Munchies Vegan Diner-Moved

Munchies Vegan Diner
515 N Main St
Santa Ana, CA 92701
657-699-3076

Yes, another Vegan Big Mac review!  I heard about Munchies Vegan Diner on Instagram.  I decided to give them a try during the Labor Day Weekend, after reading parking is hard to find at times.

It's located in McFadden's Public Market, along with four other food stands, and an arcade/bar upstairs.  Parking wasn't bad, paid street parking, but on a regular weekend, it would be tough to find.

Big Much, $17 with fries.

Munchies Vegan Diner calls their Big Mac the Big Munch.  They use the Beyond Burger patties.  This was a huge burger, good flavor, the pickles stood out the most, but their sauce was kind of bland.  Fries were ok.

Service is good.

I gotta say that the Vegan Big Mac at Doomies is still my favorite vegan Big Mac, with Plant Power being second! Munchies Vegan Diner is only the second place I've tried the Vegan Big Mac, where they use a plant based burger-either the Beyond or Impossible, Veggietize Me- Impossible, is the other. 

Beleaf Burgers-Closed

Beleaf Burgers
4024 Grand Ave
Chino, CA 91710
909-517-3907

Beleaf Burgers is in the Cravings building, that used to be a Food 4 Less.  They maybe the first vegan burger restaurant in Chino.  They use the Impossible burger.

Cravings is owned by 99 Ranch Market.  This building is split into two- a shopping area and a food court.  There are about 15 or so food stands.  But, everytime I've been there, it's not crowded at all.

Bedder Burger Classic Double-$12.75. Two impossible patties, lettuce, diced onions, pickles, carmelized onions, tomatoes, American cheese, on a toasted bun.

This was pretty good.  The burger was very hot, with the cheese nicely melted.  It was fine, but it really tasted like something anybody could make at home.  There was nothing

Service is good.  But, I called to ask where they are located, I didn't know they were inside Cravings, and they told me they were closer to a chain restaurant in the shopping center.  I tried looking around there, but couldn't find it.  So, I called again, and they finally told me it was inside Cravings.  They should have told me it was inside Cravings in the first place!

Anyways, there are better vegan burgers, including the chain, Fat Burger, so I won't be back to Beleaf! 

Honeybee Burger-Closed

Honeybee Burger
1820 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323-452-6500

I have reviewed many restaurants in Los Feliz including Rocco's Italian Market and Deli, House of Pies Restaurant & Bakery,  Palermo Ristorante Italiano , the now closed Tangier Korean BBQ of Tokyo, Little Dom's, Best Fish Taco in Ensenada, Ye Rustic Inn, Lucifers Pizza, 1739 Public House, the now closed Mexico City, Spitz, Cruzer Pizza, Anarbagh, and Fred's 62.

Honeybee opened about three weeks ago, it's right next door to the movie theater and a couple doors down from Fred's 62.  It's a small, brightly lit space with a counter space on the right and tables on the left hand side.

Queen Bee, $12.95- double pattie with both the Beyond and Impossible patties, with house sauce, house made onion jam, lettuce, tomato, a thin ribbon of onion, and Chef Jo’s house made pickles.

This was outstanding!!  Maybe the combination of the Beyond and Impossible burgers, made it the best vegan burger I've had!!  Good flavor and textures, fresh toppings.  A huge portion too.  Well worth the price.

Service is good.

I would go back to Honeybee anytime!  What a great vegan burger!

Veggietize Me

Veggietize Me
North Hollywood Vegan Street Fair

Veggietize Me is a vegan food truck that is always at the North Hollywood Vegan Street Fair.  The faire is located just west of the Chandler and  Lankershim.  There are about 30 food trucks at the faire.

V-Mac $14.95- two impossible burgers, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, tomato, on a sesame seed bun.

I've had three vegan Big Macs- Doomies, Plant Power, and Organix.  This is moved right to the top of the list of best vegan burgers I've had.  This was outstanding.  I liked the added touch of a fresh tomato.  Everything tasted just like you were eating at the restaurant started by Dick and Mac McDonald, then stolen by Ray Krap, I mean Kroc of Shit!

Service is good.  Veggietize Me runs promotions on their instagram account.  So, give them a follow.

