Welcome my fellow Ibarakians to this year's Burger Month! All posts from now until the end of November will be all about the burgers around Ibaraki. This first post is for burger lovers and dog owners. Ever wanted to enjoy a burger while having your trusty pet by your side? There is one place in Moriya City that makes that a reality. That place is Brookstnd.
Bookstnd Burger and Cafe
Brookstnd (yes I know it is missing the "a") is a burger/dog park restaurant in the Tatsuzawa area of Moriya city. It is a pretty small restaurant so make sure you slow down or you might miss it while driving. I do suggest driving here since there is no train station nearby and it is quite a hike from the station. You can bike here but it will be quite a ride.
For this Ibaraki Eats adventure, I was unfortunately not joined by my wife. Instead, I was joined by the Tsukuba Board and Card Games Group. I help run a board game group in Tsukuba. We meet on Sundays at the Matsushiro community center and just have fun playing different board games and card games. If you are interested in joining us, check out the link to our Facebook group page at the end of this post.
Anyway, as I said, I was joined by my board and card games group. We had just come from Saitama after checking out a board game event and on our way back to Tsukuba, we stopped in Moriya for some burgers.
Dog Park
As I wrote earlier, this is a burger/dog park restaurant. There are two small dog parks around the burger restaurant. The one near the entrance of the parking area is for smaller dogs and the dog park towards the back of the restaurant is for bigger dogs. Both parks are fenced off so you can let your furry companion run free.
Inside
We walked inside Brookstnd and grabbed a table. The restaurant has a counter area and two tables that seat four people. There is also an outside table that I believe sits six people. It was blazing hot the day we visited so we were not sitting anywhere without air conditioning. In the corner of the restaurant, there are dog toys and water bowls for your dog to play with while you chow down on your burger.
We looked at the menu and decided what to order.
The Menu
Good news my fellow Ibarakians! The menu is in both English and Japanese! The menu has a lot of different burger options to choose from.
Avocado Banana Shake
I wanted to order a shake but wasn't too sure which shake to order. Then I saw it on the menu. Avocado banana shake. Sounded very interesting.
The shake came to our table and it looked pretty good. There were fried banana chips on top which I thought was a nice touch. I took a sip of my shake and thought it was all right. The banana was the stronger flavor of the two, which I expected, but I got hints of avocado from time to time. I think the avocado made the shake a little bit more creamer which was nice.
Now, it is time for the burgers.
Spicy Chili Cheeseburger
This was not my burger and I didn't try it. This was my friend Erica's burger. I asked if she could comment on it and she gave me a great review. She said, "Hmm…the burger had a really nice burger-to-bun ratio and was cooked perfectly. It was just the right amount of spice for someone who likes more spice than the Japanese palate generally allows for, but not as much as you might get in a high spice-level Indian curry. It was super messy, so the burger holder was a must. And those fries! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, great flavor. Yum."
As I said, a great review.
Ripley's Burger
The Ripley's Burger is a special burger on the "Special Hamburgers" part of the menu. The burger brings a beef patty, cheese, tartar sauce, sweet chili sauce, and two fried fish.
I bit into this burger and felt extremely weird at first. "Fish and beef, is this legal?" I thought. My taste buds were confused and not sure what to make of this. I wondered if this was the first burger of its kind, and then my buddy Matt, the other organizer of our group, reminded me about Surf and Turf. I hadn't really had surf and turf back home so this was a nice first experience for me. After getting over the initial shock of this burger, I started to like it. The fish and beef patty with the tartar sauce was starting to grow on me in a good way. The cheese and sweet chili sauce were kind of non-existent because the tartar sauce overpowered everything. I got the rich tangy taste of the tartar sauce with the meaty salty beef patty and the soft fried fish all in my mouth having a delicious party. It was awesome. Unfortunately, halfway through the burger, everything started to fall out between the buns and the organized surf and turf burger was over. Even so, I did enjoy this burger and wouldn't mind having it again but I do want to try the other burgers on the menu.
Brookstnd was an interesting and fun experience. Everyone in our group, myself included, enjoyed our burgers. We also got to see a customer come in with their small dog and enjoy their burger while their dog hung out around the restaurant. One day, I hope I can have a dog and bring him/her to Brookstnd with me.
So if you and your furry companion are in the mood to enjoy a nice day outside and have a burger at the same time, why not head over to Brookstnd? Who knows, you might see me there, enjoying a burger while admiring your cute dog.
Enjoy!
For more information on Brookstnd, check out their Instagram page:
And for anyone interested in our board and card games group, check out our Facebook group page:
A big thank you to Erica Reynolds for her awesome review on the Spicy Chili Cheeseburger.
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