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I like this! More foreign burger reviews please. I bet they've cooked up some strange, mystifying combos in Japan for example... (hint, hint)

Hilarious.
I just happen to be eating a McD's Cheeseburger right now! I missed lunch and had the hubby bring me one, well actually two, to work.
Tastes pretty good when you're really hungry!

Old fries..thats a new one for me....still bet they are killer..

This guy is doing it right...

A great place for delicious cheeseburgers. While fried egg and country ham additions are not unique to the White Spot, they've been serving them there for decades. Along with Pat's in Roanoke, Wright's in Staunton and Mike's in Blacksburg, the White Spot is certainly a must on the 'high altar' of Virginia's burger stops. More often than not enjoyed after a night on the town only makes these ample, juicy, full-of-wonderful-favors, burgs more enjoyable.

Had breakfast there last June with my father and brothers--I'm the only one who's spent any serious time south of the Mason-Dixon Line. They ordered eggs, etc., and I ordered biscuits and gravy. They were all jealous at the end of the day. Experience is everything. Or at least a lot.

Mmmm, haven't had a gusburger in a few years...

Love White Spot! Haven't been in years (graduated way back when) - but will def. make a late night stop next month when I'm in C-ville for a hoops game.

Just had lunch there, and although it's late in Burke's burger week I am compelled to mention that the $5 burger special doesn't include the regular toppings of garlic spinach, crispy shallots, and bacon mayo. Just the burger on a bun. The dry aged beef is absolutely good enough to enjoy plain, and it's still a good deal at $5, but this ain't the burger in DZ's recent review.

@RossS: Thanks! While writing this article I mused over the same question... and then realized that popular Americanized interpretations of foreign cuisine are often so off the mark that blogging about them - giving them any additional thought, really - would just be depressing. I know a good number of Chinese graduate students who don't ever eat out in the US; they prefer to cook traditional meals for themselves at home.

@JimInHolland: It's dumb, but sometimes those inane cravings hit one uninvited and with bizarre force. In my experience, it takes at least a couple months of living in a foreign country. Awhile ago I spent a year studying in China and although I love Chinese food and have a fairly adventurous palate, by the second semester I was desperate, seriously desperate, for American supermarket-style white sheet cake. You know, those two humdrum layers of yellow sponge, sandwiching bland vanilla custard and sagging under an inch of the kind of sickeningly sweet buttercream icing that crusts over slightly after sitting on the bakery counter for a day. I would've killed for a slice.

Anyway, your assessment of the MOS burger beef patty is spot on. Their Asian fillings are probably tastier - teriyaki chicken, yakiniku, unagi and the like.

Off topic slightly: After reading this fine review, the thought struck me - Do folks from other countries come here review our take on their food and then blog about it back home? It would be interesting to read what Mexicans or Italians for example, blog back home about the way their foods are served here, instead of the usual bickering amongst the local experts about what qualifies as authentic "insert your cuisine here".
Just a thought.

Great article by the way!

@Eating The Road: I did end up trying a MOS shogayaki rice burger; China Airlines served them for breakfast during my flight back to the U.S. (see photo above) I decided against commenting on the burger itself, though, since after having been refrigerated and reheated as airplane food it was clearly not up to normal MOS standards. Like you, I've also heard many great things about MOS burgers - the next time I find myself in Asia, I'd be happy to write off my two experiences as unusual and give MOS another try.

@haappyhed: Thanks! My relationship with Taiwan is similar to yours - my mother was born in Taiwan and I spent many a childhood summer, as well as part of elementary school, in Taipei. As a rule, whenever I return for a visit, every square micrometer of stomach space is reserved for my grandparents' home cooking, tropical fruit, and Taiwanese street food... so this tour was a marked departure from my norm, instigated primarily by my encounter with those absurd mini-burgers.

I wish I'd known better than to try MOS' regular hamburger - from the sound of it, almost anything else on the menu would have been more satisfying - but at the time I intentionally ordered what an uninformed, displaced American might when searching for a hamburger that tastes like home. Given my preference for traditional Taiwanese food, my recent two-week visit was far too brief to accommodate a truly exhaustive burger roundup (I'm not a food writer and this trip was personal in nature), but in the future it might be interesting to seek out distinctively Asian re-conceptions of the burger.

@kkyoung: You're right, it's often foolish to expect familiar food to be prepared authentically in a foreign country. I was raised on homestyle Chinese cooking and if I went into a Panda Express here in the U.S. expecting similar, my soul would probably die a little.

Reasonable or no, for the purposes of this review I deliberately assumed the mindset of a homesick American looking for a regular burger. People who order Asian-style burgers expect to taste something interesting and unfamiliar, but a customer who orders a hamburger probably just wants a hamburger. Whereas the 3-inch mini-burgers don't pretend to be traditional and MOS rice burgers are a deliberate and successful departure from the norm, I'm pretty sure Mary's does attempt to make an "American" style burger, and when MOS offers an apparently standard "Hamburger" alongside its more imaginative entrées, I think it's fair to examine it according to Western standards.

I'll know better next time, though. ;)

Disclaimer - My parents were born in Taiwan, and though I was born/raised in Chicago and currently live in NYC, I've been back to Taiwan more than a dozen times.

I'm probably just being prideful, but it was a bit disappointing that an AHT post would focus on finding American-style (too broad a category, I know) burgers in Taiwan. My first thought was, "wow, you went to Taiwan and wasted three meals!" Frankly I bet you were spot-on about the burger reviewed at MOS; I wouldn't know though, because ordering that at MOS is like ordering thin crust at Lou Malnati's in Chicago - more Serious Fail than Serious Eats.

In defense of MOS Burger - from experience, not just info taken from Wikipedia - the rice bun is seared and crisped on the outside, creating a flavor profile similar to the prized "burnt rice" Bi Bim Bap fanatics love. It's far from "structurally questionable" once you try it, and is much better than dreaded Brioche buns at sopping up the delicious juices and sauces. We're all probably more used to the feeling of dry bread on our hands rather than rice, but the textural interplay is totally worth it. But heck, if you do find something even remotely resembling In-and-Out or Shake Shack in Taiwan, that would truly be worth reporting!

Your photography is gorgeous, your writing is enjoyable, and I'd love to see more about your more unique food experiences. I'm so envious of your travels! After all, my favorite thing about SE/AHT is that it brings me all the flavors and joys of different food/burger traditions around the world.