The Spicy Chick Pizza at Purgatory Pizza.
All of that said, the very first time I tried Beyond Meat, in a tomatillo sauce preparation from the taco bar at the Whole Foods in West LA, it was AMAZING. It seems like some chefs are good with it and some are not. Ditto when I gave it another chance a month later. For example, I got a terrific Beyond Meat Sesame Chicken Salad from the Whole Foods on West 3rd & Fairfax, but when I went back a week later and got more of the exact same thing it was awful.
According to Chef Jenny Bradley, a Vegansaurus blogger and the pastry chef at Source in San Francisco, it’s all in the preparation, and apparently a lot of people have no idea how to use the stuff. Because that seems to be a huge problem with Beyond Meat. That said, I’ve had some good things with Beyond Meat, particularly some salads from the Whole Foods in El Segundo, where Beyond Meat held it’s SoCal launch party, and so I guess the kitchen there knows how to use it.
It’s downright nasty, and I can’t believe they haven’t gone back to a non-BM version. It absolutely RUINED one of my daily staples, the Vegan Curry Chicken Salad at Whole Foods, which went from great when it was made with Gardein to good when it was made with Eco-Cusine to inedible now that it’s made with Beyond Meat. I think it’s not only overhyped but also overrated.
If you follow me here or on Instagram you know about my frustration with Beyond Meat. The Beyond Meat Tomatillo Taco I had at the Whole Foods in West LA. They come with such fanciful names as Hopster Haze, Boozy Booch, Carob Coconut Stout, and Crispy Boi Rice Lager.Beyond Meat in Tomatillo Sauce Taco at Whole Foodsġ1. Women-owned and boasting that it is the first brewery in the Echo Park Area, Sage offers an array of artisan brews. One item on which it is natural to feast without the beast is beer. Top it with avocado, and it gets all the better. The miso rainbow bowl of brown rice, seaweed salad, tofu, fried eggplant, pickled cabbage, et. A Brazilian bowl of beans, plantains, guacamole, pico de gallo, hot peppers, leeks, and mushrooms wants no improvement. One does not miss meat or cheese in a polenta bowl topped with sauteed vegetables. They do not pretend to be something they are not. The vegan dishes that make my taste buds happy are bowls. Cashews form the non-Alfredo sauce that decorates the ravioli. Ravioli come stuffed not with meat or cheese, but with squash. Tempeh substitutes for beef in the Cali Avocado Pesto Burger. In that case, potato starch and coconut oil combine to imitate cheese.
(You can ask for your pizza crust to be gluten-free buckwheat.) Sage makes its mac & cheese using Follow Your Heart mozzarella. Cauliflower replaces chicken in Buffalo wings and on pizza. Jackfruit masquerades as carnitas in loaded nachos, as pulled pork in a BBQ sandwich, and as tuna in tuna salad. For those not fully committed to a plant-based diet, that can be frustrating. In other words, they remind you of what they are not. They do their best to imitate meat and dairy products. They’ve designed many of the dishes to be mock protein things. It presents one major challenge, at least to carnivores. How does all that translate into lunch? If you don’t crave animal protein, you can be happy eating here. They grow what they grow in ways that replenish and recycle rather than use up resources. That means they see themselves as stewards of the land they farm. The menu assures us that they are not just any farmers. Local farmers deliver organic and pesticide-free produce every day. You will find no animals or animal products on its menu. “Feast without the beast.” Sage Vegan Bistro makes that its battle cry.