Does anything beat the juicy grilled burger for Labor Day end-of-Summer eating? The classic, medium rare patty with all the fixin’s. A nice fresh piece of lettuce, Romaine hopefully. End of August tomatoes, in all their red ripe deliciousness. A really good bun—maybe a buttery brioche roll, maybe an English muffin, or a chunky ciabatta square, with its crevices and crannies that can hold a multitude of condiments. I’m not really a fan of ketchup, so I’ll put spicy mustard on whatever roll I get. And a good Kosher pickle…nothing says Party! quite like a crunchy spear of pickle. We’ve put lamb burgers on the menu, and bison, but not for Labor Day. Beef.
Except.
Two weeks ago a group of us were out to dinner at a lovely café on a lakeside marina in Westchester County New York. The menu was a nice blend of choices, though one choice stood out: Chef’s Special: The Marina Impossible Burger. I ate. I was shocked.
If you haven’t tried the Beyond Beef or Impossible burgers, I strongly recommend them. Not the Impossible Whopper or White Castle version, the homemade kind of burger, the kind of burger you would whip up for your best friends. Get a couple pounds of perfectly handsome beef substitute, season it up and grill it up for family and friends. Those friends of yours, who always bring a good bottle of wine and a knockout salad and a little dessert something-or-other treat, they deserve to try the new meat substitutes with you.
Experience and see for yourself –with your besties there to weigh in—what the future of protein consumption might look like. We all know that beef production takes a toll on the planet and too much beef consumption takes a toll on our bodies.
Do a taste test. Discuss amongst your close circle. I think that by Labor Day 2020 a lot of grills in this country will be making room for something very different to go with their buns and favorite condiments. I’ll still be saying ‘hold the ketchup.’
And I might be saying, ‘hold the meat.’
Check out more meatless burgers recipes with sabudana-zucchini and SEEMA’s Quinoa burger.
