Davis gets a burger battle

Burgers are the most iconic American food. Being such a familiar dish is partly why putting a new twist on an old favorite was so successful for the Great Sacramento Vegan Burger Battle in June 2018, which the organizer said resulted in the sale of more than 16,000 vegan burgers at the 30-plus participating restaurants. And for March, Davis-based vegan outreach organization Cool Cuisine wants a bite of that plant-based action. Cool Cuisine’s Anya McCann said, “We’re following the same model as [the SCBB]” for the Cool Cuisine Burger Battle. It runs March 1-31, and there are about a dozen participating eateries, including Bistro 33, Chay Corner, The Hotdogger, Redrum Burger, Solomon’s Delicatessen and UC Davis Dining Services. Diners may rate them at coolcuisine.net, and the scale is kept positive, ranging from “OK” to “awesome” in categories such as presentation and similarity to real meat. “The goal is to have omnivores have more plant-based food,” McCann said.