vegansaurus!

Kite Hill Cheese Is Here  »

Meave reported on Kite Hill cheese rumors last month, and we’re back with an update. The rumors are a reality, and the fabled cheese has arrived OTS at Northern California Whole Foods. 

We took to the streets to report on the new vegan product that has all the vegans (and omni food-lovers!) dropping their edible panties (and checkbooks!) for. Here’s our HARD-HITTING JOURNALISM:

I learned the following from the Whole Foods in Los Gatos cheese people:

1. Kite Hill has an exclusive contract with WFs and will only be available at Whole Food stores for a year — after that, the rest of the world can have at it.

2. It’s currently only at Los Altos, Palo Alto, and Oakland Whole Foods, but it’ll expand to either 9 or 11 more Northern California WFs “very soon”. They weren’t sure which stores, but they THINK Redwood City and Berkeley are in. Los Angeles folks can try the cheeses at Crossroads, Tal Ronnen’s new vegan restaurant on Melrose, and I think there’s a cheese shop opening up next door or inside the restaurant or something CONFIRM OR DENY PLZ.

3. As of last Friday, all No Cal WF stores were sold out, but the’re supposed to get shipments this week. If you call in advance, make sure the employees look in the dairy case, and not with the vegan cheese!

OK, so what I tried… descriptions from Kite Hill’s FB page:

Costanoa, a semi soft dusted with a piquant blend of paprika and fennel pollen; and White Alder, a soft ripened cheese with a delicate white rind, pungent aroma and velvety texture. 

There’s one more flavor — Casuccio, a soft fresh with a supple, silky texture — but they didn’t have it at Whole Foods.

The people working the cheese section at Whole Foods were crazy about both cheeses, but particularly loved the White Alder. They were all genuinely excited about it, and impressed by it. 

I sampled it with a professional food critic (an omnivore!) and she thought it was good, if a bit salty. My vegetarian sister liked it a lot, but said it didn’t “trick her” into thinking it was cheese. She mentioned that it was crumbly like tofu, and not creamy like cheese — which was also my experience eating it. However, if the critic or my sister didn’t know it was vegan to begin with, who knows if they would’ve been able to tell. 

For my part, I thought it was good. Very good, especially when I ate it as instructed on the Kite Hill FB “info” page.

Costanoa:
Costanoa is a semi-soft cheese encrusted with a piquant crust of paprika and fennel pollen. Its texture is smooth and compact, making this cheese excellent for slicing and serving on crackers or fresh baguette rounds. We love to offset Costanoa’s buttery, earthy, peppery flavors with a pairing of fresh or caramelized figs.

Suggested wine pairing: A crisp, zesty dry white wine with citrus or floral notes. 

White Alder:
White Alder is a soft ripened velvety cheese with a white, fluffy rind. It has a tangy mushroomy flavor profile with a rich, silky texture and pungent aromatics. This cheese is best served straight from the refrigerator and pairs well with white grapes.

Suggested wine pairing: A dry white wine such as a Chardonnay with fruit or citrus notes or even Champagne.

I did think both flavors were a little salty, but mainly delicious. I preferred the White Alder because the rind was extra fun and reminded me of brie; I would be excited to eat this as part of a cheese plate at a fancy restaurant.

That said, I’m not sure if it’s as revolutionary as all that, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing — the more good vegan cheeses on the market, the better. Plus, the fact that the Whole Foods cheese people were SO excited about it, got me excited, too. Because if they say it tastes like cheese, it must taste (at least kinda) like cheese, right? And if the rich people are willing to switch from their cow cheese to this vegan cheese, that’s a good thing. And, uh, it’s gonna have to be rich people because this shiz is NOT cheap: White Alder is $14.99, Costonoa was $13.99 for six ounces. 

So, what’s up? Have any of you tried it? What did you think?? 

UPDATE:

From San Francisco Magazine, here’s the list of Whole Foods the cheeses will be available at (and when!):

The brand will debut today (March 25) in Whole Foods Los Altos and Palo Alto; Tuesday in Oakland, Berkeley, Noe Valley, Franklin, and Potrero Hill; Wednesday in Mill Valley, San Rafael, and Sebastopol; and Thursday in San Jose, Cupertino, and Capitola. The cheeses are all exclusive to the Bay Area until they go national later this summer.

UPDATE 2:

Super Vegan tweets that Crossroads is out of Kite HIll and won’t have it back for “awhile”. DEMAND IS HIGH, MY FRIENDS. 

Chambers Lane pâté review! (amazing new vegan cheese alert!)  »

Since Laura and I moved to the East Bay, we’ve been unable to get to Rainbow Grocery as often as we used to. Last time we were there, we um, went a little overboard. We came away with four new cheeses and cheese spreads that we had never seen before. Of these, the Chambers Lane Truffled Cashew pâté was far and away the favorite, even above the much pricier Punk Rawk Labs cheese.

So when the people of Chambers Lane contacted us to see if we were interested in trying their other flavors, of course we said yes.

All together, there are three flavors. The first we had tried was Truffled Cashew. They also have Fig Balsamic Walnut Cashew and Rosemary Thyme Almond. These are also quite good.