I would go back to Veggietize Me anytime!

Burgerlords

Burgerlords
110 N Ave 56
Los Angeles, CA 90042

I went to Burgerlords in Chinatown, and while I wasn't really impressed with the vegan burger.  But, I went to their brand new location in Highland Park to try the pastrami tofu, as written by LA Eater.  But the pastrami tofu wasn't ready to be served to customers.  They said it's still being refined so they can sell it to the public.  So I decided to order the vegan tofu nuggets.

This location used to be the Good Girl Dinette, and Burgerlords opened on Saturday, March 16, 2019. 

 

Vegan tofu nuggets, $4.95.  This was great.  Very well seasoned tofu in a very crunchy batter, fried to a crunchy golden brown.  This was so good.  

Service is good.

I wasn't happy that the tofu pastrami wasn't on the menu, but the vegan tofu nuggets were great!!  I would go back to Burger Lords just for these nuggets!

Plant Power Fast Food

Plant Power Fast Food
450 W Stuart Ave Ste D 130
Redlands, CA 92374
909-406-1655

I had the vegan Big Mac from Doomie's Home Cookin', which was great, and Organix, which was only ok.  I heard about Plant Power Fast Food, a San Diego based plant based, fast food chain, that is just starting to expand.  There are a couple locations in San Diego and they will soon open in Long Beach.  This Redlands location opened in August of 2018. 

Vegan Big Mac-$8.95- two all vegan patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles on a sesame seed bun.  This was great!  The patties, I'm guessing a soy mix, was great-tasted just like beef.  The sauce, and cheese were spot on.  Good bun and fresh veggies.  Not only is this less expensive than the vegan Big Mac at Doomies-which does include fries, but at $18, it is much better tasting.

Service is good.

I would go back to Plant Power anytime!! I can't wait until they open in Long Beach, and hopefully they will open all over Los Angeles!

Monty’s Good Burger

Monty’s Good Burger
516 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90020
213-915-0257

Monty’s Good Burger, in Koreatown, has been open for about a month. A 100% plant based burger place, what basically is trying to be an In N Out.  The restaurant is small with a counter with about eight seats that faces the kitchen and another counter that runs along the wall.  There is a four seat table at the end of the counter.  There seems to always be a line, and you line up outside.  Helpful hint, when you're near the front door, be like the couple in the above picture.  They waited outside, not in the doorway, until they were able to move up.  Look, you stupid morons, nobody is going to cut in front of you.  But, people maybe coming out, and you're blocking the doorway.  Just wait outside, until there is room at the cashier.

Single burger, $11, impossible burger patty, follow your heart vegan cheese, house spread-a vegan thousand island dressing, lettuce, pickles, and grilled onions, on a potato bun.  Tots with vegan ranch dressing-$4.

This a a decent burger, but the impossible patty was overcooked, and charred. The bun is fine, but nothing special.  The veggies are fresh.  The house dressing is fine, though they could put more of it on the burger.

The tots were cooked perfectly!!  The vegan ranch is very good, a good spice and you won't miss regular ranch dressing.

Service is good.  The young lady taking my order was very nice and helpful.  My order came out quickly.  The interesting thing was, the owner or manager, was outside talking on the phone for almost the entire time I was waiting in line, maybe 20 minutes.  The workers were working really hard and I have no complaints.  But, even if he is the owner, it's bad form to just talk on the phone in front of your customers.  Go around the back.  You look like a lazy owner, who doesn't care.

I won't go back to Monty's.  Fat Burger sells the Impossible Burger for $9, and if you don't add the spread and cheese, it's vegan!  I think that's a better value than Monty's Burgers.

Rock House Sliders-Closed

Rock House Sliders
7950 W Sunset Blvd Ste 103
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323-952-6016

Rock House Sliders- RHS for short, opened up about two weeks ago in the space that used to be Luca on Sunset-which was a nice restaurant with a good vegetarian menu.

It's a big space with the right part of the building the kitchen and the order counter.  The left part has tables spread throughout. 

Veggie Burger-$4.89- Imposssible burger patty, lettuce pickles, and American cheese.  This is bigger than what most people would call a slider, but not as big as a regular sized burger.  It was fine, but for the portion and price, not a good value at all.  You can get a full sized Impossible burger at Fat Burger for about $10 and the portion would be double this.

