Lick’s Nature Burger, Vegetarian
Making front page headlines in my country right now is a massive recall on Maple Leaf meats due to a “deadly nationwide bacterial outbreak”. Details are online everywhere, but expect the previously unknown word “Listeria” to enter your vocabulary the same way SARS did. Therefore, I suppose this is a timely review, at least for any Canadians reading this (or brave tourists: “Come to Canada for an X-treme Vacation by Eating Processed Meat-food!”) in that I want to broach the challenge of eating meat-free and OMFG maybe even healthy, within the environment of fast food that exists. Yeah, good luck with that, right? Veggie challenge #1 is the Lick’s Nature Burger.
An institution in Ontario for years, and slowly getting franchised across Canada, Lick’s Homeburgers & Ice Cream is a regional burger chain, complete with the Honest Ed’s-style slogan “You can LICK our ice cream but you can’t BEAT our burgers!” (and if I was in charge, I would replace “Burgers!” with “Meat!” heh heh). All bah-dum-dum drum noises aside, it’s just another way of saying “specialty fast food” so you would expect a bit more than dependably mediocre, which is really what lots of fast food is; at least when it comes to the elusive veggie burger.
Measuring my own veggie burger experience against the putrid offerings of other very popular crayola-colour décor’d chains, I usually find the Lick’s Nature Burger to be not merely serviceable, but a fast food item any vegetarian – and some omnivores – would seek out deliberately. And oh look, this location just opened around the corner from the University of Toronto. And as you would expect from university students, the company Lick’s is keeping indicates it’s a smart neighbourhood.
After placing my order at the cashier, I shuffle over to the topping bar where my buns wait to be dressed, and the patty to finish grilling. I do have to mention that the Nature Burger automatically comes with a whole wheat bun, but you can ask for the standard white bun if you want. I am partial to hearty whole-grain action anywhere I can get it, and I appreciate the sandwich developers assumed its clientele would be grain-sluts that way. They know vegetarians.
Amongst the many fresh choices, they have this goo called Guk! sauce which is a mayonnaise / garlic concoction that comes regular or “firey”. I’m not a mayo person (eggs revolt me) but I love heat, so I’m happy to settle for hot peppers to accompany some chopped lettuce, slices of onion and tomato. And for future reference, when presented with the option I will always choose fire.
The beef I have (yeah I said it) with most veggie burgers is that they are simply overcooked. I’m not sure if this is from lack of training or knowledge on the part of the staff, but it’s the one recurring fault. I don’t hear any buzzers and bells in the Lick’s kitchen, so I am assuming that the spatula person has timing authority over the grill, which means my Nature Burger is at their mercy. And upon a quick visual inspection, I see my patty is a bit darker than it needs to be. *SIGH*.
Upon first bite, the dominant flavour note permeating the palate throughout is a pleasing char / grill taste, which comes not only from the patty, but from a quick sear of the bun which got its grill-time as well. The whole wheat bun is hearty without being tough, and it soaks up the moisture bleeding from those beautifully fresh tomatoes and condiments very well. The lunch bag let-down happens with the patty texture, and it’s apparent that it was indeed, left on the grill a bit too long, and surprise, the tender mouth feel that I’ve experienced on past visits, is disappointingly more on the crunch side. Alas, no total happy ending for me on this occasion. Mediocre, score one.
Overall, they’re still a better “burger” than any of the other fast food places serve, and the impeccably fresh components lend brightness to the whole thing. In fact, the first time I had one I thought I had been served a meat patty by mistake; cool, eh? It should be noted that their popular products are available to purchase in select supermarkets as frozen goods, and I’ve bought their patties and cooked them myself. Properly. Next time I’ll try requesting my Nature Burger cooked “rare”, or maybe order one of their other vegetarian offerings, like the Nature Wrap (vegetarian burrito). So I’m over it.
The burger gets a B- on this trip, but I’ve previously had it A, for Awesome. The fries were f-ing fantastic and deserve a review of their own in the future.
