I'll Have the Veggie Bacon Cheeseburger.

For me it began last November in Cloverdale, CA (Sonoma County). I was at the World Famous Hamburger Ranch and Pasta Farm which is a hell of a lot better than the name suggests. Some friends and I were out for a Sunday drive and ate lunch there. They'd all been before many times. I was the newcomer so I actually had to look at the menu.

Pretty good choices. They ordered the pulled pork sandwich, a cheeseburger, a veggie burger. The fries and onion rings are a must and are served with ranch. Iced teas all around. My turn to order.

Uh...I'll have the veggie burger.
Do you want cheese on that? We have Tillamook cheddar
Oh, hell yes....Can you add bacon as well?
On the veggie burger?
Yeah.
Yeah, we can do that.
Is that weird?
A little. But if that's what you want...

So this has become my standard order for burgers. I did it at the Islands in Chino where I also added avocado. Chili's in Diamond Bar where they make spicy black bean burgers. Anywhere I can order a vegetarian patty and crisp bacon. Whenever I order, it's pretty much the same as that conversation above. The person taking my order has to make sure I'm not smoking crack. "You want a vegetarian burger, but with bacon?" Yes please. There's always a pause before they take it to the kitchen like they're waiting for me to back out of it.



I mentioned it to Alex on a late night that we were looking for a place to eat. I thought he would appreciate the concept. I was wrong.

"Cari! That's so...weird! Why don't you just get a regular bacon cheeseburger?"
I don't like beef. It's gross.