Despite my porky name when I travel I am a food hunter so when I heard there was a vegan burger joint in Winnipeg I had to go.
Boon Burger has been around for a while and there are a couple of locations in Winnipeg. I asked the staff about the regulars, I mean are there that many vegans in Winnipeg?
I could see it in Toronto or Vancouver but does Winnipeg have a huge vegan population?
It doesn’t.
Most of the people who visit Boon Burger aren’t even vegetarian. They just like the food and it happens to be vegan.
Cailin and I went for lunch and decided to try a bit of everything and while I can recommend Boon Burger there are some things you should know.
Boon Burger The Good
The house Boon Burger with a grilled mushroom-rice patty, mayo, Dijon, red pepper peach chutney, red onion, sliced cucumber, tomato & lettuce is really good.
I also really liked the Bombay Talkie Burger has a grilled black bean patty, boon spread, roasted red peppers, sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, house dressing, red onion and lettuce.
In fact I would call these two great.
The Bad
The bacun. I don’t know why people try to make fake meat. It doesn’t taste like bacon and it wasn’t needed on the Bombay Talkie Burger as there are so many other sauces.
If you are going to eat vegan just let go of the idea of eating meat. It is NEVER good.
We also had a hot dog wrap. I will admit the hot dog did taste like hot dog but why put it in a wrap. It was strange and after I took one bite I only had one more to confirm it was not worth eating.
The Ugly
The poutine and I blame it all on vegan cheese. To be fair they did warn me that the Daiya shredded vegan cheese they usually use was not delivered so they had to grate their own.
Big mistake.
I have had fake cheese made from crushed cashew and it’s pretty good. But there is something about soy cheese – oh wait I know what it is – it is disgusting.
The cheese smelled and tasted like my wet wooly socks after I have worn them all day.
Verdict: Boon Burger is fantastic as long as you do not try to go down the fake pork or cheese route. Get the Bombay Talkie and thank me later.
Disclosure: I was a guest of Tourism Winnipeg, they did not request that I write a favourable review or have such a lengthy conversation with Boon Burger staff about the disgusting soy cheese, which prompted them to give me a free soy ice cream.
Love your honest review. Before our travels my husband and I never thought out vegan or vegetarian places but somehow we really came to like them in Thailand 🙂
As much as I like bacon I really do enjoy meatless meals too. I don’t think we need to have meat at every meal so it’s nice to find a place where you don’t miss it.
I love vegan and vegetarian burgers like black bean patties, but I am with you on fake bacon and soy cheese. Disgusting.
Fake burgers, especially if they are black bean, are definitely okay. Fake cheese and bacon are a no go.
The house burger presents itself well and red pepper peach chutney sounds like an exotically delicious creation.
They make some really great sauce, and when can you go wrong with a good chutney?
Although I’m not a vegetarian, I love a good black bean burger (but not the frozen patties they sell at the store).
I feel the same way. I never miss the meat.
Aynge, I love you forever for doing a post on a vegan burger joint. <3 I will definitely visit this place when I make it up there one day.
I think vegans/vegetarians eat fake meat not because they can't let go of the whole meat thing but because with certain foods it's more a texture that they miss. That's my thing anyway. 😛 If fake meat's *too* realistic, I hate it. I like mine to taste fake, fake, fake. Hahaha.
I like veggie burgers but the bacon and cheese wasn’t even close and was actually so gross.
To be fair the guy told me that they usually use shredded Daiya cheese but they didnt have it so they had to shred it themselves. He swore the shredded was better on the poutine.
I remember hearing about Boon Burger on tv, and it looked like a pretty interesting place. I love good food, whether it’s vegan or vegetarian or not, but I try to stay away from the fake meat. It never tastes like the real thing, and it’s usually made from soy which I can’t handle. That Bombay Talkie burger sounds pretty delicious though.
You should definitely go, the place is packed with meat eaters which is a very good sign.
I also stay away from soy, ad overly processed foods which is why the cheese and bacon also kind of repulse me.
I live for places like this! If only Vero Beach had a vegan joint. I’m jealous even though your “bacon” was under par.
Hey you are on a beach, I wouldn’t complain too much!
I’m always on the lookout for great vegan/veggie burger and have had some fantastic ones here in the Bay Area.
Unfortunately, everytime I had it with vegan cheese, it tends to ruin the experience (it just doesn’t melt/taste/look right).
That’s why I don’t think I’ll ever be a vegan.
I try to eat vegan one day of the week and I have to say the biggest struggle is cheese. If I don’t eat meat in something I want cheese to replace.
So, only few are to eat there!!! Although i’m not vegetarian anymore these days but i’d prefer veg veg. 🙂
So many meat eaters were there, it is really that good.
Thanks for sharing.
I love discovering new and interesting places to eat when I travel.
I do as well.
The burger at least looks good, I’d definitely be keen on trying it out.
I would definitely eat it again. Well worth it.
Mmmmm. Smelly foot poutine. 🙂
I also enjoy eating at vegetarian places, even though I love the taste of a freshly butchered pig too. But I understand why vegans want to make fake meat — because deep down they really miss it!
Well they say most vegetarians break because of bacon…
I disagree about fake meat never being good. There is a huge market all over the world for fake meat. There are various reasons people enjoy it, probably the main reason is that it tastes good and adds variety to vegan meals. Newly turned vegans may miss the taste of meat, but do not want to contribute to the meat trade.
I’m glad you enjoyed part of your meal and hope you don’t give up on vegan / vegetarian restaurants altogether.
Okay maybe it’s just that I have never had any good processed, fake meat before.
I exclude veggie burgers if they are made from scratch as they are good. The frozen ones in stores are not.
Ha! I feel the same way about fake meat. In Thailand I’ve eaten fake shrimp and real looking seafood that’s actually vegan – but if I’m eating vegetarian, I’d rather just stick to real veggies.
I just don’t want to eat anything that is overly processed, if I am going to eat veggie then it should be good for me.
That cheese sounds horrid! Since my hubby is a veggie I eat a lot of fake meat dishes too. There is a brand you can get in the UK called ‘Quorn’ and they do soy based products that resemble real meat dishes, such as chicken, meatballs, minced meat etc. They are actually really tasty and even the fake sausages are actually surprisingly nice. You can’t beat a German sausage (I am biased ‘cos I am German), but they beat English sausages all day long. 🙂
I try to stay away from soy, which complicates things a bit as well as I don’t want to eat processed soy food.
I do NOT understand fake meat. It truly baffles me.
Same here, if you are going to be vegetarian learn to love vegetables.
I can’t imagine what that cheese tastes like, but your description of a wet wooly sock pretty much sums up what I think it would :). The burger looks pretty damn tasty though.
Talk to Cailin, I kept insisting on smelling it and then gagging.
The Bombay Talkie sounds really good! I am a little creeped out by vegan “meat” and “cheese” – it never seems to have a good taste or texture. I much prefer veggie meals that just creatively use natural ingredients instead of trying to replicate carnivore favorites.
There are also so many cultures that have great dishes that happen to be vegan. I did have something that was like a goat cheese made out of cashews but it wasn’t as processed and tasted pretty good.
When I saw the title of your article, I immediately wanted to post a very Albertan comment about how “a vegan burger joint” is a nauseating oxymoron. But then I read your article (excellent article, by the way) and saw that picture of vegan bacon. There are simply no words…