Catching up with all of the latest food trends is honestly a major struggle that I'll never be able to catch up with on my own. It's all such new news, which can be frustrating to deal with simultaneously when everything's just thrown at us, aka the audience. Thankfully for us, I've compiled a list of everything that's happening in the food world and am here to share such knowledge with everyone.
Let's get started
+ Birch Coffee has released some new brews and some Cold Brew Kits, so now we'll never have to be without caffeine
+ MatchaBar now has a social campaign, thanks to Diplo
+ honeygrow & minigrow just launched a new menu and a new mobile app; here's the tea
+ Little Tong in New York just opened their second location, so now there are more noodles to consume
+ Milling Room now has baskets, so now your picnics will go from nonexistent to existent and not boring
+ T-fal just released a bunch of new kitchen-friendly appliances for the world to use
+ A new Taiwanese restaurant's now located in New York; here's what you need to know about 886
+ Welch's just released some new snacks, so now we'll all have healthy munchies
+ A new Korean place that's known as Noted just opened in TriBeCa, and al I have to say is toast and drinks
+ Alert, alert; the world now has more vegan food options
+ Otto's Tacos and Van Leeuwen just opened a new location in New York, so more tacos and ice cream are now readily available for the world to consume
+ There's now a cocktail popup coming to New York; here's what's up
+ Hiball's now around to kill and replace your Redbull addiction; here's how
+ Alta Palla is also here to ween you off of energy drinks; here's how they're doing it
+ Black Seed just released a new bagel, and all I have to say is bagels
+ Brooklyn Crafted just launched their product in new bottles, and they want you to see them
+ Gaea wants you to use their olive oil; here's what they want you to know
+ Pukka has perfected tea time
+ KIND just confidently released a new line of kid's bars
Birch is Sharing Their Love of Coffee With Everyone
If you're anything like me and need to be left alone from the time that you wake up from the time that you have your coffee and are fully awake and capable of partaking in human interaction, then listen up.
This summer, Birch coffee has released some cold brew kits for the world so that we can have coffee near and dear to our hearts and mouths at all times without having to leave your apartment. The kit retails for $25 and comes with an 8-ounce bag of ground coffee to brew, three reusable coffee filters, and with the actual supplies and instructions as to how to even make the coffee. The best part is that you're capable of watching the coffee being made without having to travel far or talk to people as it's being made.
Birch has also released their Coffee Collective, which is a subscription service that delivers Birch’s coffee beans straight to your doorstep. Depending on how much coffee you drink, Birch will deliver 1 bag every week, 1 bag every 2 weeks or 1 bag every four weeks (ground or whole). Birch’s beans can be ordered to match up with an array of brewing methods, such as French pressing your beans, pouring them over without making a mess, cold brew, auto drip, and Chemex. Prices range from $18.40 to $73.60 per month, and shipping is included with the price.
On a final note, Birch also offers three different coffee classes for those that want to learn more about the coffee that they’re consuming. Course offerings include Barista Training & Technical Skills, Coffee 101 & Home Brewing and Public Coffee Cuppings, and they all allow for students to gain knowledge of how a really good cuppa Joe is made from the time that the beans are grown to the point where the coffee’s poured into your cup.
MatchaBar's Social Campaign With Diplo Is A Must See
A green thing that most of us love more than veggies and salads is known as matcha, and if you live in the New York area, you’ve probably heard of a place called MatchaBar. Recently, they’ve started a social campaign as a result of closing $8MM in Series A funding led by Von Miller and DJ and producer Diplo. The campaign is meant to be paired with the launch of MatchaBar’s Hustle – the first sparkling matcha energy drink to hit shelves nationwide. The name of the social campaign is known as Gift The Hustle, which is supported heavily by DJ and producer Diplo, female pop icon Billie Eilish and Golden Globe nominee Ansel Elgort. The best part about this campaign is that anyone can gift friends a free can of Hustle through the Facebook Messenger app (via a digital coupon redeemable at Whole Foods Market) starting July 17. I know that this is great news, but run; don't walk.
'honeygrow + minigrow' Came Out With A New Menu and Mobile App For Us All to Use
In short, the news is that honeygrow + minigrow, the go-to place for fast-casual noodle concepts now has a new mobile app for us to use. When signing up/logging in and downloading the app, not only will you receive a $5 credit just for having the app on your phone, but you can also schedule your meals in advance while saving your favorite dishes to the app for instant ordering or pre-ordering, depending on your overall mood. It only takes a tap of a button, and if tapping buttons aren’t your thing, then I really don’t know what to tell you. Another great thing about the app is that the app will have status levels as part of their rewards program, which comes with perks such as a free honeybar or cookie on birthdays; by the way, the cookies are to die for (not literally, please). The app is available for both iPhone and Android.
