Burgerdudes

🍔 Review № 1358

🇯🇵 @blacows_ebs29 ★★★☆☆

Blacows opened in Tokyo in 2009, and we first visited them in 2014. At that time, they were one of the most hyped burger places in Japan, and 12 years later they still top many lists of the best burgers in the city. The restaurant is located in the restaurant-packed area of Ebisu just south of Shibuya, and we visited their Standing Bar concept. We ordered their Cheese Burger for 2400 JPY (15 USD) with 130 grams of Kuroge Wagyu beef, cheese, tomato, lettuce, onions and a tartar sauce. French fries and a soft drink were included in the price.

The neatly presented burger was impressive in height thanks to the folded lettuce, and everything was held together by an unnecessary metal skewer. The bun looked nice and was easy to hold, but it was a bit too high. The aesthetically pleasing (yet somewhat bizarre) decision to gather all the sesame seeds into a perfect circle in the middle did make the texture a bit uneven. As with our previous visit, the Black Wagyu meat was the highlight, with a lovely aroma and a deep beef taste. However, we would have really appreciated more salt and pepper to further enhance the flavours, and we think it would have been even better if the patty wasn’t so tightly packed. The folded and well-tempered lettuce gave everything a nice texture, and the tomato was also very fresh, although it was a bit too thickly sliced for our taste. Overall, we felt that the flavour profile was missing something, and nothing really stood out. On the other hand, we really appreciated the crispy and flavourful fries, which were covered in a tasty seasoning mix.

Blacows still serves good burgers, but we can no longer say that they are among the best in Tokyo. That being said, they are definitely worth checking out if you’re in the mood for a budget-friendly burger near of Shibuya.

#burgerdudes

🍔 Review № 1357

🇸🇪 @lilysburger ★★☆☆☆

Lily’s Burger opened their first restaurant in Stockholm in 2013, and are a veteran on the Swedish burger scene. We have tried them many times, and for a while they had locations both on Södermalm and in Örebro. Nowadays they only have their original location at Hornsbergs Strand. The place still had the same strong diner identity that Lily’s Burger has always had. For lunch, they offer a burger buffet where you can choose your own toppings, but we chose three burgers from the à la carte menu instead: Onion Smash with cheddar, silver onions and mustard for 135 SEK (14.5 USD), Johnny 2 Times with pepper jack cheese, cheddar, fried onions, lettuce and Lily’s dressing for 140 SEK (15 USD), and Den Onde with pepper jack cheese, fried jalapeños, tomato, sesame kimchi and Sriracha mayo for 150 SEK (16 USD). We also ordered their peanut butter and chocolate milkshake for 75 SEK (8 USD).

Our burgers arrived in small baskets, and we quickly noticed that the crust was uneven on all three. Den Onde had a single 150-gram patty while the other two had double 100-gram patties. And the 150-gram burger was by far the best, both in terms of the meat and the other ingredients. The beef patties were quite chewy on all the burgers, but on Den Onde it wasn’t as dry – and it also had a clear sriracha kick and some nice textures. Johnny 2 Times was fairly anonymous in terms of flavour, but the burger sauce added some much-needed creaminess. Onion Smash, on the other hand, showed several flaws, and the large amount of mustard in the middle made it very unbalanced. The entire burger was very dry, and the patties hadn’t been onion smashed either, which was a let-down. The bun looked quite dry on all burgers, but was surprisingly sturdy and well-toasted. And we were glad to see that the thick and creamy milkshake was as intense and flavourful as it used to be.

We can only hope that the burgers will return to their former glory in the future, but for now it’s mainly the location and the milkshakes that are the draw at Lily’s Burgers.

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