Sweet Maresa's of Kingston

I don't blog much around these parts lately; admittedly, long form has given way to the explicit, instant gratification of Instagram. As such, you've likely seen a lot of posting there of Sweet Maresa's impeccable treats- procured from Vegan Shop-Up, larger-scale events, and the joint Confectionery NYC venture in the East Village. Not that she's been neglected here! The Sweet Maresa's label on this blog has 13 mentions from when I was blogging more regularly- the first dating back to June of 2013. But, I digress...

Hooray! (photo by VM)

All of this preamble is to say: Sweet Maresa very recently opened a storefront in Kingston, NY and it is a million times more glorious than you're already picturing. I could not, in good conscience, relegate the occasion merely to an instagram post (although there will be plenty!).

Yes, that's real, pink, Depression glass. Yes, she serves on it; it's not just for show.

As reno buffs and Maresa fangirls, VM and I watched online as the blank space Maresa procured was transformed into a regal dessert oasis; images- including mine, cannot do it adequate justice.

The mauve tones in this floor alone are worth the trip.

 

4/8 shoes

But let us not forget the real star: the baked goods. For starters, the original vegan macarons: lined up in stunning splendor.

I was excited and it was busy; please excuse the blurry photos!

Also, a whole caseful of cakes! Top right was a maple pumpkin that was lusciously autumnal.

There was also cheese, which I unfortunately couldn't focus on in the moment because I was overwhelmed by sweets; I will surely revisit.

Lighting issues: mine; Maresa clearly paid extra for extraordinary natural light, but I blocked it with my bod.

I held my camera up for an overhead shot and this is what I captured: cakes, cookies, pies, and petit fours all on exalted display...and... more beautiful flooring.

We started off with the chocolate walnut cookie(s). We've each had this cookie at least 1000 times, but this one, in this space, made us look at each other and ask why we bother to eat anyone else's cookies.

I told you she serves any old schmucks on these gorgeous plates.

Because VM's fave chocolate-dipped berry shortbread needed an even more chocolatey, Bean-approved companion, Maresa wowed us with a swoon-worthy double (triple?) chocolate version with cacao. The accompanying truffle/petit four was also chocolate berry and it was a delight.

 

Oh, and what do we find here in the wider shot? A little shelf built just for 89, making the space perfect.

Of course we couldn't leave without an enviable treat box (followed shortly thereafter by a second...judge not!).

#thisiswhatyoucamefor

Excuses reasons to visit Kingston and get your own box of treats: This year, it was the home of the Hudson Valley Vegfest. It's also not too far from quite a few farm animal sanctuaries. Heck, have you looked outside? It's worth the trip for the foliage alone! What I'm saying here is that if you can find a way, GO. You owe it to yourself.

Best of luck and continued success to Sweet Maresa!

Chef Chloe is Supernatural

It's been about 24 hours since I ate as much as I possibly could at Chef Chloe Coscarelli's latest, limited pop-up, "Supernatural," and I haven't thought about- much less eaten, anything else; I'm awestruck by the experience.

Let's dig right in, shall we? We certainly did. Here we have the enormous serving of butternut nachos with butternut-cashew queso, maple chorizo, tomato salsa, mango salsa, and guacamole. INSANE! I want this cheese always and forever. I want it poured on everything; I want it in a vat to save for emergencies. I want it now, tomorrow, and every day thereafter. I've been vegan for almost 20 years and I lived through some pretty hard times for vegan cheese, so I DESERVE THIS and so do you. The maple chorizo? Incredible. I love maple everything and this was easily the best vegan, taco "meat" I've ever had. I'm generally ambivalent about mango, but DAMN that sweetness was a killer addition to this seemingly bottomless bowl of stupendous nachos. I could go on an on, but you get the point.

Oh, those drinks back there? Mind-blowing dragonfruit lemonade to feed my new dragonfruit obsession. Who wouldn't want to drink something this beautiful and refreshing- particularly on a day where the "real feel" is 101 degrees? Perfectly sweet, tart, and pink. Absolutely loved it.

Served in the cutest, reusable pineapple, this tropical guava punch with coconut rum is a sweet, delicious beverage with a literal rum punch- GENIUS! Couldn't choose a favorite, so just sipped alternately through the beautiful paper straws that complimented both the drinks and my manicure.

Next up were the cauliflower tacos with arugula, sweet & spicy chili sauce, and black sesame seeds. Having just eaten these, I know that if I was granted three wishes, I'd probably use one to have the ability to reach into this photo and eat them again. And, while I could not and will not pick a favorite, you should know that when I asked my SO my favorite post-meal question, "If you were ordering again RIGHT NOW, what would be the first thing that you'd order," he said these and I strongly concur. Trying to stick to the rule of three with adjectives, so I'll just say that they were the most flavorful, crunchy, sweet tacos I've ever tasted and if you know anyone that has taste buds, you should definitely make them come eat these with you pronto.

