Another Burger Baka has come and gone. This year's Burger Baka was filled with burgers, music, bikers (lots of bikers), and James Hideki's loud announcements that we are all burger bakas. This was the biggest Burger Baka of all, but is that it's strength or it's Achellis heel?
Burger Baka Vol 8
Two weeks ago, on March 19th, Burger Baka kicked off a day filled with burgers and fun at Kasama Geijutsu no Mori. The Ibaraki Eats Duo and our group of friends arrived 20 minutes before the event started. We set up our hammock and tent, and at 10:00am on the dot, we headed into the event area to grab our burgers.
We were planning to have three familiar burger places and one new place. We did complete our plan but we didn't realize it would take so long.
Peace Grill
Our first stop was Peace Grill. I love this burger stall. Unfortunately, Peace Grill rarely comes down to mid Ibaraki. They usually go to south Ibaraki or Tokyo. I am always happy to see them and was ready to order a burger.
Gorgonzola Bacon Burger
My first burger of the day was Peace Grill's Gorgonzola Bacon Burger. I bit into this burger and was reminded that Peace Grill never disappoints. The bacon with the gorgonzola was heavenly, the patty was juicy and delicious, and the buns held everything together perfectly. Another great burger from one of my favorites. My wife also gave this burger the thumbs up.
Jalapeno Cheese Burger
Our friend got Peace Grill's Jalapeno Cheese Burger. I didn't get to try it but she yelled out "karai!" So I am guessing it was spicy. According to our friend, it was a great burger but she needed water asap.
Hi-5 Burger
While I was in line to grab a Peace Grill burger, my wife got in line for a Hi-5 Burger. I was glad to see Hi-5 at Burger Baka and was happy my wife was getting a burger from them.
Cheeseburger
My wife ended up ordering the cheeseburger from Hi-5. I have had this burger more times than I can count. I can confidently say that I will never get tired of this cheeseburger. Hi-5's owner is a master of the beef patty arts and his bun game is one of the best in all of Japan. As always, thank you Hi-5. You are a burger becon in a sea of hungry burger seekers.
Drool Diner
Finally! It has been so long since I had a Drool Diner cheeseburger! The burger goddesses of Drool Diner were cooking up cheeseburgers left and right at Burger Baka. They were also extremely popular at the event. My wife and I waited 45 minutes for our burger, but we're extremely happy when we got it. Drool Diner had three burgers on the menu that day, cheddar, mozzarella, and cream cheese.
Cheddar Cheeseburger
We went with the cheddar cheeseburger and we're quite happy that we did. Drool Diner's cheese game is on another level. The overall burger is a work of art that deserves to be shown in the Louve. My wife and I both enjoyed this burger and we hope to go back to Drool Diner's shop in Tsukuba soon.
Rock Burger
The new burger place we tried at Burger Baka was Mito's own Rock Burger. I have always wanted to go to this place. I am planning to visit Rock Burger's restaurant sometime this year, but I am glad I got to preview it at Burger Baka. But was it a good preview?
Rock Cheeseburger
The answer to my previous question is, yes and no. Let's go with the good parts first. The beef patty was excellent. It had chopped onions inside that really brought out the flavor of the patty. The melted cheese around the patty was also excellent. Now, the bad. Look at that huge slice of tomato. Does it really need to be that big? Also, my wife was not happy with Rock Burger's staff. She told me that the patty guy was great, but there was another guy who was working at sloth speed folding aluminum foil. She wondered if he was making origami or something. She was ready to get in there and help to move things along.
Those were all the burgers we had this year at Burger Baka Vol 8. We were pretty full but we decided to get some dessert.
Lax Store
Lax Store is a donut/restaurant in Hokota city. They have a bunch of different donuts to choose from. Glazed, chocolate, white chocolate, a croissant donut, and many more flavors. I hope to check out their restaurant one day. For now, I would have to settle for their food truck.
White Chocolate Donut
My wife and I ordered the white chocolate donut. It looked beautiful and we couldn't wait to try it. I bit into the donut and automatically loved the hard white chocolate frosting. The donut was cold and not so fresh though. You can tell it had been in the refrigerator for a while. I completely understand though. The donuts were brought from the main store so they had to be kept rrefrigerated. It made me want to go to their shop to try their fresh donuts.
The Winner
Peace Grill, I love you and I loved your gorgonzola bacon burger. But it wasn't my top favorite at the event.
I debated with myself for quite a while on which burger would be my Burger Baka Vol 8 favorite. It came down to Hi-5 or Drool Diner. This was an incredibly hard decision. Both of those burgers were fantastic. But in the end, I chose Hi-5. The deliciousness of the patty is just something that is beyond us mere mortals to understand. Amazing job as always Hi-5.
A success and a problem
Burger Baka Vol 8 was a huge success! The weather was great, the burgers were delicious, and everyone was having a good time.
The problem was everyone was having a good time in line. If you didn't make it to Burger Baka at the start time, chances are you would only have had one burger. That is if you were lucky enough to get a parking spot. Burger Baka is having a venue problem, like it did a few years ago. Kasama Geijutsu No Mori seems like it can no longer hold this event. I had a few friends who gave up coming because they couldn't get a parking spot or they were stuck in traffic too long.
My wife suggested that Burger Baka move to Kaihin Koen in Hitachinaka. Even though parking isn't free, that park is more than sufficient in size to hold this event and there is a lot of parking. The other thing is, it needs more burger places and a longer event time. I completely understand waiting for a fresh burger to be cooked, and I would wait for my favorite burger. But waiting in line for almost the entire event may upset some people.
The Ibaraki Eats Duo had a great time at Burger Baka Vol 8. I look forward to next year's Burger Baka wherever it maybe held. If you are interested in trying any of the burger food cars or stalls that I talked about on this post, make sure to check out their Instagram pages. The pages will let you know what events they are attending or where their restaurants are.
Until next year my fellow Burger Bakas!
Peace Grill
Hi-5 Burger
Drool Diner
Rock Burger
Lax Store
I've been to Burger Baka twice now and didn't get a burger either time!! We were stuck for over an hour trying to find a place to park, and by the time we got into the event, so many stores were already sold out, and most other lineups were so long they would probably sell out before we got to the front (like happened to us twice.) Definitely needs a bigger venue and longer time!