Where’s the beef? Not at Benny’s Burgers

Ben O’Toole and Morgan Zwicker are challenging the idea that there’s no such thing as vegan comfort food. Later this week, they’ll start slinging all sorts of tasty creations at Benny’s Burgers.

“We realized there’s a lack of vegan street food in Halifax,” says O’Toole. He adds that there are some great “clean eating” and raw options out there, that’s not always what people are looking for—particularly if they’re hungover.

O’Toole has had an interest in cooking since he was a kid, and he’s held a couple different jobs in the food industry. He already owns one food truck, Benny’s Ice Cream, which he started six years ago. That’s where he initially hired Zwicker. O’Toole ‘s starting to roll out vegan options through that business as well.

“People around here actually do want this stuff, but you don’t really know it because you just see meat everywhere,” says Zwicker.

Benny’s Burgers will soon be hitting up the corner of Spring Garden Road and Grafton Street, featuring burgers topped with hummus, guacamole or even pineapple. The Elvis is Zwicker’s personal favourite menu item.

“It’s a burger with peanut butter, jam, coconut bacon and dried banana pieces,” he says. “It’s kind of sweet but it also has a savoury crunch from the bacon at the same time.”

Is it enough to change the minds of local carnivores? We’ll see.

The patties are gluten free and vegetable-based, with different types of protein such as soy and pea protein. There are gluten-free options for the buns as well.

“When you eat this burger, we don’t want you to know it’s a veggie burger. It tastes really similar to a typical burger. We’re trying to bridge that gap.”

A post shared by Benny’s Burgers (@bennys.burgers.hfx) on May 13, 2017 at 5:30pm PDT

This article appears in May 11-17, 2017.