Burger Update #5: Very Berry Cafe

This burger update, a month late, comes from last month's week vacation. Very Berry Cafe is Hawaiian, I swear I'm not lyin', but here they have a pretty good creation. A whole sweet onion and barbecue sauce, when Smile Burger is closed this place is the boss. Though the price is a little pricey, like its superior, the price is an indication that what you'll get is far from inferior. Sadly, there is only one downfall to Very Berry Cafe. The patty is delicious but can get a little choppy, and when the bun starts breaking, things get pretty sloppy. While I don't look down on finger-licking, it's hard to eat when your burger is left for picking. But don't let that keep you away, as it's your best burger option on an idle Tuesday (assuming you're in Kyoto).

Burger Update #4: Smile Burger

Tucked away at the bottom of a hill, below the most famous temple in the most historic city in Japan, and around the corner from the dwellings of dozens of geisha, there is a small-time, one-of-a-kind hamburger shop. Always spic and span, the nine available seats inside prove to be just enough, as the two cooks behind the counter can only make so many burgers at once. Not that there is ever a line out the door, as this place seems to rely on a steady flow of customers throughout the day. Their hours are 11 a.m. until they are sold out, which can be as early as 5:30 in the evening, to the disappointment of many who venture all the way through Gion. It's even more disappointing when you arrive hungry for lunch on a Tuesday, only to find it is the one day of the week they are closed. You have no choice but to look up at the big red and white sign above you and come back the next day. Come back to the one and only Smile Burger.



It's safe to say Smile Burger was a beginning for me. I would by no means call myself a hamburger connoisseur, but it wasn't until Smile Burger that I really started giving hamburgers any extra thought. In the past year, I have tried a few dozen different hamburgers, and the fact of the matter is only a few come close to Smile Burger. What's even more impressive is that Smile Burger is so ahead of the game while only using standard ingredients. Quite a few places will add different toppings: egg, chili, guacomole, onion rings, spinach, etc. As Smile Burger became a measuring stick from the start, I felt the need to try a place's burger with both basic toppings and their special toppings. With Smile Burger as a 10 on my scale, only a few places made it to 8, and even if they got a 9, there was a lot of distance between a 9 and a 10.
What stands out on the first bite is the patty, which I have found to be uncontested in its field. Supporting the patty is also the best bun I've had on a burger, a soft and doughy sourdough you can squish to fit your mouth around, but doesn't start breaking apart until it's in your mouth. The bun is the most surprising factor, as one doesn't usually look to a bun to play an important role. When a bun is this good, it can't avoid being a factor, which must be why they feel the need to stamp "SMILE" on it. The other ingredients in the burger are spot on. The ketchup, deli mustard, and secret sauce are a reliable to trio to support the fresh lettuce and tomatoes. The two slices of cheese aren't by any means necessary to make this the best burger I've ever had, but I prefer them to be there. All of the ingredients are a cohesive starting line up, with the bun being Scottie Pippen to the patty's Michael Jordan. The 1-2 punch coupled with a great supporting cast is destined to impress anyone who likes a hamburger. The actual eating of a Smile Burger is definitely the highlight of the visit, but the experience doesn't end there.



One other thing the separates Smile Burger from a lot of other burger places is that they don't serve fries. Instead, they serve potato chips, a lighter, simpler choice. Where they really come into play is that they don't fill you up. The main part of the meal is big enough to fill you up, so serving potato chips prevents you from walking away with any kind of bloated feeling. In addition, you'll notice the only oil stains in the aftermath of a Smile Burger come from the potato chips. Thanks to a Smile Burger not being greasy, you can walk away from the shop with a little more pep in your step, ready to make it back through Gion for a nice walk along the river. Unlike a lot of places, it's a very honest meal, with no added grease disguised as taste.



Are you hungry? They dare ask, though it seems quite rhetorical. Not only am I full, but also incredibly satisfied. The question I always ask myself before I take my first bite is "How do I even start on this thing?" It can be quite intimidating for a first timer, stacked high and wide. Here's my advice: grab it with two hands, and dive right in!

Back to Ueda

I've made it back to Ueda from Kyoto, and am now safely back at work. I have a bunch of pictures on my phone, but haven't put them on my computer yet. When I do so, there will be surely be some more posts coming here. Kyoto was once again inspiring on all kinds of levels, and even though I left, I for some reason didn't feel like I was actually leaving. Maybe it's because I know I'll be back there again, but who really knows. Over my four days there, I managed to get enough material for two burger updates, so keep an eye out for those. I have also recently been told of a great burger here in Ueda, a Brazilian burger place. I'm very excited about it, as it would mean I have options other than Mos Burger and McDonald's when I need to "get my burger on".
I have a lot of plans in the coming weekends, but hopefully I'll have enough time to keep things posted on here better than I've been doing. Sorry for the lack of posting, but thanks for reading~

Going To Kyoto

A week from right now, I'll be on an overnight bus headed for Kyoto, and I can't wait. Really, I just might go crazy, we'll see. At the top of my list of reasons for going crazy: Smile Burger. My buddy and I just decided that after we eat there the first day, we will also order the "Smile Burger Q", the quadruple burger that must be ordered a day in advance. Just so you don't have to ask, we will be splitting the Q between two of us, and hopefully all goes safely with it. I've never had it before, but always wanted to get it. Some have asked whether a hamburger is really worth all of this anticipation, but clearly none of them have paid a visit to the only hamburger shop in the historic Kiyomizu district. It's like trying to explain to someone why The Beatles were so good without them having heard the music themselves. Talk is cheap, words are cheaper, but if there's one thing I'd like to do, it's to introduce my Stateside friends and family to Smile Burger without them having to buy a round-trip ticket across the Pacific.
Other plans for Kyoto include seeing friends, climbing Daimonji, karaoke, visiting Kiyomizu Temple, Arashiyama, hitting the tea shops and cafes, strolls along the Kamo River, biking around the city, and maybe a few more Smile Burgers. I don't know if a Hanshin Tigers game is in the mix, but if it's possible that'd be amazing to go to too. Kyoto will be plenty for me, and three nights there may not be enough. Will I move operations there again in the future? We'll see, as I'll be sure to keep an eye out for potential jobs in the area while I'm in town.

