GAIENMAE: American Dining EAT... Salad bar in a bun... Shoulda had a BK Whopper... Kobe-beef Fail.

Passed by EAT on the way to Goro's Diner in Gaienmae and noticed an unusual offering at a very reasonable 1,050yen price point. Kobe Beef and Kuroge-Wagyu (Black Haired Japanese Beef)... really Kobe Beef!  Remember Kobe Beef is only available in Japan and Macao... so you normally find this only in high end spots like Oakdoor at the Grand Hyatt. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/12/foods-biggest-scam-the-great-kobe-beef-lie/

Anyways I couldn't find Goro's so had to give EAT a try!

The "Kobe Burger" starts at only 1,050yen... wow.  There are no wonderful lunch side dishes here... Just water and fries unless you are willing to pay 300yen for soft drinks and 500yen Wine/Beer.  

A little Miley Cyrus on the BGM.

And thus it arrived... visually it was nothing impressive.  Just a very plain burger with a rather big bun covered in a bit of flour.

French fries were very greasy... get those wet napkins ready.

And here it was.  The Kobe Beef patty was as thin as can be... The lettuce overwhelmed the burger and the tomato was almost as thick as the patty.

My first bite and impression was that the bread had a very solid texture and it never lost its shape thru the meal.  As for the beef it was dry as can be, the thinnest patty I've ever had in Tokyo (in the ranks of Burger King and McDonalds)... absolutely NO juiciness and I was thoroughly disappointed.  I suddenly began to crave the massive 200gram burgers at Martini Burger...  This was basically a Salad Burger with hint of a very dry beef that should be ashamed to be labeled "Kobe-Beef."

Lunch Drink Menu

Saw a little poodle so looks like the shop is pet friendly.  Interior is mostly counter seating with 2 tables in the front that can accommodate 6 people.

Don't let the word "Kobe Beef" Burger fool you into trying this spot... I would suggest just hitting up Burger King for a Whopper that will be lighter on the wallet and just as satisfying.  I was a bit harsh with this review but expectations ran high on their use of "Kobe Beef."

Ship: American Dining EAT

Shop Website: http://www.eat-burger.com/main/

CNN: http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/eat/best-new-restaurant-520119

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1306/A130603/13094589/

Address J:  東京都港区北青山2-12-27 ハレクラニ北青山1F

Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Kita Aoyama 2-12-27

MAP:

View Larger Map