Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Energy Kitchen

I’ve had Energy Kitchen on my list of veggie-burgers-to-try for awhile, so when I heard that they were doing a special promotion where all their burgers are only $5 for the month of June, I decided to move it up to the top of the list.

energy_kitchen_photo_01

When I arrived at the 23rd Street location, I placed my order and was given this buzzer that would let me know when my burger was ready – I’ve seen these before at big sit-down franchise restaurants, but never at fast food places until now. There was a line of people all holding buzzers waiting for their food to be ready. I was here on a weekday at lunchtime, so this “line” was actually more like a crowded cluster of very hungry people!

energy_kitchen_photo_02
This was how my burger was served – all wrapped up (doesn’t it look so round, kind of like an apple?)

energy_kitchen_photo_03

The patty is a Dr. Praeger’s veggie burger – the girl who took my order said she did not know if it was vegan or not (I know some Dr. Praeger’s burgers are, but I’m not 100% sure which one this was). It was a mix of peppers, carrots, soy beans, and other vegetables. Crispy on the outside, and soft and mushy on the inside. It tasted seasoned, but nothing terribly special. Sort of like a vegetable soup. Half of it fell out of the bun as I was eating it, too.

energy_kitchen_photo_04

The bun was a soft, flakey wheat roll. Pretty tasty, but once again, the girl at the counter couldn’t verify if it was vegan or not (she said she couldn’t even check… which sounded rather odd). Seems strange that such a health-conscious restaurant (Energy Kitchen boasts “nothing over 500 calories” and “everything grilled, steamed, or baked”) can’t even tell its customers what ingredients (hello, allergies???) its food contains.

The tomatoes were green in the center, but the lettuce and the avocado were good. Honestly, what saved this burger was the hot sauce packets that came with it. They gave the otherwise kind of boring flavors a much-needed kick.

energy_kitchen_photo_05

Worth checking out during the $5 burger promotion this month, but I doubt I would go back and pay full price. I can buy a box of Dr. Praeger’s burgers at the grocery store and make my own, better burger at home. They had a vegetarian chili on the menu, which could be promising, and a full smoothie bar – so maybe if I came back I’d just try out a smoothie instead of a burger.

Cost: $5.00 + 99 cents for avocado (month of June only – regularly $6.99 + 99 cents)
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 3      Bun: 3      Toppings: 3

Energy Kitchen
18 West 23rd Street
between 5th and 6th Ave
New York, NY 10010
212.989.2323
Various locations in Manhattan- check website for addresses

YumVeggieBurger review #63

3 comments:

  1. That is extremely weird that they didn't know the details about what they serve! That burger would bother me, mainly because it looks like the lettuce and tomatoes might just fall out :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. yeah it actually didn't fall out as much as I thought it would, when I first looked at it - but I did have to keep both my hands occupied holding the bun carefully to prevent any fallage! haha.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi
    I would very much like to know the name of that product that buzzer when the meal is ready. I would like to implement it in my fastfood
    please send me email at toqilula@gmail.com if you have any ide what is that thing called
    Regards

    ReplyDelete