Boston’s First “Impossible Burger” (That’s Not Made With Meat) Debuts at Clover

A local restaurant chain known for its vegetarian menu and local sourcing will bring a bit of high tech food engineering to its menu this week. Clover Food Lab will introduce what’s called the Impossible Burger on Friday, bringing a look-alike “bleeding” burger patty that’s made entirely of plant products onto the menu.

Clover founder Ayr Muir started his company with a goal of producing a sustainable menu that leaves a smaller than normal environmental footprint, so this new relationship with Impossible Foods, the company behind the Impossible Burger, seems like a natural step. The Impossible Burger, which has been under development for about six years, also aims to reduce the footprint of meat production while still delivering a patty that looks and tastes like meat.

The Impossible Burger has appeared at a number of restaurants around the country already, but this is its first Boston appearance. Its ingredients include wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein, and water, plus an ingredient called heme, a compound that contains iron and gives the patty its meat taste. The company that produces the burger will start working with more and more restaurants like Clover to bring the burger to new markets around the country.

“Clover and Impossible Foods are totally aligned in our mission and vision: to make the global food chain sustainable and robust, one delicious meal at a time,” said Muir in a release. The burger “meat” will debut at Clover on Friday, September 22, in the form of a meatball sandwich, for $12.75. Look for the sub at Clover’s 1326 Mass. Ave. location and within the Harvard University Science Center. The sandwich will roll out to the other Clover locations next month.

The Impossible Burger joins vegan brand Beyond Meat in bringing meatless meat-like burgers that “bleed” to area restaurants. Beyond Meat’s so-called Beyond Burger is on the menu at several TGI Friday’s restaurants around Greater Boston, and it “bleeds” beet juice.

Correction, 12 p.m.: This piece previously noted that the Impossible Burger has already appeared at Next Level Burger restaurants in Oregon, which are associated with Whole Foods Market, but that statement was incorrect; it is actually Beyond Burgers, not Impossible Burgers, that are available at those restaurants, as Eater reported last month.

• Whole Foods Adds Meatless 'Bleeding' Burger Restaurants to Stores [E]
• Impossible Foods [Official Site]