As a recovered vegetarian, I still struggle with cravings for fake meat. So I was curious to try the Impossible Burger, the much publicized vegan burger that’s supposed to mimic the taste and texture of beef right down to the heme that “bleeds” from the patty when you bite into it.
Currently, Crossroads on Melrose is the only place that offers the Impossible Burger here in LA. The burger is $14 and comes with truffle fries. Cheese is $1 extra.
Here’s a closeup of the burger.
You can see it does a pretty decent job of mimicking the appearance of beef. The taste was tough to judge because the patty itself was a little overwhelmed by the (pedestrian) bun and condiments. I did try a little bite of “meat” by itself and it didn’t taste particularly beefy.
The texture, however, leaves little doubt you’re eating something plant based. It was looser and more crumbly than ground beef. I’m reasonably confident I would have little trouble identifying the Impossible Burger in a blind taste test based on texture alone.
I’m glad I tried it but once was enough. I might recommend it for a vegetarian who craves fake meat, if they were in the area. But it’s not the kind of thing I would go out of my way for. Nor is it the game changer that some have claimed it is. They’re getting closer, but still no cigar.