I appreciate the fact that a lot of restaurants offer vegetarian- and vegan-friendly options in downtown Halifax, so me and my father can have a meal together, as we did today. What I did not appreciate is when I got my veggie burger, it was a disgusting frozen block of mashed-up vegetables that I recognized instantly as that really cheap brand that you only buy if you are pinching pennies from any large grocery chain…served with packets of mustard and relish.
You created five different types of meat hamburgers, including a signature “original” one. is it really that hard for your chefs to come up with their own veggie burger? Being veg does NOT mean my standard of taste is lowered. —The Fries Were OK
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2010.
And being Vegetarian/Vegan does NOT mean you get to have an extravagent out of this world meal at EVERY restaurant. You choose the lifestyle, you get the crap that comes along with it. If you want a quality vegan/vegetarian meal, go to one of the many places around Halifax/Dartmouth that specialize in those types of food.
Holy Fuck….why do vegitarians insist on having burgers???? Seriously, order a salad or a veggie stir fry or, or, or anything else and leave the burgers to the meat eaters!
bet you wished you ordered that all beef double patty burger, oozing with grease and cheese, topped with lettuce tomato and strips of bacon…..mmmmm bacon.
I see a need… now how to fill it…
I bet beans would make a mashy paste like hamburg… to make it taste like a burger…
hmmmm….
I’ll get back to you.
Terek’s has an amazing veggie burger! Oddly enough, so does Harvey’s.
zZz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_gluten_…)
jeez that’s a fucking shock a douche bar that doesn’t offer cutting edge vegan fare; what is the culinary world coming to:)
oh NW, where’s the fun in that… I want those Veggie-ites farting all the way home.
then they become part of the global warming problem….
not to mention the wheat gluten route doesn’t seem to be working for these people.
they need change.
I’ve eaten beans from the phillipines that simulated meat well enough…. I think it can be done. just have to get it to taste burger-ish when grilled.
steak spice may help…. and bbq sauce mixed right in the patty.
I make a wicked homemade veggie burger that exceeds anything on the market by far. It’s really not that difficult!!! I agree with the OP. If these chefs can create original and signature meat patties their expertise should lend itself to veggie patties as well. I am not a chef and I figured it out, including various fusion inspired patties.
Why do non-vegetarians persist in thinking that patties are solely their domain? I don’t get why a vegetarian eating a vegetable pattie is such a big deal to non-vegetarians. It’s such a non-issue!
I don’t get why vegetarians want to eat something that looks like meat …but isn’t…..WTF?
Shit, I went to this vegan restaurant and they only served 1 kind of burger, a lousy angus steak one with bacon and chesse, yet when I glanced over at the next table, they were chowing down on grass burgers, cigarette end burgers, dog turd burgers, bus pass burgers, hurlburt burgers – life is so unfair.
and it’s my Father and I – I could be wrong because I only made it to grade 9.
actually president’s choice 7 thing burger isn’t half bad; i used it in my bistro; brushed it w/ garlici infused ev oil and char. broiled it voila $9/w sweet pot frites 🙂
I only eat veggie burgers because meat makes me sick – literally.
So HaliwoodGirl, you eat veggie burgers because you wish you could eat meat but can’t?? That makes sense….now what about the people who hate meat but want to eat something that looks like meat…..I just don’t get it!
all meat? wow, I don’t think I could take that.
even tuna? shark? duck? boar? llama?
mmmm, wild boar and llama pepperoni…..
you don’t know what you’re missing.
Proud member of PETA – People Eating Tasty Animals. By the way, anyone try the Halifax Explosion burger. That’s one yummy cow!
let’s face it most “vegetarians” are posers that are dealing with other issues and need something to blame their misery on and red meat/things with faces etc. are a fairly low cost avoidance to the real problems which are not cheap and not easy
All meat. I only eat chicken and turkey. I can’t eat seafood/fish, dairy, pork or red meat 🙁
martym: I can only assume you’re kidding.
We all deserve to eat food that we choose for whatever reason we choose, that’s healthy and tasty.
so you’re restricted to poultry… pheasant, duck and ….pigeon!
they can be some variety for ya.
duck’s yummy and goes well with orange sauces.
don’t eat the bum chickens though… get actual, raised pigeon to eat.
I’ve never had any of those, actually. Just chicken and turkey. You’d be surprised how many ways you can cook those 2 things. Especially, with ground chicken and turkey. It’s just really hard to eat out when you take dairy, red meat, pork and seafood out of the equation.
no i’m not kidding at all i didn’t have the time nor the motivation to offer anything cutting edge to the oh 2 % of my small town upscale meat and potato eating types; why would i spend money on dishes that wouldn’t sell ; wouldn’t be even acknowledge by 98% of my cliental; actually the aforementioned “dish” went over extremely well and never had any neg. feed back
The fries were probably good because they were fried in oil that had plenty of meat fried in it – (wings, pepperoni) – and I bet your veggie burger was fried on the grill with all the other regular meat.
no dairy either?!?!?! oh vey…..
eggs?
I REALLY feel for ya. someone needs a pill that can cure the meateosis travesty occurring here. I can’t describe how good my first piece of swordfish was….
oooo,. salivating just thinking about it.
seriously though, Duck is SO juicy… a very oily bird.
if ever you want a treat, go for duck.
I’m with Never Wrong on this one. Why do vegetarians expect a restaurant to always have a vegan/vegetarian options?
Apparently, even when they do, it’s not enough. Go to the Wooden Monkey, for fuck sakes.
