Saruno Burger

I check their web site to see when they come to my corporate campus next time, and mark my calendar. I follow their twitter account and also «like» their facebook account. Yes, I like their burgers.
So, I went to their usual place today only to realize I don’t see their truck. I now see on their web site that they canceled it. But I wonder why they can’t just post changes on twitter/​facebook.
Yes, I do like their burgers. But it’s not the first time.

Sometimes I really want to see genuinely nice people do well in the food truck industry, assuming the food is the key component in their success.
Ryoji and the Sarunos are an amazing blend of both. I’ve probably been there 5 or so times now over the course of a year and a half, and have to say that not only were they as good as before, but even better.
Today I had the usual Menchi w/​fries, in which case they use 100% Organic Grass fed Beef now. The fries were amazingly better than I remember for some reason (crisp outside, fluffy inside), and the Menchi Burger was on par and a bit better than the last few times. I can only describe it as a grease-​less, airy, perfect burger.
The Japanese Reggae music playing outside on a nice day even made it that much more awesome.
These guys are awesome. A great example of Japanese cuisine, done very consistently and to the best of one’s ability, while striding to improve the same few menu offerings through one’s lifetime.

Since writing my last review on Saruno Burger a little less than two years ago, I thought it would be very necessary to write an update since they’ve made some great strides to become a better food truck.
What I like about Saruno Burger is how they’re one of only a few trucks I know that has stuck to their roots and still serve their loyal fanbase in the Peninsula where they started a couple years back.
I’ve seen their menu evolve. Started off with 5 burgers and only fries. Now they’ve tweaked their menu not by much, but the changes have made a huge difference, in particular the change of the Gyudon Burger, which was originally served on a small bed of rice, but now renamed Sukiyaki Burger and served in a Brioche Bun like their other burgers. This has actually become my favorite burger out of the bunch, even beating out their famous Menchi Burger. The beef has so much flavor!
Sukiyaki Burger –
Other new additions/​changes to their menu have been the Chicken Teriyaki Burger, now named Chicken Tatsuta Burger which is more appropriate since it’s a like an oversized piece of Chicken Karaage, a Pork Belly Burger which is awesome, and they now sell Potato Croquettes filled with minced beef.
Chicken Tatsuta Burger –
Kinpira Burger with Pork Belly —
Sukiyaki Burger and Potato Croquettes –
Another favorite of mine from their original menu is their Tsukune Burger, which is basically a Chicken Meatball made with shitake mushrooms and green onions.
Tsukune Burger –
Ryoji is still around cranking out the burgers and still as humble as ever. He’s a real cool dude if you ever see him. Say hello and he’ll greet you with a nice big smile! With all the changes they’ve made to their menu, staying loyal to their local fanbase, and always providing great food and service, they get a well-​deserved 5 stars from me! I’m glad to see that they’re still doing great business after two years and wish Ryoji and his crew continued success.

I went up to the order window and asked if they could make me a Sukiyaki Sandwich with some broth on the side. Lo and behold, they gave me my sandwich with a small cup of broth!
Wow, the broth made a huge difference. It’s rich, savory, and sweet. This was exactly what the Sukiyaki Sandwich needed. I really like how it soaked into the bread and lathered the whole sandwich with its majestic flavor. I seriously wonder what they do with all that broth after they’re done working for the day. Mmm I definitely want another.

I love a good burger with unique flavors and this food truck did not disappoint. I’ll probably be a regular; the hardest part is deciding which burger to get since there are so many tempting options.
First of all, the burgers come on buttery, fresh brioche buns. The burgers range from $ 8 – 9, no sides included in that price. The burgers are not overly large, but it’s still a decent size where you won’t be starving afterwards. A side of fries is $ 3, a potato/​beef croquette is $ 2 each.
My coworker and I split 2 burgers:
Menchi ($ 8) — Breaded, deep fried with a vegetable sauce and sliced cabbage. How can you go wrong with anything breaded and deep fried? The meat was tasty and moist inside, paired well with the cabbage, but I expected a little more crispy parts in the burger, and something was just lacking. It was good, but I don’t think I would get it again because I preferred the Tsukune.
Tsukune ($ 8.50) — Really loved this burger. I thought I would prefer the deep fried, but this was more flavorful to me with the shiitake mushrooms and the soy sauce. I liked the greens and shiso leaves that were with this better than the cabbage.
Would definitely come back here. Service was great, food was fast, and they cut the burgers in half so that my coworker and I could split them.

