2.166
20 (Mon) June 2011
Garlic Steakhouse Burger
2.0
from Burger King
(Ajou University Hospital)
in my office
-Woncheon, Yeongtong, Suwon, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-
solo
Garlic Steakhouse Burger is a burger by Burger King Korea.
It’s lame. Neither the taste nor texture of the patty gives the impression that it’s 100% beef, more like a flattened meatball or meatloaf, an impression reinforced by the mushy dollop of cooked onions and garlic, as well as the sickly sweet, slightly spicy sauce that’s somewhere between BBQ and marinara. The US website mentions something called a “Steakhouse XT Burger,” which has a similar-looking patty but no onion-garlic and no sauce, so maybe the Koreans are only partially to blame. A rip-off at 5,500 won.
For my class on public health law, I show the film Super Size Me, which opens with a rant on the omnipresence of fast food restaurants: “even in hospitals!” This always draws nervous laughter from the students, who, likely for the first time ever, are suddenly conscious of the irony in having a Burger King in the basement of our hospital. Come to think of it, I know of 3 other major hospitals in Seoul with Burger Kings. “At least you’ll be close when the coronary hits,” the film quips.
(See also FOODS.)
(See also PLACES.)
