Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Catherine Lamb

Good Food Institute Awards $4M to Scientists Forging the Future of Alt-Meat

The Good Food Institute (GFI), a nonprofit trying to promote the evolution of alternative protein, announced today that it had awarded $4 million to 21 research projects to advance the study of plant-based and cultured meat. The money came from GFI’s donor-supported Competitive Research Grant Program, which thus far has donated over $7 million since it was founded last year.

The selected projects hail from nine different countries. Eight are tackling cultured (which GFI called ‘cultivated‘) meat and Here’s a quick list of some of the cool projects the 2020 grantees are leading:

  • Faster, cheaper cultured meat production. Dr. Marianne Ellis of the University of Bath, UK is developing a smaller, more cost-efficient production system for cell-based meat. She hopes that this will make cellular agriculture more accessible, including for those in remote locations and developing countries.
  • Turning waste into plant protein. Dr. Marieke Bruins of Wageningen University in the Netherlands is using plant-based proteins upcycled from agricultural waste streams to make super sustainable meat alternatives.
  • 3D printed cultured meat. Dr. Sara Oliveira of INL in Portugal is working on a bioprinted model for cultured meat design. Called M3atD, the model will help her team explore how 3D printing can help accelerate cell-based meat production.

You can see the full list of grantees from 2020 and 2019 here, if you’re interested. But overall, it seems that the most recent crop of grantees are trying to improve four key areas for plant- and cell-based meat: cost, taste, texture, and scaling. As consumers continue to hunger for plant-based meat, and cell-based meat keeps trekking towards the market, these improvements will be necessary to keep flexitarians satisfied, attract new diners, and reduce the environmental footprint of alt-proteins.

Admittedly, alternative meat is probably not the issue at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now. But in a time when your newsfeed is full of articles about pandemics, social distancing and scary outlooks, it’s nice to be reminded that positive progress is still going on to help the planet, and help us eat better too.

Food Tech News: Upcycled Salmon Skin Snacks, Instacart Downplays Ratings

When the world is shifting what seems like second-by-second, it can be hard to focus on anything besides COVID19. Here at the Spoon we’re working extra hard to bring you useful pieces on how the coronavirus is affecting the entire meal journey, and give you resources for how to thrive in a difficult time.

But the food tech world is still spinning, and there is still news to report! Here are a few stories that caught our eye this week, including new upcycled salmon skin chips, boozy hand sanitizer, plant-based pork instant noodles and Instacart updates. Be well and stay safe.

HARMLESS HARVEST founders launch upcycled salmon skin snack
The founders of HARMLESS HARVEST, an ethically-sourced coconut water company, just launched a new product focused on sustainable salmon. Called GOODFISH, it’s a crispy salmon skin snack which has the texture of a chicharron. The snacks are made of traceable wild Alaska sockeye salmon skins which typically go to waste and are meant to be a healthier alternative to chips. GOODFISH will retail for the SRP of $2.99 SRP for a 0.5oz bag and are currently available online.

Liquor companies to make hand sanitizer for donation
If you’ve gone grocery shopping lately you know that hand sanitizer is a rare find at the moment. To keep up with demand, liquor brand Pernod Ricard USA, which makes Absolut Vodka, Kahlua, and other brands, has announced that it will produce hand sanitizer at all of its manufacturing sites and donate them to fight the coronavirus outbreak (via The Hill). Brewers and distillers across Europe are also offering their help to make hand sanitizer using their alcohol.

Instacart shopper ratings won’t affect access to grocery service
More and more folks are relying on online grocery delivery and pickup right now, and that’s causing a frenzy of stressed out customers. Instacart announced this week that their shopper ratings — that is, the rating that Instacart customers give to people who do their shopping for them — will not affect their access to delivery jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic (h/t Techcrunch). Instacart will also let shoppers pay with Google Pay or Apple Pay, so they don’t have to touch screens while shopping.

Green Monday debuts OmniPork Instant Meal Cup in Taiwan
This week Green Monday, the plant-based meat company based out of Hong Kong, announced that it would be selling its new OmniPork Instant Meal Cup across Taiwan. Made with OmniPork’s signature plant-based pork, the instant noodle cups will be cobranded with the FamilyMart convenience store chain and sold at 3,600 stores.

THIS Raises £4.7M for Plant-based Chicken and Bacon

Even though the news cycle is dominated by coronavirus, the world is still turning — and plant-based meat companies are still getting funding.

