The summer months, particularly holiday weekends, bring up memories of cookouts with good old-fashioned hot dogs and hamburgers. The smells produced from a backyard grill stoke memories of the past and make your mouth water in the present. For several years, Shannon and I (Gerry) have not eaten meat. So, the plant-based burger has been the only grilling option during these times when so many grill out and celebrate summer holidays.
Seven years ago, when we began our meatless journey, the only plant-based burger options usually tasted just like that… plants. There was a bit of a dark cloud over the holiday grill when you broke out the “veggie burger” to try to recreate the taste of the beef burgers you were familiar with. There seemed to be no good answers but to just make a big salad and move forward, letting go of the old ways.
Beyond or Impossible Burger?
A couple of years back, something new came along in the forms of the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger. These were not your daddy’s plant-based burgers, as they actually tasted like burgers and not plants, or black beans. It wasn’t long before the burgers made their way into restaurants, fast food, and sit-down dining, alike.
We arrive on Labor Day 2020 with both kinds in our refrigerator. Just having that option feels like an embarrassment of riches, from my perspective. It is beyond impossible to say which one is better.
Although we both seem to lean towards the Impossible Burger, since eating the Burger King version over the last year, the burger is a little pricey in restaurants, but now with its widespread availability in grocery stores, it’s readily available to grill at home at a much better cost.
So whichever choice you may make, Beyond or Impossible, on this Labor Day, these are your two best options if searching for a plant-based alternative. Bonus, no cows will be harmed by your grilling plans.
