Smokey’s Spicy Bean Burger

April 6, 2016April 5, 2016 | Rhiannon

Recently, we were in Brighton for the day and decided to top it off with a veggie burger. There are a lot of great veggie and vegan options in this city – we’re planning a round-up sooner or later – so narrowing it down was tough. We eventually settled on Smokey’s, which is a bit of a weird one. It’s downstairs – we actually walked past it at first because we didn’t expect to be looking downwards to find it – and despite the American BBQ theme, actually looks more like a traditional English pub inside, albeit with Spanish-language film posters. It’s a strange vibe but quite a nice one, and we settled in well after walking through the rain to get there.

Smokey’s Bean Burger

We were served the “Spicy Bean Burger with salad and Monterey Jack cheese”, which comes in at £7.95 and includes your choice of two sides. We both went for the garlic mushrooms and sweet potato fries, which seemed the obvious choice. Now, value for money is always one of my points of assessment, and here you get it IN SPADES. The plate was huge. I couldn’t finish it all. Me. A food blogger and therefore big eater. Faced with three of my favourite foods of all time, I couldn’t finish it all. That is incredible value.

Smokey’s Bean Burger

Now, onto the burger itself. It was actually kind of an average burger – I definitely enjoyed it, though I wouldn’t say it was anything close to the best burger I’ve ever had. It had a light hint of spiciness but was overall a great bean and vegetable burger. The bread used was very tasty, there was just the right amount of salad (I even ate the gherkins – I’m growing up!), and the amount of food on the plate was amazing. The sweet potato fries were as delicious as they always should be. The mushrooms were a bit of a pleasant surprise as there were no breadcrumbs involved, but very rich and tasty mushrooms simply coated in a garlic sauce. I can say with 100% certainty that we will be eating there again if we get the chance.

Smokey’s Bean Burger

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 7/10

Price – 9/10

Rest of experience – 9/10

Vine Post: Thai Sweet Potato Soup

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016 | Rhiannon

This week we wanted to share something deceptively simple, delicious, and full of flavour. This Thai-inpsired soup is vegan-friendly and is so lovely you will want to make a little extra for the next day. We made a Vine of how it’s done – be aware that this recipe can take a little longer to prepare than most of our soups thanks to the inclusion of the sweet potato, but it’s totally worth it.

We adored this soup – it’s so simple and filling, and the texture is really interesting. That little Thai flavour makes it perfect for spice addicts without being too strong for those who prefer mild heat. Yum! Here’s the recipe so you can recreate it yourself.

Thai Sweet Potato Soup

2016-02-18 23:27:13

Serves 2

Sweet potato soup with a secret kick!

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

35 min

Total Time

45 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

35 min

Total Time

45 min

Ingredients

200g sweet potato, chopped up and peeled
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 tbsp Thai curry paste (check vegan/vegetarian as required)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
250ml vegetable stock
250ml coconut milk

Instructions

Heat oil in saucepan and add sweet potato and onion.
Cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes, until soft and starting to turn golden. Stir frequently.
Increase heat and add curry paste.
Stir-fry for five minutes until curry paste is cooking and fragrant.
Add stock and coconut milk.
Bring to a boil.
Add to blender and blend until somewhat smooth - the soft sweet potato should easily be reduced to tiny fragments.
Return soup to saucepan to heat through.
Serve hot!

Notes

Some brands of Thai curry paste will contain seafood, so be careful!

By VegBurge

Adapted from Easy Vegan

VegBurge https://vegburge.com/

February 3, 2016January 29, 2016 | Rhiannon

We’re currently trying to move house (hopefully we’ll have updates on that soon!) and the new place is going to be close by a Waitrose. Basically, this means new hunting grounds for veggie burgers! The first thing we’ve found is the interestingly named Indian spiced bhaji burger. It seems a bit like a contradiction in terms – how can a bhaji also be a burger? – so it was certainly worth a try.

First of all, I think it’s fair to say that these are definitely burgers. The name bhaji comes from the ingredients more than anything else, as to be honest they don’t actually taste or feel like bhajis at all. Maybe Waitrose are missing the point a bit with the name – it really should drop the bhaji and have the name curry burger or something similar. I’ve never understood why supermarkets will have misleading product names, as this doesn’t necessarily make it more appealing – what if you love burgers but hate bhajis? You would have missed out on this for no reason.

