Would you like furaido poteto with that?

The offerings of American fast food burger joints in Japan never fail to amuse me. They try out a lot of concepts that never appear in the U.S. (for various reasons).

McDonald's (or Makudonarudo as they call it here) is beloved by the Japanese as it is most everyone else worldwide. They have a yearly "burger series" called "Big America" (ha). They look like real gut-busters! I stick to my McChicken setto (combo meal). 

So how is Makudonarudo different in Japan? For starters, the portions are a lot smaller and the service is about 100x better than your average U.S. Mickey D's. They will run your food out to you and apologize profusely if it's not ready on time. The atmosphere is pleasant and people just hang out there too...compared to the states where the vinyl benches and obnoxious clientele make me want to take the fries and bolt.

Burger King isn't nearly as prolific as McDonald's in Japan but it's my personal fav. They seem to be playing the novelty angle by rolling out new burgers all throughout the year.The latest greatest burger combos are avocado and nacho. I got the avocado one recently (by accident), but since I'm not a huge fan of avocado it didn't do much for me. However, I am looking forward to the ringo (apple) burger this month--apples on burgers, why not?? Maybe I'll enjoy it with a Coca Cola highball (cocktail). Yes, they serve alcohol at Burger King in Japan!

Then there's Wendy's...they used to have many stores in Japan but they left the market after things fell through a few years ago. Now they're back--their first new store opened in Tokyo's swanky Otmotesando (Harajuku) neighborhood in December with swanky burgers to match. One of the featured burgers is the 1280 yen (almost $16!) foie gras burger. I don't think I can (literally) stomach that.

Wendy's Foie Gras Rossini burger