Burger Month: The Second Chance

It's the final post for Burger Month! Today's post is about a very interesting tropical looking burger place located in the town I live in, Tsuchiura. The place makes a ton of different burgers, fried chicken, and some tasty fries. I am talking about Tsuchiura's very own NON Hamburger Cafe.

NON Hamburger Cafe

NON Hamburger Cafe is located in the Mushikake area of Tsuchiura. If you are coming by Route 6, get off at the ramp by the love hotel and turn right. Unless you are coming from the expressway, then you turn left. Drive straight for a few seconds and be careful. The street where NON is on is a narrow street that you might miss. The burger place is next to the NON shopping area that has a patisserie, pizza place, a hula dance school, and an auto shop. The front of the shopping place is where the parking area is.

For those of you who have lived in Tsukuba for quite a while, you might remember NON Cafe that used to be at Doho Park (now called Owl Cafe). They also did burgers and fries. Just in case you were wondering, that NON has no relation to the Tsuchiura NON.

Anyway, I went to NON yesterday afternoon for lunch seeing as NON is only open for lunch. Walking up to the tropical themed container restaurant brought back memories to when I first went there. Let me explain.

Right before the pandemic started, I visited NON in Tsuchiura during the summer. I loved the atmosphere of the place and couldn't wait to try their burgers. I got the Texas Burger with a set that brings fries and fried chicken. I was so excited!
When I bit into my burger, I was disappointed. Absolutely no flavor in it and it was quite dry. The same could be said about the fried chicken. I walked out feeling less than happy about my meal. A few years later and now I am back. That is why this post is called the second chance.

Write your name and wait

When I walked up to the entrance of NON, there was already a line forming with hungry customers. I found the clipboard in front of the entrance and wrote my name down. Party of one. Unfortunately, my wife couldn't join me for this adventure.

I didn't wait long. My name was called and I headed to the inside dinning area.

Inside Dinning

The Inside dinning area is a nice place to sit down and have a burger. It is super American style. There are Dairy Queen posters everywhere, a Route 66 poster (of course), and old vintage American stuff. There are a few tables that seat two people. I believe the room can hold a maximum of 12 customers. At the other end of the room, there is a lounge area with a couch and TV for those who want to have burgers while watching a Japanese show.

Outside Dinning

The inside dinning area is nice but I prefer the outside dinning area. There are a bunch of lights on the ceiling which give it a tropical night time bar vibe. What surprised me was there was an air conditioner and big flat screen TV for everyone to enjoy. You can see from the pictures that there are flaps going around the outside dinning area to protect from the cold. The first time I came here was during summer and those flaps were gone. Which is nice because we could get a nice summer breeze going through the restaurant. Even though I wanted to have my burger in this area, I decided to stay inside.

The Menu

NON has a lot on their menu. For my fellow Ibarakians who can't read Japanese, unfortunately I did not see an English menu. The menu has burgers, sandwiches, and rice bowls. This page is the special burger menu.

The top burger is the Texas Burger which brings a beef patty, cheddar cheese, and bacon.
The next burger is the Mexican Burger which brings a beef patty, chili con carne, and salsa.
Next is the Idaho Burger which brings a beef patty, hash potatoes, and cheddar cheese.
The next burger after the yellow tapped burger is the Loco Moco Burger which brings a beef patty, a slice of pineapple, a fried egg, and demi-glace sauce.
Under those burgers are the mustard and mayo burger, jalapeño and cheese burger, jalapeño and salsa burger, and the Hawaiian salsa burger.

Under those burgers is the set option. If you order a set with your burger you get one drink and a piece of fried chicken for only 200 yen. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

I ordered my burger with the fried chicken set and waited. Willing to give NON another chance to impress me with their burger making skills.

The Loco Moco Burger Set

My burger came and it was pretty big. By the way, this is the normal size. You can order the big option that is listed on the menu above.
The first time I came to NON, I ordered the Texas Burger and as I stated above, I wasn't too thrilled with it. This time I went with the Loco Moco Burger.
I put the Loco Moco Burger in the burger bag that was provided and wondered if this burger would make up for my not so good first time experience. I am happy to report that it did. Is there room for improvement? Yes, definitely. But this burger was way better than the Texas burger I had here last time. I took a bite out of my burger. The demi-glace sauce mixed with the beef patty was excellent. The buns were also a great match for this burger.
Two things though. First, it is a mess of a burger. Everything slides around and if I didn't have a burger bag, most of the burger would have fallen onto the plate. Second, the pineapple doesn't matter. the demi-glace sauce is tasty but it over powers everything. I got some hints here and there of pineapple sweetness, but it was a rare occurrence.
All and all, I was very happy with my burger and I am glad I gave NON a second chance.

The Fries and Fried Chicken

I did enjoy my tasty Loco Moco Burger, but what really shocked me were the fries. Yes, I know they are wedges. About 90% of burger places in Ibaraki only do wedges, but these wedges were marvelous. They were on another level of crispy that no one else, besides a small few, have been able to achieve in Ibaraki before. Dipping those crispy wedges into my burger bag with the demi-glace sauce inside was heavenly.
What about the fried chicken? Has it improved since the last time I had it? Yes, yes it has. It actually has flavor now! I am not sure if the owner changed the fryer or oil or whatever, but the chicken is way better than when I first had it. It has some seasoning on it now. It is still a bit dry, but I was very happy with my piece of fried chicken.

After I finished my burger, fries, and fried chicken. I walked up to the counter and paid and wanted to lay down. This was a heavy meal. Even while I am writing this post, two hours later, I still feel like I just ate this burger five minutes ago. I'm not sure I will have dinner, or even breakfast tomorrow.

You Pass NON

I am glad I gave NON Hamburger Cafe another chance. I liked my Loco Moco Burger and am interested in giving their Idaho Burger a try when I go next time. Hopefully, Mrs. Ibaraki Eats will come along and we can report on another burger from this tropical looking burger place.

So if you are driving around Route 6 in Tsuchiura and are in the mood for some burgers, why not give NON Hamburger Cafe a chance? Who knows, you might see me there, trying a new burger and wondering if I can finish the fried chicken set without feeling like I need to pass out.
Enjoy!

For more information on NON Hamburger Cafe, check out their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/non_hamburger_cafe_/

This wraps up Burger Month for 2024. Thanks for reading and don't forget to try the many great burger places that are all around Ibaraki. Till next time!