Welcome to “A La Carte,” one of a few recurring short features we’re rolling out this month. In this space, we’ll ask folks around Western North Carolina — not just chefs, but also artists, government officials, business owners and more — to share a restaurant dish or other local food item that’s topping their current list of palate-pleasing favorites.
I’ll get the ball rolling by sharing a recent experience at a new-to-me restaurant that delighted my inner child. While I’ve been fortunate to indulge in some dreamy dishes in the past few weeks — roasted oysters at The Market Place’s Shell or High Water pop-up, ramen at Shanghai Dumpling House and The Rhu salad at The Rhu, to name just a few — it was the no-frills meat-free burger and fries at Romeo’s Vegan Burgers that tapped into my well of childhood fast-food nostalgia and gave me all the comfort-food feels.
Though I can’t claim to be a full-fledged vegetarian these days, I was for much of my adult life, and I still dislike the taste of many meats, including ground beef. But I absolutely love burgers — just not with actual meat in them. (I know, beef lovers, I know. Trust me, I acknowledge your dismay and have heard all your arguments, but I like what I like.)
While running errands in North Asheville on a recent Saturday, I decided to investigate Romeo’s, which opened in June at 640 Merrimon Ave. I ordered a Mexico Romeo burger (an Impossible vegan patty, plant-based cheese, jalapenos, pico de gallo, lettuce and chipotle mayo) with fries and unsweet tea, and it kind of rocked my world.
I hardly ever eat fast food, so the guilty (but meatless!) deliciousness of the whole thing was totally unexpected and, honestly, sort of thrilling. With the pico and other stuff on the burger, eating it was, unsurprisingly, a multinapkin, roll-up-your-sleeves affair. But its umami-stuffed drippiness made it all the more satisfying and scrumptious, especially when paired with the salty, supercrispy seasoned fries. It was like a messy fast-food flashback from my prevegetarian 1970s and ’80s childhood.
Romeo’s also has tots and dairy-free milkshakes, so despite the quiet upstairs space and lack of car-side service and drive-thru, I was getting Sonic vibes but without the animal products.
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