Sat Aug 10, 2019 4:35 pm
There must have been a karmic imperative at work. I've been forced to use my car for some longer errands the past week or so due to a cracked seat tube on my bike (not worth repairing, so I'm ordering a new frameset and will transfer components over), and was so engaged Thursday evening after writing the previous post when I looked over and saw a Carl's Jr. Went in and had a Beyond Meat Famous Star with Cheese.
I liked it better than the Impossible Whopper, and would probably give it a B or B+, but with major caveats to my rating. First, I didn't order a regular beef burger for comparison as I did with the Whopper, so that might have led to a higher rating than otherwise. Second, I have little experience with either Whoppers or Famous Stars, so it could be I just like the condiments, bun etc. of the latter better, regardless of what "meat's" inside, and I should have ordered it without cheese as well. And third, having read iplug's comments about relative dryness shortly before I ate it and having them in mind, it's possible that they influenced my opinions. Realistically, the only way to do a good comparison between the two non-meat alternatives and the real thing is to buy some of each at the supermarket and cook them yourself, in separate frying pans so no juice transfers, and then either eat them plain or prepare them identically.
All that being said, I did think the Star seemed juicier than the Whopper and it looked normal, although it still seemed to have little or no smell or taste of its own. It was priced at $6.49 vs. $5.09 for the regular Star, a 28% increase (27% for the Impossible Whopper vs. the regular one), so they'll have to get the costs down through economies of scale and/or technical development to compete with the real deal - I think a fair number of people would be willing to pay 5% or at most 10% more to avoid killing cows if they can get the rest right, but anything above that and it's priced out of the mass market.
It's very encouraging, but they aren't there yet. I await events, and more competition. Oh, and let's get fast food "poultry" going too.
Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].
The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'. Copper shot, not Silver bullets.