The Fig Balsamic is sweet, tart, and rich-tasting, with hints of spice, it definitely has a wonderful complex flavor.

The Rosemary Thyme, on the other hand, is savory, but with a milder herbed taste. It’s almond-based, so it’s not quite as creamy as the other two, but is still pleasantly nutty.

But the first one we had tried probably still remains the favorite. With its rich, decadent truffle oil and creamy cashew texture, it really is something special. We started out by eating it on crackers like fancy folks, but then polite affectations went out the window, and we finished by sticking our fingers directly into the jar to get every last bit.

In addition to being available at Rainbow Grocery, you can also find Chambers Lane pâtés at Country Cheese Coffee Market and Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley, Woodlands Market in Kentfield, and Draeger’s in Menlo Park, Danville, and San Mateo. 

Let’s hope they get into even more stores soon, because this stuff is the GREATEST. Insanely delicious vegan cheese for all!

Rumor mill: Is Tal Ronnen starting an artisan vegan cheese company?  »

Dear lord, please let Ecorazzi’s rumor-mongering be correct. Could Kite Hill Cheese be the fancy-pants fromagerie we’ve been waiting for?

Just wait till all those “I’d go vegan, but I love cheese too much” whiny-pants vegetarians hear about this. No excuses left, you big babies! Vegan up and eat your fancy cheeses or accept your weaknesses, donate extra money to a farm-animal rescue group, and hush.

[Photo by starfive via Flickr]

Product Review: Daiya Havarti wedge!   »

This is a picture of an empty container of the new Daiya Havarti. It’s empty because I ate it all! It was super delicious and I ate it all just on crackers. 

I know there are mixed feelings in the crowd about Daiya and I have mixed feelings myself. I don’t really like the shreds if I use them at home, but I like them when I buy stuff and it’s made with Daiya shreds. But this Havarti stuff is totally addictive! Like, I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days. It’s amazing.

It’s softish, and has a kick from the jalapeño. I didn’t taste too much garlic. I’m usually kind of a nancy about spicy stuff but this jalapeño didn’t bother me much. I just did a high cracker to Havarti ratio. If you like super spicy stuff, you’ll have to add some more spice on your own. If you don’t like spicy stuff, I wouldn’t let that deter you from this Havarti. BTW I bought it on Vegan Essentials. 

Moral of the story: Daiya Havarti effing rules!

Product Review: Parmela Vegan Parmesan Cheese!  »

There’s a new vegan parmesan cheese on the market and it’s g-d glorious! It’s called Parmela and there isn’t much info on their website but that’s cool, I got your info because I’m good at internet sleuthing. Want proof? Become someone I’m sexually interested in and in minutes I’ll know your great great grandma’s middle name and what color underwear you wear. TO BED. WHAT. Of course, when I see you, I will pretend not to know who you are because that’s how true love works.

Anyway, this parmesan is DYNAMITE, an almond- and cashew-based with the added bonus of fermented soybeans that gives it this umami (yes, UMAMI) flavor that’s cheesy and savory and slightly tangy in a great way and it’s just irresistible. I’ve been putting it on everything—soups, salads, pasta, my fingers, my lova’s fingers, etc. It adds an extra dimension and depth and deliciousness to whatever the dish, and is absolutely worth trying. Plus, it comes in an adorable container that you can use for spices afterwards. Right now, you can buy or order it at a few places below. Uh oh, let’s go CRAZY!

Oh, and apparently a gluten-free version is going to be available in 2-3 months! Holler at it, my Celiac brothers and sisters and those on highly restrictive diets!

Here’s where it’s available currently, I suggest getting all up in it. Sorry you have to Google all of these businesses but I’m just too lazy to link them THEM’S THE FACTS.

In Southern California: 
Figueroa Produce Market in Los Angeles.
Locali in Hollywood
Viva La Vegan in Rancho Cucamonga
Grassroots Natural Foods in South Pasadena
Pacific Coast Greens in Malibu
Beach Tree Health Natural Foods in Long Beach
Irvine Ranch Market in Costa Mesa

In Northern California:
Never Felt Better {Vegan Shoppe} Sacramento

Nationally: 
Four Seasons Natural Foods in Saratoga, NY
Sidecar for Pigs Peace in Seattle, WA
Central Coop in Seattle, WA
Nicholas Markets in Cedar Grove, NJ
Nicholas Market in North Haledon, NJ
Food Fight! Grocery in Portland, OR
New Frontier Natural Foods in Prescott, AZ
Vegan Essentials

Punk Rawk Lab cheeses coming to Rainbow!  »

San Francisco vegans, it’s a big week for us and it’s only Wednesday! IMAGINE WHAT THE REST OF THE WEEK HOLDS. Probably mainly disappointment but JUST IMAGINE! So, word on the streets is that Rainbow will start carrying Punk Rawk Labs vegan cheese next week and than said vegan cheese is like Dr. Cow vegan cheese but only better. And that’s not just us, that’s omni cheesperts (JUST MADE IT UP, PASS IT ON). It’s moister, tastier, and you get twice as much for the same price. That’s the word. Me, I don’t know, I always thought Dr. Cow tasted like a fart but there are lots of people who love the stink and want farts in the mouth, so who am I to judge? But seriously, you’re nasty.

