Where's the beef? Not in these burgers, which are made with a product from Impossible Foods, the creators of a synthetic meat made from plants. Unlike the typical veggie puck (or even the delightful veggie burger, of which SFist highlighted some of the local best) Impossible Food's "meat" aims for maximum, bloody juiciness thanks to the use of a molecule found in hemoglobin. The company appears to be starting its war on beef not in the supermarket but instead with local tastemakers:That means working with Traci Des Jardins, the Jardinière chef-owner who is also a consulting chef at Impossible Foods. Tomorrow she begins regular service for her burger version of the company's meat substance, which she's previewed this summer according to Eater. The "burger" will be available in the bar and lounge after 7:30 p.m. for $16.
“The burger speaks for itself,” Eater quotes Des Jardins, who will not serve a real meat alternative to it. “Probably 85 percent of the people who taste it wouldn’t know the difference.”
Perhaps more surprising on this front is the fact that noted carnivore Chris Cosentino, the chef/owner of Cockscomb, is also onboard. "This is the next step forward,” Cosentino said to Eater. “We’ve seen adaptations of meatless burgers, but there’s nothing else that you can cook from start to finish." His version is available for lunch on weekdays for $19 also starting tomorrow. (Please page Mr. Cosentino when meatless offal arrives.)
Impossible Foods' burger is available at a third California location, Crossroads in Los Angeles, and nowhere else. But until the Berkeley company Perfect Day, who hope to someday make a good synthetic cheese, fully executes their plan, vegans will have to wait for their "cheese" "burger." Alas.
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