The average person may think vegans have to settle for mushy black bean and kale patties or simply give up burgers all together, when in actuality, most LA vegans are chasing after the next hot burger trend. Something about having that which you love taken away from you, just to have it gifted back years later, creates a schoolgirl-like fascination that keeps you emptying out your wallet week after week at Monty’s tempting counter. Or, is that just us?
Luckily for our bad habits, big corporations are taking notice of the trend as well. What started out as a lone venture into the plant-based landscape with Carl’s Jr.’s Beyond Famous Star has exploded into an expansive market that continues to grab interest as months go by in what seems to a rapid snowballing effect. The most recent company to stake its claim into the non-steak catalog is Burger King, who unveiled they’d be releasing vegan-friendly Impossible Whoppers at all US locations by the end of 2019. Naturally, the Impossible Whopper comes with all the fixings you’d expect to find on a beef whopper—flame-grilled patty, pickles, tomatoes, mayonnaise, ketchup, onions, lettuce, and a toasted sesame bun—only the beef is replaced with the Impossible Burger 2.0. To veganize the order, all that’s needed is a simple hold on the mayonnaise. Time to be that weirdo who packs a little container of vegan mayonnaise from the house to complete the full experience.
Alas, the Impossible Burger is finally able to hit close to the heart of most Americans in the type of establishment many of us fell in love with burgers at, and where we most likely fell out of love with them as well. If BK’s plan was to convert vegans who were once McDonald’s lovers into full-fledged supporters, we’ll have to decide that once we sink our own teeth into it, but they’ve already won over our future “starving at 2am” cravings.
