Secret Veggie Goodness with the Impossible Burger at Cheezees Grill

If you’re vegetarian, vegan, or even just a more adventurous carnivore, you’ve had an encounter with a veggie burger. And you know that – like their meaty counterparts – not all veggie burgers are created equal. Some don’t try to be anything but what they are and taste like the vegetables they’re made of. Some tend to be tasteless or bland. Others are good, but just don’t taste like a hamburger. But there’s a veggie burger that stands out from the pack. It’s called the Impossible Burger and you can get it right here in St. Augustine.

The Impossible Burger is served at Cheezees Grill, the only restaurant in the area to have it. In fact, even Jacksonville only has one location that serves it, despite the size of the city. So consider this burger somewhat of an experience – an experience that you have to see (and taste to believe).

Here’s what I mean – the Impossible Burger tastes like a hamburger and a delicious hamburger at that. But the Impossible Burger is made 100% meat-free, an entirely plant-based dish developed by scientists over at Impossible Foods. The burger is made from all-natural ingredients – like wheat, coconut oil, and potatoes – but what gives it the taste of meat is something called “heme.” Heme is one of the building blocks of life, found throughout nature, but found in abundance in meat. These scientists discovered that heme is what makes meat taste – well – meaty.

Knowing this, they were able to create a burger with no meat at all that tastes like it’s completely made of meat. And having gotten to sit down at Cheezee’s to try it myself, I can tell you that the Impossible Burger has achieved the deliciously impossible. If you had asked me to taste it side by side with a regular burger, I would have been hard-pressed to tell the difference. And in case you’d like to take one step further, the restaurant can even serve it with vegan cheese and gluten-free bread.

Gone are the days of blandness or veggies that are only burger shaped. Veggie burgers everywhere better beware – a new bar has been set for taste.

 

Cheezees Grill is located at 926 Santa Maria Boulevard. Visit them online at www.cheezeesgrill.com . Photography by Brian Miller.