I didn’t know what to order, everything on the menu looked appealing. So, I decided on the Tsukune Burger (they also offer all their burgers on a bed of greens if you want to skip the bun), it had me sold at Shiitake Mushroom.
It was so good, tons of flavor and crispy and well balanced. My palate was not ready! The bread was buttery and fresh it was just tasty. Yumm, yumm!

I devoured the MENCHI BURGER faster than they could serve it up…
My tastebuds didn’t even stand a chance.

I caught their food truck for lunch parked up near the Emeryville Pier. The line was long and took nearly 30 minutes from the time I waited in line to getting my food.
But, yes worth the wait!
I ordered the Chicken Tatsuta — deep fried chicken thigh, dressed w/​teriyaki sauce sanwiched w/​lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo all on a sweet roll.
Every bite was flavorful and tasty!
Next time I wanna try the Menchi. thats the deep fried breaded ground beef burger.
This is a great idea for a food truck. Japanese/​burger fusion.

Food truck came to Palo Alto, lucky for me!!! I highly recommend the «Menchi» Burger: Breaded ground beef, deep fried until golden brown. Sandwiched with Saruno’s orginal vegetable sauce and sliced cabbage. Crispy outside, juicy inside.
How can you possibly go wrong with that? It truly is crispy, but not overly fried and juicy on the inside! :)
$ 8

I’ve been slowly eating my way through Saruno’s menu one sammich at a time. And thus far, every sammich has been delicious.
My top 3 choices (in no particular order):
— Sukiyaki — Sliced beef and onion simmered in soy sauce based soup until soft
— Menchi — Breaded organic grass-​fed ground beef, deep fried until golden brown
— Tsukune — Ground chicken thigh, minced shiitake mushroom and green onions.
Caramelized soy sauce. Sandwiched with greens and shiso leaves.
The brioche bun is buttery and oh so good. Really completes the sandwich. Croquette is worth a try and as are the fries. Crispy, crunch goodness. Quality ingredients and an overall tasty product.

New favorite: Tsukune burger.
Tsukune is a chicken meat-​ball, commonly cooked on skewers in yakitori restaurants in Japan. Saruno’s tsukune is a chicken patty with mushrooms and spices inside, coated with panko, deep-​fried, and delicious. The brioche bun makes it great!

Tatsuta (chicken thigh) burger now available. Unlike their other burgers this is whole meat, de-​boned, between two slices of brioche bread. I like it as an alternative selection. Juicy chicken, nicely seasoned. It would be a great introduction to Saruno Burger if the idea of pork katsu burger doesn’t make you hungry.
Croquette is now available for side selections! Imagine mashed potato with ground beef in hash brown form, and deep fried. That’s the croquette available here. I have a weakness for croquettes whenever I’m in a Japanese restaurant. Seriously this is one of the best. Creamy yet dense. Not soaking in oil. If this had a little container of katsu sauce or something on the side this would probably be the only thing I order!
Still feenin’ for sata andagi (Okinawan donut). Bring it back!

Saruno burger was passing out fry bread samples. (pretty good). but i wanted to try the japanese style burgers.
menu: fry bread, tsukune, menchi burger
locale: eat real fest ⁹⁄₂₃
eats: tsukune burger (5)
–grounded thigh meat, minced shitake mushroom, green onion, carmelized soy sauce on a bed of greens and shiso leaves.
–all on a soft fluffy bun.
–ate it all without much thought, no drama, everything was so tender.
–eating experience similar to eating a portabello burger…
3.5 stars
temaki:
–burger come out quick,
–smiling, personable service.

Awesome! A tasty and unique taste on burgers! Walking around the Eat Real festival, I wanted to choose carefully where my calories were alotted and Saruno Burger caught my eye. More specifically the Tsukune burger. It’s a ground chicken patty with shiitake mushroom and green onion mixed in with caramelized soy sauce on a bed of greens.
When I took the first bite, the first thing that caught my attention was the bun. It was a lightly toasted brioche bun that was soft, yet crunchy because of the toast… yum! The meat was super flavorful and the caramelized soy sauce was so tasty I wanted to lick the bowl when I was done! The greens were a nice touch and a good balance of flavor– not too much, not too few. I’m definitely looking forward to trying some of their other burgers… looking at their website made my mouth water!

