#9 - Burger Heaven - UES - 2.5 out of 5

Burger Heaven

1534 3rd Ave, New York 10028

• (Btwn 86th & 87th St)

• Burgers, Diners & Coffee Shops

Veggie Burger - $7.50

I've been curious about this place for awhile. I mean, Burger Heaven is a pretty promising name, even to the non-beef burger eating individual. You would think if burgers are their thing, they would also master the veggie burger, kind of like Joy Burger or the Good Burger.

On the outside, this place looks pretty dumpy which is one of the reasons I haven't rushed to eat there. However, today I decided to go with the name instead of my perceived idea of what the inside looks like.

Before actually eating my burger I made two discoveries. The first is that after reading the menu, I have basically found yet another UES diner. Their selection of burgers is no greater than any other diner and reviews don't indicate them to be any better either. I was still determined to give it a shot. I ordered on seamless for pickup. When I walked in, I was surprised to see that it is actually pretty cute inside, especially in comparison to the other diners in the neighborhood. It's also very clean, or seemingly so.

Ok, now for the veggie burger. It was served on a whole wheat bun that was mysteriously soggy. It came with lettuce and tomato. I've taken a stand to not order cheese on my veggie burgers anymore because it really shouldn't be necessary. I think it may have been at this place. The patty was good, though much like many of the other diner veggie burgers I've had. It had lots of identifiable veggies like corn, peas, and soy beans. I think they could benefit from blending the ingredients more. The patty had some good taste, though nothing that stands out.

All in all, basic, nothing exciting to report on though nothing horrible either. I can't speak for the beef burgers, but based on the veggie burger experience, I think the name "Burger Heaven" might be a bit presumptuous of them.

#8 - Wrap Star - UES - 4.5 out of 5

Wrap Star
1315 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10021

(Btwn 80th & 71st St)
Sandwiches
Veggie Burger - $6.95

My leg still hurts. So, I'm being a lazy ass, trying the R.I.C.E.VBD strategy- Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, Veggie Burger Delivery.

Where to go? I did the find-a-food search on Menu Pages for veggie burgers in the Upper East Side. There were a lot. I weeded out the diners, bars, and got down to more vegetarian places or sandwich shops. I came to Wrap Star. I've seen this pop up on Seamless and Menu Pages but always ignored it. I think because I hate the name. It could also be because there is a place I've walked by in the 70's that spell the word "wrap" wrong on their sign. They had "wrapp". I knew I would never eat there and for some reason thought that was Wrap Star. Fortunately for them (and it turns out me), I realized I was confused. The place I was thinking of is on 3rd Ave.

So, I went to Seamless Web, which by the way, is the greatest invention ever and has made me become a person that will no longer order from a place that I have to actually call. Fortunately, those places are becoming fewer and fewer. Anyway, Wrap Star had a veggie burger wrap and sweet potato fries (the latter becoming almost as important for me to try now as the former). So, that's what I got. A half hour later, I was forced out of my RICE position to answer the door and get my VB. It looked good from the getgo.

It was in a wheat wrap (I was given the choice of 3 kinds). It was held together nice, nothing is worse than a wrap that falls apart. Ok, there are many things worse, like war and oil leaks, but it still sucks! The wrap had pickles, lettuce, and tomato in it. I was concerned there was no sauce and I wasn't going to be able to open it up and put some on without failing in getting it closed again. Turns out, it didn't need any sauce. The burger itself was very flavorful. I am not certain what it was, but there was a great mix of veggies: zucchini, carrots, corn, potatoes, and more. I really want to say it had TVP (textured vegetable protein) in it as it's binder, but I'm not really sure. Whatever it was, it was great. It had a really good consistency, and the potatoes were a nice addition to the mix. The whole sandwich together was really good too.

All in all, I learned an important lesson today. Don't judge a restaurant by the lameless of it's name. I guess that means I will be eating at Yummy Sushi at some point afterall.

P.S. the sweet potato fries were AWESOME!!!

#7 - 3 Guys - UES - 2.5 out of 5

3 Guys Restaurant
1232 Madison Ave, New York 10128
(Btwn 88th & 89th St)
Multiple other locations around the city
Diners & Coffee Shops
Veggie Burger - $7.75

When your office is located on 89th and Madison, it's best to bring your own lunch. Otherwise, you only have a few options close-by, all of which will leave you feeling broke and unsatisfied.

Friday I had a lunch date planned with my coworker Britney. I had told her I needed to stay pretty close because I had pulled a muscle the night before and could barely walk. It was very true, but add in the severe hangover and I was even more useless. She suggested Corner Bakery (not on a corner) or 3 Guys Restaurant, but it's really a diner. I said 3 Guys. I have a moral opposition to eating at Corner, mainly because they need to get over themselves with their prices and figure out what the deal with their scale is for the frozen yogurt. It NEVER makes sense!

Anyway, at 3 guys I so badly wanted a grilled cheese and french fries, i.e., my hangover favorite. However, after looking around this dumpy oh-so-typical UES diner, I knew I'd never be back, so therefore I HAD to get the veggie burger.

Not much to tell here. It wasn't good, it wasn't bad. It just was. It was BIG, I'll give it that. And sometimes size does really matter, especially when you're not offered anything else with it for $7.75. Standard bun--fresh, and standard concoction of burger--veggies & bread crumbs. I enjoyed it, but if I ever did go back to 3 Guys, I wouldn't order it again. Fortunately they have 10 other pages of menu options to chose from.

#6 - Pita Grill - Multiple Locations - 2 out of 5

Pita Grill
1570 1st Ave, New York 10028
(Btwn 81st & 82nd St)
Multiple Locations
Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Health Food
Veggie Burger - $8.25

First off, this is the most expensive of the veggie burger I've tried for this blog, and it's the worst. So, let that be a lesson to all of us!