Cheesy fries, $2.89.  The fries were cold, and the cheese sauce had a weird texture, as if too much flour was put into the roux, or at worse this is a powdered cheese sauce.

Service was ok.  The guy, who maybe the owner or manager was nice, helpful and friendly.  The cashier who was next to the guy, was just going through the motions.  Not friendly, not helpful-I asked if that Veggie burger was vegan.  She said yes.  I said what about the American cheese.  That's when the manager stepped in and told me they are working on a 100% vegan burger.  You get a pager and when it rings you pick up your food.  When I picked up my food nobody said thank you, or even acknowledged I was there.  Then there was a worker in the dining room and the entire time he was mopping the floor.  Must have been 45 minutes.  The room isn't that big.

Maybe they need time to work out the kinks, but this is a very pricey, small portion place and their claim to fame-being halal, isn't true for this franchise!  There is The Counter maybe 100 yards east and I doubt this was last too long.  But, I wish them the best.

Burger Parlor-Closed

Burger Parlor
149 N Glassell St
Orange, CA 92866
714-602-8220

Burger Parlor in just north of the Orange Circle, across the street from, the now closed-Beach Pitt BBQ, which is now another BBQ restaurant.  Burger Parlor started in Fullerton, a fast casual style restaurant.  The Orange location has a patio, as shown in the picture above.  The counter is in the middle part of the restaurant with the kitchen on the north side of the building.  It's a bright, open space with music blasting away.  Turn down the volume.

Old Fashioned-Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese / Roma Tomato / Lettuce / Red Onion / Pickles / House-made Ketchup & Mustard $9.39 with portobello mushroom instead of the beef pattie.  As you can see they didn't put the cheddar cheese.  This was a very salty burger, just a ton of salt on the portobello mushroom.  The bun didn't hold up well to all the toppings, everything sorta fell apart.  Not impressed at all.  I also ordered half onion rings and half fries, which I didn't take a picture.  The fries were so damn salty too!  The beer battered onion rings were soggy.  The oil wasn't hot enough when the onion rings were put into the fryer!

Service was good.  The people there, are nice and friendly.

I was disappointed in the burger at Burger Parlor!  I won't go back.

Fatburger-Closed

Fatburger
8790 Central Ave
Montclair, CA 91763
909-920-4417

Fatburger was a popular burger chain back in the 1980's.  After some ownership changes, including Magic Johnson, Fatburger is trying to make a comeback in a very crowded burger market.  Not only is iconic In N Out still the top burger chain in the LA area, but carpetbaggers like Five Guys, have come into the market.

I wanted to try Fatburger because they have the Impossible Burger!  I'm not a big fan of the Impossible Burger, mainly because of their false marketing that does not tell the consumer that it is a GMO product!!  I've tried the Impossible Burger at Umami in Anaheim, and Tony Dart's Away.  I wasn't overly impressed with the taste from either one, but like Tony's better.

Impossible burger, $8.99. All burgers at Fatburger come with mayo, lettuce, onions, relish, mustard, pickles, and tomatoes.  I asked for no onions.  The burgers are made to order, so expect a wait.  This was very good.  A no frills burger.  The pattie was a little too chard and salty, but otherwise a good way to make the impossible burger.

Service was good.

I would go back to Fatburger for the Impossible burger!  This is the best way a restaurant has made the Impossible burger!

Plan Check Kitchen & Bar-Closed

Plan Check Kitchen & Bar
1111 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-403-1616

So Discover LA listed 5 great veggie burgers in LA in 2017.  I tried two of them on the list-The Park and Burger Lords.  But, I've was really looking for to going to Plan Check and try their Double Up Veggie Burger, which seems to have jumped from a frequent blackboard special, to being on the regular menu.

Plan Check is located just west of the 110 freeway on Wilshire.  I figured parking would be bad, so I took the train and walked from 7th and Metro station to Plan Check.  It's a dark gloomy restaurant at night.  Very dim lights in the bar and seating areas.

