What happens on the day after a hard workout at the gym? ANOTHER HARD WORKOUT AT THE GYM. Sheesh. Fortunately, we planned to cheat on our non-existent diets today and start up a weekly trip to a burger joint. Turns out my love for cheeseburgers is spreading and we’re going to try the best high-end burgers in town. Sean and I went to “Lovely Hula Hands” and the “Slow Bar” and I have to say those are two of the best burgers I’ve had. For cheap burgers, “Five Guys Burger and Fries” is pretty good but that still isn’t matching “In-N-Out”.
Back to today’s trip, we went to Yakuza. I must admit that as a real Asian, I’m not a huge fan of pan-Asian food. Heck, I usually have problems when I go to a Japanese restaurant and the chefs are not Japanese. It can be good, but it’s not Japanese food. I texted my sister when I got there and she said, “What are you, white?” But we went to judge the burger on its own merits and not on the service, the atmosphere, or the clientele.
The burger, with very fresh and quality ingredients was possibly innovative, but was disappointing. Check out the review on Portland Monthly and you can see the self-indulgent review. A Kobe beef burger with chevre and shoestring onion rings infused with togarashi and yuzu with probably homemade ketchup on a creamy bun. Everyone else liked it but I wasn’t impressed. Why not? Well, the first thing I like on a burger is to taste the meat. The meat was well cooked and of high quality but IT DIDN’T TASTE LIKE ANYTHING. It’s the same complaint I have with poorly done filet mignon: it can be exquisitely tender but lack flavor. That’s how this burger was. The tasteless meat was doctored up with the spicy fried onions, but I think what it really needed was some aging and someone with a salt shaker.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to avoid the Yakuza burger, but I surely wouldn’t go out of my way to get one either. I’m very wary of the rest of their menu, as it had “creative sushi” as well. I have my own suggestions for creative sushi and they lead you directly to Gaya Gaya on West Burnside.
But people watching at Yakuza was pretty funny as well. Not only was there a mismatched couple next to us (a guy my age with a woman who could be his daughter if he was pushing it) and a tipsy cougar who knocked her fancy Yakuza plates to the floor while dining with her boytoy. So really, go for the fun if not for the food.
Bamboo Sushi is the place that used to be Masu East. They still have the Kobe burger. According to Portland Monthly, the price on that has dropped. I swear it was $18 when I got it (or maybe that was the special Asian pricing). It was tasty, but the place was so obnoxious!
You jokers need to stop messing around and go to Laurelhurst Market.
Oh, and what’s up with the chopsticks in the photos? Chopsticks with burgers? They didn’t give you those chopsticks with the meal, did they? White people!
You should come try out the bacon bleucheeseburger at leaky roof with me.
I had the Kobe burger at the Rogue Brewery Sunday and I have to say I had the same criticism. Fantastic bleu cheese and horseradishy sauce, but no meat taste. At all. Is that meat taste some kind of added chemical and when the meat is actually free of chemicals and hormones, we miss it?