In fact, today THIS, a UK startup making alt-meat, raised a £4.7 million ($5.5 million) seed round (h/t Tech.eu). The round was led by Backed with participation from Five Season Ventures, Idinvest Partners, Seedcamp and Manta Ray Ventures. This brings THIS’ (ha) total funding to £5.6 million ($6.6 million).

Founded in 2019, THIS makes alternatives to chicken and bacon — including flavored chicken pieces and nuggets — from a mixture of pea and soy protein. Its products are currently available in 1200 retailers and restaurant chains. As of now, THIS only sells in the U.K.

Photo: THIS’ plant-based bacon

As I’ve written before, chicken is primed to be the next big alt-meat. Startups like NUGGS, Rebellyous, and Daring are all making chicken nuggets and pieces meant to be an easy 1-1 replacement for chicken meat. Larger companies — like Beyond Meat — are also diversifying into chicken. Even Big Meat is getting in on the alt-chicken space. With its new funding, THIS is smart to try and amp up and get more brand recognition and shelf space before it becomes as crowded as plant-based burger space.

The space that has even more potential, I think, is bacon. Very few companies are making plant-based bacon right now, and the ones that I’ve tasted on grocery shelves are generally overly salty and have the texture of cardboard. There’s a vacuum, just waiting for someone like THIS to fill it (before Impossible Foods beats them to it and launches its own product).

THIS will use its new funding to boost manufacturing capacity and establish an internal R&D center. Hopefully that means we’ll be seeing some more plant-based bacon on our grocery shelves in the near future.



According to Yelp and Foursquare Data, Pizza, Fast Food, and CSAs are Up in Wake of Coronavirus

There’s a lot of news swirling around there about how COVID-19 is hurting local businesses, and for restaurants, things are looking especially grim. But what does the data actually say? Yelp and Foursquare recently released some analysis of internal data that gives insight into how our relationship with restaurants, dining, and more is shifting dramatically during this very abnormal time.

Yelp notes that many of the changes in restaurant and food business are a direct result of “the home’s rising status as the place to eat.” Considering we’re supposed to be social distancing — and a growing number of restaurants are forced to close their doors to diners, anyway — that’s not exactly surprising.

The numbers are pretty bleak for restaurants. Yelp reports that U.S. consumer interest in restaurants has fallen by about 54 percent. They only looked at data from the data range of March 8 to 18, so the number has probably increased as more and more cities and states restrict dine-in capabilities for restaurants. Simultaneously, Yelp notes that delivery and take-out are “2X more popular than usual.”

What sort of food is popular during the corona-pocalypse? Basically, anything that is suited for delivery and pickup. That means dim sum restaurants, French restaurants, and other spots geared towards more leisurely meals eaten in the restaurant dining room are suffering. Sales from food trucks and breweries are also down.

The news isn’t bad for all restaurants, though — some are actually thriving in the new normal of COVID-19. Sales from pizzerias and fast food restaurants are up 44 percent and 64 percent, respectively. Unsurprisingly, Yelp says that sales of beer, wine, and spirits are up 63 percent. And in your daily dose of heart-warming news, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), or deliveries of farm produce, are up a whopping 405 percent.

Foursquare released its own data examining the change in foodservice foot traffic from February 19 to March 13. Like Yelp, it showed that QSRs are actually experiencing an uptick in traffic, though it cited a much smaller rise of 11 percent. Foursquare noted that QSR visits are down in areas with higher infection rates, like Washington state, but up in areas of the country with lower alert levels.

Seems like people still love their chicken sandwiches. [Photo: Foursquare]

Yelp points out that these shifts haven’t affected all of the U.S. in the same way. The impact is most significant near the coasts and more muted in the Midwest and Southeast, despite the fact that many cities and states have mandated dine-in closures in those areas. However, Yelp notes that every state reflects, at least to some degree, “the new reality of the coronavirus economy — that is, until it changes quickly again.”

To help restaurants struggling with this new reality, Yelp announced today that it would contribute $25 million to support local restaurants in the form of waived advertising fees and even free advertising.

That’s nice and all, but all the advertising in the world might not be enough to keep restaurants afloat. Some spots don’t have enough saved to keep paying rent/staff with significant diminished income. Others aren’t able to effectively pivot to a delivery- or pickup-only menu.

