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Vegan Las Vegas: Mandalay Bay Burger Bar
16January 16th, 2010las vegas, more restaurants (not LA)hey readers, this is a very special guest post from none other than vegankitten who spent the last couple days in las vegas! she was kind enough to email me some great blog posts, so here’s the first one! take it away…
If you’re ever stuck at the Mandalay Bay for a convention, I suggest checking out the Burger Bar. The Vegas Vegan Burger came highly recommended, so I didn’t spend much time looking at the other options, although I should have for the sake of this review. There appeared to be another veggie burger on the menu, but I doubt it was vegan. However, there is a “build your own burger” menu that looks pretty do-able. (List of potentially vegan options at the bottom)
When we arrived, there was a 45 minute wait. The good news is Lush was directly across the walkway from Burger Bar and they were having a big sale. I did some shopping while we waited for our pager to buzz.
I went with an omnivore who has eaten her first two faux meat meals in the past two days and claimed to be “craving real meat” on our walk to the Burger Bar. Once were were seated and she browsed the menu, she ordered the Vegas Vegan, too. I would say that speaks volumes! Here’s the description per the menu:
Slow roasted eggplant, marinated and grilled roma tomato, grilled zucchinis, sauteed peppers. All sandwiched between two portobello mushroom caps.
The burger is served with skinny fries, but I requested mine with sweet potato fries. My eating companion kept the skinny fries and added a side salad. The burger arrived sliced in half, each half held together with a toothpick. This was necessity, as the veggies were slippery and smothered in juices. The second you removed the toothpicks, the whole thing fell apart. This was fine, because it was a delicious mess! The portobello mushroom caps were massive, fresh, firm and full of flavor. The veggies inside were cooked to perfection. The side of sweet potato fries was very generous and they were a perfect compliment to the burger. One of the most exciting parts was that I was not charged for substituting the sweet potato fries. It was $12.00 for this delicious lunch and, in Las Vegas, that’s a smokin’ deal!
The only thing which I found kind of odd was the garnish – but I often find garnish strange. Included on the plate was all the “fixin’s” for a burger – onion, lettuce, tomato and pickles. Not exactly appropriate for the type of burger we ordered.
Last but CERTAINLY not least, they have a pretty massive beer selection that takes up two pages of the menu. They have over 100 bottles of beers and about 25 on tap. I had a Pipeline Porter draft from Kona Brewing Company. Thank you Barnivore for letting me know if is vegan, too!
So the bottom line is this: Burger Bar is a fun place with good food and lots of tasty beer. I will definitely go here again!
Burger Bar
Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino
3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89119-1005
(702) 632-9364
Open Mon-Thu 10:30am-11pm; Fri 10:30am-2am; Sat 10am-2am; Sun 10am-11pmBuild your own Burger menu after the jump…
Our Breads and Buns
Sesame / Onion / Whole Wheat / Plain / CiabattaChoose Your Toppings
The Garden
Baby spinach .75
Sprouts .50
Avocado 1.50
Chopped jalapeno .60
Sliced cucumber .75
Sauerkraut 2.95The Grill
Peppers .95
Sliced zucchini .95
Green asparagus 1.50
Grilled onion .95
Caramelized onion .95
Pineapple .95The Pantry
Salsa 1.25
Guacamole 2.00
Homemade Beetroot pickle .50
Cranberry sauce .95
Pickled green tomato .95The Earth
Black truffles 1/3 oz 30.00
Portobello mushrooms 1.00
Oyster mushrooms 1.00
Button mushrooms 1.00Fries
Skinny fries 2.55
Fat fries 2.55
Sweet potato fries 2.55Fleur de Lys Sauces
Tags: burger, field report, las vegas, vegankitten
Rich Red Wine & Shallots Reduction 2.50
Black Perigard Truffle Sauce 5.50
16 responses to “Vegan Las Vegas: Mandalay Bay Burger Bar” 
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Using portobello caps instead of bread is pretty genius. I wonder why I have never seen that before.
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one day when i’m a baller, i’m going to go here and order a burger with black truffles.
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More field reports, please! I rely on these when I travel. Because of that other Vegas post, I got pizza from Whole Foods and I will definitely get a burger next time. Although I will probably do the build your own because I need bread.
