Here in the Philippines, you find dastardly small portions of food, like for example a regular, classic-old burger that you could find probably at any part of the town, whether it would be at some expensive, frilly-and-fancy all-American restaurant or your nearby McDonald's. Wherever you go, the portions of the burger is small, almost telling yourself to remove the bun and just eat the burger patty itself.

But where I went, the portions nowhere near "small".

My family and I went to a small (I am totally overusing "small" am I?) joint in a bustling area filled with University students. The place was surrounded by coffee shops, fast food restaurants and you'll just never expect to find this little guy in such a large area.

What I'm talking about is Zark's. Zark's Burgers. The--dare I say it--most awesome burger joint you'll ever eat at. I'm not talking regular sized buns and flattened patties with too much ketchup and too little mayo. I'm talking big, HUGE greasy bites of goodness. They serve you probably a burger that's nearly half a pound and two handfuls of homemade cut fries. The burger is what catches my attention though. It was very, very big. When you bite, it's like succulent meat right into your taste buds, the veggies just complimenting your every bite. When you press the burger, a tiny flow of liquid just drips right through your fingers.

And that's when you know, you're eating a damn good burger.

Zark's Burgers is located at the second floor of Archer's Nook (in front of Taft De Lasalle University), just topping the Army Navy and the Yellow Cab restaurant. Now, this is kind of the downside of the place. The restaurant is located probably not at it's best spot because it's fairly too small and a little bit run down, but the place does have sort of a very American classic restaurant if you get me. Pictures of men (I'll tell you about that later) and a large flat screen TV at the northwestern side of the room, tuned in to the Basketball channel (I kind of expected that). It kinda looks like a diner too, depending on your views really.

Apart from the location and the atmosphere of the restaurant, there is also one thing that struck me and that is the menu (of course). All meat; no vegan dishes (so if you're a vegetarian, I suggest you find some other place) and just a serving full of unhealthy concoctions. Deep-fried burger? Deep fried snickers? Krispy Kreme burger? Wow. It's a handful (or should I say a weightful?) but trust me, take a break from your "diets" and just go a long with this guilty pleasure. It's totally worth every bite.

The burger menu is divided into two parts: the major and the minor league. There's not much difference in the burgers, it's just that the major (I ordered from there) is already served with iced tea and fries or chips, while the minor league is without the iced tea and sides (but if you want to be served with iced tea and sides, you just need to pay for an additional P20).

Of course if you're still up for more food, there are other choices like hotdogs, nachos, ribs, steak, etc. It's really such an easy menu. You won't take long to choose your burger of the day. I do warn you that, if you are kind of, faint-hearted when eating, these burgers are large, regardless of their league. But that doesn't mean it'll stop you from eating the burger. You can share it with the person of your choice, they provide you with knives and forks so munching will be easier (trust me, you'll need those). And make sure to ask for extra napkins, or bring a pack of tissue if you must. The grease will fall, no matter how much you squeeze it out.

Okay, so let me tell you about the pictures of various men on the walls. Zark's Burgers surprise you with a challenge, two challenges actually. One is the Jawbreaker challenge and the other is the Tombstone challenge. The Jawbreaker looks relatively easy in my view. It's a triple cheeseburger with spam and bacon and you must finish it in less than five minutes and you get it for free. The Tombstone however, intrigues me. In the Tombstone challenge, you have two pounds of cheeseburgers (that's about four 1/2 patties) smothered in cheese sauce and surrounded with three-hundred grams of french fries. Finish that in ten minutes and you get a free t-shirt and your picture in the "Wall of Fame". So that is why there are pictures of different men on the wall of Zark's restaurant. Makes the atmosphere in the place a little bit more "badass" and a little bit of American bar-ish.

Here's the Philly Cheesesteak Burger from  Zark's Burgers!  Absolutely yummy-licious!

So far, I'd give this place four stars out of five. The location of the place seems fairly good (concerning that it's surrounded by Universities like DLSU and Benilde) and the food is heaven on a plate. The restaurant needs extreme renovation though, ripped up covers on chairs and small walkways is not really good for a growing good burger joint like Zark's.

What I ordered from the Zark's menu, is the Philly Cheese Steak, a real basic Major league burger. When I first researched (yes I researched about the place before I went there, that's called dedication folks!) about the joint, the first thing that caught my eye is the Philly cheese steak burger. It's probably the most liquidy burger out of all the burgers. The burger is decorated with the usual lettuce, tomato, patty, and cheese slice, but then there is a twist! To make the burger even more flavorful, they add a spatula-full of strip loin steak cooked to perfection and a squirt of cheese sauce. Absolutely delish!

Every bite was eventful, to be honest. You get a taste of the striploin, the burger patty still seems to be there, and the cheese just seems to glue the burger all together! Yum!

Now, go ahead. I'm not going to further elaborate my delicious trip to the burger joint, so give the place a visit. I think you're going to enjoy the place.

And of course the greasy filled goodness in every bite of the burger!

Till next time!