There exists this magical place in the City of Chicago that is an old authority on all tasty things vegan and vegetarian. A land of mouth watering vegan shakes, buffalo “wings,” seitan steaks, and the best vegan rueben I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. This place is called The Chicago Diner. You might have heard of it. Maybe not. Either way, it’s good and if you’re ever in the windy city you should check it out.
There’s this burger on the menu that is my younger sister Sindha’s favorite burger called the Buddha’s Karma burger. Last time I was at The Chicago Diner I wanted to order the Karma burger to rub it in my poor studying-abroad-in-Paris sister’s face but to my horror, they had taken it off the menu! What to do?! Well I ordered a vegan Dagwood sandwich instead and it was pretty darn good so that was alright.
I probably could have lived without the Karma Burger in my life. Yes it would have been a sadder existence, but it wasn’t necessarily my go-to menu item (mainly because I make a point of ordering different things every time as much as possible!). Sindha on the other hand, could not have carried on life as usual without this burger making a regular appearance in her life. So I did what any perfect sister would do, and I tried to bring the burger home!
I knew it was a sweet potato curry burger with a tofu and brown rice base which I was pretty sure I could make a decent ode to. One of the key things about this burger that made it such a great item to order was the “karmic realignment sauce” aka a pineapple mango coconut sauce. It was the perfect pairing. Do I need to explain why? Maybe. But I shouldn’t have to. It just made for the ideal balance of spices and flavors, sweet, tangy, nutty. You know. So, I didn’t make it a sauce to pair with but instead a roasted pineapple and mango salsa. It’s also pretty darn good. I suppose if you wanted it to be a sauce you could just take an immersion blender or food processor and puree it at the end. That’d work.
So Sindha, this one’s for you girl.
