Since becoming a vegetarian at age thirteen I've tasted my fair share of veggie burgers. Over the years I've amassed a group of fellow veg friends and we rely on each other to share which restaurants are the most accommodating and of course, delicious. So when one of my friends started raving about the vegetarian options at Burger Dive in Somerville I knew I had to check it out.
Burger Dive is located in Assembly Square, inside a big shopping plaza.
They have a ton of outdoor seating so when the weather is nice, you can enjoy your burgers and fries out on the patio.
They also have a signature vehicle parked out front, the burger-mobile!
Inside the decor is very simple. The space feels like a converted warehouse.
You place your order right when you walk in, then they call your number when it's ready. Burgers to the left, shakes to the right.
While you wait for your food you should survey the plethora of dipping sauce options. There is an entire wall dedicated just to the condiments.
So many choices!
My friend and I, both vegetarians, took advantage of Burger Dive's killer portabello mushroom caps. I ordered the classic portabello sandwich which was a mushroom, fried in panko crumbs, over a bed of lettuce, tomato, red onion and avocado. How awesome does that look?
They also let you sub the portabello mushroom into any of their specialty burgers, so my friend got the Mexi-Cali burger, traditionally with a beef patty, topped with pepper jack cheese and served with lettuce, tomato and guacamole.
We shared a carton of sweet potato fries which were cut into a medium size - not quite thin cut, not quite thick cut - covered in salt. You can see the granules of salt in this photo!
I didn't take a picture of our dipping sauce line up, but in the end we went with buttermilk ranch, chipotle mayo, honey mustard, classic yellow mustard and old bay aioli. My favorite was the old bay aioli. It was such a unique taste and really punched up the fries.
Now for the best part! Burger Dive does milkshakes made with Richardson's ice cream, including flavors like fudge brownie, chocolate chip cookie, toasted marshmallow and peanutbutter and banana.
We both went with the classic chocolate and the shake fairy covered them with a very generous swirl of whipped cream.
Though Assembly Square is out of the way for me, I would absolutely make the trip again for the portabello, the army of dipping sauces and the decadent shakes! Also, Burger Dive plays super fun music - Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and the Footloose soundtrack.
Vist Burger Dive at 702 Assembly Square, Somerville, MA.
