Saturday, November 24, 2007

Field Roast Reviews

With our appetizer-side dish centric meal, the true protein stars of our Thanksgiving mini feast were Field Roast goods - which kick the Tofurkey loaf's ass. I tried the Tofurkey loaf for the first time 2 years ago, and thought it was okay with the slice I had – and then made the mistake of buying it last year. I couldn’t even bring myself to make a fun potpie out of the leftovers. I offered them to people, but I don’t think anyone knew how serious I was about just not being into it. I didn’t hate it, but I just didn’t like it. FYI, I’ve never made a homemade vegan turkey, and I never had a chance to try the Unturkey. I’m not that big on the faux meats in general.

The wonderful, generous folks at Field Roast sent me a package of celebration roast, lentil sage roast and the exclusive-to-retail white truffle country pate last week, and although my friend Karla from Vegan Shizzle and myself sampled some Wednesday evening, the goods truly got a chance to shine on Thanksgiving.

Field roast celebration roast, lentil sage roast & white truffle country pate, with sesame rye crackers with mustard and Veganomicon cheezy sauce.

Celebration Loaf

Their Celebration Roast is still by far my favorite Field Roast product that I've tried. Previously, I've sampled some at festivals and dined on a warmed version - but now I officially think it's at its tastiest cold and cut up. The 'meaty' outer layer is nice and firm, not squishy like some homemade seitans I’ve made – it’s firm like the baked variations I tend to go for. There is a stuffing, but it’s more like a different flavored middle section than a traditional stuffing. If there was miraculously a thinly sliced version of this particular roast, I'd probably eat more sandwiches! As it is, I enjoy their other slices at Backspace Cafe, but have yet to buy them at home, since the price is a bit high for me and I’m just now a big sandwich person. I like eating the celebration roast pieces as is - they're the definition of a great, savory & salty vegan prepackaged product. I would bet even my sister (omni) would dig it.

November 022

Lentil Sage Quarter Loaf

The Lentil Sage loaf at first seemed quite less flavorful in comparison to the celebration roast, eaten on its on or on a sesame rye cracker. Again, I've enjoyed slices of this before with condiments, but had never eaten it in loaf form. After I took the approrpiate advice from Field Roast's product descriptions, and added a dollop of mustard to the cracker with the roast slice, I was eating something on a whole other level. The tangy mustard in combination with the firm, wholesome & herby sage loaf (you can spot lentils, too!) is a winner. It’s honestly remarkable what a different the bit of mustard made. On Thanksgiving, I also served some spreadable Veganoicman cheesy sauce which worked well, but I think a smoked version would be even better with the lentil sage loaf. The strangest thing about this loaf was the removal of the strings, I knoooow it’s not meat, and I know the strings were obviously already removed from my celebration loaf – but I did squirm while removing them.


White Truffle Country Pate

I don't think I've ever had non-vegan pate, so I didn’t know what to expect. I knew there was fancy-pants white truffle flavor, and as a mushroom fan, I was stoked. The brown bowed packaging was the first thing I liked, and then the pate itself was next. I really enjoyed that while there was as woodsy , mushroomy flavor, there was also a sweetness . If this is country vibe, they’ve got it. At first I thought the pate was to be spread, but my loaf was more fittingly sliced. This pate is currently a retail-only (think Whole Foods hot case by the pound) selection – plus it’s VEGAN pate, so it was really cool to try. I think it’s a matter of my taste buds, but I wasn’t really digging it paired with my sesame rye crackers. It was begging for some rustic baguette. I’m giddily planning on making some sort of filo-wrapped concoction with the rest very soon.

Now that I’ve written this and have a salty craving, I daresay it’s time to buy some of those slices..

11 comments:

Taylor said...

I'll have to keep my eye out for this stuff. I don't think I've ever seen it.

Anonymous said...

field roast is a dream come true!

n/a said...

Thanks for those reviews - I might try these sometime. Not sure....since I'm not a faux meat person, like you, but seitan/wheat gluten products have their own flavor that isn't attempting to mimic meats.

Calimaryn said...

Thanks! I was hoping you would review these. Field Roast and I do not get along in terms of taste when I buy slices but I am now inspired to try loaf in the future. Much appreciated. :)

Rural Vegan said...

I've never even seen this stuff before! Curse you, Portland vegans, getting all the good grub! :P

Vegan_Noodle said...

I haven't tried the others, but I do enjoy the celebration roast. It's a nice, easy thing to make a meal every once in awhile. And I agree, I like it cold :-)

SaraJane said...

Those all sound good. I've only ever had the celebration roast and love it to pieces. I don't think I can get any of that in Canada, though. I searched for the Celebration Roast not long after I moved here to no avail. :( Stupid border.

The FR girl said...

Thanks for the review Jess! In response to some of the comments, very recently Pangea Vegan Products, on the web at http://www.veganstore.com
started carrying some of the Field Roast products which means people all over the U.S can order stuff online, which is a good deal for those in the 1-2 day ship area from Maryland where they are based. Here in the Northwest it's a better deal to buy online at spud.com. But still not Canada though, sorry... one day!

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

You're very welcome!

Anonymous said...

I can't find white truffle country pate anywhere? Can you tell me specifically where I can buy it??? Please

Anonymous said...

Fieldroast, which is owned by Maple Leaf Foods, does not make safe products. February 2019 there was glass in one of their products we purchased. We all stopped eating and discarded the remainder of our food after my husband bit into glass. When we called, it was a monday since they were not open during the weekend to take our call. We called and told them what had happened, blood in mouth, teeth and gum sensitivity, blood in stool. They told us they will send something to us to put the burger and glass in to return it to their lab. They sent coupons for more potentially harmful products that we did not use. That was their way of saying “sorry.”

3 MONTHS after we sent this to their lab I called back, the first week they didn’t answer my phone calls and the second they answered but I kept getting the receptionist who said that their supervisor would get back to me. That didn’t happen and I had to call back. I was wondering why they haven’t got in contact with us for these 3 months. She said they were “still working on it.” To me that means that they haven’t gotten to it yet, that there are god knows how many other cases of defective food items before ours that they are backed up.

We continued with our claim and sent them everything we had, doctor and dentist visits, and proof of 2 days off of work and a home early showed on a paystub. They wanted more. We cannot give what we do not have. So this shows me that they don’t just have dangerous products on the shelves, but they don’t care about their customers.

My husband now has sensitivity in his teeth and gums for life.

If you’re reading this, please consider another product to protect yourself and those you care for. Fieldroast is putting potentially defective and dangerous products on market.