And Beyond...

And beyond...

Chuck and I had an interesting culinary experience this weekend. We had a gift card to T.G.I. Friday's that we were needing to use, and as it happened we were going to be in the area where one was located, so we decided to stop by. 

As I glanced over the menu I noticed they were serving The Beyond Burger. I was intrigued because I knew that it was a plant-based alternative to regular burgers, and I had seen the patties at the store before. 

Chuck and I decided to order one after we checked online to read a little more about them. They claimed to taste like meat, and we were curious to try them out. They seemed to be getting rave reviews. 

When they arrived, at first glance, they did appear to be somewhat burger-like, except the patty was just a little too perfect. When I cut the burger in two that's when my doubts began. It actually was somewhat pink (beet juice), but I don't actually ever eat my hamburgers that rare. Also, at closer inspection you could tell that whatever it was (primarily made of peas) really did not resemble meat at all. 

When I took my first bite I was quite surprised at how much it tasted like meat. I took a few more thinking that this burger was pretty darn close to any meat burger I'd ever eaten. Except, that each time I looked at the pink, weirdly textured middle I began to like my burger less and less. I ate half, but really couldn't finish the rest. 

As I tried to explain my reluctance to finish the imposter, Chuck thought I was a little weird, until he began to notice an aftertaste each time he took a bite. What had started out for me being more of a visual thing, ended up a taste thing as well. It seemed that the taste of the burger was stuck to the roof of my mouth. 

Luckily, we were able to mask that taste with a brownie sundae so it wasn't a lost cause, but next time I'm wanting a non-meat burger I'll stick with a spicy black bean one instead.