My Ten Favorite Vegan Products at the National Restaurant Association Show
--
I was lucky enough to be at the National Restaurant Association Show and I got to eat allllll the vegan foods. I’ve got some thoughts.
Here are the products that really made an impression on me as being of superior quality, unique, filling a gap, or, ideally, all of the above. There were really so many more things worthy of a mention — and, honestly, I couldn’t try it all because of time and fullness constraints — but there is truly a dizzying array of plant-based products available today for food service and retail alike.
It’s an exciting time.
1. Yo, there’s a new egg in town!
This booth pretty much stole the show with their scarily perfect rendition of eggs in poached and sunny-side form with animal-free ingredients, of course. Although it looked and smelled just like the eggs I remember from my vegetarian and omni days, nothing prepared me for that yoke that ran when pierced with my fork. I think I may have actually screamed. (It was okay, it was loud in there.) An Israeli start-up, the YoEgg will be in the U.S. starting on the West Coast in the fall and then branching out throughout the country. As they say, “Pass the runny yolks. Hold the cholesterol, cruelty, and climate change.” My pleasure.
2. OGs still representing
We saw lots of new brands but to me, there’s nothing quite like seeing an ethics-based company like Chicago Vegan Foods still thriving with their beloved Dandies marshmallows and the Temptation soft-serve, now oat based, that made them a household name, at least among vegans and the dairy-free. Taking a twirl with their vanilla-chocolate swirl is hard to refuse, even when you’re pacing yourself.
