Teriyaki McBurger!

WOO!!

I saw a commercial for McDonald's on TV last night!

THE TERIYAKI MCBURGER IS COMING TO CANADA!!

Oh...oh...no wait. I'm jumping the gun, here. It's a special "Teriyaki Quarter Pounder," "Teriyaki McChicken," and "Teriyaki Chicken Wrap." Cool nonetheless, but still not a true Teriyaki McBurger.

For those who never studied McDonald's around the world, the Teriyaki McBurger is one of McDonald's signature sandwiches in Japan. Made with pork instead of beef, the pork pattie is slathered with teriyaki sauce, and topped with shredded lettuce and a dollop of mayo. I ate a lot of them when I was in Japan....

I had my first one in June of 2002, on my third or fourth day. A couple of us in our teacher training went down to McDonald's for dinner, and I ordered one. It was my first McDonald's meal in Japan. One of my fellow trainees said, "Dude, you're actually trying one?" and I said, "If I wanted a Big Mac, I would have stayed home."

I had my last one on my final day in Japan...it was officially my final meal in Japan. I had just checked in at the Tokyo Airport, had about an hour to kill before my flight home to Canada, and as I was wandering around the airport, I stumbled across a McDonald's kiosk. And I thought, "This'll probably be the last time in a long time I'll be able to have a Teriyaki McBurger." So I ordered one. And thanks to the multi-lingual staff at the airport, is the only one I've ever been able to order by speaking English.

I don't want to sample foods of the world, I want to sample fast foods of the world. Is that a wrong-headed goal? And I'm not talking about Teriyaki McBurgers and McDonald's that serve beer...I'm talking about fast food chains found only in other countries, like British chip shops and the like.

It'll be a trip of a lifetime, but I'll probably die of clogged arteries halfway through.