I'll give this thread a bump, now that Burger King launched their Impossible Whoppers nationwide now.
I got one, and did a taste test along side of a regular Whopper with cheese. Honestly, it's difficult to tell the difference between the two unless you're really trying. I guess that it doesn't really help that Burger King covers the Whopper with a ton of sauce and toppings, and they don't exactly use the best quality beef to begin with.
My 6 year kid liked it as well, for what it's worth.
The only way to really tell the difference between the two is to take a chunk of the patty out of the burger and eat it on it's own. Then you can tell that while it's seasoned nice and has a nice smoky flavor, it's not quite beef. Pretty damn close, though.
The question is, was either good? Sometimes Whoppers are really tasty and other times they're so bad they make Robert Downey Jr reflect on the road he's on and change his life. I've had both and its why I don't eat Burger King much.
I might give it a try. I tried Carl Jr's version and it wasn't bad but its in no way a substitute for beef. I had had an Impossible burger at a gastropub down here before then and it wasn't awful but theirs was dry (anyone ever eat Sonic? It was like their burger, or when you get a patty that's not super fresh from McDonalds) and again not a substitute for beef patty. Carl Jrs' was the opposite it, overly moist/juicy. With some added flavor and getting it to the right mix between the two, I could see eating it regularly (not really as a replacement for beef as I still doubt it'd actually satisfy a good burger craving).
EDIT: Apparently Carl Jr does Beyond burger and not Impossible so that might be the difference that I experienced.
https://www.carlsjr.com/beyondburger
For me:
1. It's missing the grease & beefy flavor, but with cheese (I've had it without as well), it's really hard to tell. The patty texture is like 1:1.
2. No stomach issues (tried it twice). Sometimes knockoff foods (especially sugar-free stuff made with fake sugars) will nuke your GI tract - didn't have any problems with the Impossible Burger.
Would I order again? I mean, I like beef, and one of the reasons I get a Whopper is because I want that beefy greasy goodness. I wouldn't say no to a free one, however!
1. Yeah none of these veggie burgers have been a substitute for a burger craving for me (I've eaten quite a few different ones). Maybe the Whopper is better, but the two times I've tried the Impossible burger at other places even the texture is no substitute (its not inedible, and the Carl Jr one might actually suit people that like rarer burgers as it was really moist/juicy). Nor has the other veggie burger patties I've tried.
Personally I think they should offer a half and half kinda deal, where they mix some of the plant material with beef (which yes will rule out vegans/vegetarians, but if they can get it to have good burger flavor but use less beef, I think that could be a win for consumers, where we'd be able to satisfy our burger cravings with less guilt). But then it could end up like Coke Life (where its the worst of both, it has the bad fake sugar afertaste, while having real sugar in it), so perhaps not.
2. Yeah if you eat like a whole big bag of sugar free candy or otherwise consume far too much of that stuff (same situation with Olestra, its problematic when those things are put into foods where people tend to overconsume). This is also very different, as that stuff was artificial replacements that were being used specifically because the body doesn't treat it the same way it treats the sugar and fats that are in the normal versions. This is using plant material instead of beef. Granted cellulose isn't processed by the body (its why if you don't chew corn up well it passes through, the outer layer is cellulose and prevents the body from digesting it - hence kernels of corn in your shit). It also why they used cellulose in a lot of stuff as an anti-caking agent (like grated parmesan style cheese, its there to try and prevent the cheese from clumping and solidifying), but I think that's kinda more for filler and connecting the other plant material that provides the proteins.
Once these promotions are over, these burgers are going to cost more than beef, so they're going to flop for non-vegans/vegetarians (and most of those people go out of their way to bypass places like Burger King already). I think the goal though is for these places to have something to offer so that if a group of people (family or friends) where one of the people is vegan, that it won't have them ruled out. I don't see that working though. But I applaud them for at least trying.
I think the lab grown real meat is the best route for burger restaurants. It should enable them to make better burgers (should let them make perfect marbling of protein to fat content and manage the nutrients and flavoring) that have smaller impact on the environment and cut out the harming of animals. I haven't kept up on their progress so I don't know how far along they are in realizing that model. It sounds interesting though.