Boca Burger Vs. GardenBurgers

[mtnlaurel]

Both Boca Burgers and GardenBurgers are on sale at my grocery this week and I thought I would try them again

I haven't had either one in years - wasn't too crazy about them as I remember. But I thought I'd give them another try.

What's the difference b/t the two?
Which do you like better?

[SoSimple]

GardenBurgers. They avoid trying to pretend that they're real burgers (which never quite works for me) and just focus on being an awesome tasting vegetarian alternative. Quorn is the only fake meat I care for, but it's not vegan (egg white), which is a great disappointment to me since I turned vegan.

[Bastelmutti]

+1 Gardenburger. I'm not veg, but I used to be and still eat veggie burgers. I think the veggie- or bean-type burger is better than the fake meat kind. Of the fake meats, I think seitan is best, particularly mock duck.

[loosechickens]

I like the Boca burgers better....they are quite a bit higher in protein, and seem to stick with me better, and since they are paired with carbs in the bun, like the idea of the higher protein content.

I don't eat them at home, but the cafe here at the resort where we are staying has both of them, so I've tried both.....they both taste good, but somehow, I seem to get hungrier quicker with the Gardenburger as opposed to the Boca burger.

[Zoebird]

yeah, I think garden is better, but I don't eat either. If you're looking for a good, vegetarian burger (thoguh I wouldn't eat these anymore either) I love Alton Brown's split pea burgers. When I was vegetarian, I would make them into "meat balls" and then cook them up and keep them in the freezer so I'd have some for multiple snacks/meals throughout the week. They are delicious (and take about 1.5 hrs to make all said and done).

[herbgeek]

I like the Boca Burgers better. because they taste closer to beef. We like them in the winter when its too cold to grill.

[Debbie SE MI]

I like them both, I find it is in the way I cook them that makes them taste better. I like to place them on the stove top and cook them slow in water with onion, cook maybe 15min by then the water is gone and the onions cooked. Brown a little on both sides at the end, much better then putting them in the microwave.

[Greg44]

Boca burgers - not they that taste more like beef (actually I can't really remember what beef tastes like), but I like the texture better. BUT my favorite is the patty that Burger King uses on their BK Veggie. I emailed MorningStar that makes them and they have a "special" patty made just for BK. She did say the MorningStar "Grillers" are the closest product to the BK Veggie patty.

[benhyr]

If I'm getting a patty, it's MorningStar Grillers. Not because they taste close to anything (like Greg, I can't remember what beef tastes like) but because they have a nice aroma, good mouth feel, and they're tasty. Still, we limit our soy intake and so, usually, if I'm going for a patty of some sort, it's lentil-based and my own concoction. GardenBurger wins out on the convenience side in that regard (I recall they're mostly rice-based?) but I'm not a huge fan of their taste.

[loosechickens]

here at the resort, in the cafe, they just grill them on the grill like regular hamburgers.......I don't think I'd like them at all cooked in water or in the microwave, but grilled on the grill, by the time you get the bun and fixings, who can tell it's not a regular burger? Certainly not me.

[JaneV2.0]

I remember liking Grillers, too, FWIW.

[mtnlaurel]

Thanks for all the feedback!

benhyr (or anyone) - what recipe do you like to use for the lentil burgers?

[benhyr]

Thanks for all the feedback!

benhyr (or anyone) - what recipe do you like to use for the lentil burgers?

I use Deborah Madison's recipe for lentil croquettes from her seminal Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It's a thick book and looks a little daunting next to the other recipe books I own, but I enjoy fishing in there for new recipes often.

I did find a version of her recipe online: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=172436486148259

I've never served it with marinara (I use a rather involved roulade sauce also from her book) but I'd imagine it'd be quite tasty.

[SRP]

I used to like Boca burgers a lot. I still think they taste good, but I stopped eating the veggie burgers as a regular part of my diet because I decided to go more "natural", which meant eliminating all the concentrated soy protein. I also discovered that too much soy in any form bothered my stomach.

[Tiam]

Thanks for the tip about split pea burgers. Made them today and quite enjoyed t hem.

[pony mom]

I haven't eaten beef in 16 years but I will actually crave the Boca Burger Grillers. Their texture is so much like the real thing. Usually I just pop them in the microwave but a few weeks ago I had one cooked on the grill, with cheese, and with regular hamburgers. My oh my it was delicious!

Never tried the BK Veggie but will soon. McDonald's used to have soyburgers and for awhile I could find them in NYC but they don't have them anymore.

A few times I ate one from a company that I think was called Veggie Path?? They make other fake meat products and their burgers were really good but haven't found them in a long time.

[dado potato]

I prefer Boca. If I must microwave something to keep body and soul together: a chilled dill pickle, mustard with turmeric, and a thin slice of a Vidalia onion make it good.

[puglogic]

I like Boca too --- we make a lot of homemade meatless patties these days (my favorite is a black bean-walnut recipe that's stellar) but we usually keep a box in the freezer for those nights when we come home braindead and exhausted. Morningstar Farms makes better "fake breakfast meats" though, imho, if you're trying to get at the textures and flavors of sausage, bacon, etc.