Everyday there are so many buzzy food trends that pop-up in NYC that it's hard to keep track of all of them. One of the latest ones comes from David Chang and the Momofuku Empire and it's called the Impossible Burger. What makes it impossible? It's a plant based "burger" that actually looks and bleeds like a real meat patty. Now I'm not sure vegetarians really think that what they are missing from a burger is the bleeding but I can see how a vegetarian would be intrigued by this. I've had a LOT of veggie burgers in my life and for the most part they're not good. Usually they are some bean patty that falls apart after a few bites and tastes nowhere close to a real burger. So I usually skip it and will settle for at least a turkey burger if I'm trying to be healthy.
As with any novelty trend, there was a line 30 people deep before the place even opened at noon. They claim that the burgers are first come first serve, so I'd recommend coming around 11:30 or 11:45 to ensure you've got a fair shot at getting one of them. Anuja got the burger with cheese ($14) and I got the pork belly sandwich ($15) and we split the butter noodle ($20) as well. Basically this is exactly what the entire restaurant ordered as well, so I'm not even sure why they have anything else on the menu.
At first glance the Impossible Burger looks pretty much like a regular meat burger - it's even cooked "medium rare" on the inside to give it a pinkish glow. I had a small bite and I'll say that as a meat eater it is pretty damn close to a real burger but it's still missing that fatty meaty flavor to it that is really what red meat is all about. But if you've never had a real burger before, this will get you pretty close to the real thing. I'm assuming that since it's a plant based patty, it's better for you health-wise but then again, I'm not sure if I want to know what it's actually made out of. You absolutely must get it with cheese and the fries that came with it were also addictive - skinny, salty McD's like fries and they really made for a tasty burger and fries combo. As for my pork belly sandwich, it came with avocado and a perfectly fried egg on top. Ingredient wise, it was a combination of everything that I love and don't get me wrong, it was a fine sandwich but honestly I wasn't wow'd by it. It kind of felt like a cliched sandwich of all the trendy things going on right now (pork belly, avocado and a fried egg) - you might as well throw some kale or poke on it and call it a day. As for the butter noodles, it was very similar to a cacio e peppe dish with a fried egg on top. The noodles were nice and chewy and it was definitely a very hearty and heavy pasta dish. Again, I enjoyed it but it wasn't a dish that I felt warranted a long line and wait outside.
The novelty of the Impossible Burger is for sure very interesting. I'm glad I tried it and if I lived in the neighborhood, I could see myself stopping by for those amazing fries on a cheat day. Total bill: $36/pp with tax, tip and drink
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