Going With the Grain : Fear of Red Meat Sends Burger Lovers Looking for a New Patty

It was about noontime last week when Janice Weglarz of Port Hueneme first heard the familiar, gentle rumbling.

No use looking up--the child-care program specialist knew it had nothing to do with the weather. It was the same sound emanating from behind desks, in homes, in schools and out in fields throughout the county.

Lunchtime. Stomachs gonging 12. Time to get something like, well, hey buddy, how about we go grab us a burger?

Weglarz and Mary Wilson, who work at the YMCA in Ventura, headed out to a restaurant up the road. But as they sat down in the booth and waited for menus, Weglarz’s hamburger hankering suddenly deserted her.

It was that awful image coming to mind again, the same one that seemed to catch in her throat and trickle down into a low, center-of-gravity shudder every time she thought of it:

That was the name of the bacterial infestation that, as of last week, had resulted in nearly 400 cases of food poisoning and killed two children who ate hamburgers at Jack In The Box restaurants in Washington.

It was the same bacteria that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration two weeks ago said was present in at least 3% of the raw ground beef collected by researchers at supermarket counters.

And it was the same bacteria that had been traced to a supermarket chain in Southern California--which meant that, for all a lot of people knew, the bacteria could be swarming in hamburger patties just about anywhere.

Locally, responses to news of the ground beef contamination--and the possibility that no burger could be guaranteed safe--ranged from mild aversion to vows of vegetarianism.

“We’re seeing a lot more nervous customers who are asking for very well-done hamburgers,” said Deborah Whalin, manager of Coco’s Bakery Restaurant in Simi Valley. “They’ve heard that you have to cook it to 140 degrees to kill the bacteria, and that’s what a well-done burger is.”

Mabel Chase, the mother of a 3-year-old son and the owner of the City Bakery restaurant in Ventura, said she immediately went home, pulled out every package of hamburger in her freezer and tossed it into the garbage. She then told her husband she didn’t want him taking their son for fast-food hamburgers anymore.

“I don’t trust them anymore,” Chase said. “But I also know it’s not just the fast-food places. The contaminated meat came from (a grocery store). So how far do you take it?”

Moorpark College student and self-described burger lover David Janowski said he’s tempted to take it pretty far. “I’m thinking about raising my own cows,” Janowski said, tongue planted firmly in cheek. “I really do deserve a break today.”

But perhaps there is an easier solution.

Weglarz and many other diners worried about getting a bum steer are now turning to a different kind of burger, one that’s being served by an increasing number of restaurants around the county.

It’s meatless. High in protein. Low in fat. And, when placed between a bun with all the normal burger condiments, it’s providing a very good answer to the question, “Where’s the beef?”

For these burger aficionados, the answer is simple: It’s not here. And a lot of people don’t seem to miss it a bit.

“They’re selling great,” said Rosie Martin, owner of Rosie’s Just Good Food in Thousand Oaks, where a small placard placed on tables two weeks ago now urges diners to “Try a Gardenburger Instead.” It is the same sign being displayed elsewhere around the county, from Simi Valley to Ojai.

“This isn’t something just vegetarians are eating,” Martin said. “A lot of people just seem to want healthier food now, and I guess they see this as an alternative to eating so much meat.”

“Gardenburger” is the trade-marked name of a meatless patty manufactured by an 8-year-old Portland company called Wholesome Hearty Foods. Made from mushrooms, onions, rolled oats, low fat mozzarella cheese, brown rice, cottage cheese, eggs, Cheddar cheese, Bulgar wheat and natural seasonings, the patties are now distributed nationwide.

According to Wholesome Hearty Foods Vice President Karl Mundorff, sales of the patties have quadrupled in the last few years. Mundorff said he hasn’t seen any sales spurt since the hamburger poisoning incidents in Washington, but locally, at least six restaurant owners said they have begun serving Gardenburgers within the last two weeks.

A lesser number of restaurants actually make their own vegetable patties from scratch. At the City Bakery, which makes a burger from five different vegetables, owner Chase said that patty is one of the restaurant’s top-selling items.

“We can’t sell red meat now, no one wants it,” Chase said. “But we almost can’t make enough veggie burgers now. Actually, they’ve always sold well, but the way people feel about meat right now, I’d be interested to see what would happen if places like Burger King started offering them.”

Maybe not Burger King, but how about McDonald’s? Last year, McDonald’s Corp. began selling a vegetable burger at five of its outlets in the Netherlands, where all 84 outlets now offer the meatless patty on their menu. Still, a spokeswoman for the company said there are no plans to introduce the product in the United States.

