Who knows where to find all the really good hamburgers in Sapporo? We do. And here we bring you yet another good spot on our list of the Sapporo’s best hamburgers (and ICHIBAN NO MACHI said, “go, and you too shall know all the best places,” and it was so). It is with that we bring you our review of Burger Industry in Sapporo.
Looks pretty cool, huh?
It is so “Sapporo” to have a sign that just says “burger.” If you look close, you’ll see “Burger Industry” on the window, but it’s the big, bold yellow letters that proclaim their specialty.
As ICHIBAN NO MACHI grows into being the best restaurant review website in the entire world (located, here, of course, in the best city in the entire world), we are getting some good comments and recommendations for restaurants in Sapporo; Burger Industry was recommended to us by someone reading this blog. We love a good hamburger, and we were excited to check it out.
(And we are also excited to get more recommendations and suggestions – contact us if you have anything to share.)
Like our review of Maltheads (contender for worst beer bar in Sapporo, which is entirely the fault of the owner’s personality), we had to come back to Burger Industry multiple times to get our first taste. The first time, they were closed. (Burger Industry is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday). The second time, we should have known they were closed (we had just checked the night before), but we misread the calendar and ended up at their front door before we figured out our mistake. It was the third night (in the same week) that we finally made it, and could taste the glory of Burger Industry…
…which is a rather serious name, for what is actually a light, fun, friendly little hamburger shop in Sapporo.
If we were to show you a picture of the counter, we would basically being showing you the whole shop. That is it.
Burger Industry is strictly take away only. I bet they do some deliveries (via some service, presumably), but there is no place to sit and enjoy your hamburger. I didn’t know that on my first successful visit, so I took my burger to go… and ate it standing up in a parking lot nearby. Maybe that doesn’t sound comfortable, but it was a warm summer night and the burger was delicious.
You want the menu? There it is. They aren’t killing you with choices there, are they? And that is kind of nice. I want to laugh at the simple and straightforward way that Burger Industry presents itself. I like it. I do wish they had a few tables, I want to hangout a little more.
(And now, for a great mystery:
(What is CUSCO? And why is that name at the top of the menu?
(CusCo is the name of a completely fictitious business where Marty McFly worked in the movie “Back to the Future Part II.” Marty is fired, and he finds out when we he receives a fax on the same CusCo company letterhead that you see at the top of the menu. Burger Industry has gone out of their way to add a very obscure reference from an 80s SciFi movie at the top of their menu (read more at Futurepedia).
(Does all of that make perfect sense? No, it does not. Does it make the burgers taste better? Probably not. Is it random and funny? Why, yes it is.
(Well done, Burger Industry. We are amused and quite impressed, to be honest. You guys should be impressed to; how many of your customers go out of their way to figure out your joke? Yep. Pretty much everyone in this story is awesome… except the guys from Maltheads, of course.)
Despite a relatively simple menu, there are some choices at Sapporo’s Burger Industry restaurant. First, you can decide if you want the combo or just the burger. A 3COMBO includes fries and a drink. A 2COMBO, just one or the other.
The second major decision Burger Industry is ever going to force you to make is: what kind of sauce do you want? There is original (オリジナル), garlic parmesan (ガーリックパリメぜン), honey mustard (ハニーマスタード), and chipotle mayo (チポトレマヨ).
I got my to-go bag, and immediately ripped it open to take some picture and show you what you can expect. I choose the original sauce, which looked like “thousand island” (and maybe it basically is), but was pretty tasty. I might skip the sauce next time (or maybe try that chipotle mayo). The burger was tasty as it was, and I don’t think the sauce made it better.
(I am not really a sauce guy… unless I am at Rana, and there, the sauce if big part of what makes the burger special.)
And check out those fries. Any place that automatically assumes I want sliced, pickled jalapenos is my kind of place. Jalapenos can be ferociously hot, but pickled (and from a jar) they are the perfect kind of spicy – not too hot, but full of flavor. They go great with fries. They also put a sauce on the fries, and I’m not 100% sold on that sauce, but it was a good meal, just the way you see it there.
Apparently there are some specials, as well. I think they might also have a jalapeno burger.
As you can see, they offer a nice selection of canned sodas. In another life, I would have been all over that Coca Cola. And the Dr Pepper sounds good, even now, as I write this. But I rarely drink soda any more. And I wanted a beer… but it’s not that kind of place.
On this particular night, after I ate my burger, I took the Namboku Line (南北線, Nanboku-sen) down to Odori station, and I walked over to Beer Kotan beer bar and had a perfect pint.
And that brings me to the two things I would change if I were “The Hamburger God” (which I am not… but that sounds like a good job to have, and if I ever get the chance to hold that position, I will mostly gladly take it), and that would be to add maybe two small tables, and to serve some beer with those burgers. That would take Burger Industry from a 9 to a perfect 10.
Burger Industry is a little bit of what we in America might call random. It has a “college town” vibe, even as it’s not particularly close to a college. But who ever calls the shots at Burger Industry seems like a cool person. I want to meet them. And the framed portrait of Jules from Pulp Fiction is just another perfect touch. Burger Industry won’t be able to give you Le Big Mac, but you just might find yourself saying:
“Uh, hmm. This, is, a tasty burger.”
That line above is indeed from the masterpiece that is Pulp Fiction, click the link to see that scene. We set the video to start at the specific time using MakeVideoLink.com. You’ll see the shot that the picture at Burger Industry is based on.
Burger Industry is definitely your best choice for a burger in northern Kita-ku. If you’re closer to Odori Park, we would of course recommend the burgers at Jacksonville (which does have tables and serves beer). There is also a tiny Jacksonville near Maruyama station. For a wagu-beef burger, check out Rana Burger in Maruyama (and don’t miss their spicy sauce). For a completely unique experience, go check out Tack Hamburger Shop (which is a little past the west end of Tanuikouji). And for an excellent sit-down experience, the bacon cheese burger at Meat Shop in Sapporo is as good as it gets. We love all of those choices, actually – highly recommended.
