Beyond Meat? Have we come that far? The appeal of the Beyond Burger is beyond me.
- At July 9, 2016
- By megan
- In beets, Burgers, veggie patties, whole foods
0
When our local Whole Foods ripped out it’s prepared foods counter to install a Beyond Meat Burger Bar, Sean and I took a look at these veggie patties and decided to pick some up for our July fourth BBQ. Would we buy them again? No. Not a chance.
These pea protein burgers are in the freezer section, and they look very much like ground beef. Once you get through the packaging, they’re VERY similar in appearance to beef.
They’re juicy, unlike any other veggie patty I’ve seen. Beet juice makes them red, and it allows them to “bleed” when you bite into them. That’s where this company lost me as a potential consumer/customer. I enjoy veggie patties that function like a burger in the sense that they stick together and can be on a bun with toppings. If I wanted the meat-eating experience, I’d eat a real burger. But, we gave them a try…
We thawed them and followed grilling instructions. These patties have coconut oil, which makes the grill flare up as soon as they go on. Personally, I’m not on the coconut oil bandwagon and don’t easily succumb to food trends, so, though it’s smart to add it for the grilling experience, it’s a bit gimmicky to me. The chicken sausage from Whole Foods on the right of the grill was my dinner for the night, by the way.
The Beyond Burger grills up to really look like a burger.
Chef dressed one up with all of the Sir Kensington’s condiments we had in the house as well as some romaine, blue cheese, and caramelized onions. It looks like a burger, kind of tastes like a burger, but isn’t a burger. It’s a highly processed food item designed to look like one of the “sexiest” things you can indulge in. A Hamburger. So, this is where they’ve completely lost me. Why do we Americans need to create food items that resemble things we enjoy eating, but make them “healthy” by making them vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, or paleo? I’m going to stick to a balanced diet of mostly vegetables with an occasional indulgence in meat, seafood, chicken, or turkey. And, chef and I will continue to make home-made veggie patties when we’re feeling like a burger at home.
Beyond Meat has “chicken” strips, tenders, burgers, and crumbled “beef” all made of veggie protein. While I agree whole-heartedly that we should consume fewer animals and animal products, I don’t think that needs to be highly processed, packaged, and made to resemble the animal protein we’re eliminating or cutting back on for the time being. Why can’t a vegetarian stir fry have just veggies and rice in some amazing spice or sauce? Why does it need to include a fake piece of chicken that looks and almost tastes like chicken? Just as weaning your way off of sugar and chocolate bars will eventually cut your sugar addiction, eating more of and enjoying more whole foods based meals will change your eating habits and preferences. Give it a try. I dare you.
The Burger Stand at the Taos Ale House
- At February 13, 2015
- By megan
- In beer, Burgers, Restaurant Review
- 0
As the website says, The Burger Stand at the Taos Ale House is a brewpub with a diverse selection of small batch handcrafted beer and eclectic and delicious burgers. It’s a great place for burgers and beer in a town that pretty much closes up shop at 5 or 6 pm. There are few places in Taos that are, in the opinion of A Bolder Table, worth frequenting, and the Ale House is one of them.
We ordered a couple pints of locally brewed New Mexican beers, and then went to the burger Stand counter to order burgers off of a nicely varied menu. There’s something for everyone here.
While we waited, we perused the extensive condiment selection. They have at least a dozen sauces and accouterments to add to your burger, which got us pretty excited for our meal.
We had to try the green chili and cheese fries, and honestly, it’s the only thing we had that was disappointing. The green chili was good, but the fries were obviously pre-made and packaged, not hand cut as I had anticipated, and the cheese sauce tasted processed. So, those are my gripes. Moving on…
The Quinoa and Arugula salad was good and the dressing on the side as well.
My burger was great. Sean ordered one of their veggie burger options, but I neglected to get a photo. It’s always nice when places make veggie burgers in house, and The Burger Stand goes above and beyond by making two completely different veggie patties. I went with a turkey burger version of the Fire Burger, topped with avocado and habañero cactus jam. It was delicious, especially after a full day crushing the steep slopes at Taos Ski Valley.
We really liked this place, and went back the next night for a beer before heading out to dine at The Love Apple.
Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers
- At September 28, 2010
- By megan
- In black beans, Burgers, Ollin Farms, sweet potato
- 0
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 can black beans- rinsed, drained, somewhat smashed with your hands
- 1 cup finely grated yam/sweet potato
- 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp Spanish sweet paprika
- 1 egg, beaten
- pinch of sea salt
- ground black pepper
Turkey Burger
- At July 17, 2010
- By megan
- In Burgers, Hazel Dell, Mushrooms, Sandwich, turkey
- 0
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 1 small chopped onion
- some scallions, sliced
- 1 TB Worcestershire
- 1 TB olive oil
- some Urfa pepper flakes from Savory Spice Shop (use red pepper flakes if you don’t have the kind I used)
- a splash of Harry’s Habanero, from the Boulder Hot Sauce Company
- 3 TB of crumbled feta
Let’s get Social