TIP: Go try Hilary’s Veggie Burgers

I’ve been a veg forever (well, my forever; birth). Growing up, my lovely mum was always on the lookout for interesting vegetarian foods and would buy the latest in whatever fun new product there was – so I got to try it all (for better or worse), from Tofurky to Boca. Though I was lucky to live in the time of specialty health food stores, back in the day, meat substitutes and generally fun veg options were not as bountiful (and certainly not as cheap) as they are today. Not to sound like a complete wuss but Nick can testify to a couple tears being shed in the grocery store these days. Happy tears of joy for representation, options – a whole real section in an average grocery store.

Growing up, I was never really a fan of the fake meat burgers. The best part of them was that they let me have an inconspicuous option for the inevitable grill-out where you are the awkward veg who doesn’t want to be difficult but yes, does necessitate a separate patty. I always preferred the veggie burgers that weren’t trying to be meaty; Trader Joe’s Masala burgers and Dr. Preager’s California Veggie Burger definitely deserve an honorable mention here though overall, the whole patty genre was narrow and lacking for me…until more recent history.

A few years ago at a big Publix I saw a new brand of veggie burger that was quinoa-based called Qrunch and whisked it into my trolly. It was GREAT. Crispy, flavorful, quick, easy. I could even pop it into the toaster! They had an ‘original’ flavor and a green chile flavor that was spicy and fantastic. Unfortunately as quick as they appeared in my life like beautiful rays of sunshine, poof, they were gone! This is often the case with veggie products. Many times your favorite gets ousted from the one dedicated shelf for a new one and yet for some reason that old rubbery ham substitute will be there forever.

For a couple of months there Nick and I were bored and bummed on the veggie burger front. Then all of a sudden it was like there was a mighty spring of life in the veggie section. Beyond Meat’ premiered (craziness you can read about here), these artichoke burgers popped up, Morningstar expanded, Qrunch came back rebranded – the grocery stores themselves even seemed to all be expanding their ‘healthy’ section! It was exciting. Amidst this renaissance we found Hilary’s. A mainstay in my fridge forever since – they are fab. Almost all of them are great (though ironically the ‘Worlds Best Veggie Burger’ is not my favorite). My favorite is the Root Veg, but Adzuki is a close second. Apparently there are even more Hilary’s products (like a Kimchi Burger or mesquite + beet bites – wtf!) that we can’t try because we live in Georgia and sometimes Georgia is as backward as it seems. I bet it’s different in California, I bet their stores are overflowing with beet bites those lucky progressive bastards.

So not only does Hilary’s sate all the neurotic eaters by being gluten free, soy free, nut, egg blah blah blah free, it’s fully organic and above all tastes good, which is my primary concern. If you haven’t yet, I urge you to go try them and hopefully you will find them as tasty as we do and buy them up so they become a regular for the veggie section!

Anecdote (…at the risk of me seeming like an asshole) – When Hilary’s burgers were new to stores they were running out pretty quickly. I once went to 3 stores trying to find Hilary’s, at the third one I found one.last.box. in the back of the freezer. Nick and I did a little dance and were in the aisle checking out other veggie goodies when another lady came up with a fat cart of stuff. She spent a long time looking around and so I started a chat with her about how its hard to decide, right!? It turns out lo and behold she has ALSO been on the Hilary’s hunt. Her beady eyes found that I was holding in my hands the very golden ticket she had been hunting for and she starts dropping that they are also her favorite…the family also loves them, her kids will actually eat them, blah blah. Then it got gritty – SHE has a soy intolerance, do I? How about nut? The qualifying questions rained down to de-justify my deservedness for the last pack of Hilary’s. I told her yes, I also am also gluten, soy etc etc intolerant, and these are ALSO the only burgers I can eat (lies) and she scuttled off looking pissy. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is how good these burgers are.