Veggie Burgers-A Love Letter

This is how I imagine the conception of the veggie burger going. Some long haired dude in 1970 is sitting around watching his friends chow down on hamburgers and looking wistfully at his own, less exiting meal. "Hmm. That sure looks good," he thinks, glancing down at his plateful of beans and brown rice "I wish I could have that. Hey, wait a minute. What happens if I mash up these beans, maybe throw in some lentils, a couple of carrots, and slap some cheese on that baby. That would be pretty rad man. Almost like a hamburger but not really." Viola! The veggie burger is born.
One of the main reasons I sense a change coming is how veggie burgers are showing up on the menus of more and more restaurants around the country. In my travels, I am beginning to see a steadily increasing number of veggie burgers listed next to the Philly Steaks and Jumbo Burgers. Now, these "veggie burgers" are seldom more then a thin slab of dried legumes or in BurgerKings case, a reheated frozen pattie, so a truly exellent veggie burger is a rare find indeed. I am constantly keeping my eyes peeled for places with good vegetarian food and if I see a veggie burger on the menu of new joint I will always order it.
My carnivorous friends have an interesting perspective on veggie burgers, I can't remember how many times I've heard the words "If you want a burger, eat meat hippie." But they've got it wrong, though the idea of a "veggie" burger is something that initially seems oxymoronic and silly, it isn't that much of a bizarre concept. A pattie shaped mound of food between two slices of bread and condiments certainly isn't something that should only be for meat eaters. It's a slice of the great American pie that we're all given under the Constitution. That said, try ordering a veggie burger in the middle of upstate New York, just watch the waitresses face as you ask for the "Vegetarian Special". It's a pretty sheepish experience.
So in Rochester New York, a calling card for crusty old hippies and not-quite-cool-enough-for-NYC hipsters, I am very blessed in having a great veggie burger right down the street. Hogans Hideaway is the one place I have found whose veggie burgers rival their meaty breatheren in mass and height. These things actually look like a big, fat, cowfest, only sans cow and heavy on the actual veggies. Every Thursday night at my moms house, after she teaches piano, we treat ourselves to take out and let me tell you, it's practically the highlight of my whole week.
The entire menu is pretty good, high points being the chili, the regular burgers and their staple Minestrone soup, though I find that the specials can also be exellent (the only that could ever entice me from my veggie burger is the salmon cakes). We rarely actually eat in the restaurant, as we're all totally exausted by this time of week but they have a nice deck and(I'm told) a good bar. The only reason I say that is because I think the bartender is cute.
So right now, as I sit in my fourth period class, wilting like lettuce under the flourescent lights and dreading my science test next period, I am really looking forward to eating those tomorrow night. It's a sad existence and probably a testimony to utter boredom of school that all I am looking forward to is a big lump of lentils and some greasy onion rings. The bells about to ring, I gotta go.