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.

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..