But even if we won’t be seeing a McVeggie Burger anytime soon, diners may be surprised at the variety of restaurants already offering meatless patties for the carnivore who can’t no more.

There’s Chuck Burgers and Coco’s in Simi Valley. Jack’s Restaurant in Westlake Village. Lil Fisherman in Newbury Park and Fiesta Restaurant in Oxnard. The Busy Bee, Kimball’s Cafe, The Lunch Basket, R.J. Giant Burger and the Vagabond Coffee Shop in Ventura. Jolly Cone, Pile It High, Plaza Pantry, Rainbow Bridge and the Soda Bar and Grill in Ojai.

Of course, for the no-meat novice, describing a veggie patty’s flavor can be difficult. It can also rouse debate.

One diner asserted that Gardenburgers had a mushroomy flavor, while another pronounced them nutty. Another called them bland, while still another said they were like crispy brown rice. One meat-eating connoisseur, biting into a Gardenburger for the first time, expressed disappointment and said they were “just a hologram” of a real burger experience.

But that’s exactly why Rick LeQuire, co-president of the Thousand Oaks-based California Vegetarian Assn., said preparation of meatless burgers is so important.

“People are used to eating meat--it’s an addiction,” LeQuire said. “They actually get withdrawal symptoms when they come off of meat, and so veggie burgers are a good way of easing themselves off of it.

“The only problem is, if they get one veggie burger prepared the wrong way, it can turn them off of them forever,” he added. “So how it’s cooked really can make a difference.”

Obviously, sampling every veggie burger in the county wasn’t possible. But we did our best. And so herewith, for your grazing pleasure, is a guide to some of the patties we tried and our rating of each one.

Happy burgers to you.

Simi Valley

USS Chuck Burger

5917 E. Los Angeles Ave.

The Chuck in question is owner Chuck Bresler, who started the well-known burger restaurant six years ago, before the current strip mall behind it--which includes an Albertsons and drug store--was even a glint in a developer’s eye.

Bresler was a decorated side gunner in a naval air squadron during World War II, and if he doesn’t tell you about it himself, there’s always the ground-to-ceiling war memorabilia and red-white-blue decor of the restaurant to remind you. Two video games and a pinball machine are tucked off in a corner.

“Look mom!” said one child excitedly as he munched on a traditional burger. “There’s a nuclear bomb hanging from the ceiling!”

Chuck Burger actually began selling Gardenburgers a few years ago, but manager Steve Trocino said sales have really taken off recently. And with good reason. For $3.40, which includes a large order of fries, diners get a meatless burger that is grilled toasty brown on the outside and moist in the center. Unfortunately, the otherwise great patty, which is topped with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes, is served on a traditional, boring white bun.

Our rating: ****

*

Coco’s Bakery Restaurant

698 Los Angeles Ave.

If you blinked recently, you might have missed the quick job that was made of converting the Bob’s Big Boy restaurant into Coco’s.

Bob’s Big Boy, of course, was probably one of America’s prime symbols of what a hamburger was all about: a jolly, overweight child in checked pants who stood outside each of the restaurants, happily holding a big, fat juicy burger on a plate that beckoned would-be diners inside.

At least, that was the original idea. But in the early 1980s, Bob’s Big Boy, realizing that Americans were moving toward more healthful fare, reassessed its image. The boy in the checked pants disappeared from outside most Big Boy restaurants. A few years later, a lot of the restaurants disappeared, too.

But don’t be sad, because Coco’s has an absolutely fabulous Gardenburger that’s a sure bet to capture even a die-hard meat-eater’s taste buds. For $4.50, which includes fries or pasta salad, you’ll get a crispy, grilled burger that’s moist on the inside. Better yet, it’s served on a delicious whole-grain bun and topped with onions, tartar sauce, lettuce and tomatoes. Alas, the Gardenburger, put on the menu just three weeks ago, is only available on Thursdays.

Our rating: *** 1/2

Westlake Village

Jack’s Restaurant and Deli

966-2 Westlake Blvd.

Prepare your mouth, because it’s heading for veggie heaven.

Jack’s is one of the few restaurants in our sampling that actually makes its own veggie burgers on the premises (there’s also a Jack’s Restaurant in Simi Valley that offers the same menu). And when it comes to fresh, flavorful and satisfying, it’s difficult to imagine a meatless burger any better.

The burger here is made from oatmeal, beans, corn, potato, carrots, onion, egg and about 10 additional vegetables, and contains no cheese. The plain veggie burger ($6.50) is baked, served on a seven-grain bun with a side of fresh-made fries, and is nothing short of mouthwatering.