Additionally, the CEO of honeygrow + minigrow, Justin Rosenberg, and his team are now using VR (short for virtual reality) as part of their employee training at all levels, as for the training provides every employee a consistent, immersive and thorough onboarding experience. If you’re wondering as to why I’ve mentioned this news with you, it’s because such VR training could potentially help avoid scenarios like the recent Starbucks one where Starbucks had to shut down their stores for part of a day in order to properly train their employees on what the eff to do… yeahhhhhh.
Little Tong Now Gave Birth to Its Second Locatio
If you’re one for cold noodles and are in the New York area, then I have great news for you. About a month ago, Little Tong Noodle Shop just opened up their second location in Midtown East. The new 16 seat location is open from 11 am - 3 pm on weekdays as a start with their main focus being on lunch, and will eventually be extending to dinner and weekend hours. This location of Little Tong’s will serve their OG mixian, which consists of Yunnanese rice noodle bowls that are peppered with proteins, flavorful broths (both warm and cold) and a plethora of bright, punchy house-made toppings. There will also be classics from Little Tong such as their ‘Grandma Chicken Mixian’ that’s $13 and is made with chicken confit, black sesame garlic oil, tea egg, pickles, flowers, and fermented chili. Menu additions for the Midtown East location of Little Tong will include the Jianbing Melt Sandwich Combo, which is priced at $13 and features a scallion pancake stuffed with beef shank and Beecher’s cheese curds and served with marinated cabbage and chicken broth. There’ll also be some fan favorites of the OG Little Tong location such as the zippy Ghost Chicken Salad ($7) and Bang Bang Cucumbers ($6), plus Tieban Garlic Shrimp ($9), which is a popular special at the East Village location, now permanently on the menu in Midtown. The full menu can be viewed here, and food can be taken out and delivered via Caviar. Isn’t this such great news?
The Baskets That Are Saving Your Picnic Life
For those of you that are hardcore game for New York’s food scene such as myself, there’s a cool place on the Upper West Side known as The Milling Room, which is a seasonally-inspired restaurant that has picnic baskets to take to the park and indulge in the beautiful weather. The Milling Room is right off of Central Park and across from the Museum of Natural History, which make two great locations to consume the food in the baskets themselves. The picnic baskets are available for pick up from between 11 am - 3 pm, and guests can choose from 3 prix fixe menus or order a la carte from the lunch menu. The prix fixe menu includes one appetizer, one main and a beverage while dessert and cheese plates are available as supplements for an additional cost. Each basket takes 30 minutes to prepare and includes food, beverages, utensils, napkins and a picnic blanket. You can place an order in advance at 212-595-0380; but in all honesty, there’s nothing that I love more than a good picnic, especially if it’s one with myself.
T-fal Now Has A Cookware Line for Everyone to Use In Peace
For those of you that are either moving into a new apartment or into your first apartment, I have some news about a company that’s known a non-stick cookware brand that’s known as T-fal. The nice thing about T-fal is the patented Thermo-Spot technology behind it, which indicated when the pan is available and mentally prepared enough to cook on. Such technology comes with a red spot in the middle of the pan that’ll glow and go ooooh and ahhhh once the pan is preheated appropriately. Currently, T-fal has three different cookware lines to select from; their Ruby Color Luxe Cookware line retails for $99.99 on Amazon and comes with said Thermo-Spot technology and will make your kitchen look less dull with their bright colors. Then there’s T-fal’s Excite Non-Stick Cookware line, which retails for $69 on Amazon, which in short is a durable cookware set that comes with the patented Thermo-Spot technology and is available in Turquoise, Cherry and Platinum Shimmer. Finally, there’s the Advanced with Titanium Advanced Non-Stick Cookware line which retails for $99.99 on Amazon, which lasts two times longer than the regular non-stick line and comes with the Thermo-Spot technology that we’ve all grown to love at this point. The set is available in a 12-piece set and various open stock items. Such great news, right?
