This is one of the first reviews that scared me going into it. I have passed Thunder Burger on many occasions. Despite being opened in the past year or so, the dingy poorly done cheesy 50’s diner type décor always served as a warning flag to me. Determined not to judge a book by its cover I stormed the gates.
The rather spartan menu matched, basic burgers with basic toppings. The service though was friendly and a good contrast to the other accruements. I ordered a Double Double W7000 and waited.
Now I know what some of you may be saying. “Cheesy 50’s looks”, “Double Double”, its begining to sound like that LA temple of burger-dom, the In-N-Out. The burger is so good, that Paris Hilton was caught drunkenly speeding to get one. I take that back, anything with the phrase “Paris Hilton” is not a compliment, and I have nothing but reverence for the temple. Four-by-four animal style…..mmmm……
While Thunder Burger is not the icon place it may try to emulate, I am happy to report this is a damn fine burger. A nice thick patty, oozing juice, and turning the paper it’s wrapped in clear from the grease. The bun proved a tad lifeless, however the basic meat and bread combination was close to heaven.
However that was the meat and bun combination. The veggies proved to lack a certain freshness. The burger as well could have really used a smattering of sauce, ketchup, mustard, or anything. Nothing was proffered other than two packs of ketchup.
A final note, despite my love of the patty a couple things were wrong. First it had an odd pale color, something almost akin to the terrible pork burgers sold on the street stall deokbokki and egg toast places. Adding to the look was the fact the patty was fried. This is not notable in and of itself, but they clearly had a grill behind the counter. Why not grill this sucker. Surprisingly so close to greatness…
Thunder Burger: ****
Noksapyeong Subway Station (line 6), one stop before (or after) Itaewon
Go down the hill towards the tunnels under Mt. Namsan about 100m
Across the street from the Army base.
English Spoken (mostly), English Menu
Scoreboard:
Nashville’s=***1/2
Navy Club=***1/2
Home(made) burger=***
Kraze Burger=*
17 Comments
mmmm, that’s a tall burger. dunno about that tomato, though. it looks sickly.
i still say, “Platters! Platters!”
except the one i had last weekend just wasn’t as good as all the others and it was an Aloha Burger: teriyaki sauce, pineapple ring, and cheese (that’s it, the cheese didn’t melt into the patty … i hate that).
Now that you’re in the area, head to New Phillies.
Oh, that was a tomato slice! I didn’t even notice it, since it’s not red and all.
Looks mouth-watering, though, and it must have been a good burger after all for you to give it 4 stars!
Four stars? I see a tiny burger with the usual green tomato slice beloved by Koreans.
To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen: “I ate at In-N-Out, I knew In-N-Out. Thunder Burger, you are no In-N-Out.”
No doubt the tomato was plastic and was part of the removal of a start, however it really was that good. The whole meat/cheese/bun (ie the basics) was excelent.
Michael> Stop your bitching and try the thing.
OK, OK Mr. Burgermeister
That burger picture is a good representation of why the health of America is in such poor shape, considering the control over many people’s diet by the powerful food industry and their lobbying groups. Try running a search on “obesity”, “diabetes” and “food industry” and you will see what I mean.
Sorry but no thanks.
R. Elgin, that burger is almost vegetarian with all that lettuce on it
Imagine that, the evil food industry trying to sell more food. The bastards!
’tis a valuable public service you are performing with this series, sir. If I wasn’t vegetarian, I’d consider doing the same here in Taiwan. Most of the places here though, seem to be of the Corporate Deathburger (McDonalds), Burger King, or Moss variety.
Angrycareb
If it is not too much of a trouble, can you please give directions to “Platters! Platters!”?
Dram Man,
Enjoy this post, Try the Burger at 3 Alley.
LeoStruass:
directions:
from Hyehwa Station, go straight out of Exit 2, turn left at the street, turn right after the park, and it’ll be on the left hand side with giant neon letters.
the Mushroom Swiss and Smokehouse burgers are also very tasty.
and i found some Platters burger porn the web:
http://jules.innori.com/43
looks great in the photo. how did nastyville get 3 1/2 stars? their buns are notorious for freezer burn.
Do not worry careb, Platters is comming sooner or later. Its a tad off the beaten path for me you know.
I stumbled across the place shortly after it was opened. Taco Taco aka Chili Chili’s aka the good mexican place in Itaewon was closed that day. So I went next door. Anyway, one of the guys who owns it told me directly that it was based on In N Out Burger. So any similarities with In N Out Burger are fully intentional.
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