Peacefood Café Downtown

I first visited Peacefood Café's original location in the Upper West Side years ago, and had a delicious meal then. Since they opened their downtown location near Union Square, I have stopped by frequently to pick up delicious vegan baked goods – including Peacefood’s version of the Cronut.



On one of my trips to pick up some pastries, I noticed a sign advertising a veggie burger as their daily special. Dismayed that I had just eaten lunch, I asked an employee how often the veggie burger appeared on the specials. She told me that it was available every day, they just hadn’t added it to the official menu (yet?). Delighted, I made plans to return as soon as possible.

When I came in for lunch a few weeks later, I did not see the specials advertised anywhere. The printed menu still makes no mention of the veggie burger, and my waiter did not say anything about the specials when he arrived to take my order. Nervously, I asked him if the veggie burger was still available. “The Vegan Cheeseburger? Yes that’s one of our daily specials.”



I was slightly less enthused when I asked if the patty was homemade, and the waiter informed me that it was not (he said he thought the brand was Gardein). Gardein is not my top pick for store-bought patties; But once my burger arrived and I started eating it, I realized the necessity of a very firm patty that held together as well as Gardein’s faux-meat does, because Peacefood’s burger was positively LOADED with toppings!



Lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, avocado, pickles, jalapenos, sprouts, a tangy sauce, and vegan cheese (I’m pretty sure it was Daiya). Yum! I love a good combination of toppings like that! The bun was a slice of focaccia bread, which was a surprise, and my first time eating a veggie burger on focaccia! While it was a bit large for the patty and toppings, I had to admit that it was tasty – but unfortunately it was also very oily (ask for extra napkins!)

While it was not the traditional vegan cheeseburger I had expected, it was a creative concept, and quite filling (it did not come with any sides, but my stomach was satisfied enough that I did not need them – although I did stop to purchase a cookie from their bakery display case on my way out.



As I exited the restaurant, I noticed the sign outside which I had missed on my way in, which advertised the daily specials:



That ramp/stairs combo that leads to the door provides access from opposite sides, so anyone walking up the ramp instead of the stairs was equally likely to miss the sign, and I did not see the specials listed anywhere inside. If I had not been looking for it, or known to ask about them, I would have missed out on the veggie burger entirely. I hope my waiter was just forgetful, or having a bad day – and that customers are usually informed of the specials before they place their orders. It would be a shame for people to miss out on a veggie burger just because it’s not being advertised well!

Cost: $14.50
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 3       Bun: 3      Toppings: 5

Peacefood Café Downtown
41 East 11th Street
between Broadway & University Pl
New York, NY 10003
212.979.2288
Second location in the Upper West Side, check website for address – although I don’t know if they offer the veggie burger special, so make sure you call ahead to ask!

YumVeggieBurger review #133

The Grey Dog

The Grey Dog is my go-to spot near Union Square to meet people for tea, and my sister and I have shared many a cozy drink at its tiny tables (getting a seat can be tricky when it’s crowded though!). But until I met a friend there for dinner last week, I had not tried any of the food. And I hadn’t even realized that they serve a veggie burger!



My first thought was that the burger seemed kind of small, but maybe that was just because it was dwarfed by the massive pile of fries next to it? I substituted sweet potato fries in place of the regular fries – and they were delicious.



The bun was a little dry, and kind of dense. But the toppings were great – really fresh and crispy pea shoots, tomato, and onion. The pesto was quite tasty, (I am a big fan of pesto!). I only wished there was some other sauce as well to balance out the dryness of the bun.

The patty was homemade – a blend of veggies and some hearty grains. It was about average, there was nothing too special about the flavor, but it tasted hearty and healthy. I asked if the burger was vegan, and the café staff showed me this handy little ingredient card that they keep behind the counter:



So the patty itself is vegan, they told me – but the bun is not (contains dairy). They did offer to serve it on a bed of lettuce for any vegans who were interested in ordering it though. And kudos to them for being so well-informed about their ingredients and prepared to answer their customer’s questions! More restaurants should learn from that example.

Note: the veggie burger is found under the “Michigan Sandwiches” section of the menu, not the “Burgers” section!

