When you walk up to the Gabutto Burger stand at Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights, you’ll be confronted with a question, “Are you a teriyaki or demi-glace lover?” Truth be told, their demi-glace and teriyaki sauce tastes the same, but I’ll play along.
I usually order the teriyaki egg burger when I visit. But today I tried their new Teriyaki Wasabi burger. The hamburger patty is very different from its American counterpart. It’s made with beef, egg, breadcrumbs, and pork to “make it juicy.” In terms of size, the diameter is about the same as your standard McDonalds hamburger, but thicker. The bun is stamped with the Gabutto Burger logo. Their wasabi sauce is thick and white, not unlike Arby’s Horsey Sauce, and wasn’t particularly spicy. The teriyaki gave the burger a nice juicy flavor.
The second item I ordered was the stuffed pancake. This is an item they’ve been advertising as “coming soon” ever since they opened this spring. Just like their hamburgers, the pancake comes stamped with the Gabutto logo. Inside you’ll find red bean paste. If you’ve never had red bean paste, it’s kind of sweet, but not candy sweet. It’s hard to explain and probably an acquired taste. The pancake was thick and tasted more like a waffle. Overall, it’s a decent side item and tastes much better than their shoe-string fries.
Gabutto Burger is not your average burger joint. It’s as close to a Japanese hamburger as you can get without going to Japan. But I don’t expect the McDonalds/Burger King loving folks to appreciate it as much as I have.
Ah yes! The fries are not very appealing. I wish they would also do some more American flavors as well. The darn things need syrup.
I really like the Teriayki Burger, it’s super yummy. I wish Mitsuwa wasn’t so far from downtown.
Yeah, the fries are pretty bland. But the most disappointing thing about them were the flavor shakers (wasabi, garlic, etc.). You really have to douse them with it or it doesn’t pick up the flavor at all.
I only live a half hour away from Arlington Heights, so the drive isn’t that bad.
Durrr. I agree. I was disappointed.
I could eat 10 of the burgers thou, yum!