Have You Eaten an Impossible Burger?

I love the idea of alternative, sustainable sources of food. That’s why I’ve been fascinated by things like cricket flour over the last few years. I’m an omnivore, and I can’t deny that I enjoy the taste of chicken, fish, beef, turkey, etc, but I worry about their impact on the environment (and on my body).

So when I recently heard about the Impossible Burger, a plant-based burger that tastes and even “bleeds” like beef, I knew I had to give it a try. Before I continue, why don’t you guess which of the following burgers is an Impossible Burger and which is real meat (it’s not a trick question–there’s one of each):

Both burgers are from Layla. The burger at the top is a bahn mi burger with a pork patty, pork belly, and pork pate. The burger at the bottom is a Jane Says burger with an Impossible patty.

The biggest surprise to me is how delicious the Impossible Burger was. It was legitimately good. You know how diner burgers have those crispy edges? The entire exterior of this burger was crispy like that, but the inside had the exact texture and taste of beef. I would easily order it again (though, see caveats below).

In addition to tasting amazing, here’s the good news about the Impossible Burger (from their website): “Compared to cows, the Impossible Burger uses 95% less land, 74% less water, and creates 87% less greenhouse gas emissions.” That’s awesome. It’s also quite nutritious.

There are two key downsides, though: One, it has a lot of saturated fat (50% of the daily recommendation). Granted, that’s still a lot less than a beef burger, but it’s still pretty high. Two, it’s expensive. Perhaps our waitress at Layla made a mistake, but the Impossible Burger substitution cost $9 in addition to the $10 cost of the Jane Says burger. [Update: Layla just confirmed on social media that it should have been a $3 upcharge, not $9.]

Overall, though, I can’t wait to eat this again. I’ll be looking for it at other St. Louis area restaurants (here’s the full list of restaurants that feature it).

Have you tried the Impossible Burger? Or anything else like it? What do you think?

5 thoughts on “Have You Eaten an Impossible Burger?”

  1. This is really interesting! I’ve never seen a plant-based burger that seemed like it could legitimately pass for a beef patty. It looks like it’s served at several locations around the St. Louis area. I’ll have to give it a try!

    Reply
  2. They apparently serve the Impossible Burger just a few miles from me in Stone Ridge at the Glory Days Grill!

    Reply

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