HipCityVeg…finally!
As a vegetarian living in Philadelphia, I have wanted try HipCityVeg for a while now. Finally, on Friday my vegan roommate and I made the trip. My roommate had been there a couple times before and so already had a favorite, and I had read some reviews before going. Yet despite the preparation, we still had some decision-making to do upon arrival. After some deliberation, we decided to split the Arugula Taco Salad, which I had seen mentioned in reviews, and the Ziggy Burger, which was my roommate’s favorite.
The Arugula Taco Salad was ready a bit before the Ziggy Burger, so we ate that first. The salad was made up of arugula, fresh avocado, salsa, black beans, corn, and crunchy tortilla strips with a cilantro lime dressing on the side. The salad tasted wonderful. The creaminess and flavor of the fresh avocado complemented the arugula well, and the salsa further enhanced the freshness of the flavor. The tortilla strips on top were the perfect finishing touch, adding saltiness and crispiness to the salad and making it reminiscent of a real taco (but in a lighter and healthier form).
Once we finished enjoying the salad, we pulled out the Ziggy Burger and cut it in half to share. Now, I’ll admit that it’s been a while since I’ve eaten meat, but from what I can remember, the burger was a pretty good imitation. It consisted of a veggie burger (no surprise there) topped with tempeh, arugula, tomato, and pickles. (I think it also normally comes with onion, but my roommate asked for it without.) The combination of the veggie burger and the tempeh in one bun was, I believe, what made the burger so meaty, as the extra layer of fake meat added more substance and flavor. Drastically enhancing the flavor of any more traditional veggie burger, the tempeh had a smoky flavor that furthered the sense that I was eating meat. And to top it all off, the texture and flavor of the combination of meat substitutes was set off perfectly by the crisp and healthy flavor of the arugula, tomatoes, pickles and sauce. Upon finishing, the smoky flavor of the tempeh lingered in my mouth reminding me of the fabulous meat-eating sensation that I had just experienced.
One would think that a burger and a salad would be sufficient for a late lunch, but once we had polished off the Ziggy Burger, we decided that we needed some dessert as well. My roommate went with the chocolate shake, and I chose the banana whip. My roommate described the shake as light and refreshing. I had a taste and thought it was extremely chocolaty, so if you like chocolate, this may be for you.
My dessert, the banana whip, was phenomenal. If you are not familiar with banana whips, they are essentially frozen bananas made into ice cream. Nothing else. Just bananas. Amazingly, the banana whip had the exact texture of a think frozen yogurt or perhaps even a gelato. Except unlike plain frozen yogurt, this was sweet, banana-y, and healthy. I had my banana whip topped with vegan cookie crumbs, and the cookie pieces were the perfect topping, adding a little bit of crunch and chocolate flavor to the creaminess and banana taste of the banana whip. Sure, you could make a banana whip at home by putting frozen bananas in the blender, but the texture of the one from HipCityVeg was something neither I nor my roommate had ever been able to achieve using that process.
As a whole, I thought the meal was amazing. While it was slightly too expensive for an everyday college student lunch, it was definitely worth it. I am already thinking about what I want to get next time I go and looking forward to having more of that banana whip.