I grew up eating meat on an almost daily basis. My dad, as the guy who delivered meat to the stores, often got freebies from butchers he'd become friends with. Eating meat was completely normal and since my dad worked in the industry, I knew exactly what I was eating. Now that I'm more or less an adult, I don't eat as much meat anymore. My dad got a different job over a decade ago and prices have gone up. Besides, sausages make me gag. Going vegetarian or vegan isn't an option for me though: I quickly run low on iron and have trouble concentrating if I go without any meat for 8 days (yes, I once tried). Yet vegan food intrigued me. I wanted to know what it tastes like, what the texture's like, everything. So when my boyfriend suggested we'd go to the Vegan Junk Food Bar while in Amsterdam, I jumped at the chance and said yes!

The Vegan Junk Food Bar actually has three branches in my country's capital. We walked from the Banksy exhibition at Moco to the one at Staringplein 22 - which wasn't the brightest idea. I got extremely annoyed with all the tourists blocking the sidewalks and my boyfriend's picture can now be found under 'hangry' in shady online dictionaries. Luckily, we made it to the Vegan Junk Food Bar without wanting to kill each other. We did doubt about ordering lunch though: this branch is quite small and seemed to have no empty tables left. But if you think I turned around and had lunch somewhere else, you don't know me well enough: this carnivore wanted her vegan meat. And she got it.


We waited in line to order at the register. I had a hard time choosing between the Original VJFB burger and the Chick'n Nuggets, and ended up ordering both - I was unbelievably hungry, you know. I also got a Sprite, which came with a bio-degradable straw. All the cutlery was bio-degradable as well, so I was a happy camper. I was having a great day, and when our food arrived, I somehow even managed to take pictures before digging in. That was no easy feat: the food looked so delicious that it almost physically hurt me to not start eating right away.


Even though my burger was almost screaming my name, I started with the chick'n nuggets. For some reason I thought that if any part of the meal would disappoint, it'd be the nuggets. Spoiler alert: the nuggets did not disappoint. They were the best nuggets I've had in years. Chicken McNuggets have nothing on these things - but to be honest, I think that says more about the quality of nuggets from McDonald's. I don't even think I'll be able to eat those again after having had these vegan ones. They were just so delicious, both with and without the original VJFB sauce, the taste of which I can't describe (this right here is the reason why I'm not a food blogger). My boyfriend still refuses to believe the nuggets were vegan, despite the menu saying '100% plant-based'. That's how good they are.


Next up was the burger, which had plenty of veggies, vegan cheese, VJFB sauce and a vegan patty. Would it be too easy to say that the burger was just as delicious as it looked? And that my shitty smartphone pictures actually don't do it justice? Probably. Let me say this then: I saw blown away by the quality of the vegan meat. I've had a lot of burgers in my life, and many of them weren't even nearly as good as this one. You'd never be able to tell it was a completely plant-based burger if you didn't already know.


I think I don't have to explain that I was very happy when we left the Vegan Junk Food Bar. It feels good to know that your absolutely awesome meal barely put any strain on our planet compared to the non-vegan version. I could definitely see myself eating meals like this one more often - it's just too bad that I don't live all that close to Amsterdam. I guess this marks the start of the search for good vegan junk food in Rotterdam!