Beyond Meat's Beast Burger

After hearing so much hype about Beyond Meat’s new “Beast Burger”, I had been stalking the frozen food aisles waiting for it to appear in NYC. I really like Beyond Meat’s fake “chicken” strips, so I was excited to see what their take on a burger would be. Finally, I found the Beast Burgers – just a few blocks from my new apartment in Astoria!



At $5.29 for a pack of 2 patties, this is not the most economical frozen veggie burger patty available – but the patties are much larger than normal! And Beyond Meat boasts that this vegan patty contains more protein and more iron than beef – so that’s pretty impressive, and maybe worth the extra cost. And they’re both gluten-free and soy-free.



Seriously, I can’t emphasize enough how large these patties are – I had to pull out my biggest frying pan to fit two in side by side! I fried them in a little olive oil for about 8 minutes, flipping them a few times throughout. The patties come with “grill marks” on one side. For aesthetic reasons, I guess.



Yup, so large that the patty was too big for my normal-sized hamburger buns! But that’s okay – the patty felt sturdy and at no risk for crumbling over the edges of the bun. You can see how it browned up after it cooked all the way through.

I topped my burger with some lettuce, pickled red onions (my new homemade obsession – so easy, so delicious! Pickled onions will grace all of my burgers from now on!) and horseradish sauce (also a recent obsession, now that I’ve realized you can buy it at the store!).



Biting into it, the first thing I noticed was the texture: It was pretty dense (packed with all that protein and nutrients?), and obviously aiming for a meat-like feel. It’s been well over a decade since I last ate a burger made of beef, but I still don’t think this Beast Burger is an exact replica of that texture, as some reviews I read online have claimed. But it was still a little more dense and chewy than I would have liked. And despite my fears that it would be too oily after being fried in a pan, I thought it was a bit on the dry side as well. Luckily, the toppings I had put on it made up for that.

Flavor-wise, I was surprised that it was kind of, well… bland. It tasted slightly “meaty”, not distinctly of any one flavor or seasoning, just a general protein-y, savory flavor. But I had hoped it would have more seasoning or some kind of kick of spice to it - but then, that’s something that can easily be remedied with toppings. And people who don't like spicy things might prefer this burger. My boyfriend the omnivore was game to try the second patty I had cooked, and he actually ate the whole thing and said it was quite filling and he didn’t feel like he needed to go eat some meat afterwards (like some vegetarian meals make him feel) – but he did say that the taste and texture reminded him of “that one time that I ate a piece of cardboard”. (FYI, he has eaten other veggie burgers that he liked better! But usually the ones that aren’t trying to look and taste like meat).



Ultimately, while I was not blown away by the Beast Burger, and while I may have had expectations that were a bit too high after reading all the hype online, this is still a very solid store-bought burger – definitely one of the best of the faux-meat varieties that are out there today. Not to mention all the health benefits that make it a better alternative to most other frozen veggie burgers in the grocery stores.

I’d like to give these burgers a try on the barbecue grill too, although sadly since moving apartments I no longer have space to keep my own grill – so I’ll have to hope I get invited to a lot of barbecues this summer (hint, hint, NYC friends!). Beyond Meat also makes a smaller “slider” version of this burger, called “Beastly Sliders”. I have a box of those sitting in my freezer as well, so I’ll be giving them a try soon too!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Beyond Meat’s Beast Burger
purchased at: Greenbay Marketplace in Astoria, NY
check Beyond Meat’s website to see where they may be sold near you.
price: $5.29 for 2 patties

YumVeggieBurger review #157

Spring Street Natural

Spring Street Natural has become one of my go-to spots in Soho. It has a lot of healthy, vegetarian options (as well as options for your omnivore friends), and it’s a huge restaurant so it’s rarely too crowded. You can almost always get a table – yes, even at brunch on the weekends!



I had eaten here a few times before I finally tried the veggie burger – the menu said it was made in-house, and I was intrigued by the fact that it had almonds in it! The waiter told me that it would be completely vegan if I ordered it without the cheese (which I did) – but by default it comes topped with cheddar.



