Exo Cricket Flour Protein Bars

I ate my first bug in Vietnam. It was a cricket.Legs and all. I followed that with tree grubs, grasshoppers, ants and beetles. None of those insects tasted particularly terrible but the texture was the palette killer, especially the cricket legs. As we run out of viable protein sources with the rapidly increasing world population, using insects to supplement traditional forms of protein is going to be a necessary move. The first step in that is hurdling the psychological obstacle course. Exo Cricket Flour Protein Bars takes the first big leap in the direction of the finish line. The key, get rid of the cricket legs. They do it by turning crickets into a fine “flour” and then making their bars from the fine grain. That leaves you with a virtually indistinguishable protein bar that’s not only tasty and effective but sustainable in the best way possible.

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Food | Refrigerator

6 Sweet Reasons not to leave New York City

OddFellows Ice cream just dropped a NYC collab with the Bodega Boys celebrating what can only be flavors loved by die hard New Yorkers. If there was ever a reason to squash that idea of leaving the city, these pints will have you deep in thought reminding why you came here OR stayed here OR was born here. The grit, the hustle, the culture and of course the obligatory BEC. Cram all that into a 14oz paper container and the brain freeze you’re experiencing isn’t just the ice cream. We’re not sure how comedians Desus Nice and The Kid Mero met up with chef Sam Mason but with flavor names like baconeggncheese (All one word damn it, A smoked cream ice cream with candied bacon, whipped cheese cream and candied egg yolks), Budget Breakfast (A honey ice cream with chunks of homemade honey bun cake and coffee soil) and Bodega Counter Crunch (A light caramel ice cream with chocolate covered pretzels, honey roasted peanuts and crushed homemade butter crunch cookies) we are sure glad they did. To do the boroughs the way we do these days a special ice cream truck is touring for the next month, check out the schedule and hit up the traveling end of summer bodega ice cream mayhem. We all scream for it especially those of you contemplating packing your bags for less dense lands. This will have writing one more month’s rent check for sure.

Food | Pantry

Fourth Creek Food’s Sweet Red Pepper Relish

I didn’t even know that sweet pepper relish was a thing when I dropped a sample spoon of the luscious condiment on my tongue. After 3 hours walking the aisles of the massive Fancy Food Show, you get a little tasted out. By that point, you are not expecting to taste something that excites you the way this did. As my tastebuds transmitted the sweet and spicy to my brain, Andrew Schiavetti, founder of Fourth Creek Food Co., smiled widely as if to say, “I’ve been seeing reactions like this all day.” On second bite, I knew I was hooked. “What is this?” I asked as if it came from another planet. Ready with the answer, the rep, explained in detail but all I heard was “amazing”. The story I missed, because my brain was focusing on taste, was one of those my-mom-made-this-awesome-so-we-jarred-it-for-your-pleasure type stories. The best part is their whole line is this good and I am subsequently addicted to bruschetta made solely of their products. Thanks mom Fourth Creek.

Food | Pantry

Wilder Horseradish Mustard

I was drawn in by their packaging and hooked by Isabel Freed’s California vibes. I didn’t even need to taste the mustard selection but I’m glad I did. Horseradish has the tendency to blow out your mouth. Most of the condiments containing this potent root are strong enough to make your sandwich all spread, overshadowing everything else except maybe the bread. The difference with Wilder Horseradish Mustard is that it’s as mellow as a california drive up the coast. In food speak, that’s referred to as balanced. Which makes a huge difference when you want to taste all those carefully chosen layers of your Saturday afternoon hoagie. If the sting of horseradish isn’t your game they also produce a classic mustard and a honey jalapeño version. Both of of them complete with the same California vibes mixed through each jar.

Food | Pantry

Brooklyn Delhi Achaar

Achaar is Indian pickles. Besides the puntastic name of the company, Chitra Agrawal and Ben Garthus make a delicious version of this Indian staple. No joke my Indian mother-in-law raved the entire time she cleaned out the jar. We’ve been smearing it on everything from sandwiches to fish. Word is a new flavor is in the works. You can pick up a jar in Brooklyn, obviously, bt there distribution is expanding quickly. Non-Brooklynites rejoice at one of these locations.

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