7/27/2023 0 Comments Download the alters steam![]() ![]() Yet none of these sideshow garnishes and toppings interfere with the star ingredients they provide only accents, little pinpricks to help awaken the palate to the essential pleasures of the beef and brioche bun. Based on the menu description alone, the Proper would appear to flout my self-imposed rules for stripped-down burgers: Its twin Angus patties are topped with arugula, Gouda cheese, house pickles, sweet chili sauce and garlic aioli. Duke’s owner Daniel Kramer says the burger hasn’t changed much since its debut, which I file under the If It Ain’t Broke category. The Proper burger, then, is my tip of the hat to both Duke’s and the chef who helped create it. ![]() I point this out because McCoy has long since left Duke’s to start his own thing, Lucky Buns, a burger joint that just missed the cut for this list. The Proper burger has appeared on the menu at Duke’s Grocery since the day the pub and sandwich shop debuted in 2013, which means the hamburger, more or less, still has the fingerprints of founding chef Alex McCoy on it. It’s a preparation that immediately calls attention to itself, as if to shout that a burger does not require animal proteins to compete for the title of GOAT. The tempeh is surrounded on all sides with complementary textures and flavors, whether pickles made in-house or a burger sauce that incorporates kimchi, each adding an element of acid or umami or just plain deliciousness. Elle, the mid-century-chic cafe in Mount Pleasant, sells only one burger - and only at lunch - and it happens to feature a slab of house-fermented tempeh, which the kitchen smokes over hickory chips to add an element of “charred burger” flavor, says executive chef Harrison Dickow. I searched far and wide for a veg burger that could hold its own against the real thing: one that didn’t rely on processed, plant-based patties or a black-bean puck so squishy that it’s impossible to distinguish between the bun and the patty. Don’t make the mistake of assuming this tempeh burger is a token vegetarian option on an otherwise knuckle-dragging list of red meat.
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