Price: $4.89 CDN / Website: LicksHomeburgers.com
Fast Food Critic Score: B-
Click here for rating system details.
Nutrition Facts - Lick’s Nature Burger (patty with whole wheat bun).
Calories - 350
Calories from Fat - N/A
Total Fat - 12.5 grams
Carbs - 34 grams
Saturated Fat - 4.4 grams
Trans Fat - N/A grams
Cholesterol - 0 milligrams
Sodium - 970 milligrams
Protein - 23 gramsPlease note these numbers are for the patty and whole wheat bun only. They do not include extra veggies or toppings. At this time Lick’s does not provide those details. Visit this link for more information about Lick’s nutrition.
I love how you get to see all the fresh ingredients and burger being put together in front of you. I’ve been slowly moving away from red meat and this sounds like something I would enjoy. The veggie burger at BURGER KING was not very good when I tried it and I’ve had trouble finding any more burger options. I wish we had LICK’S here in the US. Sometimes I get the veggie delight sandwich at SUBWAY which is pretty tasty but still leaves me hungry.
Great review Wendi. I look forward to more from you.
I still have yet to try a veggie burger. Even though it’s a b-… i think it still might be worth trying as my first veggie burger. and that mayo sauce sounds great!
Great review Wend!. Do you have any comments on the Lick’s burgers sold in supermarkets vs those from the restaurants? Many years ago I used to search out Lick’s for my burger fix, even though I had to listen to the staff sing silly songs. The decline in quality once the chains focus on profit, growth, and survival seems inevitable. Here in Toronto I think of Toby’s, Harvey’s and Lick’s as giving up and failing to provide us with great tasting meals. I really don’t think it’s all nostalgia for the ‘good old days’.
Back when I lived in the D.C. area I used to have falafel sandwiches at fast food places, if you get them with the yogurt sauce I guess they aren’t vegie but you can always get the tahini sauce.
My problem with veggie burgers has always been dryness, a good sauce goes a long way towards curing that.
This looks pretty good, even for a veggie burger. I wonder if we will ever get this chain in the USA?
Great work Wendi.
I must admit, that does look and sound pretty tasty. Much better than the strange orange colored patty in the BK veggie burger I tried. Like Tom I also wonder of Lick’s has any future plans to expand into the USA.
Btw, it’s awesome you squeezed the beer store into that first photo.
This has turned me back on veggie burgers, every veggie burger I’ve tried has been disgusting or it’s looked disgusting.
When you mentioned you thought it was meat, that was a major upside because it show’s that a product without meat can taste like meat.
Great review!
Good review! I would try that. Doesn’t look too bad at all, especially with the condiment selection. Give me some Guk! and sliced pickles. ;]
Omgosh you guys rule.
Lisa, thanks, and you are right, most options for us, uhm, SUCK. The Lick’s version is a really good example of how chains can do a fast food veggie item well.
John!! I think you would be satisfied, for sure.. and the firey Guk sauce is like a punch of horseradish to the throat. My kind of sauce :).
Al, yeah. But hey, it’s fast food. How much do you realllly expect?
For what it is, I’d say Lick’s does the best job of it, carnival atmosphere, and all.
And, the fact that Lick’s stands behind its product enough to package it and sell it at your local Dominion, well, I don’t see Harvey’s or any of the others, dong that. (oh, and hey, i look forward to reading more from YOU! :))
OMG ROb. I agree x10.
Tom, Tim, let’s open one in the US together! Oh, and beside a beer store too
James, RJ, merci! Another guy i know threw a fit because he thought he had received a meat burger by mistake. In a comparison with the other person who HAD a meat patty, everyone realized that it wasn’t meat after all, but quite the successful mockingbird.
Thanks for reading this and I apologize for the quality of the photos. I’m on the search for a new digital camera, so thanks for bearing with me, until that happens!
xoxoxow
Oh no, this has become a vegetarian Canadian site, reviewing fast foods we would never order from chains that don’t even exist in the US. :^( :^(
Time to find some more local and relevant food blogs, I guess. *sigh*
Steve?
