Who does the Impossible burger better?
There’s a new jingle around town: “0% beef — It’s what’s for dinner.”
Actually make that “0% beef burger — It’s what’s for lunch, dinner or anytime in between.”
Two chains — one local and the other national — offer the Impossible Burger, a plant- based patty made with wheat and potato proteins, coconut and sunflower oils and heme, an iron- rich protein that is found in the roots of soybean plants and creates the meaty feel.
In October 2017, Pittsburghbased Burgatory was the first restaurant in Pennsylvania to serve the lab- created patty at all its locations except for PPG Paints Arena and Heinz Field, calling it Impossible Burger and advertising it as the meatless bleeding burger. Burger King, headquartered in Miami, rolled out its Impossible Whopper nationwide on Aug. 6 after its hugely successful test- market run in the St. Louis area in spring.
Made by Impossible Foods, a California start- up, the burgers at both chains are geared toward altmeat seekers looking for sustainably made foods for ethical, health or environmental reasons such as climate change.
My colleague, Erin Hebert, a flexible vegan who avoids meat at all costs but does dairy when need be, and I, who just loves a good burger whether it’s plant- based or made with ground meat, and be it grilled or griddled, taste tested the burger and Whopper to see which one prevails. Here’s what we found:
Blueprint
Burger: The Impossible Burger is built on a potato bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion, white American cheese, dill pickles and a Bomb sauce made with mayonnaise and mustard. It’s cooked on a flat griddle on both sides until it is slightly brown around the edges but is still pink in the center. At $ 13, it comes with housemade chips.
Whopper: The large Impossible patty is served the classic Whopper style on an oversized sesame seed bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, yellow American cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise. The patty is cooked on the same grill used for meat patties, and so vegans and vegetarians could request a microwave- cooked patty. It is $ 5.99 for the sandwich and $ 8.19 for a meal.
Aroma
EH: Unlike real beef, there wasn’t much of a cooked burger smell when the Burgatory waitress set down my tray. It’s not a huge deal but worth noting if you are all about the aroma.
The aroma of the microwaved Whopper was not as strong as BK’s other Whoppers but the smell came through once I picked it up to take the first bite. I have to assume it’s because that famous BK essence permeates just about everything in the restaurant.
AS: Aroma? What aroma? There was hardly a hint of it when I got my burger at Burgartory. In fact, I could smell the tangy Bomb sauce, onion and even the lettuce before I could smell the warm griddlecooked burger.
On the other hand, the grilled Whopper had a distinctive burger aroma, almost like it was doused with a burger perfume. Charred on the edges, the smoky scent was the first thing to tickle my senses. It was heavenly.
Appearance
EH: The sight of the Impossible Burger would fool even the most dedicated carnivores. It truly looked like the real thing. The color and visible texture were spot on, including the misshapen edges of a hand- formed patty. The toppings were stacked delicately high, signaling to me that I would enjoy the satisfaction of squashing the whole thing down before taking a bite.
The Whopper didn’t look like the photo in the advertisements — the patty was flatter and fully covered by the soft thin bun. When I opened the burger, I noticed that there were not any grill marks because mine was cooked in the microwave.
AS: Picture- perfect in looks, Burgatory’s burger was a shoo- in for a beauty contest — a brown textured patty with a pinkish center. And, oh, you definitely need a burger- wide mouth to chomp through it even after squishing the bun.
The Whopper on the other hand was, well, a whopper — broad and flat. It was gussied up with the lettuce, tomato and pickle but they were not piled sky high. When I removed the top bun, I found a patty with a char that’s reminiscent of the meatiest burgers.
Taste
EH: There wasn’t any traditional burger taste with the first bite — I just tasted the toppings and sauce. This was my third or fourth time eating an Impossible Burger and it was still strange to see the pink center, knowing it had nothing to do with a cow. There was a slight aftertaste after the first few bites but nothing off- putting. It was just bland. The patty won’t be enjoyable to eat on its own.
I got a kick of salt when I took the first few bites of the Whopper but it mellowed out as I kept eating. The tomato was perfect and along with the pickle added a nice contrasting texture and flavor to the patty.
AS: Burgatory’s version tasted like an 80/ 20 beefmushroom blended burger. Moist, springy and earthy, it had the flavor of a grass- fed beef patty. The umami and saltiness hit me at the same time in the beginning but after a couple of bites the salt became more pronounced and just lingered.
The thinner straightforward Whopper wasn’t as springy or salty but tasted distinctly smoky, beefy and slightly nutty. It was a fournapkin sloppy affair by all counts but I enjoyed the messy endeavor.