The Best (and Worst) Veggie Burgers in Bloomington, Indiana
A Comprehensive Review
Don’t judge any of these restaurants by their veggie burgers, which are often an afterthought or a concession to their customers’ weird vegetarian friend (someone like me). In some cases, all the food is equally as bad as the veggie burger. But usually restaurants specialize and put greater effort into their other menu items and even into their other vegetarian selections. This list ignores all of that and focuses only on veggie burgers, so let’s get started…
Bloom Burgers food truck
I found them at Food Truck Fridays at Switchyard Park
Bloom burgers falafel patty. Great concept. But they need a better falafel recipe. Greasy and mushy. All that distinguishes it from the typical back bean burgers around town is that it’s green on the inside.
Brothers Bar & Grill
215 N Walnut St
They use Impossible Burgers, so I’m not going to review them. You can just go to a grocery store and buy your own.
B-Town Diner
215 N Walnut St
I included them because their menu lists a veggie burger, but don’t be fooled; they no longer serve veggie burgers.
Butch’s Grillacatesen and Eatzeria
120 E 7th St
A pizza place with kind of a sketchy vibe. Very slow to take my order (understaffed). I tried their blue cheese burger with a veggie burger substituted for the meat. It’s a fried black bean, corn, rice and onion affair. Honestly not bad, but I think I’ll try their balsamic vinegar eggplant wrap next time.
Update: Butch’s Grillacatesen and Eatzeria is gone. We will forever miss the fascinating name of this place.
Buffa Louie’s
114 S Indiana Ave
I tried the black bean burger. they also have an Impossible Burger, which I won’t review (see Brother’s Bar and Grill, above). Buffa Louie’s has a cool interior - 3 levels and lots of hide-away tables to sit at. They also have some local Upland beer on tap, though it’s served in a disposable plastic cup: a reminder that this is a campus joint. There’s an interior door to a Chocolate Moose outlet that serves vegan ice cream. The veggie burger was a little bland and mushy, but one of the best in town.
Crazy Horse
214 W Kirkwood Ave
This is a very meat-oriented place. Even their salads have meat in them. But they do have a house-made black bean burger, which I had with avocado, roasted garlic aioli and “beer cheese.” (The aioli and cheese dip came on the side.) The burger was greasy and mushy like most Bloomington veggie burgers, but it was breaded and fried, which is unusual. P.S. This place is known for their impressively expansive beer selection.
Elm
614 E 2nd St
A restaurant in a residential neighborhood, with a large beautifully refurbished interior and an outdoor patio. The veggie burger was mushy, greasy, too salty and just plain bad. In a nod to a bygone era of good veggie burgers in Bloomington, I should point out that when Elm first opened up, their veggie burger was quite good. Elm veggie burger: one lip
Hopscotch Coffee
235 DODDS ST
This is a café on the B-Line with a a breakfast and lunch menu. A nice place to sit and work. They serve a “veggie patty” that is, thankfully, not yet another mushy black bean burger. A bit dry, this dense square patty relies on condiments and other sandwich ingredients for its flavor, much like tofu or tempeh does. I give it 4 kisses for originality and nutritive substance, making it the second best veggie burger in Bloomington!
The Irish Lion Restaurant & Pub
212 W Kirkwood Ave
Right next to Crazy Horse. A corn and black bean burger, similar to many others but cooked much better - not mushy or greasy.
Janko's Little Zagreb
223 W. 6th Street
This is a steak place where ordering their one vegetarian item, a vegan black bean burger, may raise an eyebrow from the friendly wait staff. But it’s not the generic black bean burger that most places serve. Yes, it’s a somewhat mushy fried black bean burger, but it’s huge! It’s between three and 10 times more massive than the other veggie burgers reviewed here. It was so enormous that after eating it, I had to go home and take a two-hour nap.
Juniper Art Gallery
615 W Kirkwood Ave
Yes, you can have lunch (and drinks) with your art. They put a veggie burger on their menu! Unlike most restaurant black bean burgers, this one is green and more filled with veggies, like whole peas and kernels of corn. It’s a bit petite, but after all, you are eating at an art gallery, not the Golden Corral.
Malibu Grill
106 N Walnut St
A highly meat-centric IU oriented restaurant with a fairly good veggie burger. Their house made black bean burger is by far the thickest veggie burger in town. It has a fried, crispy exterior and, like most other veggie burgers in Bloomington, a gummy, mushy interior. Comes with avocado, cheese, tomato, lettuce and pickles. Could use more flavor (garlic perhaps?) but it beats most Bloomington veggie burgers.
Odd note: The first time I went there to try the their veggie burger, they told me it was only available at lunch. I promptly forgot and went back for dinner a few days later and lo and behold, it was there on the menu. So my advice is to avoid asking the host about it when you first walk in and just order it with a confident look that says, “I get this all the time.”
Runciple Spoon
412 E 6th St
A beloved Bloomington eatery which has suffered from notoriously bad service for decades. After being ignored for over half an hour, I walked to the kitchen to give them my order. But then they brought it to the wrong customer, who took it apart with his hands. They took it back, apologized to him, and replaced his meal. They replated it and gave it to me, without saying anything. The Runciple Spoon black bean burger is mushy but has better flavor than most.
Southern Stone
405 W Patterson Dr
Just an Impossible Burger, which I’m not really into eating (or reviewing).
Trojan Horse
100 E Kirkwood Ave
This is a long-time Bloomington Greek restaurant that years and years ago had an amazing veggie burger. Sadly, those days are gone. Now, their veggie burger is a basic black bean burger served between two small pita rounds, which makes it fall apart in a mess that’s difficult to eat. Kind of dry and mushy.
Upland Brewery
350 W 11th St
This is a local brewery and restaurant with a big outdoor patio and great beer. I had them substitute a black bean burger into their “classic” burger. Too mushy, bland and, on my visit, burnt. Everything else I got in my order was poorly prepared as well, and the Upland has the dubious distinction of serving the worst coffee in Bloomington, if not the entire planet. The fact that the employees know and joke about this, but they continue to serve it, is an indication that they don’t really care about their food or customers.
The Village Deli
409 E Kirkwood Ave
The most flavorful veggie burger in town. It’s got black beans and corn like most of the others, but it’s lentil-based, which leads to improved consistency and flavor. Nothing else about this basic burger is interesting - not the single leaf of lettuce or the sliced raw onions. They also have a gussied-up Dave’s Veggie Burger Deluxe, which I have yet to try. Perhaps it would push this best-of veggie burger up to five kisses? As it stands, the Village Deli veggie burger is better that all the other veggie burgers in town, edging out Juniper Gallery and Hopscotch.
Wacky-Bunnz food truck
302 N Walnut St
I found them at the Woolery Farmers’ Market. Lots of interesting flavors in the sauces. The burger itself was so soft it was more of a spread than a patty.
Yogi’s Bar & Grill
302 N Walnut St
I ordered their “No More Mr. Rice Guy.” Clever name, but it’s just a typical black bean burger. Meh. (I also had fried cheese curds and kettle fries, both of which were bad.)
It’s possible that many of these establishments use the same black bean burgers that they buy frozen, from the same distributor. The differences may simply be how well or terribly they are prepared.
Feel free to comment, especially to bring my attention to Bloomington restaurants whose veggie burgers I have missed. As I come across more veggie burgers in my B’town culinary explorations, I will add them to the review. Perhaps there’s a veggie burger out there right now that can beat Hopscotch’s.
Just saw the Bloomington's Runciple Spoon now has a black bean burger. Will check it out and add to the reviews.