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| - Burgers re-imagined in the style of popular Asian comfort food...fusion disaster or synergistic food nirvana? That was the question I sought to answer when I stepped into this southeastern joint with my sister visiting from out of town and two other friends.
Beginning with an appetizer:
Oxtail Chili Cheese Fries "garnished" with a sunny side up egg...let that concept wrinkle your brain for a minute,
Portion is definitely worthy of sharing with 4. Shaq would have better luck winning a game of Jenga than my attempting to eat this with one's hands without making a hot mess. Armed with forks, we broke the egg all across the beautiful pastiche of crisp golden fries, hearty oxtail chili, and luscious gooey cheese that harmonized in a beautiful symphony of texture and flavor.
The hardest part was deciding on burgers, so we each agreed to order a distinct burger and cut them into quarters for all to sample. Although the waiter suggested we order them medium, I think we chose wisely with medium rare.
Burger #1 The Ronin
In the movie Ronin, when DeNiro's character is asked about how he avoids an ambush, he replies "Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt." When I glanced at the description and read the reviews of my trusty Yelpers on what appears to be the gold standard of the Bachi Burgers, I had no doubts this one was going to be a winner. Perfectly cooked patty topped with some nuttiness from miso-goma dressing, tanginess from Katsu bbq sauce, crunch from the Japanese slaw, binded together with the runny yolk of a fried egg and then slathered with a citrus-yuzu aioli, if you haven't started drooling on your keyboard, perhaps you need to get your salivary glands checked out.
Burger #2 The Kalbi Burger
Somewhat of a misnormer since they use ground beef and pork rather than the marbly beef short rib from which its name sake is inspired, but nonetheless well executed. Along with a korean-inspired mayo, green onions, and a healthy punch of kimchee, the flavor profile is great although I would have preferred a stronger spice component with hotter chili paste. Nice touch with a banchan accompaniment of spicy korean pickles.
Burger #3 "The Crusty Crab's replacement"
Can't recall the name of this one since it was one of the specials and is supposed to be the replacement for The Crusty Crab, which was essentially a crabcake sandwich, but this one is like a Steak Oscar between two pieces of bread so I'll temporarily call it the Krabby patty, in honor of Spongebob Squarepants. Beef patty topped with crab, scallop, a fried egg, and some crispy vegetable component that has slipped my mind, Plankton would gladly hatch a scheme to serve this burger to compete with the Krusty Krabs.
Burger #4 Spicy Miso Burger
Highlights include Angus beef, roasted garlic, apple vinaigrette (side note: totally would have missed this word in a spelling bee because of that sneaky extra i), and shishito peppers. This one was like the cute girl next door standing alongside the other three supermodels of burgers. Nothing to complain about, but not much of a revelation either. The finely shredded lettuce has a propensity to lose its crunch amongst the liquid components without providing any added flavors like a spicy arugula. Don't be intimidated by the name, as shishito peppers are not considered anywhere close to spicy as its other Asian cousins in Chinese or Thai cuisine...not really sure if I could even make it out, which probably relates to the final point: the apple vinaigrette overpowers the other mild components so that you don't get the popping off of distinct flavors as in the other burgers.
In summary, the patties were well seasoned and sufficiently moist, the brioche-like bun is probably personal preference since it is soft and heavy as opposed to light and toasty (reminds me of the baked pork buns at dim sum), although I would have to say the Ronin comes closest to living up to Barney Stinson's highest compliment for any budding burger connoisseur: "I love this burger so much I wanna sew my ass shut!"
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