Chipotle is testing vegan Sofritas on local east coast menus

[KittyWampus]

Chipotle is testing vegan Sofritas on local menus
BY MAURA JUDKIS




Vegans and vegetarians, there's a new Chipotle burrito with your name on it: The fast-food chain is rolling out the East Coast test of Sofritas, a spicy shredded tofu, in its Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Richmond locations on Oct. 21.

Sofritas are made with tofu from Hodo Soy, based in California. It's slowly braised in chipotle chilies, poblano peppers and a mix of adobo, tomato paste, agave and toasted cumin, among other ingredients. In an early taste test, the texture and spice of the tofu reminded us of a spicy, beef-laden chili, and it was definitely filling enough to please meat-eaters seeking a healthy option, as well as meatless eaters tired of loading their burritos with only beans, rice and veggies. The dish is also prepared with different utensils and on a different surface to avoid cross-contamination. It's almost enough to make vegetarians and vegans forget that whole non-vegetarian pinto beans controversy.

You can already get Sofritas on the West Coast and in Chicago, but the company chose the Mid-Atlantic for the dish's East Coast test. "We aren't looking for markets with more vegetarians necessarily because we believe that Sofritas is appealing to vegetarians and vegans and has crossover appeal," said Danielle Winslow, a Chipotle publicist, in an e-mail.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/going-out-guide/wp/2013/10/10/chipotle-is-testing-vegan-sofritas-on-local-menus/

[Cha]

1. Looks good to me..

mahalo Kitty

[arely staircase]

2. vegetarian meat alternatives have come a long way nt

[seattle15]

3. Yuck

Considering the amount of meat they serve, can anything from that place really be vegan? There has to be a ton of cross-contamination.

[Silent3]

13. Certainly if "purity" is a concern, a place like Chipotle will never be "safe"

If you think about food issues the way an observant Orthodox Jew would be about keeping a kosher kitchen (like the idea that a milk product even momentarily touching the cookware used for beef means the blow torches and rabbis need to be brought in to fix the problem) then trying to eat vegan at Chipotle is a doomed endeavor.

If, however, ritual/moral purity isn't the issue, but actual dietary realities and health effects, "cross contamination" would likely have little to no measurable effect.

[surrealAmerican]

4. Seitan might have been preferable to soy, but ...

... I guess this way, it's gluten free too.

[mucifer]

5. Nice to have choices. But, I'd rather have the veggie bowl with rice beans and avocado than the fake

meat.

Oh and they are crazy not to have this in Chicago. There are a ton of vegetarian restaurants all over the city and more keep popping up. We aren't the "hog butcher to the world" that we used to be. Sorry Carl Sandburg.

[trublu992]

6. Great but why haven't they created a fish taco

[MoonRiver]

7. YUM!

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. Not a fan of Chipotle (too expensive for something I can do right at home)

But that looks yummy.

[KittyWampus]

9. where I live you have to drive at least an hour to get to shopping for certain things-

often I bring a cooler with my food. It'd be nice to have one fast food joint that serves something half way decent.

[seattle15]

11. And at home, you can make it spicy

Chipotle is just too bland.

[Zorra]

10. Looks yummy! nt

[PuraVidaDreamin]

12. Bookmarked to use for a recipe!

Yum!