Boon Burger Cafe is Vegan-Licious!

I was so excited when I first read in the Winnipeg Free Press that the city was going to get its first all veggie burger joint! 

Love, love, love! An all vegetarian burger cafe and apparently Canada's first! I'm not even a vegetarian/vegan but I love this place! Boon hasn't been open for more than a month and I've dined there four times already. So yes, I've tried nearly all the items on their menu. I love eating red meat as much as the next person but I think even a carnivore would like this place.

Boon Burger is located in the former "Common Ground" location on Sherbrook Street.  It's a small beautifully decorated restaurant. The exterior of the little house is painted dark charcoal gray while the interior has 2 big communal tables to dine at. Yes, you'll have to sit with strangers as there are no individual tables, unless you snag one of the tiny tables outside in front of the cafe.There's even a bike-thru window on the side - how cute is that! You order and pay first, then they'll give you an toy animal identifier and bring the food to your table (like the ram that's featured in the picture above).

This isn't your typical burger joint as they don't even own a deep fryer or a microwave. I love that everything is made from scratch with a lot of organic products. And for those who are so inclined, all burgers can be made vegan. There are 9 burgers to choose from, ranging from $5.50-$7.50, and you can add a small soup, salad or fries for an extra $3. All the burgers come with a small dill pickle and a raw veg garnish. The home made whole grain bun is absolutely delicious - soft yet retained the integrity of the burger till the last bite. It doesn't taste "coarse" or "grainy" for those who normally eat white bread and are afraid of whole grain products. :-)

They make the most absolutely addictive homemade organic ice tea around! I love how refreshing this tea is and the delicious flavours. It's made with loose leaf tea and sweetened with cane sugar so it's nothing like those terribly sweet ice teas you get from other places. There's a different flavour daily - my favourite has been the green tea mango and just plain mango ice tea. I wasn't a fan of the strawberry and mint flavour as the minty freshness reminded me of toothpaste. There's also fruit lassi, and organic fair trade coffee. No coke or pepsi for you (at least I didn't spot any). 

I tried the "Euro cheese burger" ($6.75) - grilled mushroom-rice patty, mayo, dijon, swiss cheese, onion, lettuce and tomato (pic below). A delicious "basic" veggie burger that would please any palate. I loved my euro cheeseburger! The patty is so delicious, you won't miss the meat. I would have preferred cheddar cheese since Swiss is not as cheesy as good ol' cheddar. This is a good first try at Boon if you're not sure of what to order. 

The "Buddha Burger" ($7) has a curried chickpea patty, mayo, yogurt-cucumber sauce, peach chutney, cucumber, lettuce and tomato (pic below). Now this is the burger to get if you love chickpeas. I liked the buddha burger but I found the chickpea patty to be quite overwhelming because it was really thick and chickpeas are so filling. I can't finish a whole buddha burger so it's great for those who are really hungry! It had a great curry flavour to it although I don't recall tasting the peach chutney. 

Another favourite, is the "Salsa Burger" ($7.25), mushroom-rice patty, salsa, avocado, Swiss cheese, red onion and lettuce. Yummy mellow flavours! I'd love this burger more if they would add some spicy kick to this burger!

The "Greek Burger" ($7.25) has a breaded patty; it has black olive tapenade, feta, red onion, lettuce and cucumbers. Personally, I'd skip the tapenade as olives aren't my fav but otherwise, this burger screams Greek! The "Thanksgiving Burger" ($7.50) is another cute themed burger with a breaded rice patty mixture topped with yams, cranberry sauce, gravy, and crispy onion. A sweeter tasting burger than the others but definitely an interesting one.

They recently started serving daily special burgers. Yesterday I tried a potato and onion patty with mango chutney, peas, yams - I'd love to call this the "Bombay Burger" if I could name it but there was no name to speak of. I liked the potato and onion patty as it the burger tasted like a samosa. It's definitely another filling burger. I hope they make this one more often!

Now onto the sides! Let's say this cafe becomes even more successful than they already are, I think they should open up a spin-off sister restaurant that serves only vegan soups. Seriously. I love a good home made soup but it's hard to find one ever since Soup Pierre closed. Typically, I don't love pulses...you know, lentils, chickpeas, black beans etc. So a soup with with those items would normally turn me off but the soups here are AMAZING (and they happen to be vegan too - shocking)! Small soup $5.50 (12 oz), large $6.50 (16 oz). I've had the lentil soup, green pea soup and the Thai lemongrass soup and they are all equally yummy. The layers of flavours and hours of simmering really add so much depth to these soups.

The Boon house salad ($5.95 small, $7.75 large) is a mixed green salad, sunflower seeds served with a garlicky house dressing. The salad isn't that unique compared to other places but a good healthy side instead of fries.

The fries here are made from fresh local potatoes, tossed in extra virgin olive oil with salt, pepper and sesame seeds and baked, not fried! The flavour is delicious - I didn't even use any ketchup! Their fries have been a work in progress as it was quite limp on my first visit. I think they're baking them longer now so the texture is pretty good now. Really, you won't miss the deep fried stuff and will be happy to think about the calories you saved! You can even "poutinize" your burger with a side of delicious vegan poutine or order them separately. Although ordering the poutine as a side to your burger is cheaper than ordering it separately. Small poutine $5.95, large $7.50. Yes, you heard it, vegan poutine. It's made with baked sesame fries, vegan cheese and vegan gravy - it is absolutely heavenly. Vegan cheese is a bit blander than dairy cheese but the texture and meltabilty works in this dish.

I suggest the "super supper platter" for $13.95 - it's a great deal where you can try a lot of things and can be a light meal to share with another person. It includes one burger of your choice, side of salad, small fries w/ gravy and a small soup.

This place has been consistently busy since they opened. They have even closed down for a few days to catch up on prep work and train new staff because of the raging popularity of this place. Orders take about 15-20 minutes depending on how busy they are. 

For those of you who are questioning the validity of an all veggie burger joint - go check it out and expand your palate to new horizons. It's worth a try.
 

Boon Burger Cafe

79 Sherbrook Street

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Tel: 204.415.1391

www.boonburger.ca

Closed Monday
Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 10 pm
Sunday 11 am to 4 pm