886 Is Changing the Taiwanese Food Game in New York
For beginners, 886 is a newly opened authentic Taiwanese restaurant that’s located in New York’s East Village on Saint Marks Place. The restaurant has 42 seats in it and is ultimately a project that’s a collaboration between the three owners known as Eric Sze, Andy Chunag, and the general manager Stefani Kung. To eat, I highly suggest ordering 886’s ‘Shaky Fries’ with seaweed paired with either their “Three Cup Glazed Chicken Wings” aka Taiwanese fried buffalo wings, their ‘Sausage Party’ which is homemade pork sausage, sticky rice, cilantro, and cured duck yolk, or their ‘Black Pepper Steak.’ All of 886’s dishes pair well with their popular ‘Taiwan Beer’ and their rose’. If you’re more of a sake person, 886 has Brooklyn Kura’s sake available for you to consume; be careful, though since it’s so smooth that it could serve as a replacement for water. That’s all.
Welch's Now Has New Fruit Snacks; Are We Even Surprised?
Think back to the time when you were younger and religiously consumed Welch's fruit snacks on a daily basis. Needless to say with this dose of news, Welch's has released a new flavor of their fruit snacks known as 'Superfruit Mix.' It has a berry nutty undertone to it and is the combination of Pomegranate-Passionfruit, Starfruit-Kiwi, Dragonfruit-Blackberry, Açai-Blueberry, and Goji–Apricot. The actual snacks come in funky shapes and are made with fruit as the first ingredient. The more you know.
Some Notes In Regards to Noted TriBeCa's Opening
In the middle of July, a place known as Noted Tribeca opened up in TriBeCa at 112 Hudson Street between Franklin Street and N Moore Street… wow. Hours of operation are from 8 am - 10.30 pm Mondays - Thursdays, 8 am - 11 pm on Fridays and 9 am - 11 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. In short, it’s a new Korean-inspired all-day restaurant that serves toast and brunch during the day and then turns into a full-fledged cocktail lounge at night. The restaurant is founded by two people known as Minho Yang and Seong Choi using an Asian influence to create a New American menu. Dishes include Korean diehards such as Portobello Rice Balls, Purple Sweet Potato Toast, and Ssam. On the weekends for brunch, they have waffles with pork belly, kabocha squash puree and maple syrup. If you’re wondering, Noted Tribeca also has avocado toast and matcha for those of you that love either one and are looking for something normal to eat.
Another thing to note is that Noted Tribeca will have frequent art exhibits within the restaurant and they have a long menu featuring organic wines and cocktails. None of their drinks have names, but they go by editions that are numbered, thus ranging from ed.001 to ed.008, while skipping ed.007. This is not only because the drink menu will be changing seasonally, and because ed.007 will always be the ‘unlisted’ secret cocktail. All you have to do is ask for it, and the bartender will know exactly what you’re talking about. However, this isn’t an excuse to get batsh*t drunk, unless the goal is to go play some games after such.
The Must-Try New Vegan Options Out On The Market
Nobody ever said that being a vegan is hard, and those that choose to go down that path and maintain a vegan diet get all the props in the world from me. For those that are vegan, I have some good news for you. Places such as Glaze, honeygrow + minigrow, and The Press Shop carry vegan dishes for you to consume all while being trendy. Glaze offers their signature teriyaki bowl with grilled-to-order tofu, veggies, steamed-to-order rice, and salad, Cucumber Salad, and Shishito Peppers, while honeygrow + minigrow, offers Beet Noodles + Tofu with citrus-herb dressing, marinated tofu, roasted chickpeas, pickled carrots, scallions and minigrow’s signature mg spice blend, and Curly Kale + Cucumber Ribbons with avocado green goddess dressing, roasted chickpeas, herbed grape tomatoes, avocado and roasted cashews. The Press Shop offers their ‘Treehugger Sandwich’ with sweet potatoes, spinach & caramelized onions, house-made pesto, and piquillo pepper sauce served on whole wheat bread while Van Leeuwen has a seasonal vegan Passionfruit flavor that’s made with coconut milk, cashew and cocoa butter base and fresh passion fruit puree. Having tried most of these places myself, I can reassure you that the offerings are just as good, if not better than their non-vegan counterparts. Dig on in with this good news, vegan eaters.
What You Need to Know About The New Otto's Tacos and Van Leeuwen Locations
In short news, Otto's Tacos is a New York-based taco joint that serves up gorgeous tacos, while Van Leeuwen is a Brooklyn-based ice cream company that first got its start in 2008. The one thing that they both have in common with one another is that they both have new locations that just opened up in New York's Upper East Side. Hello, tacos and ice cream in walking distance from one another... thank the higher-ups, the answers to my life issues have been found.