The burger arrived topped with lettuce, tomato, and had a Dijon mayo (presumably not vegan, but double-check) served on the side. I tried a bit of the Dijon mayo on my burger, and although I’m not a big mustard fan, it added a nice note of flavor to the whole burger, since without the cheese there wasn't much in the way of toppings.



The toasted sesame bun was soft and very fresh – I should add that Spring Street Natural always puts a small bread basket on the table at the beginning of the meal, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of bread I’ve eaten from this establishment. I probably ate some bread even before my burger arrived, if I recall correctly. I can't help it, I see a basket of bread slices and I just have to try them all!



The patty itself was definitely house-made, and as you can see, packed full of veggies and grains. It was quite mushy, and although you can’t necessarily tell from the photos, lacked that nice crispy outside that I prefer on my burgers. Unfortunately, it was also a bit bland too. I was hoping for a stronger, more exciting flavor! I really didn't taste the almonds either.

It wasn’t a bad burger, indeed it was quite hearty and filling and I couldn’t finish the whole thing (probably because of all that bread I ate at the start of the meal). But it just wasn't as good as I was expecting. Which is too bad, because some of the other vegetarian options on the menu here are really quite excellent!

The sweet potato fries (included with the burger), however, were delicious!

Cost: $12.00
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 3       Bun: 4      Toppings: 3

Spring Street Natural
62 Spring Street
between Mulberry & Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012
212.966.0290

YumVeggieBurger review #156

Field Roast Hand-Formed Veggie Burger

This probably officially makes me a dork, but one of the things I was looking forward to as I planned my visit to Los Angeles was not just the new veggie burgers I could try in local restaurants, but the possibility of new veggie burgers at the grocery stores as well.

I’ve been wanting to try Field Roast’s veggie burgers for ages (I stalk them on facebook) because I love their vegan sausages so much. But, alas, I have been unable to find them in New York! I’ve checked multiple Whole Foods locations and numerous local natural food stores, but it seems they have just not made it to the Big Apple yet.

So I was thrilled to find them at a Whole Foods in California!



At $8.99 for a pack of four, they were a bit pricy, but I was so excited to try them that I figured the price would be worth it.

Eager to finally taste them, I didn’t even wait for lunch or dinner – I fried one up for breakfast the next morning.

I was a bit dubious about the look of the patty as I dropped it into the frying pan (but I guess that’s the “hand-formed” shape the packaging advertised?) and they seemed thinner than I was expecting a good, hearty burger to be (they come with all four smashed together in the package and you kind of have to peel them off of each other).



And I was unfortunately kind of disappointed with the result when I tasted my breakfast burger patty. There were some good flavors in it, but it was super oily. I had fried it in a tiny bit of butter, but it seemed like the patty had plenty of oils in it already, and by the time it was cooked up it was extremely greasy. The texture was pretty good though – a bit like the Field Roast sausages, but different (heartier, and… meatier?).

As underwhelming as my breakfast had been, I was determined to give these burgers another chance. The guesthouse we were staying in had a rooftop deck with a barbecue grill, and we’d been planning to cook dinner up there one night:



So that’s what we did.



Knowing from my earlier experiment that the burger already contained plenty of oil, I didn’t even bother to brush olive oil on the patty like I normally would when barbecuing veggie burgers. I just dropped it on the grill, and let it cook…



…and it turns out, these might be the BEST veggie burgers EVER for cooking on a barbecue grill!



It cooked perfectly, heating up all the way through and getting nice char marks from the grill, while never sticking or falling apart (a flaw of many other veggie burgers). I was amazed!

And then for the taste test:


I went a little overboard with the ketchup…

DELICIOUS! It seemed that grilling was the secret to success with these patties. It no longer tasted too oily, and the texture was perfect. The flavor was rich and hearty – they’re made with barley, carrots, and celery, and you could see bits of the actual vegetables in the patty, yet the seitan base of the patty held it all together so well. Paired with some roasted habanero peppers and a toasted bun, it was a perfect burger!



I was so happy that my first impression of these burgers turned out to be wrong. Maybe there is a way to cook them in a frying pan that works better than the method I used, but I think these burgers are designed and destined for the barbecue grill. And if you have ever been frustrated by veggie burger failures on the grill, you should definitely try these! They will change your life! And they’re vegan, so everyone can enjoy them (unless you can’t eat gluten, then you’re out of luck with these).

