Eat Your Veggies

The problem with meat substitutes for me has always been about the texture. Garden burgers made from chopped-up beans or soy don't chew right; they tend to be a little crispy on the outside but mushy inside, and while they don't taste bad, they don't give the experience of beef or chicken or pork. That's a big part of the problem for meat-eaters.


However ...


Today, we stopped at a new place in Beaverton, the Veggie Grill, and I had their Santa Fe "Chickin" sandwich. The restaurant is a SoCal-based chain that has just expanded up this way, and a couple more stores are in the offing for Portland and Seattle.


The fried chicken patty surprised me. It tasted like chicken; it chewed like chicken; it even looked like chicken. It was delicious.


I poked around and came up with–I think–the company that made the patty, I believe it is Gardien. I'll pick up some of their product and check, and if it's not them, there are only a couple others it could be, and I'll check those out. They also make faux beef. 


I'm not a vegetarian, much less a vegan, but this is the kind of thing that is apt to get people who might be on the fence to consider switching. If it looks like meat, chews like meat, and tastes like meat, and is healthier? That's a big step toward the science fictional concept that's been out there forever.