Melbourne’s best veggie burgers
WANT to make the veg pledge but don’t want to miss your burgers? We put a dozen of the plant-patty buns offered by the big names to the test, finding the best - and worst - meat-free burgers in Melbourne.
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IT HAS the financial backing of such names as Bill Gates, Twitter’s Evan Williams and Leonardo DiCaprio, and is touted as the answer to the world’s ills, from climate change to deforestation, as well as human ones including cancer and heart disease.
Beyond Meat is “the future of protein”, a complete plant-based protein that’s designed to mimic animal protein in every way – taste, texture, even sizzle on the grill.
It’s a “burger with benefits” that’s even designed to “bleed” just like a beef patty.
Beyond Beef taken the US by storm, where it’s found in supermarkets in sausage, mince, stir-fry strips and burger patty form. It’s just hit our shores, with vegan fast food chain Lord of the Fries the exclusive restaurant partner for the burger, where they serve it in two versions - original and spicy.
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They’re not the only ones jumping on the meat-free burger bandwagon, with Grill’d also releasing its “Amazing Vegan Cheeseburger” with a similar meat-mimicking patty, while even the big chains have been making a veg pledge and adding veggie and vegan burgers to their line up.
Hungry Jack’s Veggie Whopper makes up 5 per cent of all Whopper sales, and with more than 10 per cent of Aussies calling themselves vegetarian - with veganism growing in Australia at a projected 28 per cent rate by 2020 - it obviously makes good sense to focus on getting the meat-free burger just right.
But how do they stack up? We put a dozen of the plant-patty buns offered by the big names in the burger biz to the taste test.
Zelda at 8 Bit, $14.50
Score: 9.5/10
The original harbinger Footscray’s hipster-dom, 8 Bit now serves its beaut burgers at two stores in the city (and has even made the journey north to Sin City). And the Zelda is as brilliantly boisterous as any of its cult beef burgers. Adding fresh avocado and a terrific beetroot relish to the grill-toasted bun (that holds firm to the last bite), the patty teams corn and quinoa with chickpeas both mashed and whole to excellent effect. A fat slab of grilled haloumi adds both salty zing and cheesy heft. It’s the only burger of the lot that was completely fulfilling and sated like a traditional meat burger would. Guilt-free and magnificent.
Huxtaburger Sondra, $12.90
Score: 9/10
We have Huxtaburger to thank for the burger tsunami that washed over Melbourne (and is yet to recede), and the Sondra smashes it. An excellent grilled-not-fried kale, zucchini and quinoa patty that has a touch of minty freshness to it elevates this burger to the top of the pack. Messily OTT with good hummus, sweet sliced beetroot and pickled onions for sharp crunch all combine in a bun I’d happily return for.
Queen B at Royal Stacks, $11.90
Score: 8.5/10
From Dandenong to Chongqing, Dani Zeini’s burgers have come a long way, the unapologetic aficionado of “old-school” burgers refining his vision of what makes a great burger over the past decade into the winners now served at Royal Stacks. And the Queen B is no exception, a nicely seasoned chickpea patty served with melted American cheese on a great old-school burger bun with fresh tomato, pickle and lettuce. Simple and super-tasty.
Hemp Therapea at Grill’d, $13.50
Score: 8/10
There’s so much to like about this vibrant new addition to the Grill’d line up: the fresh basil, the crunchy lettuce; the fat slices of beetroot, the zippy tzatziki. But best of all is the fabulously minty pea patty bolstered with hemp seeds and fava bean flour that’s the hero that hides between your choice of toasted bun. That it’s served on a plate is a nice touch that elevates the eating of this innovative – and delicious – burger.
Hudson Valley at New York Minute, $13.50
Score: 8/10
A nicely seasoned patty with carrot and potato in the mix has a satisfying crunch to the hot plate-seared outer. With chopped onion, tomato and beetroot, it’s like an old-school chipper burger elevated with great sweetish chutney. A vegan burger that’s very good, though would be great if the bun was toasted on hotplate rather than under the grill.
Beyond Meat original at Lord of Fries, $13
Score: 7.5/10
So, how does this revolutionary burger stack up? Can every cow around the world breathe a sigh of relief? Well, the patty certainly has a real minced beef texture with a satisfyingly firm bite. It doesn’t ‘bleed’ like a burger like it’s hyped to, but there’s a pink tinge to the grill-browned outer and the patty tastes remarkably like an old-school rissole. There’s a lot – too much – mustard and mayo, but the bun lasts to the last bite. It’s a pretty good approximation of a burger that’s 100 per cent plant - though in the ultimate irony for a vegan burger, the pickles are acrid and awful.
Mushroom at Burger Project, $11.90
Score: 7.5/10
Mushrooms have long been the stock-standard meat-substitute, but if anyone can turn fungi into funky it’s Neil Perry. At the Burger Project that means a thick puck that’s fat with juicy confit mushrooms, panko crumbed and fried to a crunch. A glossy toasted bun bookends it with double cheese, lettuce, onion and pickles rounding out the package. It’s very good, though more unidimensional that others. Mushroom fans will love.
Vegie Denise at Huxtaburger, $12.90
Score: 7.5/10
A take on the japaneno-hot Denise burger that swaps the beef for a black bean and quinoa patty that packs a spicy punch and has a great hot plate-grilled crunch. Just a small squirt of tomato sauce, mustard and sriracha-spiked mayo shows confidence in the patty holding firm and not drying out. Hot stuff.
Amazing Vegan Cheeseburger, at Grill’d, $13.50
Score: 7/10
While Lord of the Fries has Beyond Meat in its corner, Grill’d has come up with its version of the Impossible Burger, the other plant-based patty that’s taking the US by storm. The Grill’d take – made from pea protein and chickpeas – has the texture of mince but tastes less like meat than Beyond Meat. It’s a very brown patty that squishes out either side of the bun when bitten into. With a taste more nutty than meaty, amazing might be overselling it somewhat – the vegan cheese especially won’t fool anyone. More like the OK vegan cheeseburger.
Veggie Whopper at Hungry Jacks, $6.80
Score: 7/10
Boasting the same sugary toasted bun and mayo that’s the unmistakeable hallmark of a Whopper, the veggie version is, actually, surprisingly good. The patty is very tasty, with discernible veg – corn, carrot, pea – making it like a homely bubble and squeak. As smashable as any fast food burger but with less greasy guilt – though the same sodium thirst.
Veggie burger at Nandos, $9.95
Score: 6/10
Nandos has built a worldwide following for its Peri Peri sauce, so it’s little wonder it features so heavily on the veggie burger. Unfortunately it’s the overwhelming taste here, the steamed soft patty (peas, chickpeas, carrots) lacking any crunch, the big bun served cold, not toasted, the fresh avo and tomato not able to salvage an ultimately disappointing burger.
Mr Veg at Mr Burger, $11
Score: 5.5/10
While offering a burger featuring a falafel patty to Team Veg makesgreat sense on paper, there are so many good falafel joints in Melbourne on which to benchmark it means you’d want to get it right. Unfortunately this mealy, dry patty doesn’t stand up, tasting of little more than the oil it was fried in. Mayo makes up for moisture, the bun bottom disintegrating before the burger’s end. The addition of chips into the burger for an extra dollar, though, is a great touch.
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