It’s just too bad we don’t seem to get them in New York yet… but maybe by the time summer (and barbecue season) rolls around…

Or, you know, you could just fly out to L.A. – it’s a pretty cool city, afterall!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Field Roast Hand-Formed Burger
purchased at: Whole Foods in Venice, CA
price: $8.99 for a package of 4 patties

YumVeggieBurger review #151

Café Gratitude

I was really excited to try the veggie burger at Café Gratitude, because numerous people had recommended this restaurant to me as one of the best vegan spots in L.A.!



The veggie burger is described as “magical” on the menu, which made me smile (all of the menu items get their own creative adjective).



The burger arrived on a hearty, whole grain bun. This bread was pretty great quality bread, but it was far too large and thick for the size of the patty and toppings! Unfortunately, all I could taste in the first few bites (in most bites, actually) was bread. And it was so filling I could not eat it all, and resorted to eating the second half of my burger as an open-faced sandwich, removing the top half of the bun.



The patty itself was much better – a tasty blend of beans and spices. I wish it had been larger, as it seemed surprisingly small to be paired with such an oversized bun! It was also a bit mushy, and I thought it would have benefited from a crispier outside or some other texture mixed in.

The toppings were pretty simple: lettuce, tomato, raw red onion, and pickled cucumbers. The pickles were nice, but there weren’t many of them, so I was only able to taste them in a couple bites. I think the mustard sauce and spicy chipotle ketchup just got absorbed into the mushy patty and bready bun, as I only tasted a hint of them. And again, like the patty, there were not enough toppings to match the oversized bun!



Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed with Café Gratitude’s veggie burger (especially for $13…). It was a decent burger, definitely higher quality than the average veggie burger from a non-vegan restaurant, but I think it was too over-hyped for me. I would love to hear what others liked about it, since I feel like I must be missing something, or maybe my taste is just very different (or I’ve been spoiled by some seriously stellar veggie burgers?).

But my omnivorous boyfriend, cheerfully game for another vegan restaurant adventure with me, absolutely loved the “Humble” Indian Curry Bowl that he ordered – so Café Gratitude must be doing something right to win over an avid-meat-eater like that!

I wish we’d have more time in Los Angeles (2 weeks is not long enough!) to come back so I could try some other dishes on the menu, as I have noticed that sometimes the best veggie burgers are not found in all-vegan restaurants, and sometimes the best all-vegan restaurants do a lot better on other menu items than the veggie burger.

Cost: $13.00
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 4       Bun: 3      Toppings: 3

Café Gratitude
639 N Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004
323.580.6383
additional locations in Venice, Santa Cruz, and Berkley, CA as well as one in Kansas City, MO (check website for addresses)


View from our hike to the Hollywood sign

YumVeggieBurger review #150

Café Ghia

It’s hard not to like a café that plays music like Eagles of Death Metal and has a photo of Laura Palmer on the wall behind a bar. But I liked Café Ghia even more when I saw that they had a vegan veggie burger on their menu!



Topped with tomato, sprouts, and pickles, this was a fresh and healthy lunch indeed. It came with some vegan mayo served on the side – but the mayo had such an amazing, tangy, spicy flavor that I slathered it on the soft, sesame-seed-encrusted bun.



The patty was a hearty mix of beans and vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, peppers, and onions, plus possibly more that I did not identify). It was very flavorful and well-seasoned with a spice that seemed familiar but I could not quite identify it. Fried to a light crisp on the outside, the patty was still moist and mush in the middle. Yum!



I don’t find myself out in Bushwick often (in fact, this is my first veggie burger review from that neighborhood!), but I was in the neighborhood for work, and I’m glad I had the chance to try this delicious burger while I was here. It’s a bit pricy for lunch at $13 (side salad included) but that’s not unheard of in New York – even in Brooklyn, these days!