I don’t want to end this post on a glum note, but faced with cold, hard numbers, it can be hard not to feel scared for the future of local restaurants. So do what you can to support — go buy a gift card, tip a bartender virtually, or just place a pick-up order to support your favorite neighborhood spot. Maybe together we can help change some of these numbers.

Goodr Delivers Groceries and Surplus Food to Hungry Students, Seniors in Atlanta

“Hold on, I have to get my credit card.” Jasmine Crowe, CEO of Goodr, was grocery shopping in the middle of our call earlier today. She was at the store not stocking up her own pantry but buying grocery staples for one of the dozens of families that are using Goodr’s expanded program to get fresh food during this tumultuous time. 

Goodr is an Atlanta-based startup providing the logistics needed to redistribute surplus food from large businesses (think: Coca Cola, Chick-fil-A, etc) and to non-profits feeding the hungry. And with the coronavirus outbreak shutting down schools and, consequently, taking away free lunch from students, Goodr is stepping up to make sure that kids in the Atlanta area still have healthy food to eat.

To feed students, Goodr is working with school cafeterias which are still preparing packaged meals. The company picks up and delivers these meals to designated apartment drop-off zones in areas where many students live. They’re on track to deliver meals to over 40,000 students in the Atlanta school district.

Separately, Goodr is introducing another new service to drop off groceries to families who can’t afford to (or aren’t physically able to) shop themselves, or can’t make it to food pantries. “It’s like Instacart, but it’s free,” Crowe explained to me. Since the grocery delivery service doesn’t rely on surplus food, Goodr pays for the groceries through individual sponsorships (you can do it too, if you like).

In addition to grocery and student meal drop-off, Goodr is also delivering fully prepared meals cooked by partner chefs to seniors that might be hesitant to venture out and purchase food, or don’t have the financial ability to do so. Crowe said that the seniors have the option to ask that the food be dropped off outside their door to reduce the risk of contamination. Finally, the company is increasing the frequency of Goodr’s pop-up surplus food grocery stores.

These emergency initiatives are all happening on top of Goodr’s current surplus food deliveries from offices to nonprofits. “It’s still business as usual,” Crowe told me.

To increase their delivery capacity Crowe said that Goodr has hired 10 new drivers. They try to hire drivers that were recently laid off from their jobs and pay them $20 per hour. Crowe told me that Goodr uses the Google Maps Paperboy API to direct drivers through the most efficient routes. Currently, one driver can deliver groceries to six or seven families in an hour and a half. I’m from Atlanta and, knowing the traffic situation there, that’s pretty incredible.

Goodr typically gets a lot of its donations from offices and restaurants, many of which are closed or in the process of closing. Crowe told me that right now, they’re sourcing “a little bit from everywhere.” The company is still getting donations from some food partners, like Mercedes-Benz and Coca-Cola, and is also taking food from companies that are going out of business and clearing out their fridges and pantries. 

Crowe doesn’t know how long those donations will last, however, or how long Goodr will be able to keep the lights on. Like many other food companies, it is not immune to the struggles that come with our new COVID-19 reality.

Nonetheless, Crowe said they’ll keep doing what they can and paying their team for as long as they can. “I’m a believer in good Karma,” Crowe told me as she finished her grocery shop. Then she had to go deliver the food to an Atlanta family, or senior, or student, and do it all over again.

Delish to Host Instagram Live Cooking Classes for Parents and Kids

If you’re a parent working from home with kids out of school, chances are you’re on the lookout for creative ways to distract them — hopefully while they learn some things.

Maybe one of those things will be how to cook. Recipe platform Delish is launching an Instagram Live series to teach parents and kids how to cook together.

According to an email from Delish, the series will be hosted by the platform’s editorial director Jo Saltz and her children. Episodes will air each weekday at 1:00pm ET and last 15 to 20 minutes (the first episode aired today). If you can’t tune in at that time, episodes will be saved in a Highlights section of Delish’s Instagram so you can watch when you’re ready.

Each #CookingTogether lesson will feature “kid friendly” recipes like pizza waffles and something called puppy chow (which I just had to Google and must say, I now want very badly).

Healthy? Not exactly. But kids can be picky, and if you’re already fighting a battle trying to keep them educated and entertained it’s not exactly the time to try and sell them on broccoli, too.

I don’t have kids myself, but I think Delish’s #CookingTogether series is a smart way for the recipe brand to make the best of the current situation — and differentiate themselves from other recipe site competitors. While people are quarantined at home they’re looking for both inspiration on what to cook and free ways to entertain themselves (and their children).

