[CharLac]

We're all so glad it wasn't your hemorrhoids that were operated on.

Bahahahahaha!

[eddie1960]

It's not that I have anything against vegetarian food. I don't particularly want to be completely vegetarian because I enjoy good meat (ethically raised and dispatched wherever possible), but if I were to go down that route, I'd have no problem with it. I frequently cook simple but tasty dishes with no meat in them - various vegetable and pulse curries, chow meins, pasta sauces, soups, dips etc. and I know there's a whole world of delicious vegetarian recipes I could learn to make. I spent a week in India on business, never ate meat once, and every dish I tried for breakfast, lunch and dinner was wonderful.

What bugs me - and I'm going to borrow a term from the snowflakes and social justice warriors here - is vegetarian / vegan "cultural appropriation" through the shaping and naming of vegetable-based dishes to mimic the original meat versions. Don't combine vegetables and other veggie ingredients into a puck and call it a "burger". It's not a burger, it's a vegetable patty, perfectly delicious and appetising as it is. Don't make a nut cutlet and shape it into the vague form a chicken leg. It's not a chicken leg, it's a nut cutlet. It too is delicious tastes OK. Shaping and/or naming the item as if to fool the senses into believing it's somehow just as good and more-or-less the same as a meat product is ridiculous and tragic, and it's not fooling anyone. Least of all me.

I'll be back shortly. I'm just off to punch a carrot....

I agree with that in general, in the case of a burger chain trying to promote some healthier options for their clients though I get it. most people won't even try them, though this campaign seems to have worked in that direction. however, I find the whole trying to replicate meat with tvp etc silly. my favourite vegetarian restaurant has all sorts of mock chicken this and that on menu smh - but as a restaurant, it dates back to a time when there were few vegetarians in the city ( i really only go to for Hot and Sour Soup - a normally pork filled dish but this one is so good ..)
meanwhile...I think tonight is my "healthy" Bacon and Egg salad night

---------- Post added 2nd Apr 2019 at 14:56 ----------

Don't forget the almond, soy, etc "milk"

Ugh I can't stand the nut water and soy water, but i don't drink cow milk either (I will use it to cook, and goat milk too ...but it is actual milk)

[normhead]

Funnily enough, A&W in Canada has had huge success with a vegetarian burger they developed, , they have rolled out a sausage patty variant now for breakfast sandwiches. I tried one of the burgers and it may be heresy but I think they nailed it...and if you like you can get it with bacon and cheese they also big-time stepped up beef quality and sourcing and have made a big deal of it including their grilling the beef, their advertising campaigns have been effective. Burger King on the other hand nukes their burgers that come pre-cooked bloody awful things
If i need to hit a fast food chain they are at the top of my list around here (fortunately there are lots of even better ethnic choices all over the city) - so I reserve it for car trips

the beyond meat burger

A&W | The Beyond Meat Burger - YouTube

I just became an A&W fan. for the first time since they had waitress on roller skates bringing your order to your car.

[eddie1960]

I just became an A&W fan. for the first time since they had waitress on roller skates bringing your order to your car.

the one they just opened by me even has the rootbeer in the glass mugs

[tim60]

Thanks, Tim, much appreciated. I'll look out for that when I visit the Chinatown supermarkets in Newcastle... Always nice to have a brand recommendation. And that's so cheap!!! 400g for £1.85?! My only concern would be getting it home... Takes about half an hourto get out of Newcastle and back to my place. I guess that shouldn't be a major problem, though...

It takes us half hour from Oxford, unless we stop at Summertown shops to buy other food in which case it is an hour.

From Reading it is more like hour and a half, unless we go to Costco, which would make it 2.5 hours.

[robtcorl]

I made a veggie "burger' once a few years back. The pics are gone from when I posted about it on the Weber forum, but not the description:

Mashed up some black-eyed from a can, and added onion sauteed in butter, panade (milk and bread), Montreal Steak Seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper, dash of salt, and ancho chile powder.

Jo Anne walked by and said "What are you concocting now?"
"You don't want to know" I replied.

Grilled it, put it on a bun, and added Sriracha mayo, and a sweet onion slice.
(resisted the urge for a slice or two of bacon)
Mac salad and pickles for sides.

Opinion?
"The thing was actually pretty darn good.
Similar to a tuna burger without the fish taste, or a hamburger without the beef taste.
Surprisingly, there was no 'black-eyed peas taste."