I’m vegetarian so I’m always looking for a good vegatarian/​vegan burger.
I ordered the tofu burger.
It was GREAT! Tons of flavor and was even a bit sweet. I do have one complaint which is something I find in a lot of veggie/​tofu burgers… The patty was not cooked long enough so it was a bit mushy. If it would have been cooked a little longer so it was browned or had a bit of a crust/​crunch it would have been perfect.
So I give it 3 stars, hope they read this review and next time I visit it’s perfect!

I had the Menchi burger. It was good — that unique, Japanese-​style burger that you don’t find too often around here. I don’t know if I would go out of my way to get it again. But I may just prefer American style burgers. Their burgers have a slightly sweet taste, distinguishing of the Japanese-​style burger. I guess I’m more of a savory burger girl at heart.
The Okinawan donut was interesting to try. Nice and crispy, but fairly bland tasting. I was expecting something a bit sweeter, maybe a little powdered sugar. I’ve never had one before, so maybe Okinawan donuts are simply plain. Maybe I have a sweeter tooth.
All in all, a truck worth checking out, especially if you’re a fan of Japanese.

I like Japanese style burgers better than American burgers. Try Saruno and you might understand why. Saruno’s menu had five kinds of Japanese style burgers: Menchi (beef), Sukiyaki, Pork Katsu, Chicken Teriyaki, Tsukune. They also have a tofu burger though it wasn’t offered during my visit.
* Menchi burger ($ 8): The burger was cooked to order and fresh off the grill. The thick organic, grassfed beef patty is more like meatloaf. It has other things in it, probably egg, onion and breadcrumbs. The patty is like a hybrid meatloaf katsu. It’s cooked to order so that the exterior is crunchy (thin deep fried panko coating) while the inside is moist and juicy. The patty is paired with finely shredded cabbage and a tangy, slightly sweet, homemade tonkatsu style sauce (original or spicy). The spicy didn’t seem spicy. The bun was divine, fluffy with crisp, buttery edges. The burger looked, smelled and tasted pretty amazing.
You can find the truck’s schedule on the Saruno Burger website. Credit cards accepted.

Found this at the recent Mobile Gourmet roundup at San Carlos. The idea of Japanese home food turned burgers intrigued me, as this is more adventurous than a Japanese cuisine inspired burger, so I decided to go for it.
I got the Tsukune burger. I like tsukune with rice a lot, but tsukune in burger form is actually really pleasant as well. The patty was really well flavoured and true to the traditional taste, while the bun was well buttered and crispy. I gobbled up the burger in no time.
This is certainly a quality food truck! I hope it will come by more often so I can try out more of their other offerings.

Yummy menchi burger.
It consists of beef patty that’s made from ground beef and lots of onion. Very flavorful and the teriyaki sauce is a great complement as well. The bun is also soft and crispy on the edges.
Hope they’ll frequent the Walmart parking lot more often!

Shout out to Joe M who sent me this message last week.
«Yo, how’s that Saruno burger out in Brisbane? You work right there, right? Lemme know.»
Thanks for the heads up Joe. Checked it out for lunch that day.
Saruno Burger, a Japanese style hamburger truck, is the newest to the Sierra Pt. Brisbane food truck scene. Decorated with blank coloring book pages and some plastic balls, it’s unique. (
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Out of the three burgers I split with my coworker and ate at the Marina, I’d only recommend one.
MENCHI Burger ($ 8) — Breaded ground beef that’s been deep fried then lightly sauced in this subtle teriyaki like sauce (kagome?). It’s finished with thinly sliced cabbage and put on a toasted bun. Light, beefy, and crisp with umami flavor it tasted something strait out of Japan. Order this! (
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Tsukune-​don burger — ($ 7.5) and Sukiyaki burger ($ 8). Both came with with a rice «bun». The portions were defintely Japanese sized (tiny), more snack sized than lunch.
The Sukiyaki had good flavor but had alot of fatty/​gristly pieces. For the money, I’d much rather do a bulgogi plate at Bart Grocery. The tsukune is basically a chicken meatball squished into a patty.
I liked the homestyle and authentic Japanese flavors, but it’s overpriced for what and the amount you get.
So Joe, their signature Menchi burger is the one you want.