Monday Munchies – The Ramen Burger

I’m not really much of a meat eater.  Occasionally I’d do turkey bacon and I’ve been known to make some chicken taquitos.   There are even times when I genuinely crave a burger.  But for the most part, animals are part of my diet. 

But I do love noodles.  I dig pasta of all sorts.  I also had a cousin who spent some time in Japan and convinced me that ramen was going to be the next big thing.  Sure enough, he was right. 

When I heard about the Ramen Burger, I was instantly intrigued. 

Who doesn’t love a good burger?  And what’s better than good burger is a unique burger.  One of the aspects of the West Coast that I miss the most is Carl’s Jr.  I used to love the Six Dollar Burgers.  And Jack in the Box’s Sourdough Jack never left me wanting either. 

But a burger that has ramen instead of buns sounds like a culinary delight and a marvel of engineering.  I headed to Smorgasburg to try out the hottest burger on the market. 

After a reasonable wait in line for the Ramer Burger, I finally made it up the stand to get my treat.  The entire burger is prepared right before you.  The burger is grilled up in the back of the stand, while the ramen “buns” are prepped with the greens (arugula and scallions).  The patty arrives and gets a dollop of a shoyu based sauce.  Then it’s wrapped up in a nifty little wrapper. 

When you take your first bite, it almost tastes worthy of a Samuel L. Jackson impression; it is a tasty burger.  The meat is cooked medium-well, so it’s still got some flavor.  The ramen is expertly cooked.  It’s not too hard, yet it maintains the form through every bite. 

It’s a very flavorful burger.  The sauce brings a lot to the experience as it blends well with both the burger and the ramen.  It’s an interesting enough taste that you want to savor it, while at the same time you also want to resist the urge to go full Cookie Monster on it. 

The Ramen Burger isn’t it’s downsides though.  First off, it can be a bit messy.  While mess is par for the course when it comes to burgers, the ramen burger has some uniqueness.  The ramen is a bit greasy and the sauce (and burger juice) drip though the ramen. 

Secondly it’s small, at least by American standards.  It’s comparable in size to an English muffin and could easily be completely eaten in four bites.  It’s size makes it all the more tragic that the stand limits it to one per person. 

That said, it is a good burger.  And it’s worth the wait.  Plus there are a ton of other food offerings at Smorgasburg.  The Ramen Burger is definitely worth traveling to Brooklyn on a Saturday morning to snag.