Odd Burger for a vegan twist on fast food

• Name + address: Odd Burger, # 5-1050 Bank St.

• Diet: Vegan

• Prices: $6-$20

• Wheelchair accessibility: Yes

• Licensed: No

• Website: www.oddburger.com

The Canadian vegan fast food chain Odd Burger finally rolled into Ottawa. It’s an idea whose time has come and if it has less impact on the environment than factory farming, it’s a value-added for the consumer and the planet.

I’ve known many vegans and vegetarians over the years and it’s a common talking point that there’s some dis-ease around these diets needing to replicate animal-based dishes in order to become appealing. 

Should a vegan burger actually use the word “burger” when what it brings to mind is a grilled beef patty? A few years ago the meat industry tried to prevent grocery chains from placing vegan “burger” patties next to premade beef patties.

On this my feeling is the word has more to do with the shape of the item and how it’s served. After all, we have salmon “burgers” and chicken “burgers” and the list goes on.

With the word “milk” however I’m a little more of a stickler. It’s a word that can be defined a little more specifically and while I have used soy, nut and oat “milks” I don’t view them as milk. Yet again, this is neither here nor there to me. The dairy industry can fight its own battles.

Still, using the words “vegan milkshake,” just at first glance, does seem a little misleading. A milkshake is a classic going back to 1886 and its association in most people's minds is with sweet frozen dairy. 

There’s also nothing wrong with calling a new version “vegan whipped frosty.” Yet for a vegan fast food chain, that’s not enough of a strong association and it’s those strong associations in the public imagination that Odd Burger trades on.

I walked into the Odd Burger on Bank near Sunnyside on a Sunday afternoon and found that the small number of seats were taken. It would be a takeaway for me.

There were a number of people busily at work behind the counter and I approached one to place my order. I was told that I would need to use the large screen kiosk as this is a cashless venue. 

Some of us are just not cut out for this and I fumbled along for close to 10 minutes trying to navigate the endless buttons. I decided that I would never do this again and besides, here I was doing someone else's job for them. Would I be getting a discount?

After just a moderately long wait my food was ready and by then a seat had opened up. I had ordered a soft serve vanilla cone and was almost blinded by how white it was. Very much like the Mister Softee dairy versions, there’s nothing as white as this in nature.

It was a blend of soy and oat “milks” and I was pleasantly surprised by how muted the soy milk aftertaste was. There was much less of the dry chalky taste you get from soy but the oat did show through. For just a dollar, it was a nice treat.

While it was still hot, I decided I needed a few savoury bites and tucked into the burger. It was smash burger thin and topped with mustard, ketchup, pickles and a dusting of onion. Although in hindsight “dusting” is overstating things.

It was modestly seasoned with a little char-grilled flavour and at this temperature it made for a good vegan version. It didn’t have the meaty umami satisfaction of a Beyond Burger from A&W or The Works however, but I was encouraged that Odd Burger had crafted their own recipe.

Once the burger had cooled a little it was less appetizing and I found that to be the case with everything I had ordered. This is food that needs to be consumed immediately to be fully appreciated.

The onion rings were very good although the crunch factor erred on the side of too much but the batter was nicely seasoned and the thick cut onions sweet and creamy.

Chick-un nuggets were crispy and they had done a bang up job replicating the KFC seasoning. So for anyone who grew up with KFC this was nicely played. Finishing these at home however, revealed that they had turned very dense and rubbery and while the taste was still fine, the texture was a little too firm.

Of all the items, the tacos were the clear stand out on this visit. With the iceberg lettuce and under ripe tomato toppings this brought me straight back to the ersatz tacos you get at Taco Bell. Even having them at room temperature, I felt I was getting a classic fast food version complete with ground “beef.” They were soft, tasty and easy to inhale.

A few days later I would make the breakfast sausages at home. Six irregularly sized patties for $8. Given the various sizes it calls into question the accuracy of the nutrition label. They’re also packaged haphazardly so I recommend you take them from the freezer an hour before use. They’re clumped together and you might risk shredding them.

I appreciated the seasoning and they did taste a little like the good kind of breakfast sausage we’ve all experienced. They contained whole fennel seeds, cooked up nicely with a crisp exterior yet were far too salty.

Odd Burger has a good concept and yet I worry about their rapid growth. They are expanding across the country without yet having perfected their recipes. 

In fact, the Ottawa location has a menu far smaller than counterparts in Toronto or Calgary. In our market you are also not yet able to order online as Ottawa isn’t even mentioned as a location on their website.

In order to recreate the meaty textures they work a lot with gluten in the form of seitan. This is fast food after all so there’s also a fair amount of deep frying and if you’re not having a vegan shake, you’re relegated to coffee, tea or the ubiquitous fountain sodas.

They do have gluten free bread options brought in by their food service supplier Sysco and I would recommend checking the plant protein and allergen guides on their website.

Vegan cuisine is some of the most inspired and delicious food currently available and there’s no reason we can’t have that in fast food. 

Odd Burger has a number of challenges that I didn’t address here as I wanted to focus on the food. With the right guidance however, it can become a leader in this space.