Julians

Although I only spent three days in Providence, Rhode Island last weekend, I managed to try a second veggie burger before I left:



I was really excited about Julians because their menu looked so vegan-friendly! Even though they are not an all-vegan or all-vegetarian restaurant, their menu boasts more than a few items for non-meat-eaters. I wish we had more restaurants like this in NYC – even though we have lots of amazing all-vegan restaurants in our city, we have a shortage of hybrids like Julian’s that can please both vegans and meat eaters (believe it or not, some of us like to go out to dinner with our carnivorous friends once in awhile – and have more options than just a salad or pasta!).

At first we tried to go to Julian’s for brunch on Sunday, but it was so crowded, with a line stretching out the door, that we decided to skip it and come back for dinner the next day (proof that brunch is not just an NYC thing!).

So we came back for a late dinner on Monday night, and got a table immediately. And our table looked pretty awesome, since it was covered in a collection of vintage matchbooks:



I was so eager to order the vegetarian black bean burger that I did not notice that it came with pepper jack cheese on top of it (this was stated clearly on the menu, I was just distracted by my cocktail and did not read carefully enough!). I later learned that they could have substituted soy cheese for the dairy cheese, so I’m really annoyed at myself for not taking advantage of that!

Anyway, definitely make sure you don’t make my mistake, and be sure to ask for the soy cheese if you are vegan or avoiding dairy like me. Because without the pepper jack cheese, this burger (including the bun!) is totally vegan.



Even without the cheese (which I scraped off) the toppings were great: fresh avocado slices, baby spinach, tomato, and a tangy maple dijon glaze. Yum. All of this on top of a homemade black bean patty. The patty could have used a touch more flavor or spice, and a crispy exterior would have been nice as well (the whole thing was pretty soft), but it still tasted good.



And the bun was excellent – a good size to accommodate the patty and toppings, sweet and fresh, with a nice flakey crust.

I really wanted to order a tempeh sausage on the side, just because so many of the Yelp reviews for this place praised them so highly, but I was afraid I would be too full from my burger to eat it. And I was correct. The burger was quite filling! Plus, I had already ordered a side of sweet potato steak fries with it (which were delicious, by the way).



If I’m ever in Providence again, I will definitely come back to try more of their menu. I’d love to try their brunch (so many tofu scrambles and vegan sausages on the menu!) but from the looks of the crowd we saw on the weekend, you’d probably have to camp outside the door before they open to get a table.

Cost: $9.00 (sweet potato steak fries = $4 extra)
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Burger patty: 3       Bun: 4      Toppings: 4

Julians
318 Broadway
Providence, RI 02909
401.861.1770

YumVeggieBurger review #123