Hamburger Shangri-La

This past weekend we went to a new (for us) restaurant that was recommended to us by some fellow American expats (thanks Mick & Linda!).   It was one of the most unusual restaurants I have ever eaten at.  The place was only about 10 minutes from our house but we would've never found it by ourselves.  It is a tiny shack, in the middle of a rice paddy, that is decorated like a fifties diner and serves the most incredibly authentic hamburgers and fries.  The food was amazing.  Seriously, it was like Fuddrucker's but better.

outside

The name of the place is 18Diners (this is just a blog, and it's all in Japanese).  My theory on the name is that the place can only hold about 18 diners.... as you can see, there are only four tables inside, and two outside.  They also do catering and take out though.  The Japanese guy who waited on us seemed to be a one-man operation---we were able to talk to him just a little bit (he spoke no English) but unfortunately my Japanese isn't strong enough to say "Where on earth did you learn to make burgers like this and how did you end up doing it in a shack in an Ashikaga rice paddy?"  So the place is kind of a mystery.....

inside

We fell on the burgers below like a pack of starving wolves.  Even the baby was excited---he/she bounced around while I ate. (Yes, I can feel the baby.  Yes, 17 weeks is a little early for that.  No, it's not gas.)  I didn't even feel that guilty about eating it (like I do when I have the occasional McDonald's burger) because everything was so fresh and obviously not over-processed.  The 100% beef patties, buns and fries are homemade.  The little bowl you see on my plate below is the "homemade pickles" side that I couldn't resist trying out.  They turned out to be sweet pickles, which aren't my favorite, but they were good sweet pickles, if you like that sort of thing.  Next time I'm going to try out the "homemade coleslaw salad".

drooooool

the parking lot---it really is in the middle of a rice paddy