Even a Ramen burger is old news now.
Coming to the East Village is a new type of hamburger, sandwiched with rice instead of bread, Gothamist reported. The newest addition to Little Tokyo, takeout joint Yonekichi is set to open August 18th at 236 East 9th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues and will serve up a variety of Asian-inspired rice burgers. The rice patties are first steamed and then grilled to maintain their form on both sides of the sandwich contents.
While rice burgers are a common treat in Japan, Sakura Yagi, manager of Yonekichi told Bedford and Bowery, “no one is really doing it in New York.” Yonekichi is about to change that with a variety of rice burgers, including tsukune (chicken meatball), kakiage (tempura vegetables), kinpira (lotus root), sukiyaki (sliced beef and lettuce) mugi fuji (sliced pork shoulder and cabbage), saikyo (miso salmon) and unagi (bbq eel).
Interestingly, rice burgers made with varying combinations of pork, beef and seafood have been available at Japanese grocery store Sunrise Mart in East Village and Spot 1 Café in Brooklyn, but they have flown mostly under the radar until the announcement of Yonekichi’s August opening.
Yonekichi Manager Sakura Yagi told Bedford and Bowery, “We don’t want this to be just a craze; I think it’ll be something that people see as an alternative to regular burgers and a little bit healthier. The ramen burger isn’t necessarily that healthy.”
Of course every burger needs a side of French fries, and Yonekichi has it covered, serving up fried potato wedges with choice of Akoh, Yuzu or Wasabi salt, Gothamist reported.
The restaurant will be open Sunday through Thursday from noon to 10:00 pm and Friday and Saturday until 1:00 am and burger prices will range from $7 – $10.
It seems like you can’t really go wrong with any type of starch when it’s holding together America’s favorite juicy burger (or even some other veggie or meat patty).