Old City Market‘s entire menu is sourced locally whenever possible. When it comes to their Old City Veggie burger, the bread is from Jacksonville’s Village Bakery. If topped with Spicy City Sauce, you’ll enjoy a mayonnaise and mustard based topping with cayenne pepper and Manucy datil peppers for a local kick.
Vegetarian or not, the Old City Veggie is an approachable, friendly menu item. The soy protein patty is distributed by a company called Beyond Meat. Old City Market owner and cook Tim Bucolo, is fascinated when he preps the patties because of the beet juice infused in them. It truly completes the patty’s disguise and gives it the look of rare meat. Tim says it blew his mind to see red vegetable juice dripping off the burger and feeding the grill’s roaring fire. It was easy to forget that he was cooking a meatless dish.
The burger would be a good fit for a blind taste test or social experiment. Biting into its smooth texture complemented by smoked gouda might easily fool any traditional burger lover. Then considering the textured meaty looking pink patty – it’s clear that this dish is not strictly for vegetarians. Those who like to “flirt” with a vegetarian diet can get behind this crafty item. The crunch of romaine and juiciness of sliced tomato add to the layered experience. The avocado goes nicely with the smoked Gouda for a smoothness that sets everything off nicely. Overall, the flavor is subtle yet satisfying. Village Bakery’s flaky bun soaks up a lot of the burger’s moisture and has a good crunch. In terms of sides, Old City Market’s staff recommends corn dusted fries, which are dusted before hitting the fryer. This use of “old world” ingredients is a consistent menu theme.
The Old City Veggie is a welcome addition in a community that is home to a thriving vegetarian population. It creatively delivers all the pleasures of a robust burger without any of the red meat guilt. Even the paper the burger is wrapped in is guilt free. The wrapping paper and napkins are ethically sourced and biodegradable. This is part of Old City Market’s zero waste environment mentality.
Old City Market is located at 604 Anastasia Boulevard. You can visit them online at www.oldcitymkt.com.