This American Life

For the last few weeks, I've been hooked on listening to the popular radio show, This American Life. For those of you who don't know, it's an hour-long show featuring stories (usually true, sometimes fiction) revolving around a certain theme. The stories are usually told by writers or reporters, and are always worth listening to no matter what the theme is. It's not centered around be American necessarily, it just captures stories from all walks of life, which happen to be in America. I tend to listen to them in the morning when I'm just getting started, during breakfast, etc. You can listen to past episodes for free on their website, so I've been taking advantage of that. If you go under favorites, you can hear some of the best ones too. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/
You can also hear it on NPR, though I'm not sure when necessarily. I have one student who is pretty advanced, so I will be recommending her to listen to things like this online, as it will help her improve her listening and real-world vocabulary. She already does some translating, so I think it will be a good next step, as well as a window into American culture.

Classroom Shaking and Ancient Traditions

Over the past few weeks, the surprising amount of "classroom shaking" has slowly come to my attention. The rumbling can be felt when it is time to sing the "Letter Song" and I must chase my 7-8 year old students around the room. Surprise surprise, it's everyone's favorite part of the lesson. The other kind of classroom shaking is due to my school's location adjacent to Ueda Station, and the kind of 20th century advances in ground transportation that whiz through the station at 200 miles per hour. While that kind of shaking isn't too distracting, the occasional student might ask what it is, and another student will nonchalantly respond, "It's the bullet train.". The real distracting kind of shaking is the one that convinces me the building is going down (though it's still standing) and makes everyone's heart skip a beat. We all pause for a few seconds, we all look at one another, we all hear the pre-schoolers losing control four rooms away. It makes me not want to go outside, mostly because I probably forgot my umbrella. After all, it was sunny this morning. I am of course talking about the loudest thunder I've ever heard, and the rain, lightning, clouds, and fear that come with it. Ueda's own weather pentaverate.
This weather pentaverate had been a regular for the month of what is known as "Rainy Season" (tsuyu 梅雨). It suddenly disappeared about a week and half ago, and the main topic of conversation while chatting in the lobby was how difficult the heat's been. So this morning, a co-worker of mine starts telling me about the Ueda Gion Festival, which was happening later in the day. He eventually tells me about how it rains every year on the festival, without fail. I tell him no way, as it's been hot, sunny, and clear for a week and a half now, and I didn't think this city had any rain left in it. I go out for lunch, and there's not a cloud in the sky. Then, six-thirty rolls around and my classroom is shaking. It's too much for it to be a bullet train, and my eight year olds have been long gone for seven hours. We hear pouring and feel more shaking, and sure enough the pentaverate is paying us another visit. While it is still relatively close to rainy season, it's incredible that it rains every year on the night of this festival. I asked my co-worker, who has lived in the area his whole life and this city for fifteen years, the simple words, "Divine intervention?", and he smiled but did not answer. The Gion festival, originally from Kyoto, was started to appease the gods of fire, floods, and earthquakes. Maybe the weather pentaverate of Ueda just feels a little left out?

New Developments

The past few weekends I have been a little busier than normal. My school had a welcome barbecue for me last Sunday, so I had a great opportunity to talk to my students outside of class and get to know them a lot better. It was also fun to see the other teachers there dressed casually and not working. This coming weekend I will be heading back down to the Tokyo area for a mandatory follow up training. The last one we had was successful, though the travel and everything back and forth was pretty tiring. It should be a little easier this time, but hopefully it doesn't wear me out for the week.
In my free time, I have been getting around town and trying the food at different places. Many of my students recommended a few Indian restaurants, so I made sure I tried those. They were all pretty good, and I think it'd be funny if Ueda became famous for Indian food somehow. I am yet to find another hamburger place in town, so with only Mos Burger and McDonald's, I may be forced to start making my own at home. I've started experimenting with grilled cheese sandwiches, inspired by my experience at The Grilled Cheese Invitational in April. Raisin bread and grilled onions are terrific with grilled cheese, and even some marmalade spread too. I'll let you know if I make any noteworthy discoveries.
The best news I have is that next month I will be returning to Kyoto! We have a few days off, so I decided I must make a return to Kyoto. I will be taking the overnight bus both ways, and first on my list of things to do there is to stop at Smile Burger. That will without a doubt be the ultimate burger update, though I don't know if I will be able to write anything I don't already know. I still have a few friends in the area and there are many things I want to do, so it will all be a lot of fun. I'm staying in a hostel with a friend who's teaching in Gifu, and we'll be there for three nights. Seeing as I'm taking the overnight bus, I will have four very full days there, arriving at 6 a.m. the first day and departing at 10 p.m. the last day. That assures me of at least three trips to Smile Burger.