Friday, February 24, 2012

Freshness Burger フレッシュネスバーガー022-399-7130

Address: 仙台市太白区長町7-20-5 ララガーデン長町2F.
Located on the 2nd floor of the LaLa Garden Shopping Mall above the Nagamachi-minami Subway Station.  LaLa Garden is not The Mall, but it does have connecting walkways to The Mall on the 2nd and 3rd floors.  There is also a Freshness Burger on the 1st floor of Sendai JR Train Station, among other locations.


Map:  Click “Location” link below.

Special Half-Price Campaign running now thru March 1, 2012!!!
Well, not exactly half-off your order, but still not a bad deal if you plan to eat here again within the next month or two.  It works like this:  for roughly every 200 you spend now you get a 100 coupon for your next order.  
This evening, my Classic Burger (480), large Onion Rings (350 ), and tall Orange Juice (400 ) with tax came to a grand total of 1230 .  I received seven 100 coupons!  And I can use these all at the same time until May 31, 2012.  But, it looks like this offer is only valid at the LaLa Garden location.  If a Freshness Burger near you has the same offer, please let me know.

Classic Burger, Onion Rings, Orange Juice

And now on to the food … it’s pretty good, probably the second best burger in Sendai (Teddy’s Diner has tastier meat in its burger, but I’ll write a post on that later as soon as I get some photos).  But like the name says, it is fresh … mostly.  The Classic Burger has fresh tomato, lettuce, and onion, as well as a quarter-pound (113 grams) Aussie beef patty (more on this below).  Add ketchup, mustard, and other spices from their spice rack to your own liking.  When taking a bite of this big boy, be careful that the dripping grease doesn’t end up on your lap.  
The onion rings are usually great!  On a bad day they’re just okay.  Again, being Japan and all, the large size is probably equivalent to a medium back in your home country (unless your home country is Japan).
My wife likes the fish burger (shouldn’t it be a “fish sandwich?”), the hot dog, and the chai.  I used to order the regular Freshness Burger, which has a special sauce that is tasty, but now I prefer the Classic or Classic WW Burgers.  Their sphere-like doughnuts are also pretty good (actually, I just like the plain one, not the chocolate).
Oh, a couple of items that you don’t see on a McDonald’s menu that you will at Freshness Burger: 7-Up! and Lowenbrau.
The LaLa Garden location is quite spacious and has a separate enclosed smoker’s room.  The Sendai Station location is quite small and cramp, with the smoking seats divided only by an unenclosed glass window.

LaLa Garden in Nagamachi-minami

But I do have a couple of gripes about this place.  This used to be one of the few places where you could buy Pepsi.  Not any newfangled Pepsi concoction, just plain, good old-fashion Pepsi.  But not any more!  They’ve switched to Pepsi Nex.  Also, they used to serve a fantastic hot yuzu drink that really went down well on a cold winter night.  Again, not any more!   And last but not least … the beef.   On my trips back to my hometown I can’t wait to eat at my local In N’ Out Burger where the beef is “fresh, never frozen.”  I think it’s ironic that the restaurant is named Freshness Burger yet their meat patty is frozen.
That being said, I highly recommend Freshness Burger if your jonesing for an American-type burger! 


5 comments:

Michael Jones said...

Far superior to MosBurger (it's not just the name that's offputting, also the lack of sauces & miniscule portions).

Last month, Freshness had this terrific Mango burger. The slice of mango was huge and it was so messy you needed a dozen napkins to get through it. Not a good meal for a first date.

Picky in Sendai said...

I'm not crazy about Mos Burger, either. It's okay, but I would rather have Freshness. I haven't eaten at Mos for well over a year.

Picky in Sendai said...

Mos Burger's creator was inspired after eating at an In N' Out Burger in the States. Something got lost in the translation.

Crawford said...

Freshness Burger or MosBurger, neither comes close to Kame House at Izumi-chuo. (http://www.sendai-burger.com) It's not just the burgers that are amazing (can't even stand on their own without a giant skewer to hold it in place), the restaurant is filled with retro memorabilia and toys. I recommend the Avocado Cheese Burger (with bacon, of course).

I would feel guilty for not mentioning this place after coming across your blog with so many good looking spots. Thank you for sharing all this restaurant info! I have already tried a number of your recommendations.

Picky in Sendai said...

Crawford, thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad that you enjoy the blog.
And thanks for your recommendation of Kame House. I just took a look at their website and it looks great! I don't go to Izumi often but when I do I never know of a good place to eat. In fact, I may be heading out there tomorrow to watch Japanese university students play American football at Yuretec Stadium. Hopefully I'll swing by Kame House afterwards. Thanks again!