Here's another photo of the nachos just because I want you to know that I didn't forget about them; I ate them throughout the meal so they'd know that I still loved them.

The spicy jalapeno mac & cheese with cashew cheese, jalapeño-basil pesto, and the best, crispest, spiciest jalapeño slice in all the world was positively luscious. Creamy, dreamy, and not done justice by this photo, which was taken in a rush because the mac was served steaming and that was the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

Full disclosure: we also shared the massive animal lover burrito with coconut-lime rice, black beans, butternut-cashew queso, maple chorizo, shiitake carnitas (!), tomato salsa, mango salsa, and guacamole. Correction: we inhaled it. It was intense and incredible and, unfortunately, not too photogenic. Find comfort in the knowledge that it was just one of those things that is such a terrific amalgamation of deliciousness, that it couldn't be captured by a single frame. Or, just go get one for yourself and find comfort in that.

not sure you can read this, but you can find the menu here

You'd think we would have been full by now, but you forget that I am a professional. I haven't blogged much of late, but you probably remember the drill: ALWAYS SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT!

We didn't go in expecting to order the matcha soft serve with cashew milk, but it was so hot out and it looked so tropical and inviting (not to mention photogenic) that we couldn't resist.

When we finally dug in (I can't help that it's pretty from every angle and with every backdrop), our minds were blown by the sumptuous creaminess; everything we thought we knew about matcha was so wrong. After we'd each had a single bite and our individual eyeballs had popped out of our collective skulls, I whispered to my SO, "We're not even big fans of matcha; how is this possible?" HE DIDN'T KNOW EITHER. Later that evening, because we will never talk about anything but this extraordinary meal ever again, he said wistfully, "I can't believe that I could have to go through the rest of my life not eating that ice cream." This is the shame of a pop-up; it's so fleeting! But, instead of lightning in a bottle, we have awesome matcha ice cream served in a real coconut. Such is life, my friends; go while you can.

And, speaking of the world's most photogenic desserts, behold the famous sprinkle cake slice that infinitely surpassed all of our ridiculously high expectations.

Appreciate the layers and the fact that I, lover of all things chocolate, agreed to share this cake in its purest, vanilla form, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Now, take another look at the dense coating of what is, perhaps, the perfect food: sprinkles:

Yeah, you know I walked around (and outside of) the restaurant to try and fully capture the beauty that is this cake; I'm not embarrassed! If you've had it, you understand. If you haven't, go, Go, GO! When we were describing the cake to VM, my SO said, "It was no ordinary cake." She replied*, "I don't think anything she makes is ordinary." Ain't that the truth.

As if all of this wasn't enough, look at these completely precious earrings I got to take home to remember the day! My sweetest heart, 89, happens to be a lover of flavored, bubbly water (strange, but true). She did not venture to the pop-up with us, but I promise that I will find a way to let her share these with me that doesn't require her getting her ears pierced.

Supernatural is located at 27 East 19th Street and open for lunch only: 11am - 3pm, until July 28th. You're going to want to go soon and often because Chef Chloe Coscarelli is the magical force of vegan food.

*VM also said, "Isn't Chloe the sweetest?" That, too, is true.

Matthew Kenney at De Gustibus

A few months ago, the fearsome threesome returned to De Gustibus for another vegan chef demonstration; this time, Matthew Kenney. I have a lot of thoughts.

 

I didn't know much about MK going in, but I don't know too much more now. What I thought I knew was that he owned Double Zero and Bar Verde, but it seems- if I understood correctly, his partner in Double Zero is a partner in Bar Verde, so they're only tangentially connected. It also seems as though many of "his" restaurants around the world are licensing deals. I'm not entirely sure he's still officially affiliated with Plantlab, the culinary school he founded, for which the eponymous cookbook was being sold at the event. Basically it seems like his name/name recognition is the driving force behind many of what are widely considered/referred to as MK restaurants. I'm not mad; I guess I just don't understand the restaurant business.

All in all, he seemed relatively affable, but not necessarily invested in the evening; it appeared as though he wasn't certain how the event was supposed to flow, so it did so only barely. The prep/cooking "demonstrations" were treated like an afterthought. If any happened at all, it took place after we'd finished the course and, even then, only consisted of the most basic of actions. His interest was seemingly only piqued when it came time for plating the dishes for the chef's table: brandishing, with the utmost concentration, elongated tweezers he'd pluck from his chef's coat as needed. This was ironic, since the dishes we were served were plated rather lazily and wholly inconsistent in terms of ingredients/proportion.