I bet before the coronavirus pandemic has died down, we’ll be seeing a lot of recipe services experimenting with new tactics to cater to the new normal.

Could the COVID-19 Outbreak Save Meal Kits?

When I get anxious or stressed out, my natural response is to cook elaborate meals for myself. Following complex recipes soothes me.

But I understand that that is absolutely not the case for many folks out there. Nonetheless, in a time where we’re not supposed to be leaving the house, there’s only so much delivery you can order in — and so many meals of spaghetti you can make.

That’s where meal kits could come in handy. They’re delivered to your door (no venturing out to grocery stores!), contain ingredients for a balanced meal, and give folks who might not be super comfortable in the kitchen some training wheels to get them cooking. On top of that, most meal kit services are at least slightly cheaper than ordering delivery, especially when you factor in tip.

I reached out to a few meal kit companies to see how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing is affecting them. And the news was uniformly positive! Unlike many food-related companies, meal kits are actually seeing a boost in sales.

Purple Carrot’s founder and CEO Andy Levitt told me that the company had seen a “sharp increase in demand for our plant-based meal kits since COVID-19 has been shifting consumer behavior.” A representative from HomeChef emailed me that the company was seeing an “unprecedented increase in orders” with “more people cooking at home.” Over email, Blue Apron’s CEO Linda Findley Kozlowski also noted that the company had seen “a sharp increase in consumer demand.” No one would disclose exact numbers.

All of the companies I contacted emphasized that their employees were following CDC guidelines to ensure food safety during sourcing and packing. One benefit of meal kits is that the ingredients are packed in a warehouse, which means there are also fewer people touching your food and less chance of contamination than in a supermarket.

As we’ve written about time and again on The Spoon, the meal kit industry has been struggling for quite a while. Will this recent boost in subscribers be enough to sustain meal kits? Levitt is optimistic; he anticipated that the demand would continue even after the COVID-19 pandemic dies down.

I’m perhaps less so. The basic problems for meal kits — managing disparate supply chains, encouraging customer stickiness, making recipes easy enough for anyone to cook, and competing against food delivery — will still be present in our post-coronavirus future.

True, maybe some folks who are trying out meal kits now will get hooked and decide to continue on that path. But overall, if meal kit companies want to survive I think they’ll have to continue to innovate to cater to shifting consumer needs by focusing on retail, enabling more customization, and creating easier, faster recipes.

But for now, meal kits are filling an important need for consumers who want to cook more at home, but aren’t sure how. It’s a small but noteworthy silver lining in the time of COVID-19.

Guided Cooking Deals to Help You Eat Better While Social Distancing

Being in the business of covering food news, it’s easy to be all doom and gloom right now. While the COVID-19 outbreak is certainly causing huge disruptions in the foodservice industry, there are some silver linings.

The coronavirus — and subsequent social distancing measures — could have a real effect within our own kitchen. Reuters reported last week that quarantined folks in China have been spending time in their kitchens and learning to cook, leading to increased downloads in recipe apps and guided cooking services.

If you’re also cooped up at home and looking to flex your cooking skills, there are plenty of great services out there to help you learn to be a better chef. And good news — some are even offering deals!

We’ve listed some below, and will be updating the list as we learn of more. If you notice any are missing please leave us a comment or email tips@thespoon.tech.

Plant Jammer
If you stocked up on a bunch of vegetables but aren’t sure exactly how to turn them into meals, Plant Jammer could be a useful guide. The service, which is available via a website or an app, uses AI to generate vegetarian recipes based on what you have available at your house (which could be very helpful if you’re trying to make use of what you have without hitting up the grocery store).

As of today Plant Jammer’s paid features will be free to all users. According to an email from the company, they will assess how long to continue the offer based off of the progression of the coronavirus outbreak.

Photo: Hestan Cue

Hestan Cue

If you have a smart cooking system Hestan Cue at home and want to finally learn how to use it to make fancy restaurant meals at home, you’re in luck. The company, which makes a connected cooktop and pan set that connects with your phone to guide your cooking, is now offering a free Hestan Cue Cooking School. The first course is all about Mastering Eggs — other courses have not been announced yet. If you want to follow along, you can sign up here.

