• psvrh@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    I really would like a patty that doesn’t pretend to be meat. Something like old-school veggie patties from the pre-Yves, pre-Beyond era. More of a veggie fritter, I suppose.

    I know people want the meat-burger experience, and that’s fine. I’d like an option that doesn’t resemble meat.

    A guilty pleasure of mine is the Ikea veggie dog with cabbage and fried onions and mustard. Kinda like that.

    • OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      I’m with you on this. It seems that the prevailing idea is that if we don’t eat meat that we miss it or want a direct replacement. So they keep trying to make “fake meat”. That might appeal to some people on the fence about it, but I haven’t eaten meat in over 2 decades. I don’t miss it. I don’t want my food to taste like it. I don’t want it to look like it. I want something tasty that an animal didn’t have to suffer for.

      • foggenbooty@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        It’s interesting how tastes vary. I’ve been vegan for five years now but I still enjoy the food I grew up with. So I’m all for meat-like replacements. I would eat lab grown meat too if it became affordable. That said, I find looking at raw meat in the grocery store a lot more revolting than I used to, so I suppose that’s similar.

        I do understand where you’re coming from though, if you grew up not eating meat or just have lost your taste for it, more options are always better. Unfortunately I think what they’re providing already is a stretch to them, so I don’t see them expanding alternative menues any time soon.

        The real annoying thing is when you do find a veggie style pattie like you were describing… and it has egg in it.

    • ℬ𝒶𝓃𝒶𝓃𝒶
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      2 months ago

      There is a place near me called “Indian Burger Joint” which does something like this. Super tasty and great variety of different Indian flavours and styles.

      • kelvie@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        I love me an aloo burger but it really doesn’t have a lotta protein.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      Not restaurant, but Costco sells a large pack of Morning Star farms BlackBean Burgers, and they are delicious…too bad a fastfood place hasn’t picked these up for the menu

      • IronKrill@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        They should get a D or something, not an F. Their options are not overly plant-based friendly (can I just say “vegan friendly”?), but after researching their menu you are able to piece together vegan options from what they give you.

    • IronKrill@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      It should be noted, however, that that option is not plant-based by default. They make it with regular egg-based mayonnaise and you have to request it taken off.

    • Grimpen@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      They also have a delicious Masala burger they introduced for a limited time.

      I am not vegetarian or vegan, but will happily sub a Beyond/Impossible patty for a meat patty, I just resent it when that’s an upcharge (I have a whole rant on that).

      The Masala burger is not a meat substitute patty, it’s a vegetable patty that doesn’t pretend to be anything else. I think it also has paneer and other toppings. It’s delicious, it’s a decent size, and it’s $6.

      As someone who will happily eat a meat burger. The Masala burger is just a plain good burger that happens to be vegetarian (maybe Vegan).

  • Gamma@beehaw.org
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    2 months ago

    Impossible Whopper is decent, at least it’s not a pile of grease like the meat version is.

    I really liked Panda Express’s crunchy things they advertised as impossible chicken. Wish they still had them!

    • tunetardis@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, I was never a fan of the Whopper for that reason, but the IW is pretty good!

  • tunetardis@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    I like the Harvey’s veggie burger. It’s kind of old school, predating all the new plant-based ones, but it hits the spot for me and often goes on sale in the app.

    I wish we had an Odd Burger where I live. My daughter and her vegan boyfriend are always saying great things about it.

    • Carl@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      They sometimes have whole wheat buns, but you have to ask. I love Harvey’s. Non-Canadians are missing out on it.

      • tunetardis@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        Yeah I always get that bun! If you go often, I strongly recommend the app. It remembers previous orders and what sort of toppings you like on your burger. It takes around 10 minutes to prepare it, so if you order before you head out, it will usually be ready by the time you get there. Also, you can get Scene points towards your next movie.

      • Someone@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        I only remember going to Harvey’s once, probably because the only one I ever saw was inside a Home Depot, but it seems like they left BC completely quite a while ago.

  • Auli@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    All of them. Probably because they don’t sell well. I know you saw them everywhere and now I don’t.

    • BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      I always assumed that vegans wouldn’t ho in a McDonald’s for example to begin with, so a vegan option would be kinda useless. I didn’t eat at McDonald’s before i was vegan, and i wouldn’t go there if they had an amazing vegan option

      • Grimpen@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        I would happily eat an Impossible Burger or Beyond Burger, they’re pretty decent burgers! I’m also a cheapskate, and don’t like paying extra for essentially the same thing.

        Considering that the inherent resources it takes to make a meat patty are in theory greater than resources it takes to make a vegetable based patty, why am I expected to pay a premium for the vegetable based patty?

        There are some factors such as scaling and capital costs, but fundamentally, I think they charge more the vegetable based patties because it’s some sort of “virtue”. Be that as it may, virtue doesn’t pay my mortgage.

        If vegetable based patties were even 10¢ cheaper than an equivalent meat patty, I’m thinking they’d be much much more popular. Times are tough, people got to pay rent, these Impossible Meat/Beyond Meat burgers are delicious, and less resource intensive. Let’s get this sorted! Do we really need some government interference in the market?

        • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.ca
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          2 months ago

          We already have government interference. Meat, dairy and eggs receive MASSIVE subsidies and marketing aids from the government. That’s a big part of the reason why it can be sold so cheaply to the consumer.

          • Grimpen@lemmy.ca
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            2 months ago

            I don’t disagree. If there were agricultural subsidies that let me eat more delicious hamburgers for less money, and those delicious burgers just happened to be plant based, I’d be happy eating more burgers for less bucks.

            The specifics are beyond me though, and there are already so many agricultural subsidies targeting so many different products.

              • Grimpen@lemmy.ca
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                2 months ago

                Doesn’t pay the mortgage, my man.

                Although I would pay a single cent, but I also grew up on a farm, and know hunters… so I’m not exactly PETA material. I do hate wasting meat, a creature died so that I may eat, and one day we all shall be food for others (classic worm meat). Still, the sheer scale of industrial agriculture when it comes to the meat industry is staggering.

                Overall though, we are all cogs in this machine, and we need to recognize the levers and control inputs of this machine and use them. Just like “carbon footprint”, good feelings for consumers is something that can be sold at a premium. This is why I reject the premise of your question. I shouldn’t have to pay an extra cent to reduce suffering, We should structure our markets so that there is less suffering.

                This concept is one of the reason why meat substitutes probably aren’t widespread, because by using it as some virtue signal it is able to be sold at a premium. Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers should be cheaper because the fundamental inputs are cheaper and we haven’t skewed the market to make them more expensive.

  • foggenbooty@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    These ratings are ridiculous. A&W and KFC both have plant based alternatives yet get the same F rating (lowest possible) as Wendy’s and McDonalds? Because they haven’t committed to expanding the plant based menus or agreeing to limit the animal products the chain uses?

    This is letting perfect be the enemy of good. They should be a D at the very minimum if not higher, reserving the F for the companies that have nothing to offer at all.

    • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      Because nobody wants them.

      Then how is it possible that the vegan fast food market is worth over $18 billion this year, projected to continue to grow to nearly $30 billion in the next 10 years?

      The demand is there, 100%.

      But I’ll also say that I’ve been vegan for over two decades and rarely get fast food. I have no incentive, personally. I’m sure the market would be much larger if they could reach people like me.