With futuristic lounge decor and a “supersize me” attitude, Nemo Burgers, a restaurant and bar that opened in July near the intersection of Guangfu South and Zhongxiao East roads, is out to impress.
The spacious dining room is part
sci-fi fantasy, with a bar that glows courtesy of a white backlight and geometric patterns on one wall, and part American diner, with bright red vinyl-upholstered chairs and tables. Framed black-and-white portraits of Hollywood actors and rock stars adorn the walls.
PHOTO: DAVID CHEN, TAIPEI TIMES
The bacon double cheeseburger (NT$320) arrives as a towering stack of two beef patties, rashers of bacon, lettuce, tomato and raw onion rings in a bun. It’s so tall that it has to be held together by a kebab skewer (with a mini-flag attached that reads “Nemoburgers”). A toothpick simply wouldn’t do.
But then, a practical question: How are you supposed to eat the thing? Fork and knife? No thank you. A burger is supposed to be eaten with your hands.
Unfortunately, this one wasn’t really worth the oily, ketchupy mess all over my fingers, despite the extra napkins provided at the table.
On its menu, Nemo Burgers says it uses a “charcoal fire” grill, but there was little barbeque flavor to be found. The patties tasted bland and almost gamey, and weren’t much different from what one finds at one of the many American-diner style restaurants that have taken Taipei’s trendy neighborhoods by storm. And the bacon was so flavorless that I forgot I had ordered a bacon cheeseburger.
As for that towering mass that had to be squashed down, a good portion of it was made up of lettuce and the puffy bun. Half the lettuce tried to escape.
On the plus side, the french fries, which look and taste like they’re made from freshly cut potatoes, are delicious. Each burger also comes with egg salad, which is done well, but a little too rich. Offering other side dish choices, fresh salad for example, would be nice.
The menu selection consists of a dozen variations on America’s favorite sandwich, such as the Jumbo Chuck Burger (NT$380) and the Chicken and Beef Burger (NT$350), which comes with two patties, one chicken, one beef. Then there’s the Miss Wendy Burger (NT$220), which is supposed to be a recreation of a burger from Wendy’s, the US fast food chain that shut its operations from Taiwan in 1999.
Be aware of concessions to local preferences — the burgers come loaded with ketchup and mayonnaise for an overly sweet flavor. Mustard is offered on the side, in bottles. The menu lists English names for all items, but the descriptions are all in Chinese, which means, for example, some diners won’t know that the double cheeseburgers come with a whole wheat bun (why can’t we just choose for each burger?)
There is a veggie burger (NT$280), which also comes in a whole wheat bun, and whose patty was made out of several large, flattened slices of oyster mushroom coated in breading and deep fried. This one bombed too. The mushroom was so tough and chewy it was impossible to break it up into bite-sized pieces. I wound up eating nearly half the patty in one bite.
For drinks, huge, pint-sized mugs of Coke, Coke Zero and Sprite are NT$80 for unlimited refills. But for something different, try one of the flavored sodas (NT$60). Skip on the blackberry, which is too perfumey, and try the black currant (黑醋栗) instead — it’s the right mix of tangy and sweet. For the night crowd, there’s a cocktail selection starting from NT$280, as well as a selection of beers ranging from NT$120 to NT$280 per bottle.
The number of burger joints in Taipei keeps growing, but so does the mediocrity. Nemo Burgers has the potential to stand out — service is good, the ingredients are fresh and
the prices are reasonable — but the burgers are uninspiring and need
some tweaking.
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