I was in the Twin Cities for a wedding and looking for somewhere to quickly pick up lunch, so I was very excited to see that Trio Plant Based was nearby. And, although it didn't seem like they had a ton of gluten-free options, it looked like I could order a burger, so I placed an online order. About ten minutes after I ordered, I received a call from the restaurant. They said they were out of gluten-free buns and asked if I wanted the burger on a regular bun instead. First of all, what kind of question is that? I obviously chose the gluten-free bun because I can't eat gluten. When I explained that to the employee on the phone, she seemed really surprised, but then said they could make it without the bun. As we already placed the order and were in a bit of a time crunch, I said that was fine. When I went to pick up the order, the woman who gave it to me was clearly the same woman I talked to on the phone, but there was no acknowledgement or apology that they were out of the gluten-free buns. She also didn't say anything about the $3 upcharge that I paid for the gluten-free bun--which is, by the way, ridiculous, because the burger was already $18.
I figured it would still at least taste good, especially considered it's difficult to find food that is both vegan and gluten-free when I'm traveling. But, when I opened the container, what I found was a tiny Beyond Burger--half the size of the Beyond Burgers that you get at the grocery store, if not smaller--with some vegan cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, two tiny slices of tomato, and a few pieces of onion on top. I thought there would be some kind of sauce on the burger, but there wasn't. I was hoping there would at least be local greens or tomatoes--something to justify the price of the burger--but it was just grocery store iceberg lettuce and tomatoes with no flavor. It was, needless to say, INCREDIBLY disappointing, especially for a total of $21 (including the upcharge for the gluten-free bun that I didn't receive). There were some fries on the side but they weren't crispy, didn't taste very good, and were way too salty. I just ate a few and then threw the rest away. I also got a side of their cheese sauce (another $3) because I love a housemade vegan cheese sauce and I thought it'd be good on the fries. It tasted sweet (which is never what I'm looking for in a vegan cheese sauce!) and not at all cheesy. I tasted it and then immediately threw it away.
I always want to support vegan restaurants, but this experience was just awful. My dining companion got a falafel burger and he described it was a "black bean burger with some chickpeas in it" rather than actually tasting like falafel. Maybe we ordered the wrong items off the menu, but the gluten-free options were incredibly limited, and the service and prices left a lot to be desired. read more