Tokyo’s appetite for artisanal burgers may have subsided somewhat compared to the craze days of the 2010s, but there are still plenty of local joints putting out innovative – and reliably leftfield – takes on the basic beef sandwich. Our go-to over the past few months has been Hongo’s Apple Burger, an offshoot of the dearly beloved Fire House nearby. It’s a fairly dainty operation – an open kitchen surrounded by an eight-seat counter plus two booths seating four each – but there’s nothing bashful about chef Hiromichi Endo’s creations.
The obvious headliner is the Apple Burger, an elevated take on the Fire House favourite topped with a sweet apple compote. This version combines a lean, thick slab of beef – cooked to perfection, as you’d expect from a chef whose resume includes a stint at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in NYC – with fresh, only lightly seasoned apple slices whose acidity help bring out the umami in the patty. Of course, even elite burgers crave the company of a solid serving of fries, and Apple Burger’s satisfyingly textured and crispy bites are cut and fried to order from domestic spuds, without a frozen tater in sight.
