Extra-meaty yakiniku burger makes us feel seriously old with its Japanese slang

This burger is both maji and gachi.

Although our reporter Mr. Sato has become a little more health conscious as a competitive pole dancer, he still enjoys a hearty meal now and then. So when yakiniku chain Jyu-Jyu Karubi announced a “seriously” large burger, he took them up on the offer.

Yakiniku restaurants usually specialize in communal barbecuing small strips of meat with charcoal grills installed in each table. However, this kind of dining has taken a heavy hit due to the pandemic and Jyu-Jyu Karubi, having already closed down several locations, have had to adapt to the times.

So, they came up with the Jyu-Jyu Karuburger, which is a convenient take-out option that still provides customers with the piles of meat that they’ve come to expect from the yakiniku experience.

Walking up to the restaurant, Mr. Sato was further enticed by the picture of the giant sandwich on the poster. However, something else caught his eye that troubled him.

Down the side of the picture of the burger was text that read, “a yakiniku shop’s serious burger.” However, the kanji for “serious/seriously,” 本気, which is normally read as “honki” had furigana that said “gachi” instead.

The fact that is wasn’t “honki” wasn’t what bothered Mr. Sato though. It’s that our forty-something reporter is used to intentionally misreading it as “maji” which was how he was taught from countless manga from the ’80s featuring rough-and-tumble kids with punch perms and baggy pants.

It would seem that at some point the cool way to read that kanji had shifted without him knowing, and it both maji bummed him out and left him gachi wistful.

Anyway, back to the task at hand, Mr. Sato bought himself a Jyu-Jyu Karuburger to go. The sandwich normally costs 1,000 yen (US$9.20), but this Jyu-Jyu Karubi location (the Zoshiki branch in Tokyo’s Ota Ward) gives a 20 percent discount on take-out orders, so he could get it for just 800 yen ($7.35).

They even gave it to him in a bowl despite it being wrapped up in paper. The fact that it needed such extra support to keep it all together was promising and reminded him of the days when he used to get burgers with 1,000 slices of cheese on them.

After returning home, he opened the wrapper and was taken aback by the sheer amount of meat.

“It’s a malboro!” cried Mr. Sato, referring the Final Fantasy monster that resembles tangled mess of vines and tentacles and appeared in the game series repeatedly over so many years that even a maji old guy like him can recognize it.

It’s a little hard to tell from the photos, but to give you a sense of scale, the buns used in the Jyu-Jyu Karuburger are about the same size as the ones used in a Whopper. Despite this, the meat was still pouring out from all sides, eclipsing the bottom bun completely.

There was also some red leaf lettuce and tomato…somewhere in this burger.

Even calling it a “burger” at this point seemed like an understatement. This was just meat with some bread to help keep your fingers somewhat clean. Taking a bite, meat was all Mr. Sato could taste, but it was some fine short rib beef backed up with a rich sauce.

All in all, the Jyu-Jyu Karuburger delivered the goods. It had a maji amount of meat with gachi quality that fit the price to a T. It was far more satisfying than Yakiniku Like’s attempt at a sandwich earlier this year.

If you want to try one yourself head on down to the Jyu-Jyu Karuburger. Just be aware that not all locations offer the take-out discount, so you’ll want to have the full 1,000 yen on you (and if you do get the discount, you can always put the spare change towards some of Japan’s capsule toys).

Restaurant information
Jyu-Jyu Karubi (Zoshiki Store) / じゅうじゅうカルビ 雑色店
Tokyo-to, Ota-ku, Higashirokugo 2-19-10
東京都大田区東六郷2-19-10
Website

Related: Jyu-Jyu Karubi location list
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