So, a few weeks ago, I reviewed The Parlor and their Guatemalan food stall, El Guate. I ended up liking The Parlor so much, I went back there this week. This time, I decided to check out their burger stall, Burger Pig, to see if it could match the high quality experience I had at El Guate.
I’ve already talked about The Parlor previously in my review for El Guate, so I’m not going to go into extreme detail describing the setup. But the very basic summary is it’s an upscale food court, and I’m a pretty big fan of this setup because I like all of the choices it gives me.
Burger Pig’s menu consists of a few upscale burgers along with a few sides, such as garlic fries. Just like with most Parlor restaurants, their menu is kind of small, but honestly it doesn’t bother me too much since it’s so easy to bounce around from stall to stall until you eventually find something you like.
I know it sounds weird for a vegetarian to be reviewing a burger restaurant, but as I was strolling around The Parlor, I noticed Burger Pig serves a Beyond Meat burger. Even though I don’t eat meat anymore, I will admit sometimes I still find myself missing the taste of it, so I’m so happy that more and more restaurants have embraced meat alternatives in recent years, such as Impossible Beef and Beyond Meat.
The prices were higher than what you would pay for a burger at a fast food restaurant, but they were pretty consistent with the pricing at The Parlor’s other stalls. For instance, I believe the burgers were around $8-$11, and this did not include any sides. I will say, a full meal here (a burger, a side and a drink) costs quite a bit more than I would typically be willing to pay for lunch, so I just ordered their vegetarian burger and a water cup.
It still took a few minutes for my food to be made, but the overall wait time at Burger Pig was still shorter than it was at El Guate, which was a pleasant surprise. The burger I got had Beyond Meat, sharp cheddar, aioli, lettuce, and grilled onions all served on a potato bun. To this day, I’ve never had a meat substitute I hated, but I will admit some substitutes taste much more like real meat than others.
This burger tasted pretty much identical to traditional beef, and I loved it. I also thought the potato bun was super soft and delicious, and, overall, it was a well-made burger. I only have one very small complaint; I wish there had been some ketchup or at least some other seasoning or sauce on the burger. This is extremely nit-picky, but it was a little on the bland side, and I think just one more ingredient could have resolved the issue.
Other than that, I don’t have a whole lot to say about the taste. Unlike their other burgers, this burger didn’t contain any gourmet ingredients or crazy flavor combinations. I think they were just trying to offer a super traditional American cheeseburger without meat, and, because of that, it tasted like a lot of other burgers and there isn’t much to say. The cheeseburger was tasty and well-made, but I wish they had at least one more vegetarian burger on their menu, preferably one with some fun ingredients.
Overall, the meal was enjoyable. As I’ve stated, I really appreciate how places such as Burger Pig are offering something for vegetarians.
However, I want to really challenge them to expand their menu and add at least one more vegetarian burger that is as interesting and original as their other burgers.
With that being said, I am curious as to what a meat eater would think of this place. I’m somewhat limited in what I can review from here, but if you’re a meat eater and you find yourself at Burger Pig, then please let me know and tell me what you think.
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