BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP FEBRUARY 9 - FEBRUARY 15, 2018 31
DINING OUT
Vegan burgers and hot dogs and
shakes, oh my!
BY HELEN KLEIN
HKLEIN@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
“Prepare to be blown
away.”
With those five words
did Matt de Gruyter, the
co-owner and co-founder
of Next Level Burger,
which just opened up
in the Whole Foods 365
complex on Ashland
Place in Fort Greene,
introduce the eatery’s
Classic Beyond Burger
($10.55), a gluten-free,
100 percent plant based
burger that — cue the
applause — actually tastes
like a burger.
Now, I’ve been largely vegetarian
for the past eight months or so, and
haven’t had a burger made from beef
in the interim, so it’s something I actually
The 100 percent plant-based Beyond
Burger at Next Level Burger.
craved. Biting in, I was dubious,
but my taste buds quickly won over
my sceptical intellect. I knew I wasn’t
eating beef, but, dang, if that burger
didn’t taste like I was.
That was perhaps the biggest surprise
during my first foray into what
Next Level cooks up. That said, even
the burgers (and there are 11 of them
on the menu) that don’t taste like beef
are flavorful, dense and satisfying.
It’s no surprise to me, therefore,
that this small west coast dining chain,
which debuted in Bend, Oregon in
July of 2014, has grown from one to
six eateries in three and a half years,
forging a connection with Whole
Foods, which counts Next Level in its
Friends of 365 Program.
The Brooklyn Burger ($9.95) — an
exclusive to the Fort Greene location
— is listed as a special on a poster hanging
over the counter. It combines what
Next Level calls a “House Made Umami
Mushroom and Quinoa Patty” with
vegan smoked Gouda cheese, tempeh
bacon, caramelized onions and a molasses
based barbecue sauce, hitting
both sweet and salty notes, though
neither dominated.
Also yummy was the Mexicali Burger
($8.45), this one a patty composed
of black beans and vegetables topped
with guacamole and jalapeno mayo,
for some added zing. It’s also organic
and house-made — so it’s not only good,
but good for you.
I had another surprise when I tasted
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Helen Klein
the Next Level Dog ($8.45). If I was
sceptical about the Beyond Burger, I
was doubly sceptical about trying a
vegan hot dog garnished with tomatoes,
red onion and cucumber. Even
if the mention of “Special Sauce” —
which topped the hot dog — brought
up visions of Mickey D’s, the finishing
sprinkle of toasted black sesame seeds
immediately put that idea to rest.
Now, don’t get the idea that it tasted
like a frankfurter. It didn’t, but it was
good — tasty and firm in texture, and
the pleasantly spicy sauce waved away
any craving I may have had for my hot
dog standby, deli mustard. Not on this
dog!
I also sampled the soy milk-based
Mint Chocolate Chip Shake (small,
$5.95; regular, $7.45). It was so dense
and sweet and creamy, I completely
forgot it was non-dairy.
As de Gruyter — who came up with
the restaurant concept with wife
Cierra, who developed the recipes —
noted, “Our vision was to reinvent the
all-American burger joint.”
Looking ahead, de Gruyter said, the
company will continue to innovate
and improve. “We started with a
desire to create a plant-based burger
joint. We’ve held true to that. We’ve
developed new patties, new toppings
and have committed to constant evolution,
to get better and better over time.”
NEXT LEVEL BURGER
292 Ashland Place
Brooklyn NY 11217
347-384-2277
nextlevelburger.com
11 a.m.-11 p.m., daily
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Saturday, March 3, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. | $32
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