Farm Burger Birmingham’s No. 2: The Vegan Burger

With its cow logo and emphasis on grass fed beef, I didn’t expect relatively-new-to-Downtown-Birmingham’s Farm Burger to have any vegetarian options, let alone a delish vegan burger.

In fact, I wouldn’t have even investigated had a vegetarian colleague not suggest it to me with the assurance that the vegan burger was fantastic.

Farm Burger on Richard Arrington

Located in The Waites Building on Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd in Downtown Birmingham, Farm Burger Birmingham bills itself as a grass fed burger restaurant that is “proud to serve grass fed burgers from cows that are always humanely raised and handled.”

Even though this is a vegetarian blog, we ain’t gonna get into the issues that plague beef production today, because sometimes you just have to be okay with sharing burgers with friends and family, even when their burgers are made with different ingredients. At least these cows are fed grass instead of soy and corn (Farm Burger’s website flashes Grass=Good in huge letters), spend their lives in the pasture, and aren’t pumped with antibiotics or growth hormones. 

They have some preset signature burger ensembles that they call Blackboard Burgers, but you can also build your own, and they have other treats there, too. They serve alcohol, for instance, including Interstellar Ginger Beer, which Kenton ordered, and have excellent drink specials.

They have an extended version of their menu that lists an array of exciting burger toppings that are organized by price (I think it ranged from free-$2). Their No 2 burger under the Blackboard specials is the Vegan Burger.

The Vegan Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

According to their website the vegan burger recipe changes seasonally, so I look forward to trying others throughout the year. This time the burger patty consisted of black eyed peas, smoked tempeh, and butternut squash. The grilled buns were also topped with a basil tofu spread, local burgundy onions, and usually sunflower sprouts. When we went they were pretty much out of sprouts, though, so they subbed in arugula. I added roasted garlic to mine and was impressed by the big ole burger that came around, and Kenton was really impressed by how well the patty held together.

The Vegan Burger’s colossal patty. Apologies for the blur.

The basil spread was a star, and the burger was super tasty. I love butternut squash, and I thought it paired really well with the black eyed peas. I got mine with sweet potato fries, but my bro and Kent went with the Farm Burger (FB) fries: spicy garlic, herbs, parmesan cheese.

FB Fries: garlic, herbs, parmesan cheese

The bro got a milkshake, topped with what appeared to be deliciously fluffy whipped cream, but he didn’t let me taste, so I can only assume his record-timing demolition meant it was delectable.

The staff was friendly, fun, and had great customer service. I was surprised that they were so attentive to us, checking to see that everything was okay, coming to remove empty plates when we appeared to be finished. That’s not usual for establishments like this one, so that made the meal even more pleasant.

With reasonable prices, a great atmosphere, central location, and a menu that’s sure to please all in your party, I think Farm Burger is worth a visit. I’ll definitely be going there again!