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The journey of a thousand miles begins with...the perfect pair of shoes.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

In search of the perfect (veggie) burger

You may or may not know this about me, but I don't eat beef or pork. It icks me out. Sadly, the last real hamburger I ever ate was from Hardees. I was 12. The year was...a long time ago. For some reason something about that last burger just put me off meat and while it bothers some people (Mr. HH being first and foremost among these, though I have no idea why), I've never looked back. I do eat veggie burgers and find them delicious. I'm not a fan of the Boca brand, as I think they taste weird (a bit metallic IMO), but I really like MorningStar Farms. In fact, I like most MorningStar Farm products. Even Mr. HH likes the riblettes. Indy will eat pretty much anything, so he's on board with whatever I put in front of him.
Many restaurants now offer a veggie burger, usually either Boca or MorningStar Farms. Indy and I went to McDonalds for lunch today and they now carry a veggie burger. Yay for me! It looked different in the ginormous photo than what I'm used to seeing, but for €1,10 (about $1.30) what did I really have to lose? I ordered Indy a cheese burger Happy Meal and a chicken burger (not really a chicken burger, just a small chicken patty on a bun) without sauce and myself a veggie burger ohne (without) mayonnaise. I loath mayonnaise and do not understand the European obsession with it. When you order fries in Europe, they ask if you want ketchup or mayo for them. Ewwwwwww! Anyway, we sat down and tucked in. The veggie burger was...not quite what I expected. When I think veggie burger, I think of something brown made from veggies, soy and stuff and resembles a typical beef burger. Sounds reasonable, right? Yeah, not so much in Germany. When they say veggie burger, they literally mean veggies. There were red peppers (slightly spicy), green peppers, carrots, corn and what I'm pretty sure was zucchini, all held together with some sort of...glue like substance that I think was corn meal, but I'm not sure. It was surprisingly good, but tasted nothing like what I thought it would. The texture was unexpected, as were the large chunks of vegetables, but overall, something I would eat again and was happy to have as an alternative to salads. BTW, you can see the veggie burger here.

Oh, here's a weird thing about McDonald's in Germany. You can't order cheese on anything unless it's an option (ie. burger or cheese burger). Indy likes cheese on his chicken sandwiches, but they will not put it on there. When I asked why, the cashier looked at me like I'd lost my mind and said "Because it's not an option on that." Well, that explains it. Or not. I mean how hard is it to slap a piece of cheese (which they HAVE) onto a chicken burger? So, maybe there's no button on the register, but why can't they charge for 2 extra ketchup packets and call it a day? That's another thing, you get once packet of ketchup with a menu meal or Happy Meal. If you just order fries or want an extra packet, they charge you for it. €0.25 per packet. Madness!

14 comments:

These Are The Days said...

I like Boca the best...grilled, w/ cheese and BBQ sauce. Cool beans, I'll have to check out McDonalds new veggie burger.

Formerly known as Frau said...

I like veggies burgers but that just look wrong. I have issues with the meat in Germany it taste off to me and I selectively eat it. I hate how they but mayo on everything it's so gross...and no mayo some how they don't understand.

Anne said...

Mayo on Pommes is gross. I've never understood why people do that to their French fries. And I am German....I love reading your blog though. It is always funny to read how others see your own culture, and a lot of things you've written about Germany are super funny to me. I guess I am going through similar experiences here in the US now, as an outsider looking in. Limitless refills and all the condiments I want? Heaven! Although I still don't think I can handle that kind of freedom....;o)
PS: There is a lot of Mayo overload here in the US too. Macaroni salad tastes like someone took a jar of Miracle Whip and dumped a few noodles into it. Disgusting! lol

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

I love veggie burgers. Laughing over your German McDonalds experience. European McDonalds are always sort of a culture shock, I think. I never could get over how we couldn't get ice. I LOVE ice in my drinks....

satakieli said...

Mayo on fries! YUM. Only on the skinny french fry kind though. I like being able to get mayo with my fries without being looked at weird.

I don't like mayo on anything else though, blergh.

Anonymous said...

One specialty in Berlin is Fries red-white which means ketchup AND mayonnaise. However I prefer my fries just without anything...
I'll have to try the veggie burger, it doesn't look bad. So far, I've only had Burger King's veggie burger and that's really yummy...

Kimberly Wright said...

I am a fairly new Seventh Day Adventist (not a good one, okay!) Anyway I have found that those old ladies in the church make the best Veggie Burgers ever. If you are looking for a homemade recipe maybe I could get you a couple to try.

Anonymous said...

I've come across both styles of veggie burger over 10+ years of not eating meat, both veggies in a binder as you see here and more clearly imitations of beef burgers as Morningstar and Boca both do. I like both in different circumstances. I would actually do something quite extreme to get Morningstar products here in the UK, as I miss them substantially, especially the bacon strips and the buffalo wings. I agree that Morningstar products are far superior to Boca.

Linda said...

In France with fries they always give you one packet of mayo, one of ketchup. I always have to explain that I'm an American and I need much more ketchup. They usually act like the ketchup is coming out of their salaries. My daughter likes Ranch Dressing with fries and just about anything else.

Elisa @ Globetrotting in Heels said...

I know, that's the annoying thing about McDonalds in Switzerland too. What a big deal.

Now, veggie burgers: I actually like veggie burgers to be... you know, made out of veggies. Sometimes grains or beans, too. But I don't like them to contain soy, because it's usually the processed variety. You can, however, make your own veggie burgers with tofu, veggies sauteed in a little olive oil and spices and some brown rice and egg for binding. Yum.

instant student said...

I have to admit I like the McDonalds veggie burger.
And it must have good stuff in it since it costs more than the normal hamburger and cheeseburger. :)

Rita Templeton said...

Ahh! I'm so glad I found your blog - I'm your newest follower (okay, well, unless someone else follows you immediately). My husband was in the AF and we spent three years at Ramstein, so I can totally relate to the European obsession with mayo. Ew.

And though I am technically a carnivore, I do love me some Morningstar Farms products. I think their breakfast links are my absolute favorite. Mmmm ... :)

KimAustin said...

I like the German ketchup, it is not as sweet as American ketchup. I also, unfortunately,was very fond of the pommes-frites! hahaha

Anonymous said...

Hello to you all,

I write a vegetarian cookingbook wich I want to call, veggie on high heels
Can everybody give there thoughts about this titel please?
Mail me at miriambee@hotmail.com

thank you so much,
Miriam
Holland

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