Cost: $9 including fries
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 3       Bun: 3      Toppings: 4

The Grey Dog
90 University Pl
between 12th & 11th Street
New York, NY 10003
212.414.4739
two other locations in Manhattan, check website for address

YumVeggieBurger review #109

Umami Burger

Apparently the recent (just 4 weeks ago) opening of Umami burger in NYC is a big deal – I had personally never heard of the California-based burger chain before, but I did hear people excitedly sharing rumors a few months ago, in anticipation of it’s NYC debut. But then I forgot about it, until my friend Evan worked on a video for Zagat TV about the popular burger place. All the burgers featured in that segment are meat-burgers, unsurprisingly. But Umami has a veggie burger too – and I felt inspired to go try it... assuming, of course, the wait was not 3 hours as I had heard it rumored to be!



I was in luck – I had a couple hours to spare before a meeting, so when I showed up just before 2pm, the wait for a single spot at the bar was only about 10 minutes! Couples arriving at the same time were told the wait for 2 people would be about 30 minutes.



Excited, I sat down at the bar, ready to place my order – from the “Un-Beef” section of the menu! But when I told the waitress I wanted the “earth burger”, she said “we don’t have any left today”. My heart skipped a beat. She must have noticed how devastated I looked at this news, because she then said “Let me double check that though...” and hastened off to the kitchen. When she came back, she said “We have two left!” and I breathed a sigh of relief. I wonder if these veggie burgers are proving more popular than they had anticipated?


The earth burger



The bun was deliciously light and sweet – almost like a pastry. Not soggy at all, and not too thick or dense to bite into, but it still held everything together well. The toppings were delicious – I had never had a burger with chili on it before, but this soyrizo chili was a surprisingly a great addition, and gave it a great spicy kick. The “fresh cilantro crema” didn’t really add much flavor for me, personally. But the guacamole beneath the patty was a nice, cool, creamy note to balance out the spicy chili (and a surprise element, since it wasn’t listed with the other toppings on the menu!) The whole thing was a really awesome flavor combination. Both the sauce and the bun contain dairy, although the waitress told me they offer a lettuce wrap instead of the bun, if you request it (and you could order the burger without the crema topping).



The patty, however, is vegan – an earthy blend of black beans, forbidden rice, and charred corn (although I didn’t really taste much of the corn among the beans and rice). It fell apart a bit, but was large enough that even after pieces fell out, there was still a substantial amount left between the buns. And I ate the fallen chunks with a fork, because they were too tasty to abandon.


Delicious!

Would it have been worth it if I’d actually had to wait in line for three hours? Well, I don’t know about that… I’ve never waited that long for any veggie burger, not even from The Cinnamon Snail on a really busy lunch day! …but it was one of the most delicious veggie burgers I have eaten. Yup, it’s another five-star veggie burger! And I now understand all the hype around Umami Burger...



Cost: $12.00
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Burger patty: 4       Bun: 5      Toppings: 5

Umami Burger
432 6th Avenue
between 9th & 10th Street
New York, NY 10011
212.677.8626

YumVeggieBurger review #108

Stand4

I came to Union Square after work yesterday to run some errands, but quickly realized I was starving. So I checked the yelp app on my phone where I’ve bookmarked all the veggie burgers I have yet to try (best idea EVER! Such a quick and easy way to look up a nearby veggie burger when I am out running around the city!). I thought I had already tried all the spots near Union Square, but to my surprise, I noticed one little arrow on the map that was unfamiliar – Stand4.


I’m not sure what the bull is for… beef?

It looked like a bar from the outside (complete with tealights spread across the bar), but the menu said it was all about burgers. And they had a $9 veggie burger, so I decided that would be dinner.



Fries are sold separately (I’m getting used to this the more I see it, but it still feels wrong), and there were additional toppings you could add to your burger for a few extra dollars, but aside from a variety of cheeses there weren’t many options, so I just ordered a basic veggie burger with no extras. The bartender who took my order confirmed that the burger was vegetarian, but not vegan – although she didn’t say what ingredient prevented it from being vegan (I’d guess eggs).



When it arrived, I was surprised and delighted to see the two tiny fried pickles on the plate next to it – what a cute idea! Unfortunately, the pickle slices were so small and the fried batter so greasy that all I tasted was fry grease. Big disappointment. I’ve been spoiled by Sweet Afton’s fried pickles anyway though, no other ones taste quite as good anyway, even when they aren’t smothered in grease.



Luckily, the burger itself was better than the pickles. The patty was tall and thick – I’d call it a very aesthetically pleasing patty (something I’ve never considered giving points for before, but this one deserved it). Packed with beans and bits of zucchini, it held its shape well – with a nice crispy fried exterior. The flavor was slightly earthy, very mild. Savory.



