The Impossible Burger Finds A Home In David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi — New Yorkers Line Up To Eat ‘Bleeding’ Veggie Burger

The Impossible Burger just found a home in a David Chang restaurant located in the heart of Manhattan. New Yorkers, consisting mainly of animal rights activists and vegans, lined up to eat the “bleeding” veggie burger.

According to an article written by Eater, it reports that Impossible Foods, the company responsible for creating the Impossible Burger or the “bleeding” veggie burger, will now serve its unique vegan burger in one of David Chang’s restaurant. The Chang restaurant given the honor is Momofuku Nishi, located in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. Though it may seem that Chang just hit it big, as Momofuku Nishi will be the one and only restaurant to serve the Impossible Burger, it was actually a collaboration in the making which started over a year ago.

“I was genuinely blown away when I tasted the burger. The Impossible Foods team has discovered how to re-engineer what makes beef taste like beef. We’re always looking to support people who are making the best products in the best ways possible and to me, the Impossible Burger is one more example. First and foremost, we think this makes a delicious burger.”‘

Given the stigma surrounding foods identified as genetically-modified organisms, it is amazing that Impossible Foods was able to get enough support to create the Impossible Burger in the first place. However, the ambition of certain groups mentioned earlier (animal activists, vegans) is far more adamant than the disdain of the green community. Impossible Foods was able to raise more than $100 million towards the creation of the Impossible Burger, and some of the investors were very prominent individuals such as the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates.

As for why the Impossible Burger was created, it is to give those who desire red meat an alternative that does very little to stray away from ripping into the cooked flesh of an animal. Also, red meat consumption is back on the rise thanks to lower red meat prices these days, along with the popularity of high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets like Paleo.

The Impossible Burger has been served to Momofuku Nishi patrons since last week and it is surely proving its popularity. According to an article written by PETA, they report that on the day of the Impossible Burger’s debut, people literally lined up outside of the restaurant waiting to sink their teeth into the vegan burger.

Since then, the internet has been flooded with reviews praising the burger. Vegans, especially those who used to consume red meat, are happy with the Impossible Burger. As for devoted meat-eaters, they are in disbelief that the Impossible Burger isn’t made from the delicious cuts of cows. One devoted meat-eater provided a statement, giving it nothing but praise.

“As a meat eater, I could not tell the difference between this crazy fake meat and real meat. And it was really good.”

To be frank, the Impossible Burger is probably the coup de grâce of the food industry’s attempt to create a vegan alternative to red meat. It started with Beyond Meat back in 2009, a company known for making “chicken” that isn’t made from chickens. Tropical Smoothie Café is known for having Beyond Meat’s “chicken” as an option. Impossible Foods was founded two years later. That same year, Modern Meadow was founded, as they want to make meatless meat products but are starting with leather not made from livestock. Mosa Meat and Memphis Meats were both founded in 2015 and both are pushing for lab-grown meats.

There is no word if the Impossible Burger at Momofuku Nishi is a permanent menu item or only for a limited time, but it will become a permanent menu item in select restaurants in Los Angeles and San Francisco later his year.

[Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images]