Vegan Restaurant Information of the Week: “McRib,” Hen Parm, and Extra

The times of boring salads are formally behind us with thrilling vegan restaurant information cropping up each week. To have fun its thirteenth birthday, The Vegetarian Butcher simply opened a brand new meatless butcher store in Rotterdam. Desire a vegan McRib? Mr. Charlie’s and Tindle put their spin on the McDonald’s basic for the Household Fashion competition in Los Angeles. Plus, vegan hen parm sandwiches simply launched at two completely different fast-food chains. Learn on for extra. 

1Veggie Grill’s new 2.0 menu

Because it first opened its doorways in 2006, vegan fast-food pioneer Veggie Grill has undergone a slew of menu evolutions. This week, the chain is asserting a return to its roots of kinds with the launch of Veggie Grill 2.0. This new part displays the model’s long-standing dedication to providing feel-good meals choices and goals to encourage and maintain curiosity in plant-based consuming. 

Veggie Grill

Underneath this menu refresh, the chain is including six new menu objects, protecting quite a lot of wholesome and luxury meals choices.

“We’re excited to creator this subsequent chapter for Veggie Grill, which takes us again to our roots and ushers in a transformative interval for our model and the plant-based motion as an entire,” T.Ok. Pillan, co-founder and CEO of Veggie Grill, mentioned in a press release. 

“We’ve all the time attracted omnivores, flexitarians, and vegetarians with our feel-good meals primarily based on plant-powered protein and contemporary, housemade recipes, and we’re proud to develop on that basis by bringing our menu to the following stage,” Pillan mentioned. 

The brand new dishes embrace Sesame Tofu Supergreens, Caesar Crunch Salad, Caesar Crunch Wrap, Ranchero Bean Fiesta, Pesto Chick’n Parm Sandwich, and Truffle Mac + Cheese. 

Veggie Grill

To commemorate Nationwide Vegetarian Month, Veggie Grill will provide a free new menu merchandise from now till October 31 with the promo code “NEWMENU” with the acquisition of any new merchandise. 

Moreover, sure limited-time provides, such because the Bánh Mì Sandwich (made with Past Meat’s vegan steak) and the Dawn Kimchi Burger (made with YoEgg’s progressive sunny-side-up vegan eggs) will now be everlasting fixtures on Veggie Grill’s menu, which operates 17 areas in California, Oregon, Washington, and Massachusetts.

2Italian hen parm at PLNT

Veggie Grill is just not the one chain serving vegan hen parm sandwiches. This week, Italian premium items producer Bona Furtuna has joined forces with plant-based chain PLNT Burger, which is led by superstar chef Spike Mendelsohn, to supply a limited-time “Chik’n Parm” Sandwich. 

Out there from now by January 2024 in any respect PLNT Burger areas, the sandwich incorporates Bona Furtuna’s Unique Passata Tomato Sauce, sourced from its Sicilian farm. 

PLNT Burger

Designed by PLNT Burger’s Govt Chef Michael Colletti, the nonna-approved sandwich is constructed round a Meati Chik’n patty (constituted of mushroom root) and options Vertage Cheese cashew-based mozzarella, topped with Bona Furtuna’s Unique Passata. The tomato sauce is constituted of natural Corleonese tomatoes which might be cultivated in nutrient-rich soils, offering an intense and wealthy taste.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Bona Furtuna on this particular sandwich,” Colletti mentioned in a press release. “We’re lengthy admirers of its high quality merchandise and are all the time searching for methods to raise our menu by like-minded partnerships like this.”

The limited-edition menu additionally consists of Crispy Herb Fries, seasoned with Bona Furtuna’s Cacio E Pepe Mix.

“We’re thrilled to associate with the high quality crew at PLNT Burger for each its scrumptious fare and our shared dedication to sustainability,” Brian Ralph, COO and President of Bona Furtuna, mentioned in a press release. 

“This collaboration is an effective way to deliver a few of Bona Furtuna’s favorites to a wider viewers and assist folks make extra sustainable decisions,” Ralph mentioned. 

