The Impossible Dream

Today I tried the impossible burger at Burger King and it was kind of a full circle moment for me as my first “real” job was at BK when I was 16. I was also assigned to the burger board and had to make many a whopper. Ok, I only lasted about a month because as soon as I had to clean a fryer I was out.

I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about Impossible Foods and the way this burger is prepared but there’s no doubt that this is a big step forward as this was only a dream even just 10 years ago.

I know it’s cooked on the same equipment as the regular burgers and if it’s still the same method, it’s a conveyer belt not an actual grill or griddle. Not sure this makes it any better, but if you dine out in restaurants that are not 100% vegan, this is a common practice. Does cross contamination make you non-vegan? No, but some can’t handle it. If that’s you, then that’s your choice. I’ve been vegan for just about 25 years and as careful as I try to be, I also have to be realistic and I also have to eat with other non-vegans at restaurants they sometimes choose.

I did some research before heading over to Burger King. Turns out they have an app with app only offers and they had a whopper meal deal for $5 which included a small fries and drink. When ordering I asked for no mayo and told them app code for the offer (be careful not to redeem it too soon as they’re only valid for 15 minutes once redeemed). When I got to the window to pay it was $6.74 total which seemed like a lot of tax, but they informed me that the Impossible burger is $1 more. That’s fine, it’s still $5.49 on its own so that wasn’t too bad.

For the real experience, I added vegan mayo. Now onto the burger:

I liked how it was large and fit the entire bun. The bun was soft and tasty like I remembered and with the pickles and onions was pretty legit on the taste front. It was moist and flavorful and had that grilled flavor.

So in summary, I would probably only buy this again if I was on the road for convenience but it’s nice as an option. I did see on all the signage that it said “limited time” so I’m wondering if this will be a permanent addition to their lineup. I feel it’s a transition option meant to satisfy those used to meat, but I hope it will catch on. I’d hate to see it fail in terms of numbers which could discourage others to offer vegan options. My Instagram account doesn’t appeal to level 4 vegans anyway and some accuse me of setting things back by promoting items with palm oil, possible non-vegan sugar etc., but I’m about moving more people to veganism and helping them to transition. We didn’t go from horses to cars in a day so this is a process. I’m amazed every day how it’s exploding and never thought it would get this big this fast. So a bite of this burger is a bite for progress, for the animals and for what’s possible.