The times of boring salad are formally behind us with thrilling vegan restaurant information cropping up each week. There’s a brand new steak sandwich at celeb-backed vegan chain Neat Burger in NYC. A beefed-up vegan taco salad is making rounds within the Midwest at Foxtrot. Southern California is getting a brand new vegan bakery with the forthcoming opening of Yvonne’s Vegan Kitchen in Pasadena. And Panda Categorical launches Apple Pie Rolls, its first dessert which occurs to be plant-based. Learn on for extra.
1Neat Burger’s bought a brand new steak sandwich
Backed by actor Robert Downey Jr., vegan meat firm Chunk Meals is making its strategy to extra menus after a profitable launch at Charley’s Steak Home in Orlando, FL final month, the primary American steakhouse so as to add plant-based steaks.
Chunk Meals
This week, Chunk partnered with British vegan fast-food chain Neat Burger, one other celeb-backed firm that counts Leonardo DiCaprio and Lewis Hamilton as buyers. Timed with New York Metropolis’s Local weather Week, the vegan chain’s first stateside location in NYC now gives the Chunk Steak Sandwich ($19.99) that options the hearty steak, blue cheez, cilantro chipotle sauce, and caramelized onions, all served on a contemporary artisan roll.
Chunk Meals
The portions of the brand new sandwich at Neat Burger are restricted, however it’s also possible to get your fingers on Chunk’s vegan steak at greater than a dozen NYC eating places, together with French eatery Delice & Sarrasin; The Butcher’s Daughter (all places); Man Vankin’s eating places Past Sushi, Collectta, and Willow (the place it’s served with housemade chimichurri); and extra.
2Veggie Grill’s improved Baja menu
Veggie Grill has been hyper-focused on menu innovation and high quality because it tightens up operations to higher serve its prospects. To that finish, it beforehand expanded its partnership with Past Meat to make its fan-favorite Past Steak a everlasting menu fixture. Veggie Grill additionally doubled down on its partnership with YoEgg! to showcase the magic of its vegan eggs, full with runny yolks, on its menu.
This week, Veggie Grill is bettering its Baja menu of vegan fish choices with Omni Golden Filet, made by Hong Kong-based OmniFoods.
Veggie Grill
“We’re extremely delighted to work with our like-minded accomplice Veggie Grill and convey Omni Golden Fillet to extra individuals and communities all through the US,” David Yeung, co-founder and CEO of OmniFoods, mentioned in a press release.
“We now have little doubt that this stuff will likely be a hit as we fulfill our joint mission to assemble a multifaceted international ecosystem of future meals,” Yeung mentioned.
The corporate’s vegan battered fish filet is now featured in three menu gadgets: Crispy Baja Fish Tacos, Crispy Baja Fish Bowl, and Crispy Baja Fish Burrito, every merchandise is served with creamy jalapeño slaw, cilantro, and pico de gallo.
3Foxtrot’s beefy vegan taco salad
Motif FoodWorks, a food-technology firm specializing in plant-based meals, has introduced a partnership with Foxtrot, a Chicago-based nook retailer and café chain. The collaboration brings Motif’s different beef merchandise to Foxtrot’s menu throughout its 30 places.
The settlement initially had a limited-time body however has been prolonged because of the partnership’s success, making Motif’s merchandise a multi-season characteristic on Foxtrot’s menus.
Motif Foodworks
“Motif BeefWorks got here with a number of deep savory taste that we traditionally discover absent in most plant-based different proteins,” Justin Schaub, Senior Director of Culinary at Foxtrot Market, mentioned in a press release. “I used to be impressed by how workable the product actually was … it seared, caramelized, and roasted very like animal-based proteins.”
On the menu, Foxtrot now options Motif BeefWorks Plant-Primarily based Beef Grounds in its Vegan Taco Salad. The dish consists of a wide range of substances reminiscent of romaine lettuce, roasted corn, tomatoes, jalapeño, onion, cilantro, and a lime French dressing.
Schaub additionally famous the product’s versatility in purposes past the Taco Salad, suggesting it’s a robust contender relating to crafting burger patties.
“Eighty-eight p.c of customers count on to take care of or enhance their consumption of plant-based meals, and we’re proud to create merchandise that make that purpose just a little bit simpler—and tastier,” Michael Leonard, CEO of Motif FoodWorks, mentioned in a press release.
This new menu merchandise is offered for each pickup and supply in any respect Foxtrot places.
4Yvonne’s vegan bakery will get a storefront
Simply northeast of Los Angeles, Pasadena could be finest identified for its annual Event of Roses parade however one thing else is blooming on this nook of Southern California.
Yvonne’s Vegan Kitchen
Yvonne’s Vegan Kitchen, famend for its celebrity-approved vegan and gluten-free treats, is organising its first brick-and-mortar retailer. Slated to open to the general public on September 29, 2023, this improvement comes as a big step for the model, which has been in enterprise since 2018 by way of on-line retail and partnerships with high-end shops.
The brand new retailer will characteristic an array of merchandise together with truffles, donuts, brownies, and “goatless” cheeses. Moreover, the Outdated Pasadena location will provide unique gadgets freshly made each day, reminiscent of morning pastries and savory bites like vegan meatloaf and Buddha bowls.
Founder Yvonne Ardestani selected her hometown of Pasadena for the flagship location, highlighting the town’s various and welcoming neighborhood as components that align along with her model’s personal mission.
“Selecting Pasadena, my beloved hometown, as our flagship location was a call rooted in deep private connection,” Ardestani mentioned in a press release. “The picturesque magnificence, wealthy historical past, and various neighborhood are usually not solely near my coronary heart but in addition resonate with our dedication to inclusive and sustainable eating.”
“Pasadena’s vibrant spirit, eco-conscious mindset, and unwavering assist for native companies makes it the proper place to showcase our kitchen—the place taste meets compassion—proving that indulgence and wholesome decisions can harmoniously coexist in your plate,” Ardestani mentioned.
Yvonne’s Vegan Kitchen has attracted a variety of high-profile purchasers, from Woman Gaga to Ryan Gosling, and even consists of two former US presidents amongst its patrons. With its merchandise obtainable in over 50 main retailers in a number of states, in addition to on-line with nationwide transport, the model’s first bodily location marks a brand new chapter in its development trajectory.
5Apple pie rolls into Panda Categorical for dessert
Are you continue to mourning the lack of the Past Authentic Orange Rooster at Panda Categorical—a tasty, however limited-time, vegan hen providing that’s now not on the chain menu? Us, too.
Panda Categorical
However this week, we’ve found one thing new to strive at Panda Categorical: Apple Pie Rolls, which we confirmed are plant-based. Panda’s first dessert is one half egg roll and one half heat apple pie for a gooey, cinnamon sugar-coated expertise that also resonates with its culinary perspective.
“We’re at all times on the lookout for revolutionary methods to create flavorful dishes whereas nonetheless delivering consolation and crave-ability that our company know and love,” Chef Jimmy Wang, Govt Director of Culinary Innovation at Panda Categorical, tells VegNews.
“The brand new Apple Pie Roll is Panda’s first-ever dessert providing, and we wished to present our company—even these with a plant-based food plan—a brand new strategy to take pleasure in their American Chinese language favorites,” Wang says.
Panda Categorical notes that whereas the apple pie rolls are plant-based, they do share cooking and preparation gear with gadgets that include animal merchandise.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior Information Editor at VegNews and is at all times maintaining a tally of all issues vegan in her residence metropolis of San Francisco, CA and in every single place else.