Photo: Now Serving

Bookstores

It’s never been a better time to invest in cookbooks: you get new recipes to try, great reading material, and are able to support local bookstores that have had to shutter to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Now Serving, L.A.’s only cookbook bookstore, is trying to beef up sales by offering free online shipping. If you’re in the area you can also get curbside pickup. The Book Larder, Seattle’s only cookbook bookstore, is also offering free shipping on orders over $50.

Photo: ckbk Instagram

ckbk
Looking for cooking inspiration and bored of your usual staples? Online subscription service ckbk lets you browse a bunch of cookbooks virtually — sort of like a Spotify for cookbooks. Interested folks can use the code WECANCOOKTHROUGHTHIS to get a 30 day free trial to ckbk, which allows them to browse 360 cookbooks and 85,000 recipes to find new recipe inspiration.

Photo: Blue Apron

Meal kits
Some of us need a little more hand-holding during our cooking process. In that case, several meal kit services are offering discounts. Blue Apron is offering $60 off through March, and Hello Fresh has a variety of promotions going (including $80 off over four weeks).

Do you have a guided cooking service offering a deal to help folks cook during this trying time? Give us a shout in the comment section or drop us a line.


Foodservice Companies Pivot to Feed Hospital Workers

In times where the news seems bleaker than ever, it’s encouraging to be able to report on uplifting stories, however small. So I was happy to receive a press release from Simply Good Jars, a Philadelphia-based startup that sells fresh meals in reusable jars via smart RFID-enabled fridges. It places these fridges in high traffic spots like offices and hospitals so people can grab-and-go with a healthier meal than, say, a bag of chips or candy bar.

The company reached out to let us know that they were pivoting from the smart fridge model to a delivery one. Under the new model, folks in the Philly area can order eight Simply Good Jars salads that will be delivered to their door on a weekly basis through April 8. There’s no delivery fee and the jars will not be collected for reuse. If you live in Philadelphia and are interested you can sign up here.

That’s interesting in itself — a smart fridge-oriented company pivoting to delivery — but what caught our eye was what followed that announcement: Simply Good Jars is also offering free meals to hospital workers at the three hospitals that normally already have their smart fridges. In a time when many healthcare professionals are working grueling hours under tons of stress, a free, fresh meal is not just a nicety, but critical.

Photo: Sweetgreen

Simply Good Jars isn’t the only company stepping up. Sweetgreen is reappropriating its Outpost operations to deliver free salads and bowls (in newly compostable containers!) to hospital workers in the cities Sweetgreen currently serves. Outpost is Sweetgreen’s delivery-catering hybrid service that sets up batched delivery drop-off sites in offices of larger companies. I’m not sure how many hospitals have an Outpost — it seems more targeted towards tech companies — but if you work at a health facility and want a Sweetgreen Outpost there, you can head to bit.ly/sgimpactoutpost to request one.

For those who want something a little more comfort food-y, &Pizza is offering free, unlimited pizza pies to hospital workers who show identification. If they’re unable to leave their post, workers can text 200-03#HERO to get a code which they can use to get their pie delivered.

Obviously these offers aren’t entirely selfless. Giving away free product to healthcare workers is a smart marketing strategy as well as, you know, the right thing to do. But in times when everything seems pretty bleak, we’ll take good news where we can find it. Feeding hospital workers is an important way to support those on the front lines fighting the outbreak — and it’s also an encouraging show of humanity and community support.

Plus, these actions could encourage similar foodservice companies, especially those with deep pockets, to start their own service to feed medical professionals.

In fact, why stop at hospital workers? I’d love to see Chipotle and other healthy-ish fast casual chains sending food to low-income residents, seniors and other groups that are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 (with proper distancing and sanitation precautions, of course). Because these are tough times — but they become a little easier if we’re well-nourished. It’s time for more foodservice companies to step up.

If you know of any other restaurants or foodservice establishments feeding hospital workers (or other high-need groups) drop us a line at tips@thespoon.tech or comment on this post to let us know!

Chipotle Partners with Uber Eats to Reach More Diners during COVID-19

Quarantined burrito lovers, take note. Chipotle announced today it has added Uber Eats to its list of third-party delivery partners. The chain also announced that it will waive delivery fees on orders of $10 or more placed through the Uber Eats app for the rest of March.

Chipotle is taking extra precautions to make sure anyone who orders through Uber Eats has the option to for “no-contact” deliveries. Chipotle food will have a tamper-evident packaging seal to prove that food has been untouched on its route to the customer.

