Burgers with a Bao Twist

It seems like the Lower East Side is full of little hole-in-the-walls serving street food with a twist (Baohaus is a personal fave).

The shop looks like a retro diner, with stools lining the main counter. There's also some seating in the back.

Mikey’s Burgers on Ludlow Street is no exception. Chinese bacon, Kewpie mayo and Vietnamese coffee milkshakes all find their place on the menu. The burger joint’s distinct Asian twist is no surprise — its owner is Vietnamese chef Michael “Bao” Huynh, of Baoguette fame. Huynh is all about taking street food and making it more exciting, and Mikey’s Burger follows in this vein.

I got the Mikey’s burger, which comes with corned beef hash, grilled onions and mustard. Keith got a BLT burger, with the Chinese bacon and Kewpie mayo, which our server said was an Asian mayo that tastes pretty much the same (it’s from Japan and I’m no mayo fan, so it tasted the same to me). The Chinese bacon was slightly sweeter than regular bacon, which Keith was not a fan of. I thought my burger was delish, as were the chili cheese fries we got. I’m not exactly sure what the Vietnamese part of the Vietnamese coffee milkshake was, but it was amazing nonetheless. I practically finished it myself!

It’s a nice neighborhood find, so I’m sure I’ll be back soon.