[BigMackCam]

I agree with that in general, in the case of a burger chain trying to promote some healthier options for their clients though I get it. most people won't even try them, though this campaign seems to have worked in that direction. however, I find the whole trying to replicate meat with tvp etc silly. my favourite vegetarian restaurant has all sorts of mock chicken this and that on menu smh - but as a restaurant, it dates back to a time when there were few vegetarians in the city ( i really only go to for Hot and Sour Soup - a normally pork filled dish but this one is so good ..)

In fairness, I get what they're trying to do, too. And maybe it doesn't bug me quite as much as I make out (methinks the lady doth protest too much ). But if they have a vegetable patty that tastes great, market it as "The Meat-Free Deluxe" or "Tasty Alternative"... OK, I'm no marketing genius, but there must be some other option than to call it a "burger". That's like me going to a Toyota dealership and buying a "Landcruiser Eco" to find it's actually a bicycle. No. No, no, no, no, NO.

Plus, I don't know how it is with Burger King, but (and I know you know this waaaaay better than I do), just because it's vegetarian doesn't mean it's healthier. It's all about the total ingredients, nutrients and all about balance in a diet, right? What other ingredients are in that veggie puck to make it taste so good? Fats? Salt? Preservatives? Emulsifiers? Colourings? So, if they're calling it a burger to get folks to try a healthy choice and it really is much healthier, I'll tone my ire down a notch (but just one). Otherwise, it's subterfuge.

meanwhile...I think tonight is my "healthy" Bacon and Egg salad night

Now, hearing that really made me feel better. I'll just go and apologise to that carrot...

Ugh I can't stand the nut water and soy water, but i don't drink cow milk either (I will use it to cook, and goat milk too ...but it is actual milk)

"Almond Drink"... "Soya Dairy Alternative"... that would be fine with me (at least in terms of naming, if not consuming). That would be honest. But "Almond Milk"?!". Again, misappropriation... and I want to know the health and environmental downsides, as well as the benefits... Otherwise, g'head and squeeze that cow!!

[tim60]

I agree with that in general, in the case of a burger chain trying to promote some healthier options for their clients though I get it. most people won't even try them, though this campaign seems to have worked in that direction. however, I find the whole trying to replicate meat with tvp etc silly. my favourite vegetarian restaurant has all sorts of mock chicken this and that on menu smh - but as a restaurant, it dates back to a time when there were few vegetarians in the city ( i really only go to for Hot and Sour Soup - a normally pork filled dish but this one is so good ..)
meanwhile...I think tonight is my "healthy" Bacon and Egg salad night

---------- Post added 2nd Apr 2019 at 14:56 ----------



Ugh I can't stand the nut water and soy water, but i don't drink cow milk either (I will use it to cook, and goat milk too ...but it is actual milk)

Hot and sour soup with pig blood jelly is really good. Better that black pudding and better than sundae, the Korean pig blood sausage. Pig blood jelly is, in my opinion, better than duck blood jelly.

[eddie1960]

In fairness, I get what they're trying to do, too. And maybe it doesn't bug me quite as much as I make out (methinks the lady doth protest too much ). But if they have a vegetable patty that tastes great, market it as "The Meat-Free Deluxe" or "Tasty Alternative"... OK, I'm no marketing genius, but there must be some other option than to call it a "burger". That's like me going to a Toyota dealership and buying a "Landcruiser Eco" to find it's actually a bicycle. No. No, no, no, no, NO.

Plus, I don't know how it is with Burger King, but (and I know you know this waaaaay better than I do), just because it's vegetarian doesn't mean it's healthier. It's all about the total ingredients, nutrients and all about balance in a diet, right? What other ingredients are in that veggie puck to make it taste so good? Fats? Salt? Preservatives? Emulsifiers? Colourings? So, if they're calling it a burger to get folks to try a healthy choice and it really is much healthier, I'll tone my ire down a notch (but just one). Otherwise, it's subterfuge.



Now, hearing that really made me feel better. I'll just go and apologise to that carrot...



