Burger Bonanza

Posted in Food News, Non-Asian on June 4th, 2007 by mei| | .

bongo_veggie_burger.jpgpickles_burger.jpgmei_lentil_burger.jpgBurp. I’ve been eating waaaaay tooo many burgers as of late.

It’s quite surprising how many burger joints have sprouted just this past year. In the past one would have to resort to Mickey D’s or da King but now, Taipei-rens are spoiled for choice. I’ve mentioned a few burger joints in an earlier post but here are two more to take note of.

Bongos, the brother branch Coda, is a nice little eatery tucked away in the Gongguan area. What I liked about it at first sight was the option of outdoor seating. There simply aren’t many options when it comes to dining al fresco in Taipei, are there?

Moreover, I was quite nicely surprised that there is a used book selection!!! Being a prolific reader I am aghast at how expensive books can get at a certain bookstore that opens 24 hours and at the other store in the tallest building in the world… but back to food. Yours truly was truly happy that Bongo caters nicely to the vegetarian palate. I ordered the veggie burger (pictured top left) and was not disappointed. Given that a friend said that the meat burger is much better than the veggie one, it was still pretty darn good. Now, I am all curious about the beef one. Next time.

The veggie patty was nicely spiced and the texture was just right. It was dense, chewy and HUGE! I had to take many breathers to polish it off. The burger came with fries that were…alright, a salad (which I liked, nice fresh mixed salad leaves - you pick the dressing) and a soda which is, well, the same anywhere. Go on Mondays, like I did, and you get a 10% discount (or was it because I was wearing that mini skirt?). Can’t exactly recall how much tab was but I’d say 200nt ballpark.

Pickles is another burger joint that I tried out recently. It’s in the Shida area where I hang out a lot. Pickles serve your average burgers as well as some brunch food items like waffles. No veggie burgers here, tho’. Waaah.

I had their bacon cheese burger (top right). It is okay lah. Nothing wrong with it but I didn’t feel the love with that burger. Can’t quite pinpoint what it was. Perhaps the sub par quality of the side dishes (you can choose two of the following: regular fries, hash browns, criss cut fries, and cole slaw). The cole slaw was pretty much just shredded lettuce with mayo and the hash brown… I didn’t even order the hash brown! Nonetheless, I am not writing this place off. I would give them another chance if they can come up with a vegetarian option. The staff was extremely attentive. Prices range between 100 and 200nt.

The last pix is of Mei’s lentil veggie burger(bottom left). Looks alright but taste-wise it could be better. Cut me some slack, will ya? It was my first time making a veggie burger patty and I didn’t even use a recipe. Truth be told, I just wanted to use up the bag of lentils I have. Well, for anybody who is curious enough, it was a mixture of lentils, edamame, shitake mushrooms, carrots, shallots and garlic. I think it would taste better with more spices (cumin? definitely more shallots and garlic) and if I added some cooked pearl barley for extra chewiness. Anybody with good veggie burger recipes, message me!

Oh, some of you may remember my post about the other new burger joint, California Grill. I did manage to make a quick visit when it first opened up. I had the salmon burger and it was really really good. The only thing that could be getter was the bun. I thought it was a bit dry and stale tasting and despite being priced comparable to the other burger joints (100 tdo 200nt range) I thought the portion was a bit on the small side.

Bongos
No. 3, Alley 5, Lane 74
Wenzhou Street
(in the Gongguan are)
溫州街74巷5弄3號
02 2365 6059

Pickles　美式漢堡
No. 24, Lane 40, Taishun Street
(in the Shida area)
泰順街40巷24號
02 8369 5858
Closed on Tuesdays

Mei’s Veggie Burger Joint
Message me if you want to do “business.” Hah!

One Response to ' Burger Bonanza '

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  1. hungryintaipei said,

    on June 6th, 2007 at 11:49 am

    that’s so funny. i was craving burgers this week too, so we made a trip to the Diner. I’ve yet to find Bongos!

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