V.V. Burger Showdown: Match 3: The Battle of the Potato Buns
[M.O.B. vs. Pickle Shack]

Hitting the corners of the V.V. Burger Showdown brackets, it’s time for Match #3:

M.O.B. vs. Pickle Shack

This is going to be a doozy.

I have loved the M.O.B. and Pickle Shack veggie burgers separately–but for some of the same reasons. Restoring my lost hope and representing a turn in veggie burger standards, both Pickle Shack and M.O.B. have very special veggie burgers. Both are housemade patties, both offer the option of housemade vegan nut-based cheese on top (for $2 more)–resulting in high praises in my previous {blog} {posts}. These characteristics on their own are veggie burger pinnacles. [chuckle chuckle]

As if that wasn’t enough, there are even more similarities between these two burgers… more reasons that point to this being a true battle royale (with cheese). Both of their housemade patties are mushroom-based. Both are served with a fantastically soft potato bun that just may be the secret to both (and other) burgers success. More on that later… But now, the face-off. Only one of these outstanding veggie burgers can move to the next round. Will it be the all-vegan Maimonide Of Brooklyn (M.O.B.) or the vegan optioned Pickle Shack? Both outstanding vegan burger options whose menus don’t say vegan. Well, I’m saying it. And I’m saying, “Game on!”

M.O.B.’s MOB Burger:
The MOB Burger‘s is deliciously tasty. Comprised of a cremini mushroom patty, their own secret sauce, some Brooklyn Brine pickles, and vegan house cheddar, one of their three housemade vegan cheeses. The meshed moisture of the patty, special sauce and added vegan cheddar makes it a delectable, oozy burger. But it is that ooziness that made it seem less burger-ish. The patty was lost and indistinguishable from any soft bite covered in secret sauce. In fact, the secret sauce domination made the patty seem unseasoned and the cheese seem very mild, as I really couldn’t taste either of them through it. It’s unfortunate because if the sauce hadn’t hidden all the goods the burger had to offer, this might have fared better as a burger contender.

But that housemade potato bun… c’mon. And speaking of…

Pickle Shack’s Shack Veggie Burger:
The Shack Veggie Burger has got a housemade grilled vegetable and mushroom patty, their own creamy cashew cheese on top, their own bread & butter pickles, aioli & ketchup on the bottom… on a perfect potato roll. I have to pause and talk about this airy, dreamy potato bun for a moment. As one who’s eaten many veggie burgers, I’ve sunken my teeth into a tough, crusty bun that “literally” demolishes a delicate vegan patty. I’ve bitten into veggie burger buns that need more chewing than the patty. And this, dear reader, is what can ruin a good-intended burger. The potato bun is the choice of veggie burger champions because its dreamy texture allows all else to fully shine, while its stark whiteness screams traditional burger in the way wheat-colored seeded stuff cannot. All hail the potato bun. Pickle Shack’s potato bun is one single part of its deliciousness. The creamy slathering of housemade cashew cheese is another. It has a divine texture that delivers you to a moist but patty-like patty. It is an outstanding burger. It is a winning burger, well deserving of my, and others’, accolades…

Burger match #3 is done!

And the winner is: Pickle Shack.

Pickle Shack takes the prize, moving onward to the second round, facing either fast food burger Better Burger’s soy burger or Tiny’s Big Mack Daddy… nostalgic favorites of a bygone veggie burger era? Or early but formidable opponents? We shall see!

For research design, click here.