We recently had a media preview event for the Veg Fest. Selected media representative were invited to come try out some of the fantastic food that will be available at the festival.
As a bonus, some of us involved in planning the event also got to try all this food. It was truly amazing!
In this post, I’d like to highlight our three food court vendors. All of these businesses will be at the festival selling their amazing food. They’ll be offering small portions, so you’ll be able to try more than one before you fill up.
Petrina Walters of Asase Yaa brought a true cornucopia of dishes. I could go on at great length about all of them, but I’ll pick a few highlights.
First, there was the potato salad. Forget the gloopy mayo-based salads of youthful picnics. This was a fresh, lively-tasting potato salad without any mayo. Just potatoes, onions, herbs, and spices. Delicious. Then there were the black-eyed peas. This was probably one of the best bean dishes I’ve ever tasted. It was very simple, just beans, spices, oil, and some sort of food magic. She also made an amazing greens dish, a tofu and vegetable stew, fried plantains, jollof rice with lentils, and some peanut candy!
Rebecca Irey from Pure Market Express brought three amazing, all vegan, all raw dishes. I loved the jalapeno poppers, fliled with a rich, creamy nut-based “cheese”. Her raw lasagna was also a delight. Layers of ultra-thin marinated zucchini, pesto, nut cheese, and tomatoes. These two dishes really dispel any misconceptions you might have about raw food. It’s not just roughage and sprouts. These two dishes were creamy, rich, herbal, and fresh.
Her piece de resistance was a cream pie that consisted of one layer of vanilla banana creme and one layer of chocolate creme. It was somewhere between cheesecake and mousse in texture, and sinfully delicious.
Finally, Seward Cafe sampled tofu pesto sandwich. It sounds simple, but it’s all about the execution. Perfectly grilled firm marinated tofu, fresh tomato and sprouts, and a vegan walnut pesto that popped with basil. All of this was placed between slices of excellent bread.
I’ve gone to Seward for years, but I always order breakfast. Maybe next time I’ll have to try something else off the lunch menu. Clearly they know how to do more than just make amazing hash browns, biscuits, and gravy.
And this was just a fraction of the food we sampled. We had Tofurkey hot dogs, Field Roast sausages, Vegan Pockets, and Upton’s Naturals sandwiches too. I feel stuffed just thinking about it.
You might be getting jealous, but don’t be. You too can try all of this amazing food. Just come to the first ever Twin Cities Veg Fest on Saturday, July 14!