This is the first time Chipotle and Uber Eats have teamed up for delivery, and the move is no doubt in response to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe and keeping people home. Chipotle chain has had a partnership with DoorDash since 2018 and is also available through Postmates.

As resident restaurant tech expert Jenn Marston previously noted, delivery remains a major driver for digital growth for Chipotle. The company has a hybrid delivery strategy which uses a combo of in-house and third-party functionality to build out a unique delivery operation for each individual storefront. It’s also experimenting with Chipotlanes, which are drive-thru lanes that place special emphasis on mobile ordering.

Chipotle’s digital business surpassed $1 billion in sales in 2019 and digital orders made up one-fifth of the company’s sales in Q4 of last year. With the coronavirus outbreak spurring massive restaurant closures, it’s likely that Chipotle — and other fast-casual chains — will double down on its digital and delivery capabilities. With Uber Eats on its side, that could mean more burritos for all of us social distancing right now.

I Visited the Canlis Seattle Pop-Up and Honestly I Feel Conflicted

Even before Seattle, along with many other regions, announced the forced closure of restaurants and bars, one of the city’s most well-known establishments was already a few steps ahead.

Canlis, a James Beard Award-winning restaurant known for its high-end food and even higher-end prices, announced last week, before the mandated restaurant closures, that it would be shuttering its dining room and transitioning to a to-go-only menu. Beginning today Canlis is offering takeout-only breakfast via The Bagel Shed from 8am-11am; pickup lunch via Drive on Thru from 11am-6pm; and a “Family Meal” delivery on weekday evenings.

Since I live only a few miles from Canlis I decided to swing by this morning to see how the acclaimed restaurant is navigating this transition. My first inkling that I might have gotten more than I bargained for is when I arrived just after 8am to see the cars backed up for blocks, all idling as they waited for the doors to open. Thinking walk-up might be easier (and more environmentally friendly) I parked nearby and walked up to the restaurant, where I was greeted with a very long line of individuals, all drawn to Canlis to get their bagels and see what all the fuss is about.

The line waiting to get their bagels at Canlis’ Bagel Shop. [Photo: Catherine Lamb]

In a time when we’re all supposed to be social distancing and keeping six feet apart, it was a little unnerving to see so many people out of the house and waiting so close together in a line (though, admittedly, I was one of them). At first people did keep a solid amount of space between each group, but as more folks arrived the line squished. However, we were outside, so maybe people were more willing to take a risk in the fresh air.

I got in line around 8:30am and reached the front to place my order in 45 minutes. That’s a lot of time to take off of work just to grab a bagel sandwich. From the people I spoke with, everyone who was waiting for breakfast was working from home and looking for a) an excuse to get out of the house, and b) an opportunity to try food from Canlis, a dining experience that’s typically beyond their budget.

That said, Canlis’ Bagel Shop is not cheap. The menu is also pretty limited. You have the option of buying half a dozen bagels and one of three schmears, or getting a breakfast sandwich. You can’t get an individual bagel with schmear, butter, etc. Since there’s only one of me I opted for the breakfast sandwich (no sausage). That came out to just under $9, which has an automatic tip built in.

When I was in line I chatted with a Canlis staff member who told me that the day before, when they launched the Drive-Thru Only lunch option, they’d sold 1,000 burgers. He expected they would sell just as many for the rest of the pop-up.

The bagel sandwich from Canlis’ pop-up [Photo: Catherine Lamb]

So how was the bagel? Honestly… just fine. As someone who lived in New York I’ll admit I’m a bit of a bagel snob, but if I’m shelling out almost $9 for a breakfast sandwich I had to wait 45 minutes in the cold for from a world-renowned restaurant I’m expecting my mind to be blown. The egg was perfectly cooked (look at that yolk ooze) and the American-style cheese melted perfectly. The bagel itself had a pleasant chew but was very pale on the outside — it lacked that mahogany, crackly exterior of a well-cooked bagel. The everything topping was also quite sparse.

I left Canlis at 9:15am, bagel in hand, just as the staff had just announced that the Bagel Shop had sold out. It was meant to last until 11am. Canlis may be a well-oiled machine when it comes to innovative dining or excellent service, but it seems like even they are not immune to the difficulties of pivoting over to takeout- and delivery-only. And if that’s true, how are restaurants with fewer resources supposed to navigate this tough time?

