Red Robin Gives Impossible Burger Its Largest Rollout Yet

So far, 2019 has been a pretty big year for plant-based food—in January alone, Impossible Foods debuted a revamped formula with the “Impossible Burger 2.0” at CES in Las Vegas, Carl’s Jr. put the Beyond Burger on its menu (for a limited time), and Impossible’s founder and CEO, Pat Brown, even teased out the idea of a plant-based beef steak. Today, that trend continues with the announcement that Red Robin has officially inked a deal with Impossible Foods. Starting next month, the restaurant chain will add an Impossible Cheeseburger to the menu at all 570 of its locations across the U.S, according to a statement.

“Our fans expect variety, creativity and culinary innovation at Red Robin, so it was important for us to offer a plant-based option that appeals to traditional burger lovers, flexitarians and everyone craving a delicious burger,” Jonathan Muhtar, executive vice president and chief concept officer at Red Robin, said in the statement.

The partnership makes Red Robin the largest restaurant group worldwide to carry Impossible's plant-based meat, and diners can order the burgers starting April 1 (no, it's not an April Fools' prank). As for the burger's preparation? Think standard cheeseburger: topped with your choice of cheese, as well as pickle relish, red onions, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo (you can customize it to your liking). You also have the option to substitute the Impossible patty for any other Red Robin burger on the menu—an Impossible Sautéed 'Shroom burger (Swiss cheese, garlic-and-Parmesan sautéed mushrooms) sounds pretty good by us. And of course, burgers are served with Red Robin’s signature bottomless steak fries. If there isn't a Red Robin near you, you can find Impossible burgers at Umami Burger, White Castle (in slider form), and Muscle Maker Grill, among other restaurants — in total, over 5,000 across the U.S., Hong Kong, and Macau serve the plant-based patty, according to the Impossible site.

Impossible also made headlines last week for issuing a cautionary voluntary recall—its first for the burger—due to plastic found in “a bulk Impossible Burger product” at a California restaurant, reports Eater. The burgers in question were produced on February 19, 2019, and are marked with lot number OAK19050000—according to Eater, they were not served to anyone, and an Impossible spokesperson said that distributors who have to throw them out will be compensated.