Meat substitutes that emulate meat too closely

[hugoagogo]

I am vegetarian rather than vegan.
When I eat out I sometimes choose the vegan option ( frequently there aren't many choices), but often find they too are to meaty tasting.
Is this what most vegans are looking for, do you think? Is it just a moral choice?

For me, I just prefer not to eat meat ethically, but also don't enjoy the flavour/texture.

Burger King? 😂😂

And TGIs is a grill house? Both of those are 'burger joint' type places. So obviously would do fake meat predominantly 🙈

Its not obvious in the slightest

they didnt do meat substitutes in the past….they do now

And burger king used to do a bean burger

its doesnt now

less choice…which is what people are complaining about

Yeah but Burger King?! A lot of vegans wouldn't want to eat in Burger King, kfc etc etc anyway. I couldn't get worked up about that. Any high street chains that are not 'grill houses'?

I used to love bk spicy beanburgers. I don't want meat substitute burgers.

Me too. As a flexitarian who doesn't like cheese or veggie burgers I'm really happy with the range of delicious vegan options available in restaurants and takeaways nowadays based on the various cuisines of Africa, Asia and South America.

Spicy beanburger…that was it

mcdonalds did a almost curry flavoured veggie burger years and years ago…that was nice

and they did a veggie/bean burger wrap or burger thing til recently…do they still do that?

I've seen spicy bean burgers on menus. But it wouldn't have been anywhere like McDonald's or Burger King. Don't think we are their target market. Greene King pub chain do lots of different options. I'm struggling to think of anywhere that only has fake meat.

But it wouldn't have been anywhere like McDonald's or Burger King

no

because they used to do them but have now changed to fake meat…

I'm vegetarian but otherwise I feel the same. DH bought some "realistic" fake meat burgers and they really tasted like meat, rare meat at that. I hated them.

@RufustheFloralmissingreindeer no. Because as a vegan I don't want to give BK etc my money 🙄 it's not just about feeding your face.

I had to move to kids meal spicy beanburgers when the calorie counts appeared on menus. Now i don't go to bk, at the motorway services we use.
Its quite hard to get a vegetarian bar meal near me, they have moved to meat alternatives. Indian, Italian, Asian etc still use vegetables!

Aahhh you meant you personally

gotcha

i thought you hadnt seen them in store…

now i know youve never set foot in one I understand what you meant

Okay cool 👌🏻

None of them taste like meat, just wrong. Quorn is rank, tofu worse and the meat substitutes might look OK but they definitely do not taste like actual meat. Maybe lab grown will get better but still at the hotdogs rather than sausages stage.

I’ve been veggie all my life and try eat minimal dairy but I will always pick cheese/yoghurt over an ultra processed alternative.

When I eat out, I’m looking for a meal prepared with fresh ingredients that I wouldn’t often make (usually because too much effort). I find many cuisines lend themselves well to vegetables - Italian, Indian, Chinese (in our area), Mexican. Turkish have lots of starters but rarely a decent main. Grills, pubs (particularly those known for roasts) are the problematic ones. They preciously had one mediocre veg item on the menu (along lines of mushroom risotto for the latter) and now have replaced it with a crappy UPF vegan, gluten free expensive meal. Manage to avoid them all year until Xmas time when they are often popular choice

DH loves meat and will only eat veggie sausages by Richmond as it tastes so meaty.

Thanks 😊

If you look at the ingredients of cheap 'real' sausages they have a lot of fillers. And if you like them you'll probably like Richmond vegan sausages. I always think if you add a bun, fried onions, mustard and ketchup your brain tells you you're eating a hotdog anyway!

See I don't care about that either. BK have just opened up a fully vegan pop up in my city which I'll be spending lots in for the next 2 weeks.

But a bowl of mince doesn’t resemble a cow? Rename it tiny bits of saucy cow?🤣
Chicken nuggets? They don’t market that as bits of dead chicken in batter. It’s not very appealing, is it.

As other posters have stated, some people bloody love meat- they have quit meat for other reasons. They want to taste something as close as possible to meat.

My friend for example, she’s vegetarian- will wear fur. Gives not a shit about animals- but she won’t put dead things in her mouth. She wants the real meat texture though.

The this isn't sausages are the best by a mile.

DH is vegetarian but has never had meat in his life. He likes Beyond Meat because it’s new and different to him. He doesn’t know what meat tastes like so it doesn’t freak him out.

I’m not vegetarian, but in the 12 years I’ve been with DH, I’ve eaten mostly meat-free, but still cooked myself meat occasionally because I miss it. Quorn could never cut it for me. I really like BeyondMeat and the Vivera kebab, so gladly use those instead of animal products. The introduction of these meats has meant that I no longer eat any ‘real’ meat.

We still only eat ‘fake meat’ once a week or so though; they don’t seem particularly nutritious or healthy.

I see these products as existing to placate people like me (who like meat, but try to reduce consumption) rather than people who are entirely turned off by the thought of eating animals.

See I don't care about that either.

@PBSam I had heard that in the small print some of these places were saying the vegan burgers are cooked on the meat grills. Which isn't for me. But if it was a 100% vegan pop up that's different.