It's 330AM, you just waddled out of a spectacular Japanese izakaya meal -- what do you do next? If you're like me - you immediately drive a minute down the street and hit up a food truck for a burger! I'd heard of Füküburger only weeks before this Vegas trip - and I couldn't even recall the how or the where, only that I wanted to go to there. They specialize in Asian-themed burgers, mixing Japanese, Chinese and Korean ideas where they may be appropriate - and on occasion, not so much - leading to some wildly entertaining ideas.
I'm slowly piecing together why I love food carts so much. It may be the appeal of dealing directly with the guy cooking your food, or perhaps enjoying the fast food experience without any of the gaude. I couldn't say the prices since some places do charge similar to restaurants. Who knows? It could simply be my fascination from seeing my first one in Philly 15 years ago, but never getting to try it out. Whatever it is, the love's still going strong.
Now I was just as shocked to see they not only were they still servin' at 330AM, but there was also a decent crowd out there! Parked at the corner of a Bank of America location, they had set-up picnic tables, chairs, and were rockin' some tunes. A few cars, in classic drive-in style, had their headlights beamed towards the tables - not that this area needed extra lighting. This was Chinatown after all (in Vegas no less!) and there were still plenty of businesses open to serve (legality situation pending...).
Look at that photo. Just take it in. That's a beautiful thing. Füküburger called it one of the best pics they'd ever seen and slapped it on their frontpage! Definitely one of my prouder moments.
The menu offers 6 types of burgers, as well as fries and a few varieties of hotdogs. I couldn't for the life of me decide what to get, so I did what I always do in these situations: ask pretty girl at front to decide for me. Surprisingly, she said the tamago (egg) burger! Most places usually tell you to go with a more normal choice to start, but she went straight for the one that wasn't even on my radar -- so tamago it was!
The tamago features what is definitely a hand-made patty (cooked to medium no less!), topped with furikake spices, an over-easy fried egg, onion strings, teriyaki sauce and mayo. The result is ethereal happiness. I was planning on taking it back to the hotel to eat, but as I opened the wrapper to take the picture - the smell... well... this happened. Ray and Barry who were in the car and in no condition to move, let alone eat anything else just stared in disgust/amazement/jealousy. In that order.
This is the first time I've ever had egg in a burger that actually successfully went together. The brilliance is in the onion strings (one of the world's perfect food) - it gives the requisite crunch you need in the absence of any vegetables, and the furikake mixes with the mayo and teriyaki sauce to give you a hit of creamy umami-ness. Altogether a great burger that left me licking the foil wrapper and my fingers - and leaving me incapable of falling asleep until sunrise.
Fortunately Füküburger would be taking part in the Las Vegas StrEATS Festival at the El Cortez hotel the next day, so we (specifically Ray and Barry) would have another chance to get their burger on.
As with any food truck, Füküburger changes locations daily so follow them on Twitter (@Fukuburger) and check their website for the schedule. Their current usual haunt is at the Bank of America parking lot on West Spring Mountain Road and South Wynn Road in Chinatown. Grill heats up at 8, til late. VERY late.
Done.
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