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So glad you posted this, going to Vegas for
the first time later this week, and I wad concerned about my lack of vegan options. And I’m not about to eat vegan
donuts everday, though it would be tempting. 😉 -
That looks awesome! On another note, I hate it when omnis say they’re “craving real meat.” It’s so condescending. It’s like, “I’ve indulged your little vegan thing, now I’m going to go eat big kid food.” Ugh! I mean, not that your friend meant it that way…I’m just ranting.
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I used to be in Vegas every January for a convention, as well. We always stayed at either THEHotel (within Mandalay Bay) or at Mandalay Bay. I discovered the vegan burger at Burger Bar about 3 years ago and literally ate it for dinner every night of that trip…it’s so good!
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Rad_Rosa89 January 16th, 2010 at 15:25
I live about an hour away from Vegas, it’s nice to know that there’s a place where I can get my vegan fix on, yum!
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I can’t believe I go to Vegas 3 times a year (at least) and have never heard of this place. Plus, I have actually stayed at Mandalay Bay. FAIL on my part, I will definitely go here next time.
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Nice to see a post on this blog with food that has bell peppers in it! I love them.
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Great review! Thanks to vegan kitty and quarry girl. I will be in vegas next week so have decided to stay at the Man-da-lay (he he he he) Bay so I can build a vegan burger like build a vegan bear.
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trishells January 17th, 2010 at 13:33
since i grew up in vegas and am forced to frequently go back to see my family….this is where i rant!
fuck portobellos and fuck mandalay bay. (i should be a writer for the blog!) i’m as tired of portobello sandwiches as i am of the salads we have to order minus the animal ingredients. also, it sucks that not much in vegas stands more than a year unless it is in a casino or a chain restaurant (although i am impressed with the beer selection in this post as that is pretty un-vegas like). if you want some good food and good beer check out this family restaurant: http://www.mintbistro.com/ it is the only indian food i have ever liked (i dunno why). they have tons of vegan options that are clearly marked on the menu. -
jesuisvegan January 18th, 2010 at 00:15
I was in Vegas for a conference in early January, and wish I had seen this then! However, I found some decent vegan friendly eats at the following places: Hash House a Go Go at the Imperial Palace has a Roasted Squash dish, tell them to leave off the shrimp and you have a vegan feast (the chef said no butter was used in the prep).
Also went to Spice Market buffet in Planet Hollywood, which has a middle eastern bar that has decent food — moroccan vegetables and grilled vegetables were both good, hummus is just OK, regularly have better in NYC.
Also, if you find yourself at Simon in Palms Place —
order the turkey chop salad, hold the turkey and cheese and you have a great salad with pepitas, corn, beans, tortilla strips, avocado and a great spicy dressing. This salad was so good, I ate it twice! -
I would have to say the skinny fries that come with that burger are the best fries I have EVER had, and you should give them a try.
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Trishells – I love the people at Mint, but I can’t eat spicy food and this is the only Indian Food place I have ever been that can’t make a mildly-spiced dish. My Thanksgiving was ruined because the dish I ordered was inedible to me. I sent it back twice before the waiter and I both gave up and I went back to the hotel hungry.
Mint Bistro is highly recommended if you like spicy food. If you can’t handle it (like me!), go to Miko’s Sushi, Red Velvet or even Burger Bar!
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trishells January 21st, 2010 at 13:45
hey vegan kitten, strange about mint. i felt brave and took some of my bf’s family visiting from arkansas there. (their idea of eating more ethnic food was rice!) we ordered them a noodle dish that they liked (they don’t do spicy either) and kept calling spaghetti 🙂 anyway, bummer for you 🙁 i take everyone i can to this joint. took my mom for her bday and they brought out a card signed by the whole staff!! hee hee!
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I just want to add, for those who care: although I’m bothered by meat, I’m pretty accepting that most of the population eats the standard chicken, beef, pork, etc. The Burger Bar, however, serves some pretty unethical foods, like foie gras. They also serve buffalo. There are so many more places in Vegas now that DON’T serve these foods that will cater to vegans, and I highly recommend supporting them instead. It’s great that the Burger Bar has a vegan option (I’ve had it, it’s good, but seeing foie gras on the menu left a bad taste), but I won’t go there.
elliot January 16th, 2010 at 08:01