I love making an elaborate meal from scratch, but thatā€™s not in the cards every night of the week. Sometimes youā€™re in more of a quick stir-fry or one-pot-meal type of moodā€“but just because you want to make something speedy doesnā€™t mean you should settle for bland or basic.

A wave ofĀ  great sauces and meal-starters have hit the market lately, made by brands with a commitment to using natural ingredients to create flavorful, sophisticated products. Several of them come in portable little pouches and packetsā€”great for making a nice meal in an Airbnb kitchenette or on a camping stoveā€”and all will help minimize the dreaded food waste of buying a whole basket of ingredients just to use a pinch to make one sauce. Most of the brands we included on this list are entirely vegan across their product range; where thatā€™s not the case, Iā€™ve specified which specific sauces are vegan-friendly.

Havenā€™s Kitchen

 

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Youā€™ve probably spotted these pouches in your supermarketā€™s refrigerator case (my store conveniently stocks them right above the tofu), and this is your sign to grab one the next time youā€™re there. Everything Havenā€™s Kitchen sells is vegan, gluten-free, and certified kosher. Instead of using any preservatives, these sauces are ā€œcold processedā€ for shipment. That means youā€™ll have to keep them in the fridge ā€“ but theyā€™re good in there for about a month if left sealed, so you donā€™t need to cook immediately. The flavors are all dynamite and can be used in a variety of ways; Iā€™m especially partial to the Golden Turmeric Tahini (potatoes! warm salads!) and the Red Pepper Romesco (roasted cauliflower! tofu scrambles!). If you need some inspiration, the brandā€™s website is loaded with recipe ideas.Ģż

Our Pantry

 

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After becoming a mom, Carolyna De Laurentiis found herself relying on jarred sauces and condiments a lot more than she had in her pre-baby life ā€“ but she wasnā€™t happy with the quality of what she was buying. Her solution? To found Our Pantry, a new brand that turns to acclaimed chefs to create the recipes, and then produces those recipes using transparently-sourced, worker- and planet-friendly ingredients and processes. The brand launched in August, 2022 with a range of four sauces: sunshine yellow Cherry Tomato Arrabbiata and Cherry Tomato Sauce byĀ ChefĀ Silvia Barban (LaRina Pastificio, Top Chef); Sweet Ginger BBQ by ChefĀ Adrienne Cheatham (Le Bernardin, Red Rooster, Top Chef); and a Columbian hogao-inspired Roasted Tomato Onion Salsa by award-winning cookbook author and Chef Mariana Velasquez (±Ź°ł³Ü²Ō±š,ĢżMichelle Obamaā€™s ā€œAmerican Grown Projectā€).

Omsom

 

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Sisters Vanessa and Kim Pham founded Omsom ā€œto bring loud, proud Asian flavors to your fingertips any day of the week.ā€ Inside their colorful packets are sauces that draw from cultural traditions of Southeast and East Asia, presented with pride and joy. Not everything Omsom makes is vegetarian, but several are ā€“ and they even sell a curated all-vegan kit if you want to sample all the options. Plant-based eaters will find themselves reaching for Filipino Sisig, Japanese Yuzu Miso Glaze, Korean Spicy Bulgogi, or Chinese Spicy Mala Sauce. If you have one of these, some tofu and/or vegetables, and a bit of rice, youā€™re only a few minutes from a meal that will taste shockingly good for how fast and effortless it was to cook. These sauces are great building blocks for getting creative, too. Check their website for recipe ideas including air-fried bulgogi mushrooms, crispy rice pancakes, and rice paper flowers. Extra bonus: While most food costs seem to be going up with inflation, Omsom recently added 33 percent more product to their packages at the same price. Incredible.Ģż

Brooklyn Delhi

 

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For at-home Indian cooking, Brooklyn Delhi is my go-to brand. The Vegan Tikka Masala Simmer Sauce and (also vegan) Cashew Butter Masala Simmer Sauce are staples, great for, as the name implies, simmering with some vegetables on the stovetop ā€“ but recently Iā€™ve been taking inspiration from trendy L.A. restaurant Pijja Palace and trying them out on pasta and pizzas, too. Thereā€™s also a rich and cozy plant-based Coconut Cashew Korma simmer sauce that is so good with some of their multiple-award-winning Tomato Achaar or a dash of their Guntur Sannam hot sauce made with peppers sourced by Diaspora Co. Brooