5 Burgers In 5 Days: Jeepney "Chori" Burger

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  November 19, 2013]

Hands down the gaudiest, richest, most over-the-top of these five burgers: the "chori" burger at Jeepney.

And since Jeepney is a wild side Filipino bistro, I'll take some crispy fried tripe just to whet my appetite.  But wait..."chori" burger?

Remember, for this series, you can compare my photo (discreetly taken under whatever light was available) with the professional Time Out version, all dressed up for the camera.

By rights, it should be called a "longa" burger.  There's a sausage element to the patty, but it's not chorizo, it's longaniza, that pungent, garlicky link which spreads its influence throughout Latin America, Greece (loukaniko), and the Philippines too. But Jeepney has decided longaniza is the Filipino chorizo, so chori burger it--confusingly--is.

Correction: A fan writes to tell me that they are called "chori" burgers in the Philippines (they're called "longa burgers" there too), so the confusion may only be local.

You can just about see from the photo that the reddish sausage meat forms a sort of layer in the center of the patty--and boy, does it flavor it.  There is nothing shy or shrinking about this stuff.

Condiments?  You bet.  The red stuff on the burger is a spicy Filipino banana ketchup, Jufran. For dipping, a popular Japanese mayo (it says here), Kewpie. A challah bun, in case the overall effect is not yet vivid enough. Slaw, tomato, and lettuce on the side.

Sadly, Jeepney was functioning without a liquor license.  I needed an ice cold beer to cut through this lot, not one of their interesting non-alcoholic fruit concoctions. 

This one's a matter of taste.  I found the bombardment of flavors overwhelming, but it's a plate of food which will certainly stuff you for $17.  Not for the purists.  (I liked the tripe, though.)