Anyway, after popping it in the oven we tried one each to see what they are like. They’re £2.39 for two, so really you have to hope for something quite special to justify spending £1.18 per burger – especially when competing supermarkets are likely to sell them at a lower price. I can certainly say they are very interesting, with good Indian flavours that have not been drowned out in the processing. It’s a good looking burger with bright colours, and you can both see and taste slices of carrot and peas in amongst the potatoes. It has a soft, squishy texture on the inside, which is an experience in itself. The exterior is a little more firm, but still soft to bite through.

The first thing you notice is the curry flavour, which is also mildly spicy. There’s actually no warning on this for the package, which might concern those who don’t like spice. It’s just an interesting combination overall, and though it would never replace a proper veggie burger for me, it’s good to have something different now and then.

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 7/10

Price – 4/10

Rest of experience – 7/10

Sainsbury’s Smoky Mexican Bean Burger

November 11, 2015January 3, 2016 | Rhiannon

This week we tried out the Sainsbury’s Smoky Mexican Bean Burger. This is something that sounds and looks quite generic, to be absolutely honest – how many Mexican bean burgers do you reckon I’ve eating in my life? It has got to be quite a high number, so something like this really has to stand out in order to impress me.

Sainsbury’s Smoky Mexican Bean Burger

To be honest, I’m not sure this one did. I’m already struggling to remember what it actually tasted like. We served it up as part of a Mexican style night, with sides of gooey spicy nacho cheese parcels and refried beans. We can’t go wrong with those two things as both J and I absolutely adore them, so the only thing the Mexican burger could really do was to mess it up. Thankfully, it didn’t.

Sainsbury’s Smoky Mexican Bean Burger

It tasted fine, just what I would expect from a burger of this style. The outside was crispy while the inside was a little softer, and crumbly. It was full of chunks of vegetables like sweetcorn, which is always a texture style I have enjoyed. It was smoky and only mildly spicy, and you could clearly taste the beans as well as some of the other ingredients. Anything more than that is almost beyond me to say – it really was quite unremarkable, if not unpleasant.

Sainsbury’s Smoky Mexican Bean Burger

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 7/10

Price – 6/10

Rest of experience – 6/10

Review: Linda McCartney’s Chana Masala Vegcakes

July 15, 2015January 3, 2016 | Rhiannon

I always like to try the new veggie burgers I see cropping up in the supermarket, and as this one has an Indian style flavour, I snapped it up immediately. J loves spicy food while I’m not as much of a fan, so we’re always trying to find something that has a nice balance. These burgers look interesting at least, with lots of seeds and different vegetables visible in the mix. I decided they would be perfect for an Indian-style wholemeal burger wrap, so that’s how I served them.

Linda McCartney chana masala vegcakes

First you take a wholemeal wrap, then you lay a vegcake on it. Cut it up into smaller strips or chunks, and push them all up on to one side of the wrap. Add raw red onion, fresh spinach, gruyere cheese, and a generous helping of mango chutney. Together with the burger, that makes for Indian wrap heaven!

Linda McCartney chana masala vegcakes

The vegcakes were milder than I expected them to be. At first there was almost no impact at all, though I did notice a stronger spice in the aftertaste. The texture was really interesting with solid chickpeas and peas, and the crunchy little seeds as well. That did make them a little bit more interesting to eat, though to be honest I was expecting more flavour. The chickpeas were as bland as they can be, and despite all the seeds and spices, most of it had little to no effect. In the end, I had to take a bit out of the wrap and eat it on its own to be sure that I really was tasting it right. The mango chutney was the strongest and best tasting element of the wrap, and without that, these would have been in danger of being bland and boring.

Linda McCartney chana masala vegcakes

I probably won’t be getting these again, particularly given the price for just two burgers. It’s another disappointing supermarket burger – something that I see all too much of.

On the VegBurge Scale, I give this…

Taste – 5/10

Price – 4/10

Rest of experience – 6/10

Brands Hatch Veggie Burgers

July 8, 2015January 3, 2016 | Rhiannon

So this week I’ll be reviewing something a little closer to home… I’ve volunteered at Brands Hatch since around 2006, and worked there since 2014. Somehow, however, I’ve never tried their veggie burgers. How is that possible?

Well, first of all, you can only get them at a couple of places. There’s the Grand Prix Terrace in the paddock area, which is only accessible to those with passes on big race weekends. For the rest of the time, you can get there simply by walking through the tunnel or from the lower paddock. The other fast food-style serving areas are not always open, particularly during the week, so the GPT is generally your best option.