I can eat eggs 🙂 haha
oh geez… thank high-flying spaghetti monster on that one…
nothing like dunking the old toast into over-easy to wake up the day.
Indeedy doo!
zZz: “No yolks?! But that’s the part that’s the baby bird! That’s the part I want to eat!!” – Red Foreman.
Dr Fever: Restaurants are required to have a vegetarian option (which most salads meet) on their menu. I just find it ridiculous that people think that every restaurant should cater to every type of diet. You don’t go to a steak house looking for a great Mu Goo Gai Pan. You don’t go to a fast food joint looking for a top notch Brioche. Why would you go to a mid-level (albeit totally fuckin awesome) pub expecting to find a great veggie/vegan meal?
Hear, Hear NW!
Veggie lovers who insist on their right to have burgers, Hotdogs, bacon, peperoni etc, made completely out of chickpeas & tofu other vegetable matter & then complain that meat eaters aren’t doing a good enough job when they make it, cause me so much laughter, rip roaring sidespliting laughing enjoyment at your complaints…you all probably should be paid by me, for how much I enjoy how funny you dipsticks really are !
You want to eat veggies baby ?
Then order the stirfried veg, the salad & fuck off why we meat eaters enjoy a great burger or other tasty piece of the carcass .
Wheewww, I had to stop & wipe the tears out of my eyes I’m laughing so hard.
Your not much of a vegetarian if you can’t find anything else to eat but ‘mock’ meat…do yourself a favor & sometime EAT THE REAL THING !
Thanks for the info NW, wasn’t aware of that. But really, you’re right.
OK….this is just a special person making a big deal about nothing.
First of all, vegewhatever or not, if you have a bad meal somewhere….do like I do…..DON’T GO BACK!!!
Secondly, if the place you are eating at also serves meat, do you really think they have a separate grill for your foofoo burger? You’re getting at best some beef fat and little bits of meat in those veggies bud.
If you want a veggie burger, go to a place that makes good ones. Good lord man…..would you order Chinese food in a Greek restaurant?
should have had a v8.
i’m a healthy coaster.
Guess what lorilulu? You don’t have to get it. Why is it so important to you? It’s laughable that non-vegetarians need to even care about vegetarian choices.
Try *arryl’s. Unless something has changed, their veggie burger is awesome.
What’s laughable is that you want mashed up veggies and tofu to look like a hunk of meat so that you can pretend you’re eating a burger when…..you’re not!
NW, exactly where does it say that restaurants have to have a vegetarian option? MMMMMM tasty animals and chicken embryos. Now I be hungry.
Carry your own slab of tofu and order a bun.
Last time that I was at the keg, a girl at the next table over made a stink because the only vegetarian option they had was salad. DUDE, you’re at a steakhouse. Duh.
Shouldn’t that be “dudette”? Just askin’.
lorilu, putting yummy stuff between two slabs of bread with condiments is hardly a new concept, and meat eaters don’t have the patent on ground up stuff formed into patties and fried. Ever had falafel? I’d wager that veggie-based patties have been around as long, or longer than meat versions, so get over it. Nobody’s “pretending” to do anything, they’re simply eating food they enjoy.
In any case, I don’t see why once again this has to turn into an attack on vegetarians. The OP wasn’t bemoaning the lack of vegetarian options, they were complaining because they ordered (and paid for) food that tasted like shit. Regardless of whether you eat meat or don’t, if you order an item that is on a restaurant’s menu, you have a reasonable expectation that it be edible. If it winds up being garbage, you have a right to bitch. Case closed.
mmm falafels…tareks tomorrow
Mmmmmmmmm…falafels, paingirl…mmmmmmmmmm.
Toronto’s former rock bar The Gasworks’ kitchen used to make a mean shawarma…it was almost worth becoming an omnivore again for!
Thank you meOw, for stating so effectively what was on the tip of my vegetarian tongue.
the gasworks!!! ever go the el mocombo…george brown drinking hole. it’s gone now
not hard to make, throw a bunch of shit into blender or processer, turn on, stop after a few seconds, grab and shape into patty, and then sautee or fry it, viola, veggie burger.
to all the females(or males) that don’t like the taste of meat, so what happens when you give your other half a blow job. hmmmmm.
paingirl: I lovvved The ElMo! Also The ‘Run-down’, ah I mean The Rondun, The Old Brass Rail before it became a peeler palace, and Larry’s Hideaway. Lotsa good rock bars in the big smoke years ago.
the young station; the bam boo ; the edgerton hotel; the picadilly tube; the crash and burn;the knob hill;twilight zone;etc etc sorry yonge station
Thanks martym for reminding me that it was Yonge Station back then. I should know! I used to sling beer there. LOL!
No comment here . I am strictly a vagitarian .
no effing way you perhaps served me a famous 25 cent 7 oz. draught that i drank once or twice back in the day:)
edgertons/the edge…ate their breakies and listened to bad punk bands warmup….that was funny hog
i saw nina hagen at larry’s hideway many moons ago
If it makes you feel better, there are varying levels of quality carnivorous fare around the city too.
actually U2 played there first show at the edge (ironic yes) ’80 i think
no shit, the bear left the elmo just before the stones played their impromptu gig
How does grinding up meat and shaping it into patty bare any resemblance to said animal it was made from? I suppose if you grew up only knowing that the patty shape was meant for meat burgers then I’d say you’d need to get out and explore the world a little. Small minded comments I’d say. I am always a tad taken back when I read the constant vegetarian ‘bashing’ that goes on in these posts. Out with Gay bashing and in with Vegetarian bashing!
MeOw, you’re awesome!