Oshi Burger Bar

Oshi Burger Bar
94 S. Main
901-341-2091

Oshi opened up a few weeks ago right down from my office. My friend, Richard, and I tried it out for lunch one day. While he had plenty of jokes to make about the "furniture" the food was served on, and the fact that the cowhide booths are from milking cows, we both agreed the food was tasty.

Last week, the monkeys (Satchel, 12, and Jiro, 10) and I all had dental appointments across the street. It was a cold, rainy day and downtown was seemingly deserted. It seemed like the perfect time to try out the hippest burger joint in town.



Warren also had a dental appointment, but had to get back to work since he's on West Coast time. He popped in just to take a look around and place his to go order. We couldn't pass up this photo op.



We sat in a booth and perused the menu. Jiro immediately honed in on the milkshakes. They come standard with booze (which is gross, imo), but the waitress said they could all be made alcohol free.



We decided to share the Malt Shoppe (Vanilla Ice Cream, Malted Milk, Malted Milk Balls, Bourbon) minus the bourbon. It was delish.



File this under, "as long as you continue to pose like this I will continue to post it on the internet."



After looking at the burger options, Jiro asked, "Can I just have a burger the way we like it?" Satchel chimed in with, "Yeah I want bacon but not if I have to have bleu cheese." I told them I thought this would be no problem, and I was right.

I ordered the seared tuna tataki salad because I am an idiot. No, because I was trying to be healthy. (On my first visit I had the tuna burger which was great and the kale salad which was even better, but garlicky.)

Before leaving, Warren had instructed me to bring him a Mr. Robato hot dog and kim chi fries. I asked the waitress to please time the to go order accordingly.

The milkshake was gone before our order was in, and it made the monkeys hungry for more. Satchel entertained himself (and the wait staff staring from the bar) by regurgitating his water. Gross.



Satchel said, "I can see the chef eating in the kitchen." This cracked him up. Then he motioned to the exposed duct work and said, "See those pipes? Someday they are going to burst and rats will fall on the burgers like rain."

Have I mentioned how gross 12 year olds are?

It was about this time that the waitress came over with a to go bag with Warren's food. I looked at her, and took a deep breath. Satchel sunk down in his seat. I said in my nicest voice, "Uh...I thought I asked if you could time it so that the to go order would be ready at the end of our meal, not the beginning?"

She looked mortified and pointed to where Warren once sat and said, "Oh, I thought you wanted me to rush it so he could take it with him."

I could *maybe* see what she was talking about, even though Warren was gone when I placed the order, but come on. She said she'd put the food under the heat lamp until we were ready. I let it go.

I perused the beer menu, but held strong.



Mmmmmm, beer.

Speaking of, the bartender is Gene, who I know from his brief stint at the Cove. He came over a few times to chat up and egg on the monkeys. He even tried to get us all to come sit at the bar. We were the only people there so clearly he was bored.

A short while later, the food came out and the monkeys were all smiles.



(Observe the burger "futon" and French fry "chair" that Richard previously thought were so funny.)



After a few bites, Jiro said, "Mmmmm this is the BEST BURGER EVER."

Satchel followed with, "Mom, this is one of the best burgers I have ever had. We need to come here more often." Then he added, "You can use that quote."

Satchel even liked the ketchup, which is spicy. I think they add the sweet and spicy sauce from the Asian market (usually next to the Sriracha), but he said it tasted like they added straight up Tabasco.

I'll admit, I wanted a burger. My salad was ok. Thankfully Jiro shared his fries.



I'm pretty sure each monkey could have eaten a second burger, but I was able to dodge that bullet. I asked for the check and the waitress brought Warren's to go order back out.

Behold the Mr. Robato hot dog (Wagyu American Kobe All Beef Dog, Ginger Pickles, Umami Mayo, Sesame Seeds, Nori Flakes).



And the kim chi fries (Kimchi, Bacon, Beer Cheese).



He later reported that they were very good.

Our total bill was $58 plus tip.

The monkeys have already asked to go back.