The burger comes in a little fast food box, which was great for me as I had to grab one really quickly while I was working. I just had the barest amount of time to eat it before I had to run off again, so that’s why I only have a couple of images to show you. Inside the bun is a bit of cheese with a Mexican style burger, which is actually surprisingly spicy considering the context! I was pretty happy with it to be honest, for the fact that it did actually taste pretty good. It’s not necessarily what you expect from a fast serve counter, particularly not one which is set up in the middle of a busy event.

Brands Hatch Burger

They don’t generally have the burgers ready to buy because not many people ask for them, so you do have to wait for about five minutes for them to be cooked. Still, the turnaround time is pretty good, and you will be absolutely sure that the burger is fresh. It’s worth noting that they do not have the burger up on all of the menus, so you can ask if they have one available if you are not sure.

Other than that, it’s pretty much a simple fast food burger. The bun is good, soft and seeded, exactly what this kind of burger calls for. It’s a little greasy, and packs quite a punch. Otherwise, a simple and tasty choice.

Brands Hatch Burger

On the VegBurge Scale, I give this…

Taste – 7/10

Price – 5/10

Rest of experience – 8/10

The Big Easy – Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger

April 15, 2015January 3, 2016 | Rhiannon

The Big Easy in Covent Garden has an interesting look right from the entrance. A long corridor leads you into a bar area, where you can wait to be seated with a couple of drinks. The whole building feels a bit like a maze, with more seats around corners and a downstairs area too. The spicy black bean veggie burger is one of just a few vegetarian options. This is perhaps to be expected at a barbecue restaurant however! It costs £10.90, and is described in the menu as follows: “Avocado, Pickle and Chipotle Sour Cream”, “with fresh potato fries and ‘slaw and house pickles”.

The Big Easy

Costing almost as much as the burger was my fabulous hard shake, pictured above. This was the Sailor Strawberry Shortcake, and it was absolutely delicious. It contains Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Chase rhubarb liqueur, Becherovka bitters, milk, and strawberry ice cream. It is definitely recommended for those heading there on a late night! We actually came out of the theatre in to this meal, so it was a great end to the night. The cocktail barely even tasted like alcohol, so I imagine you could make your way through a few of these without really noticing it!

The Big Easy Veggie Burger

The burger itself was really good, much better than the description makes it sound. It was topped off with very spicy onions pickled in chilli vinegar, which were somewhat difficult to eat on their own. As a part of the whole, they blended in enough that it was manageable. It did detract from the overall flavour a little, but it was an interesting addition all the same. The buns were made of lovely thick bread, but I was still able to eat the whole thing by holding it in my hands. I didn’t need to cut it up, so it was sized just perfectly if you ask me! The burger itself had a soft but chewy, homemade texture, with lots of black beans giving quite an earthy taste. There was also plenty of salad and sauce included in the bun, though of course I discarded the tomato as always. It was finished off with some nice smooth avocado, the taste of which was mostly lost. However, the texture was fantastic against the burger.

The unfortunate side was that the chips were sub par, with a lot of crispy bits rather than full chips, which was disappointing. I also found the house slaw to be quite vinegary and peppery. I’m not really a fan of slaws normally. A lot of restaurants are adding their own versions now, but I don’t feel they add much. To be honest, I’m getting a little sick of always having it there. It’s definitely not my favourite side and it doesn’t always make sense with the flavours of the burger. In this case, I could have done without it. I also didn’t like the pickle, though I don’t like them in general so no surprise there.

The Big Easy Veggie Burger

The atmosphere in the restaurant is really nice. It’s quite dark, as you can probably tell from these images, but that just serves to make each booth feel intimate and private. There was great music with live blues being played somewhere – for the life of me I could not figure out where! We ended up right round a corner out of the way, so couldn’t see anything. It feels like a great place to be and to be “seen”, too. It was packed full even late in the evening, without any spare tables or room at the bar. You can tell that this is a very popular venue at the moment. That just adds to the atmosphere and makes you want to be there all the more.

The Big Easy Burger

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 8/10

Price – 6/10

Rest of experience – 8/10

The Big Easy Burger

Recipe: Mexican Veggie Burger

March 25, 2015June 3, 2015 | Rhiannon

I wanted to try a homemade Mexican veggie burger recipe, so I took a look around online and found my way to a post by Delicious. It looked good enough and seemed easy to make, so I decided to go for it. I did make a few tweaks to the recipe based on what I had in the cupboard and personal taste, so I will list my version of the recipe below.