Without compromising your “cultured” image.
There are always those times when you’re traveling away from the States, supposedly enjoying the exciting new flavors of some foreign cuisine. But lo and behold, you suddenly start craving weird things like McDonald’s and KFC, things you would never eat at home, but suddenly need.
You desire greasy things. Cheesy things. Fatty things. But if you’re in, say, Japan, you mainly find yourself amongst mountains of sushi, steaming bowls of udon, and other hardly satisfying things. You want a hamburger, not fish food. But at the same time, you don’t want to feel like a Fat American.
Luckily, if you’re in Kyoto, hidden amongst the gaijin go-to Mos Burgers and McDonalds’s, there is a hole-in-the-wall Japanese-style burger joint that is absolutely delicious.
I promise that one of their demi-glace hanbaagu, topped with a crispy sunny side up egg, will hit the spot. The place is called DEMI, and it is located in an alleyway just across from the Marutamachi Station’s Exit 6. They generously accompany the meat patty with a bowl of rice, salad, kaiseki amuse-bouche, and miso soup. All for just 880 yen.
At DEMI, the meat is well marinated in a sauce they sell in-store, and when you cut into that sunny side up egg with your chopsticks, the yellow dribbles delectably into the meat. A tangy dressing tops the chopped salad, and the amuse-bouche includes a potato salad sphere and a colorful assortment of boiled vegetables, shaped to perfection.
If you want satisfying food without cutting corners and settling for crappy fast-food, DEMI is your place. It is a perfect combination of American-inspired cuisine, staying true to the flair of Kyoto-style kaiseki, while staying within average budget constraints.
