L.A. already has some pretty incredible veggie burgers, from the Doomie's Big Mac at Doomie's Home Cookin' to the Bollywood Burger at Stout Burgers & Beer. But do most of them really have the look, feel and taste of a meat patty? Not so much. Enter the Impossible Burger, a dish that first premiered in New York City at Nishi Momufuku this past summer. The veggie burger has made its way to L.A.—to Crossroads, of course—and meat-free burgers in this city may never be the same.
The Impossible Burger is available for brunch daily at the Melrose vegan restaurant, though once they run out, that's it for the day. The dish was engineered by Impossible Foods, a company based in Redwood City (Bill Gates is an investor!) that makes meat and dairy products from plants. It's not just that the burger is meat-free, it's that it has the look and texture of a beef patty—a result of Impossible Foods' secret ingredient in making the product: leghemoglobin, dubbed "heme" for short. Mixing the heme protein with wheat protein, potato protein, coconut oil and a couple of other ingredients results in a blend that looks entirely like ground beef, but it's the heme that creates a pinkish hue, and results in the "bleeding" of the patty. Yup. A burger that bleeds.
At Crossroads, the burger comes topped with onion, lettuce, tomato and dill pickles, as well as a side of truffle fries, all for $14. Crossroads has long been a place that brings together meat-eaters and vegetarians/vegans alike, just because the food is so damn good. With the Impossible Burger already making a splash in NY, there's a good chance that its presence in health-conscious L.A. will be just as welcome.
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