What Happens When A London Popup Comes to New York
A thing that’s not new news to New York would be the infamous popup. From Monday, August 13 through Wednesday, August 15 from 2 pm - 6 pm, a London bar known as Quaglino’s will come to take over Dante’s for a two-day pop-up. Located at 79-81 Macdougal St, New York, NY 10012, USA in New York’s West Village, the popup will include experiencing four of Quaglino’s Aperitivo cocktails such as the Merchant Of Venice with Rinomato Aperitivo, Mancino Chinato served with Peroni Ambra, Vitamin Sea with Tanqueray Gin, Italicus, Maraschino, Bergamot Juice, Lavender Syrup and Bob’s Ginger Bitter, The Milky Way with Mount Gay XO, Goslings, Antica Formula, Clear Milk, Cinnamon & Vanilla, Bitter Trilogy and Lemon Juice, and Into The Woods with Don Julio, Palo Cortado, White Truffle, Amer Picon, Dandelion Bitter. While all of these drinks might be goals, the popup is the noteworthy part since it’ll only be in New York for three days; unless you plan on going to London soon, then chip chip cheerio away from this section of the article.
Hiball's Here to Kill Off Redbull
It's more than halfway through this year that's known as 2018, and most, if not all of us are tired (myself included). It's also the middle of summer, so we're all thirsty. Thanks to a company known as Hiball, we can now not be tired while quenching our thirst by consuming their caffeinated sparkling energy water that conveniently comes in canned formation. Each can contains 16 fluid ounces of product, has no aka zero calories, no sugars, and is free of artificial ingredients and sweeteners. Hiball comes in five whole flavors, which include Grapefruit, Lemon Lime, Wild Berry, Peach, and Vanilla. Given that water is healthy and consuming energy drinks in excess is a major no from me and is really bad for your overall health, it's time to step back from the Redbull and swap it out for some Hiball.
Alta Palla is Also Here to Kill Off Redbull
Just in: Alta Palla (made by Hiball) is a zero sugar, zero calories, and zero artificial sweetener sparkling water that comes in four flavors: Grapefruit, Lemon Lime, Wild Berry, and Peach. Just like Hiball, they want you to cut the sh*t with the Redbull and switch over to water; or to a mocktail for crying out loud. Here's how to do such:
Using 2.5 ounces of Alta Palla's 'Sparkling Grapefruit Water' with a tablespoon of agave, four spiral cuts or rounds of fresh cucumber, chili salt combined with kosher salt to alter the spice level with a fresh lime for the garnish, mix everything together and you'll get the 'Ruby Red Cucumber Margarita Mocktail.' Bone apple teeth.
Black Seed Bagel's New Pretzel Bagel Is Meant to Be Consumed 24/7
In the world of the bagel, I’ve got some news for you. Black Seed Bagel is collaborating with the team at Frankies Spuntino Group (Frankies 457 Spuntino, Frankies 570 Spuntino and Prime Meats) to feature The Franks Bagel sandwich for the month of August. Such bagel will retail for $12.75 or for $13 if you enjoy rounding up, and is a custom pretzel bagel that’s topped with mortadella that’s housemade from Frankies’ themselves, a fried egg, and spicy mustard butter. Said bagel will be available at all three currently open Black Seed Bagels locations (Nolita, East Village, and Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place) for the month of August, as well as the newest Black Seed location at the Ace Hotel when it opens later in the month. Bone apt the teeth on this new bagel concoction.
Brooklyn Crafted Now Has New Packaging and Minis
Just in case you’re wondering, Brooklyn Crafted is a ginger beer brand that's made in Brooklyn and is cased in 12 and 7 fluid ounce bottles. All of their ginger beers are made with actual ginger that's 100% fresh and unfiltered. The best part is that you can actually see the ginger, so you don't have to question if it's actually in existence. An even better thing to keep in mind about Brooklyn Crafted is that it's not like La Croix, so you don't have to worry about it tasting somewhat different from what it's marketed out to be; so there's no fake news here.
Brooklyn Crafted's products come in multiple flavors, which include Extra Spicy Ginger Beer, Sugar-Free Ginger Beer, Sugar-Free Ginger Ale, Classic Ginger Ale, Mango Ginger Beer, and Lemon Lime Ginger Beer. According to Brooklyn Crafted's website, there are also four different mini products to choose from, which include Extra Spicy Ginger Beer, Mango Ginger Beer, Lemon Lime Ginger Beer, and Earl Grey Ginger Beer. The main difference between Brooklyn Crafted's regular products and their mini products would be how many ounces of product that you'd be consuming; there are 12 fluid ounces of product in the standard product size, and 7 fluid ounces of product in the mini size.