Anyway, anyone tried it? Excited? Look for it next week at Rainbow Grocery!

New Shredded Vegan Cheese! Exciting??  »

It’s from Galaxy Foods, who, in my very smart and correct opinion, makes pretty shitty vegan cheese. You know the classic vegan cheese that’s the butt of every joke? They make that. BUMMER. But, you know, this is shiny and new and maybe it’s not terrible? And it’s shredded! And Daiya needs someone to come at them, right?? I love Daiya but sometimes it reminds me of what eating Slimer might be like. Just a little. Which isn’t to say it doesn’t have its place and that I don’t really like it but yeah, I WANT MORE. Healthy competition, yo!

Hits the shelves in April, 2012. Everyone watch out? 

Eco-Planet Organic Cheddar Crackers!  »

Vegan cheddar crackers! I’ve been looking for you my whole vegan life! Eco-Planet Cheddar Crackers are not the same as Goldfish but they sure do hit the spot! And they are great, the shapes are so funny! There’s a sun, an earth, a wind energy pinwheel and an electric car! Hilar! Plus, the designs on the crackers catch bits of salt in them, that’s my favorite part.

Now, keep an open mind, but my favorite thing back in the non-vegan days was Cheddar Goldfish and Peanut M&Ms. I swear to you they taste super good together! I am not even kidding! No one believes me until I make them try it and they are like, “Megan, you are queen of snacks!”* So once I find the vegan Peanut M&Ms, look out little eco-crackers because IT’S ON.

I got these from VeganStore.com (among other things!!!) but I’ve also seen them at the Fairway market in Redhook. 

*And I’m like, “I’m already the queen of so many things, I don’t know if I can sustain another kingdom!” But then I accept the title because I’m a benevolent ruler.

Rau Om’s mind-blowing new vegan cheese; you must try!  »

I just tried this Tofu Misozuke cheese from Rau Om spread on some whole grain crackers and it was SO DAMN GOOD.

Well, not that exactly. What had happened was, when it first arrived, I greedily ripped open the packaging, cut off an enormous chunk, and stuffed it straight in my maw. Then, I spit it out because it was DAMN POTENT. I then read the accompanying information and saw that it was supposed to be eaten like CHEESE. My bad!

Finally I came correct with some crackers and it blew my mind one more time. Creamy, pungent, expensive-tasting, “real” cheese. Like, you could serve this to omni guests and they would eagerly wish to learn more about it, and you would be like, “NOT UNTIL YOU GO VEGAN, OK?” and then they would go vegan and BAM! Look at you and your activism, all saving the world and shit via delicious vegan cheese. 

If you want to try this stuff inside the United States, you have two options: You can order from maker Rau Om’s online store; or, find them at Sunnyvale and Palo Alto farmers markets. Also, if you have a minute, read this article to learn tons about this kind of cheese, so that you know more about things than everyone else, and can make other people feel stupid when you talk about it. Like, who doesn’t know about tofu misozuke!? Philistines!! 

Top 10 links of the week: a joyful skip through veganism!  »

[Downer that the whale is in captivity but we can still appreciate its beauty. PS: Can’t see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com!]

Sorry dudes, I haven’t done links in a few weeks, so this list spans the last month or so. Were you guys sad without links? Which kinds of links do you like the best? I want to know so I can do the best possible job!

“Here’s the big secret that no one wants to talk about: We’re not very good at keeping what’s inside a cow’s intestines out of the meat.” Ew. From Huffpo, “Doctors Take Aim at Antibiotic Resistance from Factory Farming.”

Apparently in Ukraine, restaurants keep bears and make them drink vodka. Well, not any more! Really though, wtf.

From Grist: “Is your Cheese Killing the Planet?” The article says, “bottom line: the vegans are right,” but I think their real message is one we’ve heard many a time: “bottom line: CHEESE IS YUM YUM! WEEEEEE!” Maybe we can add some comments.

Good piece from NYT: “Stop Using Chimps as Guinea Pigs.” Word.

Should we be surprised at cruelty in industrial farming? Em, no. An opinion piece from the Guardian.

If you liked the Teal Cat project post and want to learn more, here’s an interview with Isa all about it! Dude, it’s so cool. Right?

Some AR peeps burnt down a building in Germany that was set to be a factory farm. Discussion topic of the week: What do you think about property destruction as a form of protest in the animal rights movement? Or any movement, I guess.

I don’t know how much petitions do but if you were upset by that scary and sad story of the mama bear in the bile farm, here is one step you can take: sign this petition.

From Treehugger, study reveals mammal populations are down. Fucking A, you thought you just had to worry about the fish!

Boo has a book!

Bonus link: If I don’t say this every week, I mean this every week: don’t forget to read our Laura’s Week in Vegan over at SFWeekly every Friday! And leave comments to make her feel nice. Laura deserves to feel nice. We all do! Except some people.