Burgers from the Dirt 🌱
Lekka Burger in Downtown Manhattan

Even though I am vegan I have long followed mainstream foodie media sources as I understood what they seemed to not: vegan food is not weird, that everybody on the entire Earth eats vegan food on a daily basis, and its time in the spotlight was a-coming. How could it not given how unsustainable an animal-based diet is? I’ve long overlooked the overt ridicule and the jabs to immerse myself into food-based travel intel, recipes and techniques for my cooking and baking endeavors, and restaurant openings that may offer me some covert vegan options. But then–something started to happen. Gradually and not with a declared intention, these outlets’ view on vegan food began to shift. I found recipes that were free of animal ingredients in Bon Appetit, the Food Network hosts stopped making chiding remarks about a vegan foods or ingredients, and Eater NY reported this eatery, Lekka Burger from the makers of the magical high end vegetable restaurant Dirt Candy, to my inbox months before it hit the radar of any vegan blogger or vegan social media person. (It has been amusing to see who is featuring it since. Chef Chloe called it “BRAND NEW” just yesterday despite its Eater NY announcement in November.) In fact, it was reported first by a whole slew of NYC culture vultures, none having any vegan clout–but all having their finger on the pulse of today. This is a sign of the times.

Now, “vegan” is showing up everywhere, embraced by Big Food and fast food on one side of the spectrum all the way up to high end restauranteurs along with every market in between. I am trying not to say “I told you so” because I was never an intrusively preachy vegan in my 20+ years of being vegan (unless I was challenged to a debate)… but I’m going to say:

I told you so.

But then I’ll let this opinion column from the New York Times say the rest:

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The vegans are right. The vegans were always right. The least you can do is shower them with respect and our gratitude, because they deserve it.

Farhad Manjoo, NYTimes

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In this big wave of Vegan, I am as critical as ever. As I was when the jocks in high school started asking me about my Doc Martens as grunge became “a thing.” There is so much plant-based garbage being pedaled right now. (Maybe similar to the bunch of terrible bands that tried to sound like Pearl Jam.) And there are so many celebrating that plant-based garbage. But maybe my level of standards are the evolution of my years of being vegan… and maybe I’ll have to wait, once again, for the world to catch up.

But yeah, Lekka Burger is great. Real food made by chefs who aren’t opening packages. No Beyond or Impossible—and gosh, that’s refreshing. The menu and space are the pinnacle of the progress happening in the world of vegan food. Let’s celebrate these values. Real food, mostly made from scratch, cute color scheme, smiles at the counter and NO affiliation with terrible corporations who have been responsible for raping our Earth and killing its animals for decades.

And this will be a new craving for me I bet. Here, their cheeseburger, classically dressed with ketchup, mustard, cheese sauce, lettuce, tomato and onion.

Ooey gooey

And a real patty, made in-house, thick and delicious. Perhaps I will make a new burger bracket?

Thanks Lekka Burger for spreading quality vegan options. See you in my next burger craving.