May I Suggest The Boca Burger?
(Preface: Ford advertisers say, “Bold moves, they happen every day.” Well, that certainly seems to be true when it comes to my posts. In looking back over my previous rantings, I seem to be bold-happy. I use the bold font way too much. So I’m not bolding anything today. Not a single link, not a single sentence. So here we go … )
I’ll admit I’m a big (okay, huge) fan of the White Castle cheeseburgers. Since all of the castles in my neck of the woods have raised their respective drawbridges, though, I’ve had to resort to buying the $3.99 box of frozen sliders at the local Price Chopper. Not quite the same, but you take what you can get. I totally understand Harold and Kumar’s obsession. Blatant movie plug, there, but I thought the movie, although juvenile, was funny, and smart at the same time. And, of course, I respected that they loved the slider enough to persevere through that “what else could possibly go wrong?” night just to satisfy the munchies. Ganja-induced cravings are pretty intense, after all.
Speaking of which, as an aside, back in the day, after smoking bud, I once actually chowed down on a box of bacon-flavored Beggin’ Strips. Dog snacks. In my defense, there were no White Castles around at that time, so what other option did I have? (Don’t answer that.) Since then, the beckoning white faux-parapets have come and gone. Probably for the best, lest I be tempted to make a drive-thru detour, because …
I’m going through one of my periodic vegetarian phases again! Not giving up the burgers, though. I love love love the vegetarian Boca Burgers! The All-American Flame Grilled is my favorite. So I still get to have my burgers, even if they’re not of the royal variety, and I don’t have to worry about literally dying to have one.
Good timing on my part, this most recent vegetarian stint of mine, considering that 22 million lbs. of frozen beef patties have been recalled due to an E. Coli outbreak, traced back to a Topps Meat Company plant. Who knows from whence come my tiny, cherished burgers? Better to not take chances. E. Coli is apparently never pleasant, but this particular strain takes it to a higher level, and can cause kidney failure, even death! Not just your run-of-the-mill cramps and diarrhea variety.
The thing is, it’s not really Topps’ fault, in my opinion. All they do is grind, mold into perfect circles, and freeze the meat they’re given from the slaughterhouse, before passing the finished product on to their retailers in a whatever-your-name-is labelled box. Yet, after 67 years of being the #1, primo, head honcho of the frozen patty industry, Topps is going out of business. “The Hamburger People” are no more, unable to deal with this massive recall.
What’s sad is that, well, just last week, every Topps employee went to work, grinding, molding, freezing, and thinking that all was well. And now, this week, they’ve unexpectedly lost it all. No job, the company is kaput, and all because some sloppy meat vendor didn’t train their carcass-slashing grunts to stear clear of the intestines while wielding those cleavers in the slaughterhouse.
I can use such harsh language, because I’m a vegetarian, remember? For now, anyway. It will probably last for a few months, as it usually does, until I have an undeniable craving for a White Castle cheeseburger, or a Big Mac. But I can always come back and edit this article later. For now, though, I’m happy with my Boca burgers, and I have no need to be concerned about bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, or death.
So I have no worries, unlike the Topps employees. Former employees, I should say. Even gung-ho vegetarians (not part-time participants like myself) recognize that this is not necessarily a good thing, given the fact that all 87 workers are now unemployed.
Sure, there will probably be more happy cows. There will undoubtedly also be more unhappy, paycheck-deficient families. Suffering for, as far as I can tell, anyway, something that was not their fault in the first place. Even we vegetarians can sympathize with that.
food safety, topps meat company, topps hamburger, hamburger recall, vegetarianism, beef recall, topps employees, unemployment
October 8th, 2007 at 7:46 am
Great post! Thanks for including me, and remember even if you are only a “part-time” vegetarian, every non-meat meal makes a difference to your health and to the animals!
October 9th, 2007 at 3:13 am
I know. I need all the help I can get when it comes to my health. I’m usually smoking a cigarette while I’m eating my Boca burger. It’s mostly about the animals for me.
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:46 am
dgdgdgdg
December 3rd, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Doug,
I also eat the boca burgers. They taste good as long as you dress them up with the right stuff. Have you ever tried the vegetarian hot dogs and sausage?
December 4th, 2007 at 1:23 am
I don’t like boca burgers because they taste like a meat burger. If I wanted meat burger, I wouldn’t be a vegetarian.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:37 am
Rainlillie - I’ve had the sausages, they’re good, too. The only veg hotdog product I’ve found that I like aren’t Boca, but Morningstar Farms corn dogs! Love ‘em, even prefer them over the real thing. Yum. I do doctor my Bocas with a little soy sauce, pepper, grilled onions are great, and my have-to-have-it cheese.
Linda, the New - I hear what you’re saying, but the thing is, I DO like a meat burger, but I want to be a vegetarian (as much as I can anyway), just because of the animal factor. So if I can get the taste I love at the sacrifice of a soybean harvest versus some factory farm inhumane slaughter, I’m afraid I’ll have to go for that. They are tasty, and no animals were harmed in the production of.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:18 am
I like my boca burgers with cheese mayo and ketchup. I don’t mind it tasting like meat. For me that’s the appeal being that I use to love hamburgers. It’s like loving chocolate but eating carob instead.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
it never dawned on me that a vegetarian would like the taste of meat.
maybe that’s why it’s easy for me to be a vegetarian.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I eat turkey burger, my husband and children are strictly vegetarians. I’m not quite there yet. I just try to avoid the hard stuff like pork and beef.
January 6th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
very interesting.
i’m adding in RSS Reader
November 25th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I think this is not very useful as Buytur said.