But don’t stop there. For $6.95, the restaurant will customize your veggie burger, which can be topped with such things as Ortega chilies, mozzarella cheese, fresh sauteed mushrooms, a spicy Italian sauce, barbecue sauce, grilled pineapple or avocado with sour cream.

“We’ve had the veggie burgers here for several years, but we just started making them with all the toppings a few months ago,” said assistant manager Linda LaMore. “We have a lot of regular customers who come in every day for one. We actually have some people who come in twice a day.”

That’s not at all difficult to believe. These are veggie burgers you want to plan your life around.

Our rating: ****

Thousand Oaks

Rosie’s Just Good Food

1378 N. Moorpark Road

Rosie’s is a jewel of a little restaurant, tucked away in an unlikely spot between a Ralphs and a Sav-on. Once inside the door, the decor immediately will take you back to a diner of the ‘50s, with its green booths, cheerful pink-and-white walls bordered with neon lights, red-and-white checked linoleum and movie star posters lining the walls.

And, just like a diner of the ‘50s, owner Rosie Martin says the restaurant still serves up plenty of meaty burgers--although here, too, an increasing number of customers are requesting them well-done.

As of a few weeks ago, though, customers now also have another choice with a Gardenburger.

Waiting for this burger took a bit longer than some other places serving the same patty. Once it arrived at the table, it was clear why. The patty was grilled deep brown on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside. So different was the taste that it was difficult to believe this was the same burger served elsewhere.

“We had a distributor come by here a while back trying to sell us a different kind of patty, and we let him cook it up so we could try it,” Martin said. “But it just wasn’t as good. It tasted like soy. We liked the Gardenburger better.”

For $4.50, the burger comes with a mixed green salad or fries, and is served on an excellent whole wheat bun.

Our rating: *** 1/2

Ventura

Franky’s Place

456 E. Main St.

Franky’s menu offers plenty of variety for people who don’t particularly like the idea of red meat. In fact, there’s no red meat to be found in any of their dishes. Everything the restaurant serves is either vegetarian, or made with chicken, fish or turkey.

Naturally, with that tendency toward healthy items, getting a great vegetarian burger here seemed like a sure bet.

We lost the bet.

This Gardenburger ($5.25), served on a whole wheat bun with tomatoes, onion and alfalfa sprouts, was probably one of the blandest we came across. It had a heavy, dull consistency and appeared never to have seen a grill.

Perhaps that’s because it never had.

“They are heated in the microwave,” said cook Rita Fernandez.

To our taste buds, this was the culinary equivalent of putting grated potatoes in the microwave and serving them up as hash browns. Even the “gorilla” sauce, otherwise known as barbecue sauce, didn’t help things.

Clearly, not everyone agrees with our assessment. Fernandez said the restaurant has been selling the meatless burgers for at least five years, and that customers like them.

“We sell a lot of them,” she said. “We always have.”

Our rating: * 1/2

*

Gary’s Restaurant and Bakery

3263 Telegraph Road.

The restaurant itself is like taking a trip back to the ‘60s--at any moment, one expects the waitress to make a V with her fingers and say “Peace.”

The atmosphere is pleasant, if perhaps a bit nondescript, and the menu has plenty of good, hearty items to satisfy a broad range of tastes--those of meat-eaters’ included.

Gary’s also serves Gardenburgers ($4.95), which are plump and moist and come with huge side portions of fries, pasta salad or fresh fruit salad. The patties are crispy brown outside and tender inside, and are served with a side of barbecue sauce. It’s a perfect combo.

What makes this burger even better, though, is the whole-wheat bun, which is made fresh in the restaurant’s bakery.

Our rating: *** 1/2

*

The Sleek Mystique

2542 E. Main St.

Don’t expect fancy here. And don’t expect to be able to figure out right away what this place really is. A restaurant? A soda fountain? A grocery store? A place for dieters to attend support classes twice a week?

Actually, it’s a bit of each.

The Sleek Mystique has been around for 15 years, its longevity very likely due to knowing its customers. Everything here is tailored to people on special diets--whether diabetic, hypoglycemic, low salt or low fat.

So what are those chocolate eclairs and fudge brownies doing in a large refrigerated case? And why does the soda fountain serve up such things as banana splits and frosty cones?

“All of the desserts here are sugar-free,” said co-owner Harry Anand, a retired chemical engineer. “Everything here is based on the Weight Watchers’ exchange program.”

Anand, who is likely to stand by your table and inquire with real concern about how everything tastes, just started offering Gardenburgers a few weeks ago. Soon, he said, he will stock them for customers to take home.

“The Gardenburgers have 313 calories, 7 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein,” he said. “Pretty good, huh?”