The patty was definitely the best part. The bun was fresh, but nothing exciting. Not even toasted. I thought the tomato and lettuce were not enough toppings to compete against such a large amount of bun and patty. There was some “onion marmalade” hidden underneath the patty (at first I thought it was part of the patty), but it didn’t add too much flavor. I added the house-made ketchup to the second half of my burger, and it did have an interesting zing to it that ordinary ketchup does not – but it masked the nice, subtle flavor of the patty which I had been enjoying. I think a different flavor of sauce would be a better compliment for it.

But still, I was pleasantly surprised by this burger place which I hadn’t noticed before (aside from having obviously bookmarked it on yelp and then forgotten about it). Especially since just a couple weeks ago I was right next door for the screening of a film I worked on last year...


Cost: $9
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 4      Bun: 3      Toppings: 2

Stand4
24 East 12th Street
between 5th Ave and University Pl
New York, NY 10003
212.488.5900

YumVeggieBurger review #70

Red Bamboo

I love Red Bamboo – but it didn’t even occur to me to review their veggie burger (honestly, they have so much stuff on their menu I didn’t even realize they had one) until I was nearby one afternoon and wanted to grab a bite to eat before seeing Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams at the IFC Center.



I’ve eaten quite a few of the numerous vegan and vegetarian dishes from Red Bamboo’s menu over the years – my favorite is the almond coconut chicken appetizer. In fact, this may have been my first trip to the restaurant where I did not order that delicious dish (if I had been hungrier, I would have!) They also have vegetarian versions of things like steak and shrimp that I didn’t even eat before I became a vegetarian, and I will admit I am still scared to try even the faux-meat versions of these things.

Their veggie burger is called the “Bamburger” – the menu notes that the soy protein in the patty contains whey, although the mayo the burger is served with is vegan… are there some vegans who don’t mind eating whey? I was a bit confused by this. Adding vegan cheese is an option as well, so it sounds like the burger could be ordered completely vegan, except for that little note about the whey... Strange.



The patty consisted of very dark-colored faux meat. It was thin and rather tough, I had to really tear into it with my teeth to take a bite, it was so dense and chewy. Not what I normally expect from a burger, but it was much tastier than most faux meat products – something I’ve noticed about nearly all of the dishes I've tried at Red Bamboo, which is why I keep going back to the restaurant even though normally I am not a huge fan of faux meat. The whole burger was very drippy, perhaps because of the sauce/marinade on the patty? It was quite flavorful, kind of sweet and sour – I liked it, but it made eating very messy.



Eating was further complicated by the bun, which was pretty average, studded with sesame seeds – but far too squishy and crumbley, and it fell apart in my hands. It wasn’t nearly strong enough to support its contents. The toppings themselves were pretty good – vegan mayo, pickles, carmelized onions, tomato, lettuce, and a serving of ketchup on the side which I didn’t touch because I personally feel that ketchup overwhelms the other flavors of a good burger, most of the time.

A tasty burger, overall – although I have to say it didn’t blow my mind the way some of the other dishes at Red Bamboo have. I will definitely stick to my favorite almond coconut chicken next time I come back!

And a side note – has anyone else noticed a surprising number of rather attractive men eating lunch or dinner by themselves, often reading a book, at Red Bamboo? Or is it just me?
I would blame its proximity to NYU, except the one time I actually got up the courage to speak to one of these attractive men, he was not a student, but was visiting from out of town.

Cost: $4.95
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 4      Bun: 2      Toppings: 3

Red Bamboo
140 West 4th Street
between 6th Ave and MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012
212.260.7049

Oh, and Cave of Forgotten Dreams was outstanding. You should really go see it in the theater in all it’s 3D glory, if you can!



YumVeggieBurger review #64

Peculier Pub

I met some friends here for drinks Friday evening to celebrate Derek’s emancipation from his terrible office job.


pretty cool bottlecap-art that decorates the whole pub

Rather hungry after spending the afternoon at PS1, I looked through the menu to see what vegetarian fare they might offer – and of course when I saw “veggie burger” I had to look no further!



The patty was definitely a pre-made one that probably arrives frozen in a box. But it was surprisingly decent for such: the main ingredient was rice, which seemed unusual to me, but it worked quite well for texture, and tasted good mixed with the ground-up vegetables it was smashed together with. I think I identified little bits of mushrooms, carrots, and a few other ingredients. And it was nice and crispy on the outside, which always makes me happy.

