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COMPASS MAGAZINE, September 2006

	Great Taichung burgers --By David Flint, Douglas Habecker and Matthew D. Flint Translated by Jean Huang
352, FuShun Road (04) 2462-3955 Hours: 5 pm-2 am (closed Sundays) Credit cards accepted. No service charge.	Lola's Bar and Grill   At Lola's--located in the Howard Prince Hotel neighborhood--there are only three burgers on the menu, but don't let that fool you. Bring a camera and take a photo if you want to show off Lola's principle of "Quality Not Quantity". Her Cheese Burger made our all-star list because it has the right attitude. Made with TWO quarter-pound all-beef patties, TWO cheese slices, and Lola's Awesome Secret Sauce, it easily calls the "A" list home. Add the slice of tomato, crispy lettuce, and fresh sesame seed bun with your choice of ketchup and mustard--Momma, take me out! Lola emphasizes that customers are free to ask for any kind of burger they want. Anything she makes for you will have lots of beef, lots of flavor and lots of smiles. Her Daily Specials board reads like a pub-goer's Christmas wish list: Cottage Pie (NT$200), Philly Cheese Steak (NT$160), Ham Steak (NT$200), Chicken Steak with Black Pepper Sauce (NT$220), and Fish and Chips (NT$180). The Cheese Burger is priced at NT$220 but, as a Monday-night special, it's NT$180--outstanding!
25-9, DaYe Road (Soho St.)	FuBar   Since FuBar opened this past spring, word has continued to spread around town about its big, tasty FuBurger (NT$200 with fries), to the point where Canadian owner Dwayne Worden says that 70 percent of his dining customers order it. Dwayne starts with a generous 150-gram beef patty which, he stresses, is constructed from "100-percent real meat" with no filler, gristle or bone. To ensure this, he personally goes to the market to buy the beef. When making his burger, Dwayne also takes care to pack the patty loosely, so that the meat isn't too dense and dry. The result is a pleasantly chewy, moist burger. This is topped off with bacon, mushrooms and cheese, plus the option of adding ketchup, mustard, spicy mustard, relish, onions, pickles, jalapeno peppers, mayonnaise, and HP sauce. Many, if not most, aficionados prefer to go for the full works and pack everything on. "My burgers are also good because they're not too perfect; they look like something you would make in your own backyard," the owner adds. Besides the burger, the popular sports bar also serves up a good Chicken Sandwich (NT$180), BLT (NT$160), Hot Dog (NT$140), the rather spicy Ned Flanders 3-Alarm Chili (NT$160), and that Canadian favorite, Poutine (NT$160), consisting of fries and chunks of cheese covered in gravy. Bottled beers range from NT$120 to NT$150, with other drinks including the NT$180 Caesar cocktail.
11, JingMing Rd. (04) 2329-3327 Hours: 7 pm-about 4 am www.7070.com.tw	7070 Seven-0 Public House, or 7070 (which stands for "seven oceans and seven continents"), prides itself on having a truly diverse, multicultural menu and atmosphere. Among the many global flavors on the menu, their NT$250 burger is incomparable to any other. With a thick juicy, spiced burger patty that is the size of my fist, a bun that barely holds it in, and toppings balanced on it all, this meal is not for the faint of appetite. In fact, it is necesary to have a plan of action when confronted with a burger this big. First stare at it for a minimum two minutes, sizing it up and deciding where to bite first. Then, slowly lower your hand, palm down, onto the top of the burger, crushing it into a size that might fit into your mouth. Do not crush it too much or your fries will be pushed off the plate. Finally, pick it up with both hands, fingers spread to even the pressure, and bite through without hesitation. That final step can be applied to all the dishes at Seven-0, as they are all huge and very tasty. Among their international dishes they serve German sausage and sauerkraut, English fish and chips (NT$250), and great chicken wings. Their appetizers (as if you really need one before a burger) are as interesting as their main dishes. They have kimchi, cheese fries, and beer-battered chicken pieces, among many others. But, if you haven't tried it yet, start with burger, then move to the bar.