the Lunchbox Laboratory.

I'm gonna have dinner with a friend.

so let's go in!

Welcome!

Say "hi" Jo!

Oh no, really??

Okay, don't say "hi" Jo!

Hello for like a half a second!

So this is my very good friend Jo.

How do I explain?

Well, I used to be a nailist (that's what we call nail techs in Japan)

when I was here in the states.

and I worked at the salon that she owns.

and we're still friends

and we got out to dinner

everytime I come back.

and she's just the greatest!

So we're gonna eat some good burgers!

and have some shakes.

Probably a fattening meal today!

That's okay because we're in the states!

I mean, what else is there? lol

Omg, red curry kabocha mac 'n' cheese!

Is that the experiment of the week?

My favorite burger here is actually

pork and duck ground meat.

so it's called the "dork" burger.

that's cute.

Yeah, they have interesting names,

I looked at their website.

Listen to it crack.

Can you hear that?

Freshly fried!

They have these sometimes in

Chinese dishes, right?

like on the side?

That's what that is, right?

No. See, the Chinese dishes have shrimp chips.

This is pork.

pork flavored.

No, it's actually...

To be honest, it's pork fat.

Oh, it's literally deep fried fat.

and it's delicious!

It's so good!

So fat on fat!

It's America!

Oooh, that's good! It's like ranch.

wow, that's a lot!

Spicy!

Are you okay, Jo?

It went down the wrong pipe.

Some water?

I wasn't expecting that to be that spicy.

Yeah, it's got a little kick to it.

It was lika, whoa!

It's her first time here,

so she's going to need a lot more time.

I haven't even..

I don't even know where to start looking!

Start at the top and go around, I guess.

Take your time.

Enjoy the rinds.

Don't choke to death!

Everything is just so good here.

It's unfortunate because it's all big.

because I like to have all the different things,

I always take stuff home.

In Japan, you can't take stuff home.

Well, it's not that you can't,

but there's no culture of doggie bags.

Oh, really?

So the portions aren't very big

and plus, it's really hot over there

in the summer, so

the restaurants are worried about

you taking the food home

and then it getting bad.

so they just say no.

Conduct your own experiment!

You can make your own shake!

You can get anything with or without.

It's customizable.

Ok so, we're gonna share the

kabocha mac.

You want that to come out first?

Sure!

and then...

you go, I'm not even ready.

I'm going to get the

Homage to the Dick's Deluxe

with avocado.

and sides...

Could I get the crispy tots?

For sure.

Oh shake, I didn't think about that.

Let me get...

Oh, oreo.

Oreo is really awesome.

Okay, oreo.

Do you want like marshmallow fluff in it?

Okay.

I'm not going to have to eat

for like a week.

I know, right?

I've never had the lamb patty.

How is that?

It's good. If you like lamb.

I like lamb.

It's good. Yeah, it's good.

You know, I'm just going to try it like this.

It's like this for a reason.

Yup! Exactly! I like your attitude!

You're in a curry mood.

Yes, I guess so.

No shake?

Oh, am I getting a shake?? omg.

Might as well!

Might as well.

Yeah, go big or go home.

The mango latte is really good.

It's not curry shake is it?

Mango or salted caramel?

Oh, salted caramel sounds really good.

Salted caramel, I guess.

Don't make me choose!

Macaroni and cheese, curry flavored!

One of the things I like about their mac 'n' cheese,

is that they use,

like the ruffled macaroni,

so it catches all of the sauce!

Oh, this is interesting...

The curry is very subtle.

I was expecting it to be

very, very curry flavored, but it's not.

I feel like it's creamier than it is cheesy.

Don't you think?

But I kind of like that.

I'm like just eating out of the bowl.

It's only us!

and the oreo!

Omg, I haven't had an oreo shake in forever!

Oreo shake with an oreo!

Now, do they have oreo cookies in Japan?

They do have oreo cookies in Japan.

But there are so many different types of snacks

in Japan, that you don't choose oreos to eat.

or I don't, at least.

It's very oreo!

Because it's usually like all vanilla.

It's good.

(Do you) want some?

I'm going to have a sip of Jo's.

Oh, this is nice.

It's a bit more sophisticated.

Oh, this is awesome!

Just hits the spot!

We gotta (we've got to) save room for the burger.

We've got a big burger coming.

My burger is here!

That's a lot of tots!

Sweet potato fries!

And this cinna-spice right here is made

specifically for those fries.

Really, really good stuff.

Can I grab you ladies anything else right now?

Uhhh, no.

Which burger did you get?

lamb and yellow curry, I think it is.

Wow, that's juicy looking.

Dick's is the first hamburger joint

we had in the Seattle area.

before we had McDonalds probably.

So this burger is an homage to that burger shop.

He was right.

It goes well?

It does.

What is that? Cinnamon?

Really??

I've never had that before

and I have this all of the time.

Sweet potato fries with cinnamon.

It's good!

Omg, I'm gonna get so fat!

I love sweet potato fries.

You'll find this is a lot of hot lunches at

elementary and middle schools in the states.

It's like hash browns.

Like small round hash browns.

Crispy!

I haven't had tater tots seriously since

like middle school.

My camera is so bad at focusing.

Focus on the tater tot!

Okay, how do I tackle this burger??

Cut it in half.

You guys can watch me cut this.

You're supposed to put

the lettuce, onions, tomatos

in the burger, but...

it's already big enough.

Okay, let's cut it in half.

There goes the avocados!

Oh, man.

I'm going to have to eat the avocados first.

It is very messy!

It's good!

It's like real American burger!

I have to say,

a real burger is better than a tofu burger.

The tofu burger wasn't bad!

I mean, it had good texture.

It's nice and thick!

I'm gonna wash the burger down with this shake.

Such an American meal.

Omg, this is so much food!

I'm not gonna finish, but

Of course, we're not going to finish!

but you take it home!

In the states, getting a box is expected.

There aren't very many people that

leave the food either.

For the most part, you get boxes.

So we got boxes!

Look how many boxes we have!

We have one big box,

and three little boxes!

It's all to take home!

So we won't have to worry about lunch tomorrow.

We only ate half.

So it seemed like we ate a ton,

but we really didn't eat much of it.

Alright guys, I hope you enjoyed

our little (or big lol) dinner.

Our very American dinner.

and I will see you guys again soon!

oh, say bye to Jo!

Okay, I am so full!

I just said bye to Jo and

guess what?

I just got done with the dinner.

I came outside and one of the waiters was out here.

and he said "Have a good night gorgeous!"

Made me a bit happy.

In the states, people say those things pretty casually.

I mean, it was the waiter!

but it's nice.

Alright, anyway. I'm very full!

I'll see you guys again later!