D. Turkey + Birthday!

I hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving! And a happy Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) too. WHOOO I feel like I single-handedly took the economy out of recession. But anyway. I think we've FINALLY finished eating thanksgiving leftovers so good bye turkey, hello...burgers?

Last Sunday was Brandon's Birthday! :D HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON! I rounded up all his friends and we went to The Yardhouse and he ate a surprisingly tasty (and monstrously large) burger. Maybe he's been too full of beer to write a review.

So there. More later. Gosh, December is another prime rib/spiral ham/eat dessert kinda month. Tasty Angus > Strange yam dish with marshmallows.

#12 Ige's Restaurant & 19th Puka

Ige's Restaurant & 19th Puka

Aiea

Category: Gourmet Burgers

Menu Item: The "Classic" Cheeseburger

Price: $8.49 (including fries)

Burger Size: 1/3 lb (~5.3 oz.)

Bun: White

Cheese: American

Toppings: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle Spear, Ketchup, Mustard

Description:

Ige's Restaurant and 19th Puka. The name of the restaurant tells you two things: One, It's local, and two, it's a sports bar. I wasn't really planning on doing a burger review for this place, but since I saw "Classic" Cheeseburger on the menu, I decided to give it a shot. Also, I haven't really thought of doing reviews on the burgers that are served at bars but I noticed that every bar I have been to usually has a burger as one of its top food items, so I might try some out for the next few reviews.

The first place to utilize toothpicks

For this review I ordered, yep you guessed it, yet another version of the "Classic" Cheeseburger. So far, no two of the "Classics" have been the same so I don't really understand why restaurants don't just put their name on it. Just call it Ige's cheeseburger. And honestly, this one deserves its own name. The first thing that stood out to me was that the burger came pre-cut in half and had toothpicks holding each half together. From all the reviews I have done, I have seen the burger fully assembled and half assembled, but never fully assembled, cut, and ready to eat. Just a little thing that makes the meal more enjoyable.

Homemade Goodness

The burger came on a white bun and was topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, ketchup and mustard. It also came with a pickle spear on the side. The burger patty itself was perfect. It had a nice texture, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It was also very soft and had a homemade taste to it. Usually, if I feel like I could make the burger myself, I wouldn't like it, but this time I could really appreciate it. They had just the right amount of toppings that didn't take away from the the flavor of the burger patty. Each bite melted together in my mouth and was delicious. As for the fries, they were just okay. Reminded me of those plain fries from The Counter, but the burger made up for it.

Nothin' fancy, just fries...

Verdict:

Ige's "Classic" Cheeseburger was cheap, delicious, and came out pretty quickly. I really enjoyed the homemade taste of the burger. The only minor negative thing about it would be the size. It's one of those burgers that you keep eating because of how good it tastes and it seems to disappear quickly. It wasn't too busy when I went there, but overall it seemed like a nice, chill place where the locals would hang out. If you ever make it out to this area, grab a beer and enjoy the cheeseburger. Auryte!

Grade: B

Ige's Restaurant & 19th Puka

98-761 Oihani Place, Aiea, HI 96701

(808) 486-3500

Mon-Thurs,Sat: 5-9PM, Fri: 5-10 PM, Sun: Closed

http://www.igesrestaurant.com

C. Williams Sonoma

People have been reading our blog! This makes me rather happy, especially when things like my beloved football team (WHY DALLAS WHYYYYYY) tend to put me in a state of melancholy.

So au contraire to the lack of reviews, we have actually been eating burgers. We've already crossed off the trifecta of Oahu Burger joints (Teddy's, Kua'aina, the Counter) off our list so we've been just going places and eating...well, burgers. SURPRISINGLY, we have found some really tasty ones! The way I think of it is like we're discovering all the underground (figuratively) burger places that people know of--but never SPEAK of--because they aren't well...the big three! Off the beaten path. I guess.

But anyway. I have a gift certificate at Williams Sonoma (there's one at Ala Moana)...that I've had for almost a year now! Its like money that’s burning a hole into my pocket. I want to spend it. :] Brandon says we should wait until we move and have a bigger kitchen, which TOTALLY makes sense because there's almost no place to put my ceramic knife (While I was in Okinawa, I bought CERAMIC KNIVES. Idk. It seems just like a really sharp knife so far. Haha.)! I also have no idea what I'd want from there anyway (aka so pricey).

So let's see. Would you buy this?

Adjustable Burger Press $36

I guess this is kinda handy. I guess. You can measure the weight and it'll make perfectly round patties. Also useful for loco mocos?

Chef's Press $24.95 for a set of 3

I kinda like this one! It's cute but we don't grill nearly as much as my Dad does. I think he'd scoff at it but it'll make your food cook more uniformly and whatnot. And you can use it when you cook asparagus. Yum. :]

Square Slider Burger Press $26.95

For some reason, when I look at this, I think: White Castle. I've never been there yet. I've seen them in the freezer section at Safeway (and by watching Harold and Kumar go to White Castle). I don't know about this one, I'm not a slider person!

Olive Wood Salt Keeper $49.00

It's pretty. I like it. The price? Not so much. Do I use kosher salt? No. But isn't it pretty?

K more (eating and reviewing of) burgers later. :]

Where'd we go?

OKINAWA. For work. It was alright. I ate a lot of Okinawan food (I have decided to bring Brandon here just to eat) but no worries! I still found time to eat a burger at....MOS BURGER, known for their very...interesting creations! :]

Yes. I do realize that Mos Burger is a fast food chain but seriously, you can't judge a burger by its drive through sign (and this is Japan we're talking about. Food is automatically better in Japan, even McDonalds.)

I apologize that none of the pictures are mine! We went for lunch during work and I didn't have my camera on me. I'll do my best to describe it though. :(

So anyway, inside, the place is CLEAN. They give you GLASS CUPS (in a fast food place!). It was easy to order because they did have an English menu and all you have to really do is point at what you want. AND the most amazing part so far was that it was cheap. I am more than willing to pay for a wonderful cheeseburger but when she said 400 yen for a kids meal, I had the biggest smile on my face ever. (My "grown-up" coworkers got regular meals for roughly 700 yen.)

THE Mos Burger

In my opinion...From what I could learn from the signs, the meat is 100% beef but I swear it tastes like a cross between beef and pork. This is not bad in any way, it was nice and juicy. It wasn't grilled, but it was very flavorful. There was nothing special about the bun, it was just a plain white bun. The cheese was a very mild cheddar. It tasted a bit different but I've noticed that dairy in Japan has a bit of a unique twist to it.

Fries were good. :] They came in this little bowl! Very thick cut (probably frozen). Not crispy like McDonalds fries but nice and pleasurable to eat.

Only non wonderful thing about this place: Brandon would not be satisfied with portion size. It is very...small. I wanna say that all burgers come in a default of less than 1/4 pound. They put toppings on it and lettuce and whatever else you order, but it's still rather small.

Oh well. Guess we'll just have to get him two. :]

And that's all! We went to Teddy's when I came home. I love that place. Its definitely my favorite. :]