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that my veggie burger came in a pita pocket. It is, after-all, the Pita Grill. It was not only a pita, but a chincy white flour pita that fell apart every time you touched it. If it was one of those awesome flatbread pitas, I probably would have given this a much better rating. The pita pocket had lettuce and tomato sticking out the top, at first I didn't even think there was veggie burger inside. There was. It was a patty that looked like it got ran over.

The patty itself wasn't bad, it was veggie-based. Zucchini, carrots, corn and I believe a lot of breadcrumbs. It was decent, but the whole package wasn't, and it was messy to eat.

I had ordered sweet potato fries as well, which were $4.25 (Pita Grill needs to get over themselves with their pricing). Anyway, when I got my burger and fries, I also got this unidentifiable cup of some deep orange colored sauce. It was very watery and had no distinguishable taste. I have no idea what it was and if it was meant for the burger or the fries. It wasn't really useful for either.

If you do ever got to the Pita Grill, try the goat cheese salad. That is delicious and probably more of their forte.

And I just realized that I've once again forgotten to take pictures!

#5 - Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop - Lower East Side - 2.5 out of 5

Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop
129 Rivington St, New York 10002
(At Norfolk St)
Sandwiches
Veggie Burger - $7.50

So, this place is two blocks from my old apartment. I love it. Next to veggie burgers, sandwiches are my favorite food and for vegetarians, there aren't enough places that make creative veggie sandwiches. Tiny's does. In addition, they have this gigantic menu that caters to meat eaters and vegetarians equally.

I normally order the vegetarian Spicy Rizzak from there. I first ordered it because it is named after my brother and friends old band. I continued ordering it because it is freaken' amazing. But, that's not what I'm here to write about. I'm here to talk about the veggie burger. Up until last night, I had never had a Tiny's veggie burger. I've got to say, I wasn't impressed, which was quite surprising to me.

The burger is called the "Big Mack Daddy". It's a soy-based veggie burger topped with mild cheddar, tofu bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mustard, and special sauce. It's served on a brioche bun. So, for starters, mustard on a burger? Isn't that a no-no in the city? I thought that was just for upstaters. It was yellow mustard too, and way too much of it! The cheese was weird, I couldn't tell if it was soy cheese or regular. And that tofu bacon I think is the same treat I used to give my dog, but packaged under the name, "beggin' strips." She loved 'em, me, not so much.

I am beginning to realize that my enjoyment of soy burgers is declining. This was a very dry soy burger, pretty much just like the vegan Boca but thicker. Fortunately, there was so much else on this concoction, I was able to ignore the blandness of the actual burger patty.

Overall, it wasn't horrible, but they were trying too hard to be the exact vegetarian replica for the bacon cheeseburger. It didn't work for me, though I ate the whole thing so it wouldn't be right to put anything less than a 2.5.

I will definitely hit up Tiny's many more times, just not for the veggie burger.

#4 - Shake Shack - Multiple Locations - NO RATING

Shake Shack
154 E 86th St, New York 10128
(Btwn Lexington & 3rd Ave)
Multiple other locations around the city
Burgers, Hot Dogs, Desserts
Veggie Burger - $6.75

I've always heard Shake Shack this, Shake Shack that. As somebody who doesn't eat burgers, I paid no mind. I read what their "veggie burger" was and thought it sounded kind of gross, and it was definitely not worthy of standing in line for an hour or so.

Recently they opened a Shake Shack in my neighborhood. I still didn't really care. The one day I was walking home from work and passed the Shake Shack. It was 6:00- there was no line. Next thing you know, I'm ordering. It was like I blacked out for a moment and woke up to utter the words, "one shroom burger, please."

I brought it home and dove in. It was a standard size bun with this deep fried oval thing as it's filling. I wanted so bad to hate it. Then I took a bite. Wow! Cheese was dripping out the sides and the mixture of bread, cheese, and the crunchy fried patty was delicious. It reminded me of one of my favorite college hangover cures - grilled cheese with onion rings inside (I never wonder why I gained 20lbs in college).

The burger is actually a crisp-fried portobello filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato and shacksauce. Really, it is so fried it could be anything, I never once tasted mushroom, but who cares, it was delicious.

So, I didn't hate it, but I got it out of my system. To me, it's not really a veggie burger, not in the way I'm looking for. So, I'm not going to rate it officially, but I will say, Shake Shack-1, Ally-0.

#3 - Energy Kitchen - Multiple Locations - 4 out of 5

Energy Kitchen
1628 2nd Ave, New York 10028
(Btwn 84th & 85th St)
Multiple other locations around the city
Health Food, Smoothies/Juice Bar, Sandwiches
Veggie Burger - $6.99 (occasionally have $5 burger months)

I have tried a lot of things on the menu at this place. Most are good though I wasn't crazy about the smoothies. Anyway, I've eaten this veggie burger many times, so I think that says it all. I love it. It's served on a delicious whole wheat roll that is always fresh. The veggie patty is made from soy, onions, carrots, zucchini, corn, peppers and it is served with lettuce and tomato. It's fairly mushy at times, but not falling apart the way so many do. Overall, it's a really great burger and designed as a fast food (healthy though) place so it's quick and good to take out.

I am not sure why I am only giving this a 4 when I have said nothing but good things, I am not sure what will get a 5 yet. I think it's consistently great, but doesn't blow me away or maybe I just need to continue my search to find out. Who knows, maybe after I try enough, I'll go back and adjust my previous ratings. Maybe there is no such thing as getting "blown away" by a veggie burger. We'll see!

Oh, and pictures to come soon. I usually only remember by the last bite, but I'll try harder next time!