Most prep (and questions) were deferred to another chef he'd brought with him, Chris Owen, who was introduced as Bar Verde's chef de cuisine. Overall, he seemed much more present and engaged. He was humbly deferential to MK, but seemed significantly more at ease with both the crowd and the subject matter. Spoiler alert (and good news): DeGustibus is having Chris back on his own this March and I highly recommend you get tickets here. Take that for what it's worth as you read on.

Onto the food...

The amuse bouche was beet manti with cumin yogurt and parsley oil. The only prep we were privy to for this dish was to watch the pre-assembled purses steam long after the crowd had eaten them. Tasty filling, but a little lightly proportioned for the thick dough. Would guiltily eat a dozen of these from the bottom, discarding the majority of the pursed dough atop. The meal seemed promising.

The first course was maitake tempura with tomato jam and who doesn't love a fried mushroom? Unfortunately, this was pretty much just a fried mushroom. The accompanying tomato "jam" was somewhat reminiscent of cocktail sauce; I definitely thought something creamier and definitely tastier would have made more of an impact. Yawn.

MK mentioned more than once that a little olive oil, salt, and pepper were the best prep tools and this Balkan tomato salad was literally just that. The heirloom tomatoes Chris told us he'd personally acquired from the USQ greenmarket ranged from tasty to mealy and were overall underwhelming. Those in the crowd following along with the recipes were quick to point out that this dish was served sans the listed Brazil nut feta, so a bowl was passed around the crowd after the fact. It seemed also to be missing red bell peppers and green onions, but perhaps that was just my portion.

I'm not entirely sure why, but I really expected this double zero flatbread with piquillo romesco and marinated olives to be hot in temperature. It wasn't, nor was it even room temperature. The chill of the ingredients was startling and the olives needed to be diced, or at least halved, in my opinion. The tomato was flavorful against the umami of the olives and redundant tapende, but most of the flavor seemed to come from the olive oil. Again.

Next up: hearts of palm ceviche with avocado, chili, and almond oil. Never was the inconsistency between servings more evident than between my plate of blah, shown here, full of hearts of palm, and VM's dish of purely avocado. She had no watermelon radish, I had one slice tucked in mine; our third had three. The hot pepper rings were the most flavorful bite of the evening, but I could have done without another course relying so heavily on oil for flavor.

At this point in a previous De Gustibus demo, I was stuffed before being served a generous main course. At the same point this evening, I was still hungry for food and innovation. The chickpea socca with green goddess, field greens, and vegetables provided neither. Again, a little too chilled for my taste on a fall day: the plating was kind of sloppy because the ingredients were all too large for the host socca. Dry and just not flavorful at all, this was another dish that was just the sum of its parts. Incidentally, some of the "parts" were missing again. Judging by the evening's accompanying recipe, this dish alone was missing herbs, sprouts, pomegranate seeds, and possibly cashew yogurt- although it could have just been in too short supply to have made an impact.

I'd already braced myself for a dessert that was likely not going to be my cup of tea, but nothing could have prepared me for the horror of this triangle of salted almond* cheesecake. Upon first glance, I assumed that the worst thing about it was to be the cranberries, but not so. The cheesecake itself (or was it the unexpected pistachio crust) actually tasted rancid; I remain shocked that it was served. *For the record, this too was missing a component- the salted candied almonds to be precise, but we were advised by Salvatore, the host with the most, that we didn't "need" them. Poor guy; I think he was just trying not to waste any more time, as the awkward "demonstration" was already running very long.

Sigh. There were no revelations here, to be sure: barely more than oil to showcase the flavors of simple, naturally vegan food-- certainly nothing to indicate how far vegan food as come in the last twenty years. Further, the missing ingredients and lack of engagement was disrespectful for the sold out crowd who spent their time and money to learn something from a successful someone who, presumably, would want to share what excites him about veganism in earnest.

Overall, MK seems like a bit of an aloof enigma, which is fine, but then I would have preferred for Chris to have taken the helm of the evening. I couldn't be happier that DeGustibus has discovered the error of their ways and has invited him back to headline, although I think I'm going to skip this one- I still have a bad taste in my mouth from this event's disorganization, half-hearted demos, missing ingredients, and the ultimate dismissal of it all.

On another vegan note, MK shared a few unusual tidbits with us over the course of the event that I've been mulling over ever since. One, that he shot a deer at the age of 10 (and felt compelled to share because...?). Two, that he eats fish once in a while, but hasn't in a long time (Again, WHY? Trying to appeal to the non-vegans in the room? Just a guess). Third, that he doesn't have honey on his menus because vegans don't want it. Vegans. Not himself, but some mysterious other vegans? Is he actually vegan? It was all rather baffling.

