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Buns

BUNS of Chapel Hill

107 N. Columbia Street

Chapel Hill, NC

PH: (919) 240 - 4746

www.bunsofchapelhill.com

TOM:

I am very sorry for the extra long delay between posts. Sean had computer problems (i.e. no computer) and I have just been swamped at work (i.e. lazy). In fact, my notes are dated July 5, 2010. Luckily they are both thorough and copious.

Well, I must say that Sean and I need to find a crappy veggie burger place soon lest people begin thinking that we are shills for the veggie burger industry. Only two reviews and so far two home runs. Buns veggie burger is outstanding.

I arrived early and had a Corona while I waited for Sean and Rider (his “not-quite-burger-eating-age” son). While I was waiting I chatted with the co-owner (I’m embarrassed that I don’t know which one-I should have written down his name). He was extremely friendly and answered all of my questions, many of which were asked again by Sean once he arrived.

The Buns website (see above) actually provides a pretty thorough explanation of their burgers/practices/philosophy, but in a nutshell our conversation revealed that Buns had opened two years ago (in the spot that used to be Jersey Mike’s on Columbia street-next to Kurama), and what differentiates them from many burger joints is that they make all of their burgers fresh (nothing frozen) including their veggie burgers. I was immediately won over by his philosophy that most people who order veggie burgers don’t want “fake meat”, they want to taste the ingredients (which in this case include brown rice, quick oats (to bind), red beans, vegetables (carrots, zucchini, garlic, mushrooms, onions), cilantro, salt & pepper & soy sauce). I absolutely agree with this philosophy. If I want “fake meat” I’ll get a Boca burger.

When Sean arrived, he re-asked the questions I had asked and we retired to our table. The atmosphere is cafeteria-style: order & pay at the register and your food is brought out to you; local sports on the TV and a great view of Franklin/Columbia St. The burgers arrived shortly after ordering and they were fantastic. You really could taste the ingredients and you could tell they were fresh. The cilantro & soy sauce balanced the taste to the degree that you really didn’t need a lot of toppings to add flavor. That said, there were an impressive amount of toppings available. The chipotle mayo alone would have ensured that I return to Buns. The “buns” themselves (also excellent) are from The Bread Shop in Pittsboro (the same place Spotted Dog uses), the French fries were also phenomenal (especially w/ the dipping sauce). The consistency, flavor & choice of toppings were all outstanding. I highly recommend Buns to anyone who is looking for a fantastic veggie burger. 5 beans out of 5

If attending with meat eating friends (check menu for fish options) I refer you to www.thestraightbeef.com.

SEAN:

I have to extend the same list of apologies and excuses that Tom has for not posting this review sooner. See his review for more details, but the long and the short of it is I had no computer for a long time, plus life and laziness interfered with everything as it always does with me.

I’m trying to dig into the memory banks for my Buns experience. I remember a few distinct things about that afternoon. Here they are in bullet points.

· I was really hungover due to some sort of activity the night before. I think we must have had a show or something. Consequently the idea of going out to lunch was not very appealing and I wasn’t hungry at all.

· I had my son Rider, who at the time of the visit was five months old, with me. He didn’t want to go anywhere either, especially since he doesn’t eat anything other than formula. He was making that very clear to me in the car on the way there, exacerbating my already fragile condition.

· The guy at Buns was super nice, and answered all of my questions even though Tom had just asked the same ones ten minutes before I got there. See his much more detailed review if you want to see them.

· The Corona I had before lunch made me feel slightly better.

· The veggie burger I had was awesome. Even though I felt lousy and wasn’t very hungry, I devoured it and could have eaten another one. Perfect combination of toppings on a firm (but not card-boardy, as some veggie burgers are) patty. Nice, fluffy bun from the Bread Shop in Pittsboro.

· I ordered Dragon Sauce to dip my fries in. It’s really friggin’ hot. But tasty if you like your sauce really friggin’ hot. Consider yourself warned.

Buns gets a five out of five beans from me. It’s eight o’clock in the morning right now, but writing this review makes me want to go get another one right now.

Spotted Dog

SPOTTED DOG RESTAURANT

111 East Main Street
Carrboro, NC 27510

www.thespotteddogrestaurant.com

Tom

We chose the begin with Spotted Dog because recently we stopped there for a snack and had the Veggie Wings, which tasted and felt so much like chicken wings (without the bones) that we had to ask the waiter to make sure they were actually soy. Sean was a little late so I got a beer and an order of the wings while waiting. You can choose ‘hot’ or ‘hotter’ and this time I chose ‘hotter’ which were so hot they nearly blew the top of my head off, which I found refreshing since I hate when things are listed as “hot” on the menu and then are sadly-well, not hot.

