Veggie Burger Bliss At Green City Market

By Melissa Wiley in Food on Jun 29, 2012 3:25PM

We’re essentially of the Ron Swanson school of thought when it comes to burgers, meaning we’re anachronistic enough to still think of “veggie burger” as an oxymoron. But the culinary machinations taking place at River Valley Ranch have bedeviled our senses. Our red meat cravings have atrophied, and we’re hightailing it to Green City Market every Wednesday and Saturday for more meatless abundance. Served with a side of grilled asparagus and topped with an advertorial mushroom (River Valley Ranch is the Midwest’s oldest mushroom farm), this isn’t a healthier, more effete substitute for the real stuff. It’s an alternative universe of a sandwich in its own right.

We know that veggie burgers are not innately mysterious. We know that portabella mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and peppers—all fresh off the Burlington, WI, farm—play a critical role in this farmers’ market crowd pleaser. But the cynic in us suspects something more at work, something seductively spicy and more than likely laced with habit-forming substances. Either that or we’ve been giving veggie burgers the cold shoulder for far too long.

True, because this is a veggie sandwich, not foie gras, Swanson-ite stomachs may begin to grumble an hour or so after digestion sets in, requiring reinforcement to allay a gnawing sense of insatiability. But our bets are on you retracing your steps to the River Valley tent and sliding the dude with the pony tail and easy smile another $6. After giving one a gander, Ron Swanson himself could hardly resist.