Sticks | Anna Marie Bayonito

Impossible Burger

Meat from plants?

That’s the mission of Impossible Foods, the Silicon Valley startup behind one of the more buzzworthy menu items these days: the Impossible Burger. Impossible claims its plant-based “meat” uses 95-percent less land, 74-percent less water and creates 87-percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to cattle ranching. The patty even “bleeds” like beef, thanks to heme proteins, which the company links to yeast, first extracting a gene from soybeans that encodes the protein and…

It’s true molecular gastronomy.

The Impossible Burger has sprouted on the menus at a handful of local restaurants. A favorite is at Sticks in Pebble Beach. Here, Chef de Cuisine Anna Marie Bayonito embellishes Impossible’s burger with roasted red peppers, grilled onions, avocado, Jack cheese, arugula, and chermoula sauce. The charred vegetables carry a subtle smoky sweetness. Chermoula – a spiced relish from northern Africa – brings Mediterranean flavors to the palate.

Hey, ordered without cheese and wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun, it’s even vegan.

STICKS, The Inn at Spanish Bay, 2700 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach. (800) 877-0597, pebblebeach.com