All Of The NYC Kosher Restaurants Where You Can Devour An Impossible Burger
Everyone loves a big, juicy, sizzling burger — made from fermented veggies?
That’s the claim of Impossible Foods, the creators of an entirely plant-based burger that they swear tastes every bit as meaty as the real thing.
The result of their 18-month effort, the Impossible Burger, is vegan and certified kosher by the Orthodox Union. The Impossible Burger’s ingredients include wheat protein (also known as gluten), coconut oil, potato protein, and a special version of heme; in meat burgers, heme comes from blood and muscle, but Impossible Foods makes a version by fermenting soy roots…yum?
Critics claim that the Impossible Burger might be unsafe to eat, but to that I say, it’s a burger, no one has died, and if you want to make yourself a paragon of health then go eat a salad — enjoy your E. coli ridden greens.
Those concerns aside, the Impossible Burger nutritional facts are impressive: 3 ounces of the “meat” packs in 20 grams of protein and 220 calories, making it 21% less caloric and 66% more protein-rich than regular ground beef.
Those who have tried the burger give it mixed reviews, but one thing is certain: if you keep kosher and have always wanted to try a cheeseburger, you can now give it a shot.
Finding the Impossible Burger in NYC isn’t difficult, but you’ll have to head to a restaurant. It isn’t yet available in any grocery stores — yes, including Whole Foods. Thankfully, there are several restaurants that offer a kosher impossible burger in NYC. At dairy restaurants, you can finally try that cheeseburger you’ve always been craving, and at meat restaurants, you can act holier than your fellow diners for enjoying a dinner animal-free.
If the Impossible Burger isn’t listed on the restaurant’s online menu, we’ve called to verify that the restaurant is serving it, the price, and any additional information that we’ve listed below.
Brooklyn, NY
Holy Schnitzel — Brooklyn
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Kehilla Kashrus
Hours:Sunday to Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m, Friday 11:00 a.m. to 1 hour before Shabbat, Saturday 1 hour after Shabbat to 12:00 a.m.
$12.99 served on a bun with your choice of lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, fresh or sauteed Onions, grilled pastrami, fake bacon, sauteéd mushrooms and Holy Sauce.
Yummy Grill
Meat Restaurant — Beit Yosef
Kosher Certification: Vaad Hakashrus of Flatbush
Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Closed Saturday
$12.99
Downtown NYC
Mocha Burger
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Orthodox Union
Hours:Sunday to Wednesday 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m, Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Friday 11:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday 1 hour after Shabbat to 2:00 a.m.
$22 served with coleslaw, red slaw, fried onions, lettuce, onion, pickle, tomato, and MB sauce on a brioche bun.
Five Towns, NY
Cork And Slice — Lunch Menu
Dairy Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Vaad of Five Towns
Hours:Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday Lunch 11:30a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Pizza 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Dinner 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday Closed, Saturday please call for hours.
$24 served with Streats sauce, fried onions, pickles, cheddar, tuscan fries
Holy Schnitzel — Cedarhurst
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Vaad of Five Towns / Vaad of Staten Island
Hours:Sunday to Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m, Friday 11:00 a.m. to 1 hour before Shabbat, Saturday 1 hour after Shabbat to 12:00 a.m.
$12.99 served on a bun with your choice of lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, fresh or sauteed Onions, grilled pastrami, fake bacon, sauteéd mushrooms and Holy Sauce.
Josh’s Brooklyn Brick Oven Pizza
Dairy Restaurant
Hours: Sunday to Wednesday 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday 2:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday ~1 hour after Shabbat to 1:00 a.m.
$14.95 for single burger, $17.45 with fries
LolliBop Cafe
Dairy Restaurant — Chalav Yisrael; Pas Yisroel
Kosher Certification: Vaad of the Five Towns
Hours: Monday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
$13.99 comes with cheese; $1 more for fries
Midtown NYC
Bravo Pizza
Dairy Restaurant — Cholov Yisroel; Yoshon
Kosher Certification: OK Kosher
Hours: Monday to Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 pm., Friday 10:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m., Saturday 8:30 p.m to 2:00 a.m, Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 10:45 p.m.
$16.95 for a single burger and fries.
Cafe 11 — Midtown
Dairy Restaurant — Cholov Yisroel
Kosher Certification: Orthodox Union
Hours: Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Closed Saturday
$12.95 for single burger, add cheese for $1 and avocado for $2.
Eden Wok / Kosher in Midtown
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Orthodox Union
Hours: Sunday to Wednesday 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Closed Sunday
$13.95 for burger with one sauce
Le Marais
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Orthodox Union
Hours: Sunday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Saturday after Shabbat until 1:00 a.m.
$21 for burger and fries
Paprika Kitchen
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Orthodox Union
Hours: Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Closed Saturday
$13.95 on a bun with tomato, onion, lettuce, pickles, and sauce of your choice
Staten Island, NY
Holy Schnitzel — Staten Island
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Vaad Harabonim of Staten Island
Hours:Sunday to Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m, Friday 11:00 a.m. to 1 hour before Shabbat, Saturday 1 hour after Shabbat to 10:00 p.m.
$12.99 served on a bun with your choice of lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, fresh or sauteed Onions, grilled pastrami, fake bacon, sauteéd mushrooms and Holy Sauce.
Queens, NY
Bravo Pizza — Queens location
Dairy Restaurant — Cholov Yisroel; Yoshon
Neighborhood: Flushing, Queens
Kosher Certification: Vaad Harabonim of Queens
Hours: Sunday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 pm., Friday 11:30 a.m to 4 p.m., Closed on Saturday
$18.95 for a single burger with cheese, but will be going down in coming weeks.
Holy Schnitzel — Queens
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: Vaad Harabonim of Queens
Hours:Sunday to Wednesday 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m, Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m, Friday 11:00 a.m. to 2 hours before Shabbat, Saturday 1 hour after Shabbat to 1:00 a.m.
$12.99 served on a bun with your choice of lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, fresh or sauteed Onions, grilled pastrami, fake bacon, sauteéd mushrooms and Holy Sauce.
Upper West Side, NYC
Big Bang Burger
Meat Restaurant
Kosher Certification: OK Kosher
Hours: Sunday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 pm., Friday 11:30 a.m to 1.5 hours before Shabbat, Closed on Saturday
$12 for a single burger
Candle Cafe West
Pareve Restaurant
Kosher Certification: United Kosher Supervision
Hours: Monday to Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m
$18 for burger served with caramelized onions, vegan cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, sriracha aioli and truffle fries with cashew parmesan.
Washington Heights, NYC
Burgers & Grill
Meat Restaurant
Neighborhood: Washington Heights, NYC
Kosher Certification: Va’ad HaRabonim of Riverdale
Hours: Sunday to Thursday 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Saturday 9:15 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., Closed Saturday
$12.99 for single burger
Did we miss any? Let me know!
Laura E. Adkins is the Forward’s deputy opinion editor. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @Laura_E_Adkins
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