Impossible Burger at Crossroads

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.

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I read somewhere that it needs to be cooked somewhat rare or everything suffers.

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I remember reading that, too, and it may well explain part of my underwhelming experience. Either way, though, the patty needs to be a little larger to stand out against the bun and condiments. I’ll probably give it another shot when the “meat” is available for purchase in stores.

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Had to suffer through this meal yesterday. Really wished they had the burger but it’s lunch only. Hated the place, hated the menu, hated every single thing they brought out. Complete sceney garbage. I thought it was a serious inquiry in to the world of veganism but no. It’s a bunch of meh. Plus any place that insists on fake chicken, fake beef etc really upsets me. Own your veganism. People who are really into plant based life don’t want a menu full of fake meat.

lasagna was garbage as well.

phew.

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that bun makes baby jesus cry

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