A burger is big enough?

Sasebo is a middle size city in Nagasaki pref in Kyushu area. Sasebo is a famous Navy city. In the 1880s, the Japanese government founded Chinjufu ( an important military base) in Sasebo, and there were already US Navy people stationed around there. In 1945 the U.S. Marine Corps Fifth Division landed at Sasebo, and in June 1946, with U.S. Fleet Activities, Sasebo, was established. Like Yokosuka, or Fussa, Sasebo has a kind of foreign atmosphere, and you may find some foods and shops influenced by the U.S.

One of them is this a beef stew; the official Sasebo city page introduces beef stew as a Sasebo Specialty・ Another one is this Sasebo burger. I have never heard of it before, but suddenly Sasebo burgers have become a hot item (no pun intended). The Sasebo burger are a kind of big handmade hamburger that is sold at about 20 shops in Sasebo city. They do not have any specialty or defining characteristic. The point seems to be only that they are big and handmade. Well that might be defined as "a specialty" these days, maybe. In 2001 their sales were only 300,000 a year, but last year the number of sales jumped to over 180 million. So now many people visit the area to try one, but not all were satisfied. "I was made to wait for a long time!・"It was so small, I will never try anymore", "What is with that arrogant service!!" etc,. So Sasebo tourism convention(JP) ( a poor English page is here) has set a recognition system. Sometimes an undercover agent will visit various shops to check out their burgers and shop conditions. Are the burgers big enough?

Comments

[Mari]

hi Dan.
Sandwich or burger or spaghetti. I don't eat those type of food a lot because for ME, they are too simple and I can not feel that I enjoyed my dinner or lunch time.
I like to see varios food in front of me, not need big food. I want to enjoy eating time more than its taste.
That would be the biggest reason I hardly eat in fast food. Actually I think fast foods are delicious.

[Dan]

Size doesn't matter.

In the U.S., people will line up for a long time to try something new. They may not even know if it is something they will like, they are just wanting something new. If it is not what they expected some will complain and demand their money returned. Some will tell everyone how disappointed they are. Most will just quietly leave, never to return.

If they are pleasantly suprised, they feel victorious! They took a risk and it paid off handsomely. They will return regularly, and celebrate their good fortune.

In a short time they will be bored, and they will want to try something new.