Cars lined up to pick up their to-go bagels. [Photo: Catherine Lamb]

Overall, my visit to the Canlis Bagel Shop pop-up was a pleasant excuse to leave my house and support a local restaurant. But I don’t think that Canlis is the restaurant I should be choosing to support. All restaurants, bars, and cafés are struggling as coronavirus restrictions force them to pivot to takeout or delivery-only. Smaller establishments might not have the capacity to make that shift and be forced to shut down altogether. Those are the places that need my dollars. Not Canlis.

It’s hard to fault Canlis. Like anywhere else, the restaurant is just trying to figure out creative ways to stay alive and keep its staff employed. But with such a strong reputation and storied legacy, Canlis is at far less risk of going under than, say, my neighborhood coffee shop. It’s frustrating to see so many folks flocking to buy overpriced takeaway meals (and wait for them) when some of my favorite local spots might not be able to weather the storm.

Next time, I’ll choose to support a restaurant that needs my patronage a little bit more. And doesn’t require me to stand outside for 45 minutes in the cold, and potentially risk contaminating or catching something from someone standing nearby.

If you’re looking to do the same, consider checking which of your favorite restaurants are offering takeout, or even try to buy a gift card to keep them afloat through this tough time. We’ve got this.

JUST’s New Plant-based Egg Patties Taste Like Fast Food (and That’s a Good Thing)

What with the COVID-19 outbreak shuttering restaurants and encouraging social distancing, I’ve suddenly found myself spending a lot more time in my kitchen. I’ve also been on the lookout for protein-packed meals that will store well in case, you know, the worst happens.

So it comes as no surprise that I was excited to sample the JUST’s new plant-based “folded egg” product this week. The eggs — which are made of mung beans — resemble a small square omelet. I received a shipment of them in a refrigerated insulated box (such packaging waste!), and were packaged two-together in shrinkwrapped plastic (more packaging waste!). These were pre-production samples that were shipped directly from the company, so there will presumably be far less packaging once the eggs are available at the grocery store this April.

Taken out of the package, the eggs really do look like, well, eggs. They have a spongy texture and light yellow hue of countless BEC (bacon, egg and cheeses) I bought from corner bodegas in New York, or the filling of fast-food breakfast sandwiches. So far, so good.

JUST folded eggs in packaging. [Photo: Catherine Lamb]

The eggs came with a guide which outlined three options for cooking. I could heat the omelet in a toaster for 6. 5 minutes, toast in a toaster oven for 15 minutes at 350 F (or presumably a conventional oven), or microwave it while wrapped in a paper towel. I don’t have a toaster oven that has an option to cook something for 6.5 minutes, so I went with the microwave. The grocery store having been out of paper towels for days, I had to microwave mine without — for 30 seconds per side — and it turned out perfectly fine; warm throughout and pliable.

I first took a bite of the heated omelet by itself. While the texture definitely reminded me of dry omelets (that’s not a bad thing, per se), the taste was distinctly beany — almost chemical-y. In short, not like eggs at all. I thought that the JUST Egg scramble I’d tried in the past did a far better job of approximating the almost sulfuric flavor.

JUST Egg sandwich [Photo: Catherine Lamb]

However, when I made the omelet into a breakfast sandwich featuring toast, (vegan) butter, kale, and hot sauce, I would definitely not have known it wasn’t the real thing from a chicken egg. The patty had the same texture as a reheated omelet, and the beany flavor didn’t come through against all the other ingredients. I gave half of the sandwich to my roommate who devoured it and was shocked to learn that the egg inside was not, in fact, an egg at all.

The JUST omelet won’t fool anyone when eaten on its own, but it’s clearly not meant to be. The folded egg is the perfect shape and size to go into sandwiches, burritos, etc, to add a plant-based layer of protein that can be ready in mere minutes (and doesn’t require the cooking skills of a perfect egg omelet).

The JUST folded egg will be sold in boxes of four starting this April. According to the company, it’ll debut in the freezer section of 5,000 retailers nationally and will sell for the MSRP of $4.99. That’s pricey compared to a dozen regular eggs, but I think the convenience factor of the JUST omelets make them a worthy buy — especially if you’re trying to eat more plant-based products.

We don’t know what the quarantine situation will look like come April, but if you’re able to safely make it to your grocery store to pick up a pack of JUST folded egg omelets, I’d say they’re worth adding to your shopping cart.