Big E’s Teriyaki & Burgers is satisfying, has quality meals
Photos by JAIMIE HSU
by MATTHEW BAHK
Big E’s Teriyaki & Burgers utilizes their signature teriyaki sauce in a variety of burgers, bowls, sandwiches and plates to add dimension to their dishes.
Besides homemade teriyaki sauce, Big E’s also boasts original recipes for macaroni salad, potato salad, curry, burger spread, pickled cabbage, katsu (deep fried, breaded meats) and salad dressing.
Big E’s offers a selection of burger styles, varying from a regular hamburger to stacked double cheeseburger. All burgers can be purchased with extra toppings (like bacon, teriyaki sauce and avocado) for a value additional price (ranging from 30 cents to $1.10).
Their most famous dish, the Big E Burger, is a cheeseburger with avocado, bacon and teriyaki sauce. The thick, crunchy bacon mingles with the smooth avocado as the burger spread and teriyaki sauce leave a salty and sweet flavor after each bite.
They also offer Teriyaki Fries, a bed of fries layered with customer’s choice of chicken or beef and teriyaki sauce. Their Big E Style Fries are teriyaki fries topped with burger spread and bacon, costing only 50 cents more than Teriyaki Fries. Although it appears to be an excessive amount of added flavoring, the Big E Style Fries are well-balanced in terms of saltiness and flavor intensity.
Big E’s Teriyaki Bowls come with a large variety of options. The simplest types, Chicken Bowl and Beef Bowl, also come in rookie bowl forms (smaller, ideally for children). Their Half & Half Bowl has these choices: chicken, beef, curry, chicken katsu and breast meat (costs extra 50 cents). They also offer an Avocado Veggie Bowl and Salmon Bowl. All bowls are served with white or brown rice with teriyaki sauce; rice can be replaced with steamed vegetables or pickled cabbage.
The San Gabriel location’s interior is small with few tables and booths. As of this visiting, the soda fountain only had Dr. Pepper and Raspberry Iced Tea; however they also sell a variety of individual soda in cans.
Big E’s is located at 2111 San Gabriel Blvd. in Rosemead and at 14362 Telegraph Rd in Whittier.
The San Gabriel Blvd. location is open Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday to Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The Telegraph Rd. location is open Monday to Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Thanks for the profile Matthew. Make sure to stop by next time and say hello to Big E himself, Eddie. Great pics Jason! We’re always happy to have spartans come by and eat!
FYI – Big E’s Teriyaki and Burgers was founded and is operated by two Schurr High School Alumni – Eddie Ruiz and Carlos Ruano.