Okay, look, I know this post has every appearance of favoritism, of back alley palm-greasing (ew) among an elite cabal of media insiders—after all, The Old Gold is co-owned by former Mercury music editor Ezra Ace Caraeff, and I've known their chef Jesika since high school.

But (1) I have unusually dry palms and (2) fuuuuuuuuuck is their kalamata veggie burger good. House-made veggie burgers invariably have some fundmental structural flaw: Usually they're mushy, bean-based things that ooze, paste-like, out of their buns; sometimes you get a dry, seedy one, and that's not particularly good either.

The Old Gold's burger is on special—Ezra says they'll probably only have through tonight—and costs a worth-it $10. It's made from kalamata olives and topped with basil-goat cheese, tomato, spinach,and fresh white balsamic cucumber pickles. It's crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and the olives give it a rich, salty flavor, and it makes me feel like a self-hating hippie for so many years of eating other, lesser veggie burgers. Go get it, and bug 'em to put it on the permanent menu.