I hope you’re kidding, right?
There are 2 people in the USA, 2 in Canada. One of them happens to be a vegetarian. I’ve got at least 1 or 2 more people (USA) coming on board soon… the site’s content is 95% American… and the main focus, by default, is on the USA market. All of it relevant.
And the sites just now into it’s 6 month online, and the first 5 months were me alone. This is still just the beginning. Heck, I might bring in somebody from Japan, China, India, etc… if I get some qualified volunteers from those countries.
I want to bring ‘variety’ to the people.
The site is — always has been — and always will be American based. But I want that variety. It’s very important to me, and in my opinion, to the ultimate long term success of this project.
I hope you were joking, or misunderstood what’s going on. I hope you will be back. Please reply. You can contact me privately if you want too.
I would like reviews from Asia just to know what kind of funky stuff the chains sell there.
Squid pizza, yum!
Thank you for finally adding a healthful view!!!!! I look with interest at the email posts, mostly with a shake of my head as I am not only vegetarian but concerned about my health and what I eat. Most fast food places have no concept of low fat or healthy eating and I think they could influence peoples eating habits by offering more healthy alternatives. I always wonder, how can they possibly have any quality ingredients when they sell a burger for $1? Or even $3.
i’m a meat guy but i typically order the nature burg over the home burg just cos they’re actually that good, and healthier.
OK, maybe I freaked out a bit. The last 2 reviews were for ff items not available in the US, one by a vegetarian (which is a small-sample large percentage!). I look to this site for inspiration on ff items to try out (or revisit). The reviews were well-written and nicely detailed (I personally like the more informative reviews that include background info,etc.). But, I realized I was being a bit too vicarious in salivating over items not even available in the US.
I’m not a xenophobe (Canaa is OK!) and I think getting details on fast food items from around the world would be cool. I was just afraid that ‘local’ covrage of items I can enjoy would be lost in this expansion. I’ll hang and give it a chance…
Excellent review.
I’ve got to stop reading this right before lunch. It just amplifies my hunger!
Since this is the first I’ve heard of Lick’s (and I’m sure most US readers are in the same boat), I think a broader introduction is in order.
I do love places that let you put on your on condiments. Fast food items I order have an average of three modifications- no mayo, add avocado, no onions, etc. I’m much more likely to “have it my way” if I do it myself. Fast food cooks don’t always share my attention to detail.
I like the default wheat bun. To me, it’s an indication that they care about healthy choices and quality ingredients.
I’ll pop in next time I visit the Great White North. Though I’ll order the burger with a beef patty. (Sorry, old habits die hard!)
Steve, we gonna send you a Nature Burger with a Prozac in it.
By the way, the stuff from Al’s review is available in the USA. And in this case, we learned that both items, the GO Wrap and the Chili, appear the same as their American counterpart.
The only thing in those 2 reviews unique to Canada is the Nature Burger Veggie from Lick’s, a company itself unique to them.
It’s all good man. The Canadians are not invading or taking over. I will put up an American Flag with my next review or something.
Jeff from Knowzy:
Just want to be clear - at Lick’s (and Harvey’s, another Canadian chain), you DON’T get to put the condiments on yourself. They are all behind glass. You tell the “topper” what you want. The good news is they are very accommodating - if you want extra tomato or regular mustard AND hot mustard or whatever, they’ll do it. For example, I like dill pickle but not on my burger, so I ask for the pickle on the side. Not only is it no problem, they’ll pull out another piece of wax paper, and slap half a dozen slices of pickle on it for me.
It’s not likely you’ll see either spot near you unless you live quite near the Canadian border. A few Canadian chains (retail and food) tried large expansions into the US, and lost a bundle. The strategy these days seems to be to grow slowly from US border cities (like Buffalo and Detroit), letting the local population develop a taste for the products, and expanding from there.
So when is the UK branch going to start
Kevin,
Thanks for the clarification. It sounds a little like the Subway sandwich building method. Works for me- if I can watch them make it, I only have myself to blame if it comes out wrong.
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