OC, actually Newport Beach, is going to get a new burger joint soon, and this one is going to serve Kobe beef burgers. Well, not exactly Kobe, but American Wagyu, which Krave Kobe Burger Grill's website is careful to state that it's “Kobe-style”.
What's probably more important to note is that it's not the first joint in OC to serve “Kobe burgers”. Tommy Bahama, Bonefish Grill, even Ruby's Diner all offer what they call “Kobe burgers” on their menus. If you're interested in the intricacies of what's really Kobe beef and what is not, just Google “kobe beef” and you can read the widely read Forbes article that will tell you all you need to know.
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In any case, you should probably know that Krave Kobe Burger Grill originates not from anywhere near the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan, but Glendora, the city where the 210 and 57 freeways meet. The planned Newport Beach location, at the Newport Coast Shopping Center, will be its first in OC. No opening date has yet been announced.
If you're wondering about the price points, the Glendora store sells its base Kobe burger–a 5-ounce burger with caramelized sweet onions, beefsteak tomato, green leaf lettuce and a signature garlic aioli–for about $7, which seems a reasonable enough price for a burger, Kobe or not.
More news on this here, as it comes.
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Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.