Cost: $13.00
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Burger patty: 4       Bun: 4      Toppings: 4

Café Ghia
24 Irving Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11237
718.821.8806

YumVeggieBurger review #144

No Bull Mama Mia Spicy Italian Burgers

Working my way through the box of No Bull burgers that my mother sent me, next up was the Mama Mia Spicy Italian burger!
I was excited to try this flavor, which is vegan and gluten-free, just like the Sundried Tomato flavor (remember, the Original is not vegan, because that one contains eggs for some reason!).



I fried the patty in a pan with a bit of olive oil for a few minutes on each side. The outside crisped up nicely, turning a golden brown. And look at the tomatoes and spinach you can see in the patty! I'm still amazed by how close to homemade these not only taste but also look!



Keeping with the Italian theme, I topped my burger with some marinara sauce and melted vegan mozzarella (Trader Joe’s brand).



Biting into it, I found that the word “spicy” did not exaggerate – these had a medium-hot kick to them, which I loved! Inside the patty was the same hearty, chunky blend of vegetables and beans that the other No Bull patties had delivered. It was delicious!



Although the Italian flavor might not be what comes to mind or what you crave when you think of “burger”, this was a great flavor variation, and one that I would happily eat again.

I'm so thankful to my mom for sending me such a thoughtful present - I hope eventually No Bull burgers are for sale in stores in NYC, but otherwise I might have to plan to bring some back with me every time I visit my family from now on...

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
No Bull Burgers (Mama Mia Spicy Italian)
Purchased online and shipped to New York
Available in stores and served in restaurants in select states – check website for location
price: $10.00 for a pack of 4 patties

YumVeggieBurger review #142

No Bull Sundried Tomato Burgers

Working my way through the care package of No Bull veggie burgers that my mother sent me…
Next up was the Sundried Tomato variety...
This flavor, unlike the Original flavor, is both gluten-free and vegan!



I had some friends over for a barbecue, so it was the perfect chance to test out how these delicious patties would hold up on the grill.



The verdict? Awesome! I brushed them with a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking to the grill, and they cooked up just fine. Even though they are rather soft, like the original patties, they held together well and not a single one fell apart on the grill, even when I flipped them a couple times!



Served on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato and mayo (those are the remnants of a delicious herbed potato salad which you see on the plate beneath the burger)



Yum! Just as good as the original, but with a savory sundried-tomato kick. Still hearty lentils and big chunks of vegetables – especially spinach, which I enjoyed very much. The sundried-tomato flavor was strong, but not overpowering.



I was really impressed by how a burger with such a homemade texture nonetheless held up so well on the grill! I am wary of which patties I choose to throw on the barbecue because I’ve had too many fall apart and slip into the flames in the past, but No Bull proved itself a winner in yet another way.

One flavor left to try: “Mama Mia Spicy Italian”. Can’t wait!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

No Bull Burgers (Sundried Tomato)
Purchased online and shipped to New York
Available in stores and served in restaurants in select states – check website for location
price: $10.00 for a pack of 4 patties

YumVeggieBurger review #141

No Bull Burgers

My mother recently sent me the most amazing present in the mail:



Veggie burgers!

These are made in my hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia. They are sold in stores in Virginia and several other surrounding states, but they aren’t available in New York (yet), so my mother ordered some and had them mailed to me in a freezer pack!



She sent me three of the four different varieties that No Bull makes. The “Original” flavor seemed like a good choice to start with:



I fried the frozen patty in a frying pan with a little olive oil. It cooked evenly, and browned to a nice crisp. Although the patty looked soft, it held together well as I flipped it with a spatula.



Keeping it simple for my taste-test, I served it on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, and mayo.



Wow. From the first bite, I was in love – the patty was a hearty, delicious blend of lentils and vegetables. This was definitely one of the best store-bought burger patties I had ever tasted! EDITED: Please note, the "Original" flavor and the "mushroom" flavor are NOT vegan (they contain egg). The "Spicy Italian" and "Sundried Tomato" flavors, which I review next, ARE vegan though.



Actually, if I had not known better, I would not have believed it was store-bought. It was without a doubt the closest to home-made that any store bought patty has come. Aside from the fact that I had seen it in its frozen state only a few minutes ago, nothing about it seemed pre-packaged. I know a lot of burgers have whole lentils and pieces of vegetables in them, but these were extra large, hearty pieces that made it feel far more like something made in someone’s kitchen than on a factory line.

