Appearing almost magically across the street from downtown Albany’s oldest store, Wizard Burger has been around for a couple of years, but I never took the opportunity to try it out until last week – and it was a happy and fortuitous revelation, as the pickings for lunch during the week in downtown are scant to say the least. Part of my reluctance is that I’m generally a meat-loving guy, so if I’m going to have a burger, I always thought I wanted it to be a meat burger. I was wrong. All of the selections at Wizard burger are vegan, but unless someone told you that you might not necessarily notice or believe it. The flavors and combos are that surprisingly satisfying .
Asking which burger on the menu was a good beginner’s choice, I took the advice of the person behind the counter and ordered their Big Kahuna (which seemed like a bold suggestion, given the pineapple and pickled jalapeño combo), as well as an order of their Buffalo-style fries (also vegan, despite their spicy taste and breaded-chicken-like appearance). Both were insanely good – the burger also had a soy glaze and some house mayo, all of which made for a sweet and savory and spicy combination that packed more flavor and punch than any burger I’ve had in the past year. The fries were no joke either, and while the creamy sauce accompanying them bore no similarity to the potent blue cheese that one may be accustomed to, it was no less delicious for the difference. All in all, it was a crazy satisfying meal, and I’ll be back again to fall under a different spell (the Wiz Mac sounds like a magnificently magical variation on the Big Mac, while the Magicano is their jackfruit-based take on pulled pork). And I haven’t even gotten started on the other fries and burritos…
