Home > Columns > Best Veggie Burger Project > You Need a Uneeda Veggie Burger

I came through the the Northwest recently with the hope of eating at least one awesome veggie burger. Sadly, I didn’t find it in Reno (though that would have been a real feat — I got a recommendation for the Silver Legacy Casino, and I’m still not sure if it was meant in earnest), and I wasn’t in Portland long enough to try one there, though I have faith they have some excellent options. But in Seattle, there’s absolutely no doubt: I got what I hoped for.

Seattle is full of exceedingly nice people, and one such nice person, Dana Wootton at the new cookbook store and food-events space The Book Larder, sent me to Uneeda Burger (as in, “You Need a Burger”). It’s located just down the street from the Book Larder, in the Freemont neighborhood.

The Crispy Emmer Veggie Burger ($6.25, not including sides) has a patty unlike any I’ve ever encountered. I’ve been speculating about it ever since I tasted it. I thought it must be made from a wet mixture and ladled, pancake-style, onto the hot grill. There’s an envelope of veggie burger skin that gives a satisfying resistance as you bite through. It curls slightly at the edges in the style of a crepe or crumpet. But it’s not brittle and there’s no oily gleam that would indicate a bath in the deep-fryer. Enclosed is a moist, grain-speckled veggie burger, rich and herby, with little scraps of veggies mixed in. There’s chew — but no mush, no crumble. This veggie burger patty is a miracle. What on earth is its secret?

I couldn’t help but turn to Google, and I’m glad I did: Eater Seattle wrote about Uneeda Burger’s thrilling, innovative method: Ground emmer (which is the same thing as farro) is stirred into hot, richly flavored vegetable stock and then it’s cooked down until, one would imagine, the mixture has turned thick and porridge-ey. Some whole cooked grains and little specks of veggies are folded in for texture and flavor, and then it’s spread out on a sheet pan and cooked in the oven until dry and crisp. They slice it into squares and then grill the patties to order. So there you go. That’s some veggie burger magic — some vegan veggie burger magic.

The patty, admittedly slight at about a half-inch thick, is topped with a pile of juicy shavings of sauteed portobello mushroom. It’s a luxurious way to dress things up, and the extra earthy flavor and “meaty” chew are very complimentary. You practically get two veggie burgers in one: a portobello burger piled on the fortifying bedrock of a good patty.

The rest of the condiments are the tried-and-true standard burger fixings: lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a tangy “special sauce” that’s tinted pale green. And as one would expect by now, the bun is perfection, a good soft white roll that enhances the experience without getting in the way. (They also offer a gluten-free bun option.) This is really all that the burger needs. I didn’t reach for ketchup or mustard, I didn’t fathom any way it could have been better. Maybe I made a mess, but that’s only because I ate ravenously, disinterested in civilized society for the time being. After I finished, I was so sated that I didn’t even finish my fries. This is a veggie burger not to miss.

Uneeda Burger

4302 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 547-2600

Price: $6.25
Vegan?: Yes, including toppings and the bun
Flavor: 10 points (Bold, deep)
Texture: 10 points (Miraculous)
Presentation and fixings: 10 (I honestly don’t think it gets any better)

OVERALL: 10