Sean showed up, finished up the end of the wings, ordered a beer and we were ready to order. The menu is really diverse-offering a variety of choices for meat eaters and vegetarians & vegans. In fact, every vegetarian item (and there are lots of choices) are available as vegan. The first thing we noticed was that they now had a Vegetarian (I kind of hate the word “veggie” and try to use it sparingly) BBQ sandwich, and decided that one of us (me) had to try it. Sean ordered Spot’s Boneless Burger ($6.95) and I ordered the BBQ ($7.95).

I was stunned at the consistency and incredible taste of the BBQ. A seasoned pork BBQ eater would probably know the difference, but BOY was it close. It would be fun to get this (or the wings) as take out and see how long it takes my meat eating friends to realize it’s made of soy. It really was a sandwich for vegetarians who want to eat things that replicate meat, but if you’re not looking for that (a lot of people I know would be grossed out by the similarity) there are tons of other choices on the menu for vegetarians.

The cole slaw was made with a dill mayo they make right there, and was so good it kind of ruined all the Miracle Whip slaw they serve at other places. The bun was incredible-soft and fresh. The bartender –Leslie-was really nice and answered all of our annoying questions. Being a vegetarian herself, she was extremely helpful. She told us that one of the reasons people like their soy BBQ/Burgers is because they are made entirely with soy (no seitan which can sometimes cause an aftertaste). She also told us that the buns are made fresh daily by The Bread Shop in Pittsboro. I was very impressed that Spotted Dog tries to utilize local businesses as much as possible (for example, all of their beers on tap are local breweries).

The big “Hooray!” for vegetarians/vegans is that Spotted Dog cooks all of their meat on a separate grill than their vegetarian food (including all utensils). If you are ordering vegetarian you are not receiving anything that has any contact with meat (which seems to be the point of being vegetarian in the first place).

I’ve never seen a Veggie BBQ anywhere (but in those big bags they sell at Whole Foods), so I have nothing to compare it to, but this sandwich was excellent. I enjoyed every bite, the mellow ambience of the restaurant and the friendly and excellent service. They even had the Mets game on which alone should earn them a good review. Turns out they didn’t need the Mets. Excellent food at extremely reasonable prices.

5 beans (out of 5)

Sean

We’d been here many times, but this time was different. This was no casual dinner visit, or drop-in for drinks before a show. This was the scene of the first veggie burger review for “You Don’t Soy.” And I was ready.

Tom was already seated at the bar when I arrived, finishing up an order of the boneless chicken wings (which, incidentally, are so awesome that they had us discussing whether or not we should review veggie menu items other than burgers. We decided not to branch out at this time, but if you find yourself at the Dog, you owe it to yourself to try them. From me as a former chicken wing enthusiast, they get a rating of five out of five beans. Even thinking about them right now makes me wish I had a plate of them in front of me.) All of the dog-themed beers were on special this evening, so I ordered a Dogfish 60 minute as my first beverage. Not a good choice to accompany my burger. Way too hoppy for a beer with dinner beverage. I love IPA’s but this one is more suited for after dinner. I opted for a Snake Dog next, which was a little milder.

I chose the “Spots Boneless Burger,” the only actual veggie burger on the menu. There were lots of vegetarian entrees available, but this was the only one actual burger so it seemed like the logical choice. Tom decided to branch out and get the Veggie BBQ Sandwich. After we discussed the merits of the Spotted Dog’s veggie burger with our bartender Leslie, who was very nice and was a good sport about accommodating our disjointed and disorganized interview questions, the burger arrived with it’s compliment of French fries.

The toppings included sliced tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and mayo. I thought it could have used some more sprouts but Leslie informed s that they used fewer of them due to customer feedback that too many sprouts gave the burger a “hairy” quality that was off-putting. The burger itself, although in appearance it was unremarkable, was very tasty. The patty held up nicely without deteriorating on contact like some veggie patties do. It was suitably juicy and had a spicy quality that Leslie informed us was due to the fact that it had chopped onions in it. The toppings complimented it nicely without overpowering the taste of the patty. The bun was delicious as well, a nice compliment to the burger. I found myself wishing I had a second one when I finished the boneless burger. Fortunately there were enough fries on the plate to keep me from ordering one.

Spotted Dog “Spot’s Boneless Burger.”

5 Beans (out of five)!