You may have heard of the Impossible Burger—the innovative veggie burger that is so much like meat that it "bleeds" when you cut into it—but until now, it’s been tricky to actually get your hands on it. Starting today, you’ll be able to order one at any of Umami Burger’s Los Angeles locations.
When the product first launched last year, backed by investments from Bill Gates and other Silicon Valley hotshots, it was only available at a few restaurants across the country. In L.A., that meant having to go to Crossroads Kitchen, and even then only a few were served each week during brunch, and they were known to sell out within hours of opening. The partnership with Umami Burger will be the brand's first attempt at a large-scale roll-out.
Why does the world need a fake-meat burger that’s so much like meat? For the Impossible Foods team, putting in the time and effort to create something plant-based that can go up against any animal-protein option is a step in the direction of reducing the environmental pollution, natural resource consumption and other byproducts of the mainstream meat trade.
"We don’t want vegetarians to be our customers. The only way we can move the needle is by targeting meat-eating consumers." Pat Brown, founder and chief executive of Impossible Foods, told the L.A. Times.
That openness to the omnivorous crowd shows in Umami’s treatment of the vegan patties, which the restaurant tops with two slices of American cheese (the real dairy kind, no soy "cheeze" here), along with caramelized onions, tomato, pickles, lettuce and the chain’s signature sauce and Umami Dust, all sandwiched into a Portuguese bun.
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