'Impossible Burger' A New Comfort Food Classic?

ROYAL OAK, MI — Beef, buffalo, turkey, tofu — just about anything that can made into a burger patty is gobbled up by hungry Michiganians. It may very well be this state’s biggest comfort food.

Now there’s another option to add to that list, the “Impossible Burger.” On Friday, B Spot, at 310 S. Main Street, started serving the world's only burger that looks, handles, smells, cooks and tastes like ground beef from cows — but is made entirely from plants.

The Impossible Burger was introduced in 2011 in California. Since, then it has slowly made its way across the country and it’s B Spot introduction last week made Michigan the first midwestern state to have it. It’s being rolled out to other B Spot outlets in Ohio and Indiana this week.

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So far, so good, at least according to one Royal Oak B Spot customer.

“I know Michael Symon's restaurants are typically for meat eaters,” wrote Thomas J of Royal in a Sunday review of B Spot on Yelp. He gave the restaurant a four out of five start rating. “I've come here in the past, had a terrible veggie burger, and mostly shrugged it off due to the fact that the dude has a book title "Carnivore."

“Things have changed. With the arrival of the "impossible burger", gone are the days of the dry, disgusting veggie burger.”

The Impossible Burger is made from simple ingredients found in nature, including water, wheat, coconut oil and potatoes. One special ingredient — heme — give the burger the taste of meat. Impossible Foods discovered how to get heme from plants, transforming the Impossible Burger into a carnivore’s delight.

Impossible Foods says its’ burger is produced without hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavors. It uses about 75 percent less water, generates about 87 percent fewer greenhouse gases and requires around 95 percent less land than conventional ground beef from cows.

“We make hearty, soul-satisfying Midwestern comfort food for the 21st century -- and the Impossible Burger is a perfect addition to B Spot’s menu,” said Symon, also co-host of ABC’s The Chew, an Iron Chef on Food Network’s Iron Chef America.

B Spot is serving the Impossible Burger “Thin Lizzy” style, with griddled onions, mayo, dill pickles, and cheddar cheese, for $9.99. Customers can also add the Impossible Burger to any “build your own” sandwich or salad.

Photo courtesy of Impossible Foods