Thursday, June 30, 2005

Wagyu Burgers

wagyu burgerJust like pizza, burgers are the perfect food. You’ve got your dairy, bread, veggies, and meat, all in one package. But a really good burger is hard to find. If you’re looking for more than a tummy-filler, don’t mess with the fast foods. The relatively new burger restaurants – Brothers, Hotshots, Bite Club, etc., are pretty good. Chili’s is a few notches higher. But, if you want to eat an honest-to-goodness, stuff your face burger (here in Manila), try to get your hands on some Wagyu patties.

Wagyu is a breed of cattle, maybe more well known as Kobe beef when raised in Kobe, Japan. You can find some Wagyu beef here in the Philippines and we were able to get our hands on some one-pound patties.

Used in burgers, these Wagyu patties can transform a so-so burger into a juicy, dripping-down-your-arm, meatfest. We tried four different kinds of burgers: the classic - with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, and provolone; the blue cheese burger – a classic with blue cheese; and Michael Schlow’s famous Schlowburger – a classic without ketchup and mustard but with a horseradish mayo sauce and crispy onions; and finally, with everything, plus bacon. Serve with French fries (frozen Frenchies are pretty good).

Take care grilling these Wagyu patties because overcooking them will just ruin everything. Err on the side of undercooking, even if you don’t usually like your beef this way. E. Coli, you say? *&%#$ it! And don’t forget to chill a few beers before preparing.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

ooh... that looks yummy. where'd you get those patties?

bogchief, have you tried holy kettle corn? ang sarap, nakaka-addict. might want to review that next. :)

donnarey

bogchief said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
bogchief said...

donnarey, the Wagyu patties are from Mother Earth in Angeles City. They don't have them in the Manila outlets and I don't think they have enough volume to mass produce just yet.

Where/what is holy kettle corn? I will google it.

Anonymous said...

it's popcorn, that's kinda sweet and salty at the same time... it's good, i'll bring some to the next buko gathering.

they have branches in festival mall, and market market, and one near the plaza in front of ua&p.

donnarey

Anonymous said...

aaaaahhh! heavenly kettle popcorn is really heavenly! and this coming from a non-popcorn fan! i heard there are branches in ATC and pearl drive across UA&P. it's a cross between salty and sweet (which doesn't exactly sound fabulous, but it's really super addictive)!

ok, relaks. sobra 'kong na-excite, so pardon the 4 (now, 5) exclamation points!

biba

Anonymous said...

Wow kobe beef burger, how many Filpinos can afford this?
Great to know the ever changing food scene back home

Maybe its abput time I book my flight.......

bogchief said...

Hi schatzli. They're not as expensive as you imagine - around P80 per patty. Not bad, huh?

Lori said...

Bogchief,
I'm glad you liked the cheesecake recipe. :) Thanks for commenting on my blog. This is my first time to visit yours, and I'm glad you found it.

Lori said...

Sorry, I meant that I'm glad I found it. :P whoops!

Anonymous said...

Panalo nga yung Holy Kettle Corn. Meron din sa The Zone badmintunan near Buendia, sa tabi ng Heaven's BBQ. Pero minsan nauubusan ng supply kaya hoard na 'pag may naabutan :).

Anonymous said...

Please advise where one can buy yagyu patties. Thanks! Also, what are your top 10 burgers in Manila order of ranking? More power!

mignac said...

Hi Anonymous, hirap i-rank eh. Ika nga, "it's depends" sa budget. So I'm just going to rattle off some of the places where I like the burgers (I prefer cheeseburgers. Purists kill me now).

Among restos, I like the burgers at Chilis, Cafe Teria and, interestingly enough, Bizu.

Among burger specialty joints, I love Hungry Hippo, and Wham Burger. Followed by Hot Shots' Caramelized Onion Burger, but only because they have a branch across my office.

Pag gustom at gipit, there's always Burger Machine. I've heard people rave about the burgers at Tropical Hut. So that's on my "what's next" list.

bogchief said...

Outback (get it medium rare), Brothers lamb burger, Le Souffle foie gras burger, Chili's. Still have to try Bizu at mignac's suggestion. Handlebar's burgers used to be good but I was disappointed the last time I had one.