Besides drinking Brooklyn Crafted's products straight out from their respective packaging, you can also use them in an array of cocktails. You can either use the products in some of your go-to cocktails if you're your own mixologist/bartender at home, or you could use the products in the recipes that Brooklyn Crafted has listed on their website, which in all honesty might be your best bet unless you like to be fearless and experiment with things on your own; then you do you.
When consuming any of Brooklyn Crafted's products on their own, you're supposed to shake and swirl the bottle around to help enhance the flavor and to help the innocent pieces of ginger live their best life; so please, go on and go forth with helping the ginger pieces reach their full potential. Also, you're able to purchase Brooklyn Crafted's products online at Tal Depot. They come in cliques of 12 and 24, so you have your pick in how much product you're in the mood to purchase; and Tal Depot has free shipping on all orders of $30+, just in case that enables you to shop a little more.
Gaea's Now A Popular Olive Oil Brand; Here's How
Gaea is an authentic Greek brand that makes products such as olive oil, olives, olive snacks, and dirty martini juice. You can either purchase their products online or in store; whichever floats your boat. They also have an abundance of recipes to utilize using their products, so if utilizing your kitchen like an actual adult is your thing, then you do you. On the other hand, I'm completely terrified of making anything in my kitchen, so please chef things up on my behalf using Gaea's products.
In addition to their olive oil line, one thing that Gaea has to offer the world is their 'Dirty Martini Juice.' Said 'Dirty Martini Juice' is meant to be paired with either vodka or gin; and if you're wondering, yes, it'll be an upgrade from your vodka soda or from your gin and tonic. Personally, I am a victim of straying towards the overly basic vodka soda, so the fact that there's another option out on the market for me to test out is a life saver. They even have their own recipe for us vodka lovers; using their Dirty Martini Juice for Vodka, it's safe to throw it in with our vodka, as for the actual juice contains olive brine infused with sweet and hot red peppers. On the other hand, for Gin lovers, there's a Dirty Martini Juice for Gin, which is made with olive brine blended with coriander. I'm unsure as to how it'd work, but if you're down for using it to replace your tonic, please let me know how that goes for you.
Gaea's 'Dirty Martini Juice' is made with previously discarded olive brine from Gaea's olive production. What this means for you, the reader of this article and consumer of Gaea's products is that Gaea isn't another wasteful company that's out on the market.
In terms of price, each bottle of said 'Dirty Martini Juice' clocks in at $2.49 per bottle and is available at http://www.gaeaolive.com. Alternatively, you could buy them online in eight packs online for $20, which in short makes complete mathematical sense; and no, I'm not just saying that because I got an 'A' in my college math course back in the day.
Pukka's Herbal Teas Are Here to Cancel Your Regular Tea Time
Pukka herbs came out with some organic teas, which works for those that love tea time just like my own mother. Some flavors include their Cleanse, Peppermint & Licorice, Three Mint, Mint Matcha Green and Love tea bags, and all contain cooling herbs such as peppermint, chamomile, licorice, fennel, and rose. All of their products can be purchased online and will make your standard tea seem boring and dull since they don’t have the added herbal benefits, which help with back pains by the way (and the best part is, I’m speaking from personal experience).
KIND's Now Thinking More About Us KIDS
While being KIND is important for making the world go semi-round, the actual company known as KIND has some KIND news for us all. They’ve recently started inviting parents to have their kids test out KIND’s new KIND KIDS bars by having them, the parents put said KIND KIDS bar into their own child’s lunchbox. Here’s the catch; if for any reason their kids send home one of the bars uneaten, the parents will be getting their money back. Ingredients of said KIND KIDS bars include a whole grain blend of oats, sorghum, and quinoa. The bars contain 25% less sugar than that other leading kid's granola bars, and no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, genetically engineered ingredients or sugar alcohols. Please keep in mind that although these bars are marketed towards KIDS, we’re all secretly KIDS on the inside (including myself, according to my LSAT tutor; she says that my new birthday is January 3rd, 2018), so please consider eating some of these KIND KIDS bars for yourself.
There's honestly nothing that I love more than reading about some new news in the food world, and I hope that you can feel the same about such after reading or skimming through this article. Bon voyage, and merry consuming.