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The thing about burgers is they're no longer the domain of the ground chuck patty. No, no: today burger is an open-ended food descriptor, a jumping-off point from which things like soy-based, black bean, portabella, turkey, 100% grass-fed beef, and gourmet veggie burgers are imagined. If you caught the "Green Seeds" episode of Alter Eco you probably got a little Pavlov's dog-like when you saw the beast of a vegan burger that goes by the name Green Truck's Mother Trucker.
The Culver City eco-truck catering and delivery company—Green Truck—is to be lauded for its awesome and creative dedication to eco-friendliness, but also for its dedication to delicious food. The Mother Trucker represents quintessentially the cuisine of the Green Truck and the evolution of the veggie burger. It comes with tomato, sprouts, and a beet relish on a whole wheat bun. And the vegan patty itself is world-class. But it wasn't so long ago that veggie burgers were flavorless soy-based things, manufactured as a kind of courtesy to vegetarians and (sometimes) vegans. Then there was a greater demand (more vegetarians and vegans) and the supply grew with it. Now Boca Foods Company, a huge veggie and vegan burger institution, sells burgers in tons of flavors, styles, and according to various dietary needs (wheat free, vegan, etc.). The veggie/vegan/otherwise not-meat burger, my friends, has arrived.
If you're in the Culver City area and can get your hands on a Mother Trucker, by all means do. But if you live, you know, somewhere else, here are some suggestions for veggie burgers, 2.0:
- Leona's Big Fat Vegan Burger (Chicago, Ill.): Fifteen "heart healthy" foods with your choice of two toppings including soy cheese, if you want to keep it vegan. This thing rules, seriously.
- Shake Shack's 'Shroom Burger (New York, N.Y.): A fried portabella filled with muenster and cheddar cheeses and topped with lettuce tomato and special sauce. No, this is not health food. Yes, it is meatless and delicious.
- The Monk's Kettle House Made Veggie Burger (San Francisco, Calif.): A thick black bean burger with organic fixings served on sesame brioche and served with garlic-laced French fries. No, not so much with the health food here either.
Got a fantastic veggie burger recommendation from your neck of the woods? What's your favorite frozen variety?
This post is inspired by Alter Eco
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