Once again, an entire pavilion at the annual Fancy Food Show in San Francisco was dedicated to “Natural and Organics” … but that’s only part of the good news. The rest is the huge number of natural and organic products that could be found throughout the whole trade show. This segment of the food world has definitely blossomed beyond its roots in obscure health food stores, tie dye, and incense.
Among the favorites I discovered amidst the 5000-ish booths were:
Straus Family Creamery: Not only all organic, yummy stuff – including soft serve ice cream – but also a Cal Poly grad made good!
Tommy’s Drink Mixes: the Chipotle Bloody Mary mix has a nice kick to it and only 22 percent sodium (one I saw at a big box liquor store had 61 percent!!); the Margarita Mix is made with fresh lime juice, organic agave nectar, purified water, and organic cane syrup. Is it Happy Hour yet?
Organicville Organic Ketchup: this ketchup made with all organic tomato puree, agave nectar, white vinegar, salt, onion powder, and spices actually tastes like tomatoes … go figure.
Follow Your Heart: I must admit I’m not a big fan of vegan products. The dairy never really tastes like dairy, and if you don’t want to eat beef, then why even eat beefless beef, but … some of the products here were pretty yummy, like the “sour cream” onion dip, and the “cheese” on the pizzas actually melted in cheese-like fashion.
Justin’s Nut Butter: Yes, he carries a peanut butter product, and no, none of his products are affected by the current salmonella kerfluffle because the products come from a natural food processor with rigorous 3rd party auditing (like SIP wines!!). Anyway, these tasty little packets of nut butter goodness were developed by vegetarian founder Justin Gold because he wanted portable protein for his mountain bike rides. Currently, he’s working to “crack the nut” of sustainable packaging, but ya still gotta love a company whose slogan is “Knead and Squeeze”!
Plus, some SF restaurant favs — Thirsty Bear Brewing: tapas, handcrafted IPA and recycles all its cooking oil … Rose Pistola: one of the originals sourcing local and sustainable food … Farmer Brown: sustainable soul food supporting African-American farmers.