Our waitress told me that it contained eggs but no dairy – she was very helpful about it, actually offering to go back to the kitchen and read the ingredient list on the package that the burgers came in.



The bun and toppings were rather lacking though: one slice of tomato, a very unappealing leaf of iceburg lettuce, and two tiny pickles. The bun was positively covered in sesame seeds, but was just one of those generic bland-tasting buns.



And it came with fries, which were just mediocre fries – nothing special. Overall, pretty standard pub fare… enough to satisfy your stomach so you can keep drinking, but nothing that would make you come back to eat it while sober.

Note: Be forewarned that this place is cash-only, you have to pay the minute you receive your food or drink (you can’t start a tab or pay at the end of your meal), and for some reason they include 15% gratuity automatically in the bill no matter the size of your party or the amount of food/drink that you order - but this is printed in rather small lettering at the bottom of the menu so could easily be missed… I’m not sure if they count on making extra money in tips from people who don’t read it and automatically leave a normal tip for the waitress, but it’s a very strange system.

Cost: $7.00
Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 3      Bun: 2      Toppings: 1

Peculier Pub
145 Bleecker Street
btwn Thompson St & Laguardia Pl
New York, NY 10012
212.353.1327

YumVeggieBurger review #32

Bare Burger

I’ve been to Bare Burger a few times since it first opened in my neighborhood. It’s kind of a fun and quirky place that proudly advertises its use of all-organic ingredients in its unique assortment of burgers. While I personally find their menu a bit too pricey on certain items to make it a place I frequent regularly, I have always enjoyed their veggie burgers - so of course I had to treat myself to another dinner here… for the sake of the blog.

The cool thing about Bare Burger’s menu is that once you choose your meat (veggie for me, obviously – but they have some more “exotic” meats that my carnivorous friends quite enjoy, like ostrich and bison) you can then choose from an assortment of topping options, each with a name like “jalapeno express” and a suggestion of which type of burger the toppings go best with. For this review, I stuck with the basic “Original Bareburger” with Monterey Jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, raw red onion, and Bareburger special sauce. The veggie burger and the bun are both vegan, so ordering the burger without the sauce or cheese will make it completely animal-product-free.



A couple warnings about the menu, though – some of the different toppings are not available on all burgers. I tried to order a veggie burger with the carmelized onions and cucumber mint yogurt and was told that this was only available with the lamb. I’m still not sure why they have this policy, as it seems like it would be as easy to put those toppings on any patty, but alas!

Second warning: Unlike most restaurants, fries are not included with the price of your burger here, which is why I consider it a pricier-than-I-normally-prefer place even though at first glance it doesn’t seem to be (add an extra $3 to each price if you want fries with your meal, then you’ll see what I’m talking about). But you should order the fries anyway, because they are really quite good – and they have a great selection of dipping sauces, and I’m a sucker for fries with good chipotle mayo. The milkshakes are also delicious, but definitely not cheap either.



But like I said, I was treating myself to this dinner for the sake of the blog. And it was definitely worth it. My burger was delicious, hearty and healthy – not trying to be mock-meat, but with more substance than vegetables simply mashed together. The Bareburger special sauce is quite tasty too, although I felt like there should have been a bit more of it, or maybe the patty itself could have been a bit juicier. The bun was excellent – I’ve tried Bare Burger’s brioche bun before, but prefer the 7 grain (and recommend it to others).

I chose the “Original Bareburger” toppings for this review, but I would like to come back and do a proper review of some of the other ones I had tasted in the past before I started this blog – I recall the Jalapeno Express and the Avocado California both being excellent, and a little more exciting than the basic “Original”… as is to be expected.

Is it “the best burger in town” as their restaurant claims? Well, not quite… but it’s certainly one of the best in my neighborhood (I hear they are opening a second location in Manhattan soon as well). And it’s refreshing for a place that is famous for its burgers to incorporate veggie options so easily into its menu (yes, options plural - they also offer a portabella mushroom). This is far from a generic frozen veggie patty tacked onto the menu to make a few bucks off of vegetarians who get dragged into the restaurant by their meat-eating friends… this is actually a place I recommend to other vegetarians.

Cost: $8.98 +$3 for fries
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Burger patty: 4    Bun: 5    Toppings: 4

Bare Burger
33-21 31st Ave
Astoria, NY 11106
718.777.7011

YumVeggieBurger review #23

EDIT: multiple locations around NYC, and around the country now!