Marc’s Foodie Angle – Best of Vegan Awards
By Marc Ang
West Hollywood, CA (The Hollywood Times) 11/19/21 – Flower Burger originated in Italy and its flagship location opened up in West Hollywood, run by a husband-wife couple. Today, Americans can access the Italian vegan burger sidewalk cafe experience in West Hollywood on Robertson Blvd just north of Melrose.
The owners’ hospitality was unmatched and the mom-and-pop feel was enough to make it my favorite of the day so far, and our first feature on the “Best of Vegan” competition.
First of all, to open up the series of articles around November’s Vegan Month, I must give you a background. Joy Chen and I are rabid carnivores. In full disclosure, we devoured 47 plates of meat collectively at a hot pot joint recently. Familiar with the flavors of meat and dairy, this adventure into vegan was not a first but also not a regular experience for us.
Flower Burger blew us away. But here are some objective measures in where they excelled.
Texture 5
Flavor 4.7
Aesthetics 4.9
Service 4.9
Portion size 4.8
Ambiance 5
I have a bias towards simplicity and specialty. Flower Burger fits both criteria with a simple menu and a specific niche: vegan burgers that are colorful and international. It is an homage to European culture and stands out on Robertson Boulevard with its unique branding.
Joy and I sat on the colorful patio and even during a quiet afternoon, had at least 5 parties stop and eyeballed our burgers to get the skinny on the colorful whoppers.
It was owner Danika’s hospitality and her clear explanation of their unique selling points that sold us. I have a heart for hands-on owners that put theirs all into their food and the quality.
Danika brought out 4 burgers. Each was a different color: purple, green, yellow, and pink.
The purple, Joy’s favorite, was the original “Flower Burger”. We both recognized how much it tasted like a regular burger. The patty, made out of red kidney beans, gave the look and feel of real meat. But other high-quality ingredients included the fresh soybean sprouts, lettuce, and tomato confit, which was the crown jewel.
My favorite was the Spicy Chickpea, the delicious yellow. The Tropea onion tartar was to die for. But with the chickpea patty, spicy sauce, and jalapeños, it was the one that evoked my favorite cuisine: Indian food. The yellow bun had turmeric and added to my feeling of healthiness.
Honorable mentions go to the delicious pink Cherry Bomb with a yummy lentil patty and unique rocktail sauce, which was their vegan take on Thousand Island. The green bun had a red bean and oat patty with crunchy onion flakes and my favorite vegetable zucchini.
The sides were equally fun. You can never go wrong with edamame. But their fries were to die for. First of all, the texture was perfect on the fries, and the dipping sauce which tasted like BBQ sauce left me licking my fingers.
Danika went all out on the desserts too. We fell in love with the salted caramel vegan gelato and mint chip. The big cookie and the chocolate salami were also perfect for those with a sweet tooth.
I can see why Flower Burger does a great catering business so if you’re doing a corporate event or wedding and you want to wow your guests with delicious food with a bright aesthetic flair, hands down Flower Burger wins with their focused specialty.
You can visit Flower Burger at https://www.flowerburger.us
Entrepreneur Matteo Toto started Flower Burger in Milan in 2015