McDonald’s enters the veggie burger party

The Globe and Mail ran an interesting article (November 12, subscription required) on the evolution of  Veggie Burgers  at Canadian fast-food outlets. 

Pretty much gone are the faux-beef burgers—think Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods—customers just didn’t like them. In their place are unabashedly veggie burgers, featuring grilled patties of peas, carrots, corn and other standard vegetables.

Industry heavyweights like McDonald’s, A&W and even Burger King are hoping South Asian descendants and local vegetarians will step up to the plate. And the pitches seem to be working, with different iterations of veggie burgers selling out in test markets across Canada.

The Spicy McVeggie Burger

McDonald’s recently unveiled its McVeggie Burger, a crispy, vegetable-dense patty that also comes in a spicy version (preferred). Joining the party is A&W’s longer roster of plant-based burgers, including the Masala Veggie Burger.

A&W’s Masala Veggie Burger

Both burger joints have outlets near me—indeed across the street from each other—making it easy to do a quick taste test. 

My first impression: McDonald’s Spicy McVeggie Burger is bigger, better and cheaper ($6.29), than A&W’s Masala Veggie Burger ($7.29). Neither is going to fill you up, unless you go for the combo meal deal. So no bargains here, other than McDonald’s decent Americano ($2.19). A&W, however, wins the convivial space award, judging by the much larger crowd of mostly seniors.

Verdict: Both burgers are pretty good, but not enough to pull me away from a juicy, real beef burger.

The real deal champion is stilly beefy