Double Up Veggie Burger, $14. Veggie patties with portobello mushrooms, watercress, kale, garlic, cashews, yucca root, and breadcrumbs. Americanized dashi and Swiss cheeses, Crunchy battered onion strings, butter lettuce, and tomato mayo.  The patties were a disappointment.  I thought they would be nice and big from the picture from Discover LA.  But, they are small and the burger is small.  Decent flavor to the patties, but this was a pretty dry burger.  They need to add more tomato mayo.  The onion strings added nothing but bad flavor to this burger. This is not a vegan burger with the cheese and bread.  This was an overpriced, underwhelming burger!

Service from the bartender was good.  He was nice and friendly.  But, the general attitude of the other servers and hosts were snotty, pretentious, douchebags!

If you like gastropubs with pretentious douchebags, Plan Check is perfect for you.  I have no desire to return.

Cassell’s Hamburgers

Cassell’s Hamburgers
3600 W 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90020
213-387-5502

Cassell’s Hamburgers originally opened in 1948.  The original owners sold to restaurant to a Korean family that ran the restaurant like he did.  I went to the Cassell’s Hamburgers back in 2010.  That location closed in 2012.  The talk when it closed was that the owner of the Hotel Normandie was going to purchase the name and recipes, and reopen Cassell’s Hamburgers at the newly renovated Hotel Normandie within eight months of the old place closing.  Well, Cassell’s Hamburgers finally reopened at the Hotel Normandie in late 2014!  There are now plans to open a Cassell's in downtown LA.  The new Cassell's is located about a block from the terrible Pot Pizza Joint, which is another restaurant located in a hotel.

This is a huge corner unit location.  There is long counter/bar in the center and along one of the windows, and tables all over.  Tastefully decorated, it's much nicer than the old Cassell's.

Vegan burger, $10.99, house made farro, mushroom, zucchini, red onion, miso, and flax, with lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, and pickles.  Served with a choice of sauce-thousand island, blue cheese, mustardy mayo, ranch, house mayo, spicy mayo, BBQ sauce, or ketchup.

The vegan patty was so favorful, and tasty!  While I did put the house mayo, you really didn't need the mayo, it was moist and just full of flavor.  The bun and veggies were fresh.  A very good vegan/veggie burger.  I don't know if the bun is vegan. 

Service- Some good, some terrible.

Except for one thing, the guy who helped me was good.  He refilled drinks, and I was acknowledged and helped quickly.  I did not like the misinformation, or flat out lie, that the house mayo was vegan.  The menu says all the house sauces are made with organic eggs.  I'm not vegan, but there are some vegans, that would be very offended by the misinformation or flat out lie.

The girl, who maybe the hostess/server was terrible.  I walked up to her and asked, if I could sit at the counter.  She was so rude to provide an answer.

The way it's set up, first timers don't know whether to seat yourself or wait for a hostess.  I wasn't going to wait forever and nobody was near the front door.  That's why I went up to that girl.

I really liked the vegan burger and really want to go back for another burger.  But, the rudeness of the hostess/server and the wrong information or flat out lie about the mayo being vegan, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Organix-Closed

Organix
1731 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
323-254-0284

I have reviewed many restaurants on Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock; Cindy's, Eagle Rock Public House, CaCao Mexicatessen, Meea's, Larkin's, Brownstone Pizza, both of them are now closed, Oinkster, Colombo's, Casa Bianca, Blue Hen- which recently closed. When I heard that Organix had the Mac Daddy, a vegan Big Mac, just like Doomies Home Cookin, I decided to make a trip to Eagle Rock.

Organix is located across the street from Meea's and a couple doors east of, the now closed, Blue Hen, in a strip mall next to a Chinese restaurant restaurant. It's really a vegan grocery store, that has been opened for six years.  With Sprouts opening up about a mile away, I wonder how long the grocery store will stay open.  But, Organix has a good sized vegan menu.  There are vegan burgers, chicken, even fish, on the menu.  There menu also says no substitutions or modifications.  WTF is this?  The vegan version of that jerk Sang Yoon and his overrated Father's Office?

Mac Daddy, $11, a la carte, bean pattie, special sauce, lettuce, vegan cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun!  This was a very dry burger.  The patties were mushy, and just the wrong texture.  They have whole pieces of kidney beans in the patty.  Why they left whole kidney beans, instead of mixing them up, I have no idea.  While there was some vegan thousand island dressing, there wasn't enough.  While this burger is huge, the taste and quality of the burger isn't there.