In fairness, I really enjoy "MK's" restaurants, but this whole experience has really given me pause as to whether or not the whole business is a cash grab rather than an ethical labor of love. There are many other vegan chefs who haven't achieved an iota of the global success he has and this display didn't give me any clue as to why.

Finally, I want to state that I'm so grateful that De Gustibus showcases vegan chefs (seemingly once/season), but I think it would be helpful if they were to have a vegan primer at these vegan events so that ridiculous, sometimes haughty questions don't hijack the event as they did often this evening. This could take the form of an emailed cheatsheet on what veganism is (no animals/animal byproducts) and isn't (gluten-free, always healthy) in advance of the event, or even an Ask A Vegan booth on site just outside the venue for sincere inquiries pre and post event.

For context, some of the gems I recall from this particular evening:

"What do you recommend as a substitute for 'perfect' non-vegan foods like chicken soup, which is medicinal?"

"Did you know you can buy MCT oil in AMAZON DOT COM which is like coconut oil with all the bad stuff taken out BUT it might give you diarrhea?"

"How vegan does the chocolate have to be?" 

Admittedly I was on edge from what I considered to be a wholly sub-par event, but come on. If you're going to attend a vegan event, would it kill you to prepare a little? This question goes out to both the attendees and Matthew Kenney.

Seedburger New Brunswick

Was so excited when I learned, shortly before the grand opening, that an all-vegan, fast casual, burger shop was coming to New Brunswick, NJ. I wasn't able to make it to the SeedBurger opening party, but I followed  a bit of the journey on social media (this photo made my week for obvious reasons) and finally visited on my way to see Preacher and Justin Lawson perform at the Stress Factory. Vegan food followed by vegan comedians? LEVEL FIVE VEGAN, Y'ALL.

Unless I'm missing something, be prepared to look for street parking; we did fine. The resto is bright and inviting; best of all, it was crowded! You order at the counter and your food is brought out to you; there are individual tables as well as a communal table depending upon preference and availability. There's free wifi, dance encouragement, and a bright, clean restroom WITH HOOKS on the back of the door.

Did I mention ice cream? There's ice cream too!

Cookman Creamery pints to go (or to stay; no one is judging) and a legit amount of flavors to enjoy by the scoop.

But, let's start from the beginning. Follow along with the menu, if you please.

Happy to report that aside from the Beyond and Impossible burgers on offer, which are probably the biggest draw to vegans and non-vegans alike, they offer two veggie-based burgers to choose from. Combined, we wanted to try just about everything, and we pretty much succeeded.

cold brew and kombucha on tap

My first choice was the chipotle bean burger: black bean patty, chipotle sauce, fresh spinach leaves, tomato, red onion, pickles on a pretzel bun. I added cheese and avocado to the burger and curly "air" fries on the side (most things are a la carte).

I'm assuming it was a pre-packaged patty, but it was really good. The cheese (chaze) & avo add-ons were plentiful and worked really well with the black bean base. I'm not a huge burger fan, but I really, really enjoyed this. The chipotle sauce wasn't spicy, but had a really great taste. The bun did not seem to have even a hint of pretzel, but the only real disappointment was the curly fries: they came out limp and barely lukewarm, which I recall as a issue with the "air" fries at another vegan establishment that shall not be named.

My SO errs on the meatier side of things, so he got us a buffet that included a build-your-own Beyond Seed Burger AND an Impossible Seed Burger- both with buffalo sauce; cheese & avocado, as well as an order of chick n' tenders, which he immediately identified as Gardein. He also got an order of yuca fries- despite my protestations, which was the exact right thing to do. Although I normally don't enjoy yuca, these were outstanding: crisp and delicious; definitely the fry choice of the evening. Don't be fooled by the buffalo sauce because it's light in color; it's awesomesauce nonetheless.

Beyond Burger

The Beyond burger is a thicker patty than the Impossible, but because he was familiar with both: pretty standard and enhanced by the toppings - bonus points for being able to get it off a vegan grill at an all vegan establishment.  Please note that the "special" sauce and the "house" sauce are the same; it's referred to differently in different places, but we confirmed. It has a Thousand Island quality to it- albeit thinner and no chunks, thanks to pickle juice instead of pickle bits.

Impossible Burger

We left over just enough food to justify getting ice cream for dessert (i.e. one tender and 2.5 curly fries). We tasted a couple of flavors, but ultimately both chose a scoop of cookie butter each.

SeedBurger's website denotes the following:

"More sustainable.
More compassionate.
More community."

Yes and more, please.

Best of luck, SeedBurger!