3The Vegetarian Butcher’s new store

To commemorate its thirteenth anniversary, Dutch different meat firm The Vegetarian Butcher unveiled a brand new plant-based butcher store in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 

The brand new location will function a broad collection of meat substitutes, together with unique, limited-edition merchandise. This improvement follows the model’s growth into 24 Carrefour areas in Spain earlier this 12 months and a French retailer in 2022. 

Since its inception in 2010, The Vegetarian Butcher—now owned by Unilever—has advanced from a neighborhood to a worldwide model, distributing its merchandise in tens of 1000’s of shops worldwide, together with in China and Singapore. 

The Vegetarian Butcher

The corporate has additionally fashioned partnerships with outstanding restaurant chains like Burger King and Subway. This 12 months, the model continued to push the envelope with the launch of plant-based bacon made lifelike with a patented fats tissue expertise and a plant-based kebab skewer in collaboration with Düzgün Meals Group. 

“We’re very pleased with the opening of the most important plant-based butcher’s store within the Netherlands,” Hugo Verkuil, CEO of The Vegetarian Butcher, advised native outlet De Ondernemer. 

“What makes this butcher [shop] distinctive is that the merchandise on our cabinets are plant-based and but have the recognizable properties of meat classics,” he mentioned. 

4Eleven Madison Park pops up in Hong Kong

New York Metropolis’s distinguished restaurant Eleven Madison Park is celebrating its twenty fifth 12 months by extending its vegan culinary expertise to Hong Kong. Collaborating with Rosewood Hong Kong, the restaurant will provide an eight-course vegan tasting menu priced at $510 per visitor that may run from November 14 to 18 at Asaya Kitchen.

Though the complete particulars of the menu are but to be launched, it will likely be impressed by Eleven Madison Park’s famend dishes and can function produce sourced from native natural farms. The meals might be paired with wines curated by Gabriel Di Bella, Eleven Madison Park’s wine director. 

Letizia Cigliutti

Chef-owner Daniel Humm transitioned Eleven Madison Park to a plant-based restaurant in 2021 in a sustainability transfer that rocked the fine-dining world. In 2022, the world-renowned restaurant was capable of keep its three Michelin stars in its new iteration. 

The Hong Kong pop-up will additional Humm’s mission to advertise sustainability inside the fine-dining world. Whereas overseas, the chef can even interact with college students from the Hong Kong Vocational Council’s Worldwide Culinary Institute, in affiliation with Rosewood Empowers, to share insights on sustainable dwelling and plant-based cooking.

5McRib however make it vegan

The McRib has been a limited-time sandwich on the McDonald’s menu since 1981—making a comeback each November. Final 12 months, McDonald’s despatched off its pork-filled sandwich with a Farewell Tour, hinting that it will be the final time the McRib made a menu look. However, even after the ceremonial goodbye, it appears to be like just like the McRib might be again on the menu one more 12 months.  

Whereas McDonald’s fusses with its 40-year-old menu particular, in 2023, there’s one thing new to clamor about. That’s as a result of Mr. Charlie’s, a vegan challenger within the fast-food realm, simply unveiled a contemporary tackle a pork sandwich: The Mr. Rack. 

Mr. Charlie’s

Created along with plant-based meat firm Tindle, the Mr. Rack options vegan pork ribs smothered in sauce, served with pickles and onions on a smooth bun. Mr. Charlie’s showcased the Mr. Rack over the weekend at Household Fashion, a household meals competition in Los Angeles offered by DoorDash. 

Right here, Mr. Charlie’s promptly offered out of the sandwich, which it provided for $7.77 as the most affordable merchandise on the competition. The Mr. Rack is discontinued for now, however identical to the McRib, it would see a comeback. 

“If our prospects actually wish to see it again, they are going to tell us,” Mr. Charlie’s Co-founder Taylor McKinnon tells VegNews.

For now, these searching for a vegan fast-food repair can hit up Mr. Charlie’s at its California areas in Los Angeles, Venice Seashore, and San Francisco. The vegan fast-food chain can be working to open its first worldwide location in Sydney, Australia this fall.