Love for travel meets love for food in International Burger Co. — here, you can sink your teeth into hefty burgers that capture the flavors of different countries.
"There's three of us partners here, and our concept comes from our love for travel and food, so we thought of a way to translate it into a business," Chef Justin Tee shares. Burgers are the first thing that they thought of. "It's not a fad, it's here to stay," the chef adds on everyone's love for the beefy, juicy sandwich. Each country that they love visiting or have visited has been transformed into a burger at International Burger Co. — that's seven countries plus the restaurant's signature burger. They plan to add more countries to beef up their current lineup.
The restaurant currently offers 8 burgers, each burger patty 1/3 pound of pure beef ground fresh daily; the burger buns are light and fluffy, customized for them by a local bakery. An order of burger here is P280 (no matter what 'country' or variant you choose), and it comes with either onion strings or twister fries. Excited to take a trip around the world through burgers? Here's the line-up of International Burger Co.'s globally inspired burgers that feature special toppings and condiments to take your taste buds on a flavorful food adventure.
Classic: Recommended for first timers checking out the restaurant — it's their signature take on the basic cheeseburger and is also the chef's favorite. "This is the flavor where you can really taste the patty," he explains. "We're proud of our patties, we put so much effort into it — it's fresh beef and we grind it." This one comes with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes and lettuce.
American: One of their best sellers, this burger comes with cheddar cheese, crispy onion strings that give every bite a fun texture, and a drizzle of sweet and tangy barbecue sauce.
Mexican: the heftiest with the most ingredients and toppings, this burger can get quite messy to devour but is a flavor-loaded treat, with beer-braised pulled pork, cheddar cheese, salsa, corn, and cilantro garlic dressing. Another customer favorite!
French: The flavors of France is what got the most attention during the restaurant's opening month. Think 'Croque Madame Burger,' with ham and creamy bechamel sauce sitting under the burger patty, then topped with gruyere cheese and Dijon mustard. A sunny side up egg sits right on top of the burger bun — making this a valid excuse to eat burgers for breakfast.
Italian: It may look the simplest among the burger beauty pageant lineup in the restaurant, but this is a personal favorite. It's like they took the pizza and turned it into a burger with this one, with marinara sauce underneath the burger patty, and on top, slices of prosciutto meet mozzarella cheese and fresh basil.
Korean: If you want some crunch and some kick to your burger, then this one's for you. The kimchi adds a zesty crispness to every bite, and slices of bulgogi topping the patty makes this burger extra hefty.
Filipino: You know we want our meats and want them with a punch — so the burger indulges us on these kinds of desires with their no-chill Pinoy burger. Freshly made sisig topping a burger patty is pretty wicked (and also sloppy-good to eat), so tomatoes and cucumber slices are in the mix to cut the rich meaty assault.
Japanese: Another personal favorite burger, since it keeps it quite restrained and classic in translating the flavors of Japan in between buns. The patty is topped with grilled shiitake mushrooms and coated in teriyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise, and finished off with nori strips.
At some point, everyone would crave for some rice or something other than sandwiches, and to nibble on are Chicken Karaage (P220) and Fish Poppers (P250) for bite-sized pop in your mouth appetizers. A couple of rice bowls are also available: a Burger Steak (P250) drenched in gravy and topped with onion rings reinvents a fast food favorite and makes it extra lip-smacking. For a breather on burgers, get the Kimchi Fried Rice (P250), just moderately spicy and topped with fried egg and beef bulgogi, a no-fail comfort food favorite done right.
Visit The International Burger Co. at Unit 6 of Citiplace Building, Jose Abad Santos Street, San Juan. Follow them on Facebook (/internationalburgerco2016) and Instagram (@internationalburgerco).
