It is easy being cheesy.
For ages, there has been a tenuous balance of power between hamburgers and their key topping of cheese. Some would argue that a hamburger isn’t complete without cheese and even though it’s been given top billing in “cheeseburgers” it is still merely relegated to the classification of a topping.
American Diner Andra in Ueno, Tokyo, however, dared to put their finger on the scales of power and asked: Why put cheese in a hamburger when you can put a hamburger in cheese?
The result is the Cheese ni In-shita Hamburger. Its rather convoluted name is surely to distinguish it from standard fare like a “Hamburger with Cheese” or a “Cheese-filled Hamburger” where the cheese is inside the patty. This, on the other hand, is a “Cheese ni In-shita Hamburger” or “hamburger in cheese”.
▼ And it’s special.
Our reporter P.K. Sanjun went down to Andra to try one for 1,800 yen (US$13). Although the restaurant has table seating, P.K. sat at the counter so he could get the full experience of watching his Cheese ni In-shita Hamburger be assembled before his very eyes.
Other restaurants have offered burgers dipped in cheese before, but in the photos, they always seemed like they used a kind of processed cheese sauce that stays fluid at room temperature.
Andra, however, appears to use a larger amount of real cheese in its cheese sauce. They keep it creamy by serving it in a heated iron skillet.
The next step is to add the burger. By the way, this restaurant specializes in smash burgers, in which the beef is pressed against a very hot grill, giving it a seared texture.
▼ The sign out front teaches potential customers how it works.
P.K. watched as his own smash burger was cut into halves and each one placed sideways into the cheese.
When served, customers are welcome to eat it either with their hands or a fork and knife.
P.K. decided to dig in with a fork and really enjoyed the crispy texture of his two patties. The cheese was also very flavorful but didn’t feel too heavy, so he could eat the whole thing without a problem.
It was a very new experience for P.K. and he asked the chef if this was the ultimate evolution in cheeseburgers. The owner replied that since the burger has gone back to being served on a plate, it was probably more of a devolution.
Humility aside, this really felt like a game-changer in the world of burgers. If you want to try one too, Andra might be the only place in Japan to find it and maybe the only place in the world that makes it this well.
Restaurant information
American Diner Andra / アメリカンダイナ― アンドラ
Address: Tokyo-to, Taito-ku, Higashiueno 5-13-7
東京都台東区東上野5-13-7
Lunch Hours: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Dinner Hours: 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Closed Sundays
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[ Read in Japanese ]