Herb 'n' Om's STL Vegan Burger Tour: Pura Vegan Raw Cafe

Pura Vegan Raw Cafe

307 Belt Ave

St. Louis, MO  63112

HOURS:

Tues-Fri 5-8, Saturday 11-8

Last week we went hardcore and visited Pura Vegan Raw Cafe. They are a vegan/gluten-free/raw cafe located in the Central West End/ DeBaliviere neighborhood in the old Nik’s Wine Bar.

Greeted by a friendly face, the small space is quaint and clean.  It’s a straight shot to the counter where you can place your order.  Interested in trying one of everything on the menu (Rawfredo anyone?) we stayed on task and ordered our burger.  The Nut Free Burger set us back $13.00 and they describe the patty as such: bun-free burger on lettuce, topped with tomato, red onions, avocado, bbq sauce & cheddar sauce
served with kale chips. 

Herb’s Take

First Word: Raw!

Having previous experience with this little delightful cafe, I was excited to try the “burger” finally.  Yes, $13 may seem a little steep, but the time, care and quality of ingredients used justifies (to me, at least) the double digit cost.  The patty (not a BURGER in my mind, as a true burger is held together by a bun - it’s kind of a package deal, ya know?) is presented beautifully.  It almost looks like a ray of sunshine with a garden on top.  I grabbed a fork and began to slice off a bite.  It gave in a little- so not a firm patty, but, I was expecting that.  The almost coarse-like texture is good and welcoming.  The patty is not mushy, but rather firmly soft and I appreciated the need to actually chew and not have the ingredients just fall apart in my mouth.  The taste, though the patty, itself was not overwhelming on my palate, the bar-b-que sauce and the “cheese” rounded out what was understated from the main event.   Being a plant-based chick myself, I always appreciate when people challenge themselves to create a vegan cheese and when it’s raw, too - that really ups the ante and I was not disappointed here. 

Om’s Take:

First Word: Raw?

A raw vegan burger?  Ugh….ok. I’m not a big fan of the bun-less and cool burger, but I’ll keep an open mind.  The presentation is attractive and the color and texture are good; reminiscent of real meat in fact.  Biting into the burger was a little underwhelming as I was hoping for more flavor, but I was pretty surprised by the bar-b-que sauce, it had a nice smokiness that I really enjoyed.  The “cheese” also added a good element, it was both in texture and in taste and that added a good contrast to the sauce as well. Now, the whole raw thing - I get it, it’s probably a pretty good diet choice, and I’m on board with the wife being plant-based, but raw?  Ah, no.  I at least like my burgers in between two buns..and hot. 

Kudos to Pura and their dedication.  Herb will be back.

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For more information on the Herb 'n' Om STL Vegan Burger Tour, please visit:

http://tinyurl.com/6tahfmf