Davis’s Great Burger Battle Is Over – What Now?

Would you like to see G Street Wunderbar offer this burger again?

The great COOL Cuisine Burger Battle is over, and by all accounts it was a grand success, both in terms of number of burger consumed and people's delight in the various burger offerings. But what's next for Davis's vegan food scene?  Surely there is more to come from COOL Cuisine, once founder Anya McCann recovers from the herculean effort it took to pull this off. 

In the meantime, though, is there anything that you and I can do?  Yes, I believe there is.  But before we get to that, let's review.

I previously wrote about my experiences partway through the Burger Battle month, having tried four of the burger entries.  After writing that article, my partner and I tried the G Street Wunderbar (aka Smokin' Ewe BBQ) quinoa and portobello burger, as well as the Beyond Burger from de Veres's and the Impossible Burger from Bistro 33.

We loved the Wunderbar burger.  It was hearty, tasty, and filling, and was nicely topped with vegetables, as you can see in the picture at the beginning of this post.  And with quinoa and portobello as the main ingredients, you know that you're getting a good amount of protein.

We were less excited by the Impossible and Beyond burgers, not because the restaurants didn't do a good job with them (they did), but because we definitely prefer the burgers that aren't trying to be like meat.  Apparently, though, most Davisites don't agree with us, with the Impossible Burger judged "most popular" and the Beyond Burger having the most sold (follow link to see all the burger awards).  So, yes, variety is the spice of life, to each their own burger, etc., etc.  It was nice that we had so many options.

In case you didn't get a chance to try the Beyond or Impossible burgers and are curious, I can report the results of our extremely scientific side-by-side taste test: We both thought that the Impossible Burger looked and tasted more like meat than the Beyond Burger.  So if that is what you're going for, then that is what I'd recommend.  But again, that's not to say that the Beyond Burger didn't have its charms, especially when it was dressed nicely the way that de Vere's did it.

The month ended with us having tried seven burgers, but also wondering, "how can we get these great burgers again?"  We spoke with the Davis Food Co-op.  They are considering offering their Pakora burger, judged "Most Unique" and "Most Popular by the Veg Community," on a regular basis.  We also spoke with G Street Wunderbar.  They are, for now, still offering their quinoa and portobello burger (awarded "Best Tasting Chef-Created Burger Patty") and considering keeping it on as a regular menu item.

So, Davisites, your path is clear.  If you liked these burgers and would like to eat them on the regular basis, please let our food purveyors know.  Our burger futures are in our hands.  Let's see if we can make Davis a beacon of burger variety!