Airs Burger Cafe

On Friday, having had a fairly successful, drowning-free evening at the pool, I decided to treat mself to a fatty meal. And a beer. Because it's just not a Friday unless there's a beer involved at some point.

So, in pursuit of fat, I found myself at the somewhat-new airsburgercafe. It was much more stylee on the inside than I was expecting.. I guess I was expecting wood. There was no wood to be found (see graphic). No one was smoking when I was there, and I saw no ashtrays — always a happy sign.

Detailed descriptions of each burger type (over 10) are printed on the back of the menu. I decided to go for the airs burger (980 yen) and a Heine (600 yen).

While waiting for my order, I pretended to read a magazine feature on backpacks, while eavesdropping on the conversation next to me. From their conversation, I gathered that the man and woman were teachers at a school. They were trading stories on the oddities and hilarious moments they both have had with a JET teacher at their school. They ordered a phenomenal amount of food. I was impressed.

My burger arrived with a side of fries, on a teardrop-shaped plate that was marked with the cafe's logo. The woman serving me asked if I knew how to eat the beast. I said, "Well, I was going to just give it a go,". She recommended squishing the burger down, before hacking at it with the provided knife and fork.

Looking at my not unusually large burger, I gave it a tentative pat. Then a firmer squish. After ensuring the filling wasn't going to fire out at me, I put all my weight on it and squished it right down.

It was fun.

I think that's a sign of a truly well proportioned and well filled-out burger — when the fillings don't fly out everywhere. I could also hear the crunching of the lettuce inside. Nice freshness.

After my satisfying burger squash, I decided that, having been raised in a farming, "Westernised" country, I would eat the burger like a real Westernised woman — with my bare hands. None of this pansy knife and fork business.

My mistake. Upon the first bite, juice dribbled all over my hands and I achieved Sauce Smile from cheek to cheek. I decided that being messy is only fun if you have company, and went for the knife and fork, pretty sure that the staff were enjoying watching me trying to pretend that everything was going according to plan.

The utensils were super shiny. I could've easily have plucked my eyebrows in the knife.

The burger was very good. A nice, juicy pattie and subtle flavours. Nothing overpowering. Simple and effective. And affordable. I will be back.