Pomai of Hawaii-based blog The Tasty Island ate a May's Teri Burger at the 2009 Punahou Carnival held last week on February 6 and 7. When he described it as, "Pretty much your average May’s Teri Burger," my first thought was, "What the heck is a May's Teri Burger?" I looked to Serious Eats contributor, native Hawaiian, and May's burger lover Kathy YL Chan for some answers. Her response:
It's a burger brand used by many local restaurants. The meat itself and the final product is not the greatest out there, but then again, everything automatically tastes better in Hawai'i. That's just a fact! If you brought the burger to NYC and fed it to New Yorkers here they'd be like, "Uh...um...ok. Nothing special." I think a good part of it is nostalgia.
Kathy's friend Kelly adds:
I think they're the best frozen burger you can buy, and the price is good. It smells incredible when you barbecue it and goes well with practically any condiment because, due to its strong flavor, the condiments don't overpower the burger.
What is the burger's flavor? Kathy say it tastes sweet. I'll have to try one when I visit Hawaii. What do you think of May's teri burgers?
Kathy Chan said it perfectly, by mentioning not the burger itself, but WHERE you eat it. Eating a May's Teriyaki Burger on a subway train heading to Manhattan would not TASTE nearly the same as eating a May's Teriyaki Burger at the Punahou Carnival or at Ala Moana Beach Park.
Both comments so far also can pretty much sum up what a May's hamburger patty is like. As you can tell, there's plenty of filler in it, giving it that dense meatloaf-like texture, and it just probably is served in school cafeteria's here in Hawaii due it being 1.) cost-effective; 2.) preformed and ready to cook (efficient); and 3.) it's pronounced sweet teriyaki flavor is a very popular type of hamburger here in the islands; especially with kids and adults who grew up eating primarily teriyaki beef.
To be fair, the picture I took that's pictured here was taken probably at least 2 hours after it had been cooked, which might make it appear more dry than it actually was. When I ate it, it wasn't that bad. But surely would have been more moist had I eaten it right there at the carnival.
Grocery stores all over Hawaii carry May's meats. They also have frozen, ready-to-cook, marinated teriyaki Chicken, teriyaki chicken patties, Kal Bi (Korean style) Short Ribs and Kalua (Hawaiian style smoke-roasted) Pork, which are all very popular with the locals for barbecuing at weekend beach picnics.
@ Pomai: Thanks for commenting! You made awesome points regarding the burger. It's really one of those you-gotta-experience-it-in-Hawai'i things to understand the appeal. It doesn't look like much, but when you have the burger right after a malassada (or two? ;) and follow it up with shave ice...few things in the world could taste better ^_^
Thanks for commenting! Your comment has been accepted and will appear in a moment.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it pleasant. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
Print
5 Comments:
That looks more like a meatloaf sandwich than a burger.
dmcavanagh at 5:33PM on 02/10/09
Yikes... that texture looks like something that's served in school cafeterias. No thanks.
deeoh1 at 11:33AM on 02/11/09
Kathy Chan said it perfectly, by mentioning not the burger itself, but WHERE you eat it. Eating a May's Teriyaki Burger on a subway train heading to Manhattan would not TASTE nearly the same as eating a May's Teriyaki Burger at the Punahou Carnival or at Ala Moana Beach Park.
Both comments so far also can pretty much sum up what a May's hamburger patty is like. As you can tell, there's plenty of filler in it, giving it that dense meatloaf-like texture, and it just probably is served in school cafeteria's here in Hawaii due it being 1.) cost-effective; 2.) preformed and ready to cook (efficient); and 3.) it's pronounced sweet teriyaki flavor is a very popular type of hamburger here in the islands; especially with kids and adults who grew up eating primarily teriyaki beef.
To be fair, the picture I took that's pictured here was taken probably at least 2 hours after it had been cooked, which might make it appear more dry than it actually was. When I ate it, it wasn't that bad. But surely would have been more moist had I eaten it right there at the carnival.
Grocery stores all over Hawaii carry May's meats. They also have frozen, ready-to-cook, marinated teriyaki Chicken, teriyaki chicken patties, Kal Bi (Korean style) Short Ribs and Kalua (Hawaiian style smoke-roasted) Pork, which are all very popular with the locals for barbecuing at weekend beach picnics.
Aloha,
Pomai
The Tasty Island
Pomai at 1:00PM on 02/11/09
@ Pomai: Thanks for commenting! You made awesome points regarding the burger. It's really one of those you-gotta-experience-it-in-Hawai'i things to understand the appeal. It doesn't look like much, but when you have the burger right after a malassada (or two? ;) and follow it up with shave ice...few things in the world could taste better ^_^
Kathy YL Chan at 1:06PM on 02/11/09
May's are OK, but Teddy's Burgers are better - sort of in a Five Guys way.
Oneiron at 3:24PM on 02/11/09