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New Restaurant Serves First Ramen Burger Knockoffs In SoCal
Toro Burger in Santa Ana (Photo via Toro Burger Facebook)
Need a Ramen Burger fix but don't want to travel to New York to get it? Toro Burger in Santa Ana just had its grand opening earlier this week and the new restaurant owners are whipping up their take on New Yorker Keizo Shimamoto's Ramen Burger (though it doesn't look like he's involved).
Toro Burger's version of the Ramen Burger is described as including angus beef, shaved green onions, baby mixed greens, BBQ pork belly and ramen buns. (Excuse us while we drool.) Their menu also touts some other fun items including a Banh Mi Burger, Kim Chi Burger, and some good old fashioned Classic Burger (with bacon, red onions, and cheddar cheese). (Looks like they've caught on Roy Choi's Korean-fusion tastes.) Oh, and there are Waffle Fries on that list too.
Inside Toro Burger (Photo via Toro Burger Facebook)
Shimamoto's trademarked burger is sold at Brooklyn restaurant Smorgasborg and soon 7 days a week at BERG'N Beer Hall starting in March. The Ramen Burger craze took over the nation by storm in 2013 and when he visited L.A. with his goodies in September over 1,000 Angelenos waited in line for four hours to get a tasty bite.
Keizo Shimamoto's Ramen Burger (Photo via Ramen Burger Facebook)
However, we have to wonder if Toro Burger will face any legal issues with Shimamoto since he trademarked the term "Ramen Burger." In an interview with LAist in November, Shimamoto talked about how he is dealing with copycats:
My brother Jeff is a finance attorney and he is working with outside IP counsel to structure an organized response to any person or store using the Ramen Burger Trademark without our permission. He doesn't take these things lightly, so I am sure he is taking care of things behind the scenes.
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For now, we just need to make a little trek over to Santa Ana to get a mouthful of this craze everyone's been talking about.
Toro Burger is located at 2321 E 4th Street, Ste. A in Santa Ana, (714) 972-4588)
[h/t: OC Weekly]
Related:
Video: Ramen Burger Creator Explains The Inspiration For The Most Viral Burger Of Our Time
Video: 1,000 People Lined Up For Ramen Burgers
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