Katsu Burger (Lynnwood)

Our original plan was to visit Katsu Burger for lunch on our way down to Southcenter 3 days prior.  However, due to the usual rush-hour traffic, we decided to go straight to Southcenter and avoid the height of gridlock.  So on our day of departure, we decided to hit up Katsu Burger in Lynnwood to make up for its omission from our initial schedule.  For those unfamiliar, Katsu Burger fuses Japanese beef and pork cutlets with a hamburger bun.  Great for the kiddies as they love burgers and katsu!

My son didn't stray far from the regular and stuck with the Tokyo Classic sporting a beef katsu, tonkatsu sauce, cabbage and Japanese mayo.  On their website, they promised American sizes and it didn't disappoint.  The beef cutlet was thick and large in diameter.  It sported a crunchy uniform exterior that gave way to a tender beef filling.  There was enough sauce to keep things moist and tasty with the zing from the tonkatsu and creaminess from the mayo.  The bun was robust enough to stand up to the ingredients while not being dense.  Being the princess that she is, my daughter wanted something more and decided on the Ninja Deluxe featuring a pork loin katsu, cheddar, bacon, tonkatsu sauce and mayo.  Naturally, this was more complex with the addition of cheese and crispy bacon.  Furthermore, the pork loin was lean and hence more firm than the beef katsu.  It was still tender though with a crunchy coating.

Viv got something a bit different in the Katsu Curry with curry powdered pork loin katsu, cheddar, tonkatsu sauce and mayo.  Something as simple as adding curry powder created a whole new flavour profile.  I thought the flavours really popped and were impactful.  Although one would think that the curry and tonkatsu sauce would be competing for attention, both worked together with the aromatics for the curry still standing out amidst the tangy sweetness.  For myself, I went big with the Tokyo Tower consisting of one beef and one pork loin katsu each, 2 slices of cheddar, pickles, tomato, onion, cabbage, tonkatsu sauce and mayo.  Yah, this was gigantic and very filling.  I enjoyed the contrast between the leaner and denser pork katsu compared to the looser and meatier beef katsu.  So as you can see, the food at Katsu Burger isn't complex.  However, they do one thing and do it right.  I'd eat this again.

The Good:
- Large, well-executed katsu
- Impactful flavours
- Fries are good too

The Bad:
- Not exactly cheap, but portions are large
- Personally I like a fluffier katsu, but this was still tender