Fries, $3, I'm guessing frozen fries, but good portion and taste.

Service was ok.  The guy at register just goes through the motions.  He's not friendly or personable.  He was on his phone most of the time I was there, only stopping to take my order and get my food.  

Shake Shack

Shake Shack
252 S Brand Blvd
Glendale, CA 91204
818-858-1612

Shake Shack is the the New York based burger chain, that has tried to make a dent into the stranglehold  In N Out has on burger lovers in Los Angeles.

The Glendale location is across the street from the ugly, fake Americana shopping complex.  It's a big restaurant with seating to the right as you walk in.  There are some tables outside too.

Shroom Burger, $6.99, Crisp-fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato, ShackSauce.

Crinkle cut fries-$2.99.

Since I don't eat meat, with the exception of the occasional fried chicken, I tried the shroom burger.  I wish it wasn't deep fried, because portobello mushroom burgers are great!! But, the portobello mushroom is stuffed with cheese and then deep fried.  It was good burger, but not great.  Certainly, not mind blowing.  Yes, I understand the pull for Shake Shack are the burgers with beef. I thought the ShackSauce was pretty good, a combination of ketchup and mayo.

The crinkle cut fries were very good. Nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Service was good.  But, the door you enter goes right into the line to order, and they have the lines sectioned off into two parts, but there are three cashiers.  Why not just have one line that is roped. I got into one section and the guy in front of me took forever to order.  The other section two or three people finished ordering before I even got to order.

I don't see what all the hype if about for Shake Shack.  It's ok, but I won't rush back!

Rounds Premium Burgers-Closed

Rounds Premium Burgers
46 N Lake Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
626-304-9810

Rounds Premium Burgers came onto the burger scene back in 2013, with locations in Claremont, which I went to but didn't do a review, and West Hollywood.  Soon after Pasadena and Sherman Oaks got a Rounds location.  Fast forward to 2017, and now only the Pasadena location is open.  David Allen made the Claremont Rounds a regular stop, so much so that he did a farwell story when the Claremont location closed back in May, 2017!

The Pasadena Rounds is located just south of the now close Avanti Cafe, which I loved!  It's a large restaurant with the counter to the right, and seating at the left in the front part of the room.  Then a huge back room with two TV's and then outdoor patio seating!

When I went to the Rounds in Claremont, you marked your order on paper slips, just like The Counter.  I guess they don't do that anymore.  Anyways. the basic burger, your choice of beef, turkey or a veggie patty, is $5.95.  They you add toppings including sauces, veggies and cheese.  You used to be able to choose what type of bun, regular, whole wheat, pretzel or lettuce; but other than the lettuce, I don't think you're able to choose your buns.

Or you can order a Premium Rounds burgers, which are burgers with topping combinations picked by Rounds.  The only thing with the premium burgers is they do not allow substitutions but you can take off any toppings you don't like.  Which makes no sense, because you can get the basic burger and add all the topping, except for the toppings you don't like, of the premium burger. For the consumer, ordering al carte would be more expensive. 

 Mucho Mushroom burger, $7.05-mushrooms, swiss cheese, and garlic aioli.  This veggie burger was very good.  A huge patty, with corn, red peppers, some kind of grain and very well seasoned.  The mushrooms were great and the swiss cheese added a creamy flavorful texture to the burger.  The bun is a nice brioche bun.  Using this burger as an example, if I ordered this al carte, it would be $5.95 + $1 for the mushrooms + 75 cents for cheese for a total of $7.70 before tax!

Service was good.  The young lady working was very nice and friendly!  More restaurants could use somebody like this young lady!  She was quick, yet efficient, and very friendly.  I seemed as though she was working with a newbie or somebody who had only been there for a short time, and that cashier was also very nice and friendly.  I didn't have any direct interaction with the other cashier, I just notice how friendly she was.

Rounds is so much better than The Counter.  But, Rounds clearly hasn't had success in the LA area with the other four locations now closed.  I would go back to Rounds and I hope they stay open!

