A new vegan burger restaurant has just opened in Denver, Colorado. Named Meta Burger, the new joint will serve a variety of vegan versions of fast-food classics, including Dairy Queen Blizzard-style milkshakes.
Since 1985, Dairy Queen has blended its soft-serve ice cream with branded chocolate and cookies, such as Oreos and M&M’s, to make its classic Blizzard shakes. Meta Burger’s vegan soft-serve, soy-based ice cream shakes mimic this idea, but without animal products. Shake flavors include Chocolate Turtle, Banana Split, Cookies ‘n’ Creme, Salted Caramel Pretzel, and Chocolate Peanut Butter.
Alongside fixed menu items, such as the Chilli Cheese Dog, the Supernova Burger, and the Triple Threat Burger (served with vegan bacon, chopped onions, and BBQ sauce), a build-your-own bar will also be available. Customers can choose from a variety of burger fillings and toppings, including dairy-free mac ‘n’ cheese and grilled pineapple. To create its vegan meat products, the restaurant uses Hungry Planet soy-based ground beef, which contains half the calories and fat of other vegan meaty burgers, such as the Impossible Burger or the Beyond Burger.
Founded by Michael Reeves and Matthew Coates, who met whilst working for the vegan fast-casual chain Native Foods, the aim of Meta Burger is to make plant-based, environmentally-friendly food more accessible and affordable. According to Eater Denver, the most expensive burger on the menu is $8.95.
“Meta Burger was created because the Denver market and many markets across the US are lacking an affordable plant-based/health conscious [option],” reads the company’s website. “The term Meta means seeing something from a higher perspective instead of from within the thing, like being self-aware, and Meta Burger plans to be a burger joint that views the world of food from a higher perspective.”
If you can’t get to Denver and you fancy one of Meta Burger’s vegan Dairy Queen Blizzard-style shakes, you can follow this recipe to make your own.
