Last year I only put out nine videos. A lot went on in my life, and I’d like to do better this year. So I came back to Slater’s 50/50 in Pasadena, my burger home and where all of this started, to try the Impossible Burger and the Impossible meatball sliders.
I’ll be honest about what I expected. I came in planning to hate it, call it a science experiment that should never hit a plate, and go home. The first thing I noticed is the runny egg on top, which makes a vegan or vegetarian burger impossible for actual vegans. I don’t know if Slater’s did that on purpose, but I find it hilarious.
Then I took a bite, and I didn’t hate it. I took the bun off to taste the patty by itself. It has a weird aftertaste, and it dries out (it’s not juicy at all), but it’s decent. The meat doesn’t have much taste of its own. On the meatball sliders you taste the mozzarella and the marinara, and the patty gives you the texture of meat. You can tell it isn’t ground beef. You just can’t tell what it is instead. My waiter Mady explained heme, which gives meat its meaty flavor, and that’s what they add to this. I’d never heard of it.
So the verdict is good. Not great, not fantastic, but good, and a real lesson in preconceived notions. Slater’s watermelon lemonade, on the other hand, is stunning.
This review was written and paid for with my own money: no sponsorship, no comped meal. If it helped you decide where to eat, a coffee helps keep it that way.
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