大哉心乎
[Revisited on February 7, 2015]
Holding onto my Zencho stock options, I revisited this restaurant after a hiatus of three and a half years. I was aiming to consume plenty of expensive vegetables, but the state of the salad bar on this day was terrible. The replenishment of empty vegetables couldn't keep up, with almost half of them missing. Vegetables and dressing were scattered and left dirty. Even when the salad bowls ran out, the replenishment was delayed, causing congestion at the bar counter. Hmm, with this kind of situation, the unique feature of the restaurant ends up being a disadvantage. The shift of the staff members seemed to be not functioning properly, and the floor staff were not performing well. I hope they can make improvements. As for the food, I tried the "Premium Hamburger," the restaurant's recommended burger, but despite being labeled as "premium," it was just an ordinary burger. It comes out on a hot plate, but the plate itself is not hot, it seems to have some kind of insulation function. And yet, it comes out covered with paper on the plate to prevent splattering of fat, which feels mismatched and awkward. This time, there weren't many positive aspects to be seen at Big Boy Utano store, so I hope they reconsider their concept.
[Visited on an unspecified day in September 2011]
Driving from Futagaoka to the national highway, just before hitting Ichijo Street, there is a Big Boy located near Fukuoji Shrine. The surprise of finding a BIGBOY outlet here was the first impression. It's a familiar family restaurant, steakhouse chain, so those who know it may not find it so unusual, but since I went there, I'll leave a comment. I ordered:
- Takayama Garlic Large Hamburger for 780 yen
- Rice
- Salad bar
- Soup bar set for 580 yen.
The Large Hamburger is BIGBOY's signature menu item. It is served with table service, where the Large Hamburger is cut in half in front of the customer and presented in a state where the cross-section is grilled. I see, they are trying to create a service similar to what a slightly upscale steakhouse would do, but to me, it seemed to have a negative effect. The appearance of the served hamburger is already no longer a "Large Hamburger," which was disappointing. It would have been better to serve it in that state from the beginning rather than cutting it up in front of the customer... The overflowing meat juice created a flood on the hot plate. The image of the meat juice being "juicy" changes to "watery." Nevertheless, it is delicious. I had it with garlic sauce, which really stimulates the appetite. However, it's a shame. Despite the effort in service, I felt they should reconsider it. The salad bar was quite fulfilling. It's commendable that the main vegetable origins are clearly displayed. It's very helpful during the season when leafy vegetables are expensive. The soup bar offers corn soup, onion soup, and minestrone - it's decent. There is also curry at the bar counter, but it's just like a retort pouch. The soup bar at Forks, another steakhouse chain, would probably have higher quality. A stable menu typical of a nationwide chain. It's a reassuring restaurant.