"Almond Drink"... "Soya Dairy Alternative"... that would be fine with me (at least in terms of naming, if not consuming). That would be honest. But "Almond Milk"?!". Again, misappropriation... and I want to know the health and environmental downsides, as well as the benefits... Otherwise, g'head and squeeze that cow!!

well the "burger is A&W, burger kings i will reserve judgement but everything else i have had from them was mediocrity personified. ... A&W burger all told is 500 calories so it's not the diet option (the diet option is avoid fast food joints )

[robtcorl]

Apparently there's only one A&W left in the StL area.

In Missouri, you can't call it meat unless it is meat.
"Missouri is the first state in the country to enact a law that criminalizes certain uses of the word "meat."

The mandate, which came into effect on Tuesday, prohibits companies from "misrepresenting" products as meat if they are not from "harvested livestock or poultry." The measure was approved by the legislature in May and signed by former-Gov. Eric Greitens on June 1. Violators could be fined $1,000 and face imprisonment for a year, according to USA TODAY.

The initiative was backed by the state's pork producers, the Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Cattlemen's Association.
Missouri Becomes First State to Regulate the Word 'Meat' - EcoWatch

[BigMackCam]

It takes us half hour from Oxford, unless we stop at Summertown shops to buy other food in which case it is an hour.

From Reading it is more like hour and a half, unless we go to Costco, which would make it 2.5 hours.

Ah, great. I'm good to go, then.

I think I could get my Mum to try it, maybe in a chow mein or stir fry. Even my Dad is becoming more open-minded in what he'll eat since I came back home and started cooking for him. I think a stir fry might be the way to go... at least, to kick off

I made a veggie "burger' once a few years back. The pics are gone from when I posted about it on the Weber forum, but not the description:

Mashed up some black-eyed from a can, and added onion sauteed in butter, panade (milk and bread), Montreal Steak Seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper, dash of salt, and ancho chile powder.

Jo Anne walked by and said "What are you concocting now?"
"You don't want to know" I replied.

Grilled it, put it on a bun, and added Sriracha mayo, and a sweet onion slice.
(resisted the urge for a slice or two of bacon)
Mac salad and pickles for sides.

Opinion?
"The thing was actually pretty darn good.
Similar to a tuna burger without the fish taste, or a hamburger without the beef taste.
Surprisingly, there was no 'black-eyed peas taste."

That sounds great, Bob. I'd definitely try that, and I'd almost-certainly enjoy it... Not as a substitute for a meat burger, but as a dish in its own right.

Hot and sour soup with pig blood jelly is really good. Better that black pudding and better than sundae, the Korean pig blood sausage. Pig blood jelly is, in my opinion, better than duck blood jelly.

Pig blood jelly? Duck blood jelly? What is that? Do they add gelatine to the blood?

I love a good black pudding and other blood sausages... but never heard of those jellys. How do you add it to a recipe, and what effect does it have? Normally I eat black pudding as part of a breakfast or brunch with bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms, tomato etc. I've used it once in a thick soup recipe, and it worked quite well...

well the "burger is A&W, burger kings i will reserve judgement but everything else i have had from them was mediocrity personified. ... A&W burger all told is 500 calories so it's not the diet option (the diet option is avoid fast food joints )

Sorry, my mistake

The calorie count isn't so bad if you know about it, or if it's not an every-day thing. But... fats, salt, flavour enhancers, etc. ... ... Maybe it's all good, I don't know...

[Racer X 69]

I thought I'd feel better after that, but I don't. It went down with one swing... put up no resistance, then just lay there, looking back up at me accusingly

Well what do you expect from a vegetable that can’t hit you back?

Such a meanie!

[BigMackCam]

Well what do you expect from a vegetable that can’t hit you back?

Such a meanie!

Calling it a "vegetable" seems insulting and rude, Racer. It may be limited in its range of physical movement, perhaps, but I'm sure it has feelings like the rest of us

Anyway... all those vitamins, all that beta carotene... It's so much healthier than I am, I thought it would stand up for itself. It's definitely in better shape than I am...

[Racer X 69]

I just became an A&W fan. for the first time since they had waitress on roller skates bringing your order to your car.

If they still had the cuties on skates and the tray that hangs on the car window I might go now and then to get a Papa Burger with onion rings and a root beer float in one of those glass mugs.

[MarkJerling]

If they still had the cuties on skates and the tray that hangs on the car window I might go now and then to get a Papa Burger with onion rings and a root beer float in one of those glass mugs.

I still have the tray, but cuties on skates are in short supply. I'll see if I can convince Annie!