The Morrison

The Morrison
3179 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-667-1839

The Morrison is across the street from Giamela's, an ok pizza place with terrible service the last time I went.  It's a huge gastropub with an L-shaped bar on the left and booths along the back wall.  There is a long community table that is as high as a bar, right in the middle of the room when you walk in.

It's a dark place with black paint normally.  The day I went they had Halloween decorations up, which made it even darker. 

Veggie sliders, $6, with grilled onions and tomatoes.  While the menu says it comes with home made BBQ sauce, there were no condiments on the burger. They give you a four condiment tray with ketchup, BBQ sauce, mustard and mayo.  So, you can out what you want, and as much as you want!

The veggie slider was just ok.  The patty is made with corn, beans, rice, cilantro, carrots, panko, oatmeal.  A good size and filling.  But, nothing great.  The veggie burger is regularly $13. I would not have been happy paying $13 for full veggie burger.  They have a portobello mushroom burger, also for $13, on their regular menu.  If I come back, I may give that a try!

Mac n cheese, $6, happy hour price, $9 regular price.  Macaroni, cream cheese, whole milk, butter, flour, Tapatio, jalapenos, garlic, shallots, and bread crumbs.

This was a huge dish, well worth the $6 happy hour price.  I didn't taste any of the Tapatio or jalapenos.  But, this was a great mac n cheese.  A very creamy cheese sauce, while a bit underseasoned, it was very good.  The mac n cheese was cooked perfectly.  I like spicy food but didn't taste any spice in this mac and cheese.  But, I really liked this mac and cheese.

Service was below average but friendly.  While everybody from the hostess to the server was nice, it was too slow.  I was seated quickly by the hostess.  A couple minutes later a host took my drink order.  Why they have 2-3 host/hostess is beyond me!  But, they were fine.  Then I wait, then wait, then wait, and wait some more.  Finally I see a third hostess and ask who is my server.  She goes gets the server and I place my order.  He comes back with my sliders and refills my drink.  A runner came by with the mac n cheese a few minutes later.  The server comes back once again to ask how everything was.  Then I ask for my check.  I must have waited another 5 minutes for the check.  Most of the tables were filled in the restaurant, but there were plenty of other servers.  I don't know why the service was so slow.  My entire time there would have been about 20 minutes less, if service wasn't so slow.

The mac n cheese was the highlight for me.  A great example of mac n cheese.  But, service was slow and the burgers, which they are known for, was just ok.  It maybe awhile before I go back!

Fusion Burgers-Closed

Fusion Burgers
5933 York Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90042
323-257-8705

Fusion Burgers is a small burger restaurant across the street from Maximiliano, which is still open.  There are about 10-12 tables and you get a view of the very busy York Blvd. 

Ahi Delight, $12.40.  Tuna patty, avocado spread, tartar sauce, ginger, carrot, pickles, and daikon sprouts.

This was a good burger, but the ginger doesn't work well with this burger.  The ahi was cooked to medium-rare and it was good, fresh tasting.  The avocado spread was nice and creamy.  The veggies were fresh.  But, the ginger just gave it a weird taste.  I would get this again, but without the ginger.

Service was good but off.  Our server was nice and friendly and we got our food quickly.  But, when we arrived there was nobody at the hostess stand and almost every table still had not been cleaned!  What was they doing?  It's a small enough restaurant that they couldn't be understaffed.  I went into the kitchen and a lady said she would be right there.  While we waited for somebody to help us, about 2-3 minutes, a lady having dinner with her kids told us, the service was very slow.  We didn't experience the slow service, but it didn't leave a good first impression when all the empty tables still hadn't been cleared and nobody was there to greet us.

I'm indifferent about going back to Fusion Burger.  The burgers are good, fairly priced, and we got good service.  But, we were the only ones in the restaurant.  If I went back during a busy time, service may not be as good. 

Burgerlords-Closed

Burgerlords
943 N Broadway Ste 102
Los Angeles, CA 90012
323-405-4012

Burgerlords was listed in the Top 9 best veggie burgers in LA by Discover LA.  I already tired and loved The Park's veggie burger, so I was looking forward to trying other veggie burgers.  But, when I read that Burgerlords is owned by the sons of the owner of Oinkster, I had some doubts.  Why? About 3-4 years ago I tried the veggie burger at Oinkster and found out it was a veggie patty they bought at a store!!  Not home made!  But, I was near Chinatown and figured I would give them a try.

