (last orders at 11pm), closed on Wednesdays. Take away menu available.

Update 28/10/09: After a couple of subsequent visits I can safely say that the quality of the food, especially the cheese burger and clam chowder, remains consistently good as does the service. Weekends are noticeably busier and as such the atmosphere improves too.  

Update 29/11/09: Having now tried spending an evening at Giggle, I can safely say it's a lot of fun, if perhaps a bit quiet. They could do with dimming the lights a little too, so as to create a more cozy ambience. Food was splendid yet again, and some of the beers very tasty. The apple beer is probably best avoided though. Service was good, even though the staff seemed confused by our wanting to settle in for the night and use the place in the manner more usual for izakaya / restaurants. 

Tel: 03-3789-4232

Thanks to the ladies over at 8Tokyo.com for the photo of the entrance.