Earlier this week, I'd purchased a VIP ticket via LivingSocial for the New York City Vegetarian Food Festival. Though I'd bought it on a whim, it ended up being an excellent decision, since the pass allowed me to jump the four-hour line to get in. Lucky, right?
Once inside, I was excited to check things out! I'd say at least 75% of the samples offered were sweets. I've never done the whole "cheat-on-Sundays" thing that's technically allowed during Lent, but today seemed like a good time to play that card. I knew I wouldn't be able to resist sampling unique vegan treats that I might not get to try again!
The vendors ranged from the well-known, like Mary's Crackers, Peanut Butter & Co. and Coconut Bliss,
To smaller companies like Peeled Organics, Teese vegan cheese and Gnosis Chocolate,
And tiny, NYC based stores, which actually offered up some of the best stuff!
Tasting-wise, I decided to stick to the stuff I hadn't had before. Like a vegan marshmallow at Teese:
These tasted sweeter and denser than normal marshmallows. I think I actually preferred them to the "regular" kind....
Vegan marshmallows seemed to be a trend, since Sweet & Sara was offering a variety of gourmet flavors that included rocky road, coconut and cinnamon!
At a vendor called Liz Lovely, I tried a vegan, gluten-free German dark chocolate cookie, topped with coconut. It tasted more like fudge than a cookie- obviously not a bad thing.
A company called Goodie Girl sweets caught my eye due to their incredible vegan chocolate birthday candles.
I also had a chunk of one of their quinoa chocolate chip cookies, which was one of the best chocolate chip cookies I've had, vegan or not.
Agave-based chocolate company Organic Nectars had several flavors of raw chocolate to try; I went with a nibble of the golden white chocolate, just because I'd never had a vegan white chocolate before!
It was good, but I think white chocolate is one area where I'll always prefer the "real" stuff ;)
Verite catering gave out slivers of their dessert pizzettes, topped with a light and delicious vegan frosting. Obviously my favorite part of the sample!
My favorite company had to be Rescue Chocolate, a chocolatier who donates 100% of its profits to animal rescue groups. How freaking awesome is that?
The fact that their peanut butter chocolate bar was absolutely mouthwatering didn't hurt, either :)
While the sweet options far outnumbered the savory, I did sample a few salty things!
Purely Elizabeth pumpkin fig granola, which was far less sweet than I anticipated, in a good way.
Teese was also offering up mini-slices of pizza topped with their vegan cheese. It was pretty good!
Bao fermented foods had a raw hot sauce to try- it tasted just like the real stuff. (I had no idea hot sauce wasn't raw?)
I also tried some Regal Vegan "Faux Gras," which, thankfully, tasted absolutely nothing like real fois gras. It was good, though!
Finally, at Eat Grass I had a bite of vegan "tuna" salad, which was a good imitation that actually reminded me a lot of my tofu pita pockets!
Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a picture of all of the stands, or even all the foods that I tried, just because it was so darn crowded!! People were packed in body-to-body, making it tough to move or get to the most popular tables. I spoke with a vendor who said that 3,000 people had been anticipated, but 15,000 showed up, hence the four-hour line. Craziness! It's awesome that vegetarian food has such a following, though!
I probably spend less than an hour in the festival, but I'm glad I went. It was definitely chaotic, but still a fun experience!
What was the highlight of your weekend? I don't know that I could pick just one! From the half marathon, to the food festival, to the delicious dinner I had last night at one of my favorite restaurants, the past few days have definitely been a ton of fun!