Located a few feet east of the Bruce Lee statue, Burgerlords is trying to copy In N Out or trying to be the hipster In N Out.  The Chinatown location is a to go place, but there are a few tables.  I don't know who is responsible for cleaning the tables, but they needed a good cleaning.  So much trash on the ground nearby!  You would never see that at In N Out!

Fries, $2.25.  Their website says shoestring private reserve, Kennebec potatoes.  I have a feeling there are frozen.  But, they were cook very well and seasoned.  I liked the fries, and the portion size is huge!

Vegan cheeseburger, $6.50.  At least Burgerlords makes their own veggie patty!  From their website:"made fresh, in house everyday.  It consists of a custom blend of vegetables, grains & spices that includes nuts, gluten & soy. "  I could taste and see barley, roasted mushrooms, eggplant, leeks, chickpeas, and cashews as Discover LA mentioned.  This burger is very dry and flavorless.  I wasn't impressed.  Maybe if there were more of the vegan thousand island dressing.  Hell, maybe just some salt and pepper.  I wasn't impressed and thought the $6.50 price tag is way too high!

Service was fine.  They were nice and the food came out quickly.

But, just as I was finishing my meal, I noticed they put this sign up in the window.  WTF is that?  What business worth a damn does that?  There were three people working.  Unless there is an emergency, then there is no reason to close the restaurant!   There were at least six people waiting while this sign was up.  I don't think this burger is worth the wait!

I wouldn't go back to Burgerlords again!  If douchebag hipsters want to spend $6.50 for a veggie or beef burger, basically 50% higher than a double-double at In N Out be my guest.  I'm not going back to Burgerlords!

Umami Burger - Anaheim- Closed

Umami Burger
338 S Anaheim Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92805
714-991-8626

I recently found out about the Impossible Burger, a 100% plant based burger that is suppose to taste just like beef, and it bleeds too!  I guess after a ton of research and money spent to finding a plant based burger that tastes like meat, the Impossible people found that heme is the key ingredient for the burger.  In the back of my mind, I'm thinking this is engineered food, you know the GMO's that has every company putting Non GMO on their labels.  Something that came out of a science lab! 

Now, I'm not a fan of fake meats!  I'll try it but if I wanted to eat meat I would just eat meat.  I understand some restaurants are trying to attract people who maybe trying to eat healthy or if they are a vegetarian restaurant they will want to offer something to appeal to the meat eater in the group. 

I've tried the veggie burger made with mushrooms and edamame patty, at the Umami in Costa Mesa and it was terrible. I noticed that they have replaced that veggie burger with a falafel veggie burger. Umami burgers are not vegetarian or vegan.  They use a fish sauce in all their burgers, thus making it pescatarian.  I have heard they use that fish sauce in the ketchup, but I can't confirm that.  The bun contains eggs, which would prevent vegans from eating.  They do not have diary-free cheese. But, they can make a vegan Impossible Burger.

Impossible burger $16, two Impossible Burger patties, caramelized onions, American cheese, miso-mustard, house spread, dill pickles, lettuce, tomato.  The patties did taste a lot like beef, but there was a weird texture to the patty.  A bit chewy and even if I didn't know this was a plant-based burger before, the first bite would have told me it wasn't a meat burger.  It's ok, nothing great and I certainly don't think it's worth the price.

Service is ok.The hostess was nice, but when I walked in there were plenty of tables open but she went off to set up table and didn't come back for a few minutes.  Then a guy, who turned out to be my server, asked how many, and I was seated right away.  WTF was that hostess doing??  The server was nice, friendly, knowledgeable about the mean, and really helpful.  When I ordered the Impossible Burger, he told me it is not vegetarian or vegan.  Since, I'm pescatarian, I was fine with that.  But, many servers have no idea about the menu.  That's very poor training on the part of the management!  Have the chefs tell the servers what is in the dishes!  I don't care if the servers don't remember all the ingredients, and they need a "cheat sheet," just give me the damn correct information.

I only went to Umami to try the Impossible Burger.  I won't return to either Umami or give the Impossible Burger another try.