Perhaps a bit better than the burgers themselves. Although satisfactorily grilled, this patty was served on a plain, white bun that was drier than an April 16 bank account.

The saving grace was the knowledge that it was dietetically correct. We felt so good about it that we topped it off with a yummy, sugar-free ice cream cone.

Our rating: *

*

Classic Carrot

1847 E. Main St.

This restaurant has been providing terrific vegetarian fare for so long that it’s only to be expected that it would come up with a better way to cook a Gardenburger ($4.95).

Just why the burger here is so much better isn’t exactly clear. They grill it, just as many other places do. They serve it on a whole-grain bun, just as other many other places do.

But this burger is moist and sweet on the inside, and crunchy delicious on the outside. And instead of the typical side of barbecue sauce, the bun is lightly brushed with tamari sauce and filled with alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes and scallions.

The burger also comes with a small cup of excellent curry potato salad or fresh fruit salad, and a side of crispy corn chips. No doubt about it--this is one of the best Gardenburgers around.

Our rating: ****

*

The Busy Bee

478 E. Main St.

In the four years this restaurant has been in Ventura, it’s made a real name for itself. Not just because it makes good, juicy hamburgers and serves up big, thick cottage-style fries, but also because the place is fun. From its red and white decor, to the mini jukeboxes on every table, to movie posters on the walls, to the “No dancing on tables” signs, it’s ‘50s style all the way.

The restaurant has been serving Gardenburgers for several years, but waitress Kathleen Richmond said there’s been a huge upsurge in popularity just recently. Instead of just ordering the plain Gardenburger ($4.49)--which is grilled and comes on a whole-wheat bun with lettuce, tomato and onions--an increasing number of customers also are now substituting the meatless patties for specialty hamburger orders.

“For example, instead of ordering our regular guacamole burger with cheese, a lot more people are asking to substitute the meat with a Gardenburger,” she said. In that case, she said, the price is the same for the specialty hamburger.

Customers who want the flexibility of adding other items will be happy here. The one drawback is that the patties we tried tended to be slightly overcooked, leaving them somewhat dry. Maybe we should have ordered a big, thick milkshake on the side.

Our rating: ** 1/2

*

City Bakery

2358 E. Main St. at Arcade

Wrong county and wrong era, but a diner here can almost imagine a Jack Kerouac or Allen Ginsberg hanging out at one of the restaurant’s large, community-style tables and soaking in all of the hip talk and pleasant vibes.

It’s just that kind of place.

It’s also the place where, after tasting some excellent vegetable patties elsewhere, we experienced true culinary ecstasy in a meatless burger.

The veggie burger here ($5.50) is made fresh on site from a recipe that owner Mabel Chase said she got out of Gourmet magazine--and which she feels no compunction about altering whenever the mood strikes or the ingredients require.

“Oh, let’s see, it has about five different vegetables in it, but it really depends on what we have on hand,” she said. “Usually, though, it has potatoes, spinach, eggplant, peas, bread crumbs and a bit of garlic and curry in it.”

What’s startling is that this looks like a real burger: dark brown on the outside, thick and juicy. But sink your teeth into this patty--which is served on scrumptious, often still-warm sourdough bread with banana chutney that is to die for--and you know you’re eating something in a league of its own.

It comes with a spinach salad with tomatoes, fresh sliced mushrooms and a light poppy seed dressing.

Heaven.

Our rating: ****

SERVING SUGGESTION / VEGGIE BURGER

Feel like vegging out at home? Then try this recipe for meatless patties, courtesy of the City Bakery in Ventura. The ginger-banana chutney makes a wonderful addition, and can be spread on bread or directly on the patty.

City Bakery’s Scrumptious Veggie Burger

1 cup onions, minced

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup diced mushrooms

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced eggplant

1/2 cup cooked, diced potatoes

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon ginger

dash of salt and pepper

2 eggs

1 cup bread crumbs

2/3 cup flour

Saute onions and butter in a skillet for 10 minutes. Add all the vegetables, plus the cumin and ginger, and continue to saute until excess moisture disappears and the mixture begins to dry. Let cool for 10 minutes. Then add eggs, bread crumbs and flour.

The mixture is now ready to be formed into patties. Place a small amount of olive oil in a hot skillet, and cook the patties over medium heat for two to four minutes on each side or until brown. Serves four.

Ginger-Banana Chutney

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups mashed banana

1 cup chopped dates

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup pickled ginger, minced

3/4 cup currants

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon curry powder

Place onions, banana, dates and cider vinegar in a saucepan and cook for 20 minutes over low heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to cook until the mixture thickens to the consistency of jam. Let cool. Spread over bread or the vegetable patty.