With how delicious it was, and how easy it was to cook, this has easily earned its spot as one of my favorite store-bought burgers. I’m so glad my mother sent them to me to try! And I can’t wait to try the other two flavors I got as well: Sundried Tomato and “Mama Mia Spicy Italian”.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

No Bull Burgers (Original)
Purchased online and shipped to New York
Available in stores and served in restaurants in select states – check website for location
price: $9.50 for a pack of 4 patties

YumVeggieBurger review #140

Sweet Earth Natural Foods Teriyaki Veggie Burger

I picked these up on a whim the last time I was at Whole Foods – because they were right next to the Field Roast sausages, so I assumed they would be delicious by association.



And since my roommates and I had a barbecue out on our patio last weekend, it was the perfect chance to try them out.



Those are not real grill marks – if you look at the prevous photo, you’ll see that the burgers come with painted-on grill marks. But these vegan, grain-based patties did cook up pretty well on the grill! They are quite firm, and held together just fine. Even flipping them over wasn’t an issue (although I brushed a little olive oil on them just to prevent sticking).



They got a little bit dried out on the grill, but they were pretty dense to begin with anyway. Neither the soft, crumbly texture of homemade veggie burgers, nor the stringy faux-meat texture of some store-bought patties, these burgers were actually more like the texture of vegan sausages.



The teriyaki flavor was nice, not overly sweet or spicy, but a pleasant taste. I didn’t want to mask it with too many condiments, but since the patty and bun were kind of dry on their own I added some guacamole and greens. One of my roommates is also a vegetarian, so she ate the other patty that came in the package of two, and proclaimed it quite tasty as well.

Although the teriyaki burger was the only flavor that Whole Foods had when I was shopping, I looked on Sweet Earth Natural Foods’ website and saw that they also make a santa-fe veggie burger and a za’atar flavored veggie burger. I love za’atar seasoning, so I will definitely try that one if I ever find it locally! They also make a bunch of flavored seitans, which I have not noticed in stores yet but I would be curious to try as well.

Has anyone else tried this brand? What flavors, and what did you think of it?

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Sweet Earth Natural Foods
purchased at: Whole Foods in NYC (Bowery location)
price: for $4.99 for a package of 2 patties
YumVeggieBurger review #137

Little Green Black Bean Veggie Burger

I finally fired up the barbecue grill this past weekend, for the first time this year – and, of course, my friend Michelle and I grilled veggie burgers to celebrate.



I had picked up these burgers at Whole Foods when I saw that they were on sale, although at the regular price of $5.99 for a box only containing two patties, I would have normally deemed them overpriced for frozen veggie burgers.



They are vegan, and the ingredient list is full of familiar, healthy things. I had no idea how well the patties would do on the grill, but I brushed them with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking, and laid them out over the flames.



To my delight, they grilled up quite well, and were never in danger of falling apart as I flipped them! They did look a little bit dry by the time I took them off the grill, but we ate them with fresh spinach, tomato, and mayo on whole wheat buns, so any dryness from the grill was compensated for by those toppings.

Michelle remarked how pleasantly spicy the patties were – they had a nice, bold flavor (but would still not be too spicy for someone who does not care for spicy foods). I was quite impressed too: although they had come from the frozen foods aisle, these patties could have almost passed for homemade once they were cooked. They held together well and did not fall apart as we ate them, but they were not the dreaded “hockey pucks” either. The texture was just right. And mixed in with the black beans were large chunks of peppers and other vegetables, giving it even more of a homemade feel. The box actually calls them "handcrafted" black bean burgers, and I can see why!



Although they are not the most economical choice of frozen burger patties, they were so delicious that I would definitely consider trying some of the other Little Green veggie burger varieties - or treating myself to these black bean ones again if I feel like splurging for a special barbecue party!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Little Green Handcrafted Black Bean Burgers
purchased at: Whole Foods in NYC (Bowery location)
price: on sale 2 for $8, regularly $5.99 per box (2 patties per box)

YumVeggieBurger review #135