The Spicy Baja burger comes with pepper jack cheese, guacamole, chipotle mayo, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and fresh jalapenos. Customers can order any of Smashburger's burgers with a black bean patty. (This is a cell phone photo, so of course, the food tastes way better than it looks in the picture.)
In February, the SmashBurgers in Minnesota launched a vegetarian menu with a black bean burger, egg sandwich and three styles of grilled cheeses. I had no idea. Although I love burgers (of the meatless variety), I usually skip burger joints because there’s not much for a vegetarian. It’s a real bummer for my husband, who loves burgers (of the meaty variety). We’ve found one compromise at Five Guys Burger and Fries, but I was thrilled to learn (via Twitter) about Smashburger’s new venture into vegetarian foods. And I was even more thrilled when they invited me and my husband to taste the new vegetarian menu.
The Mushroom & Spinach Grilled Cheese is one of three "grown-up" grilled cheese sandwiches on the menu. It's made with fresh mushrooms and spinach. It was tasty (and deliciously greasy)!
We headed off to the Smashburger in Plymouth, and ordered up a mushroom and swiss grilled cheese with a side of sweet potato fries, and the Spicy Baja Burger with a black bean patty. I should note here that most of the sides at Smashburger aren’t strictly vegetarian. The oil used to fry the french fries is the same oil that’s used to fry chicken, and there’s beef in the fries to give them flavor. If you’re unsure about a side, just ask – or order a side salad without the bacon. When they make up an egg sandwich or a black bean burger, they clean down the grill.
Veggie burgers, in general, are all about the toppings. By itself the black bean burger is tasty, but pretty average; however with the toppings its pretty fabulous. We ordered the Spicy Baja, which comes with pepper jack cheese, guacamole, chipotle mayo and other goodies, and it totally satisfied the craving I get from time to time for a decked out burger. The Mushroom and Spinach Grilled Cheese was delicious as well. Overall, I was really impressed with the quality of the ingredients. The black bean burgers are made on site, and the veggies in both of the sandwiches were high quality and fresh.
We ended the meal with a real chocolate shake, and I was in total junk food heaven. Vegans, there’s not much for you on this menu. Vegetarians, when your omnivorous partners and friends are craving burgers, taking them to Smashburger won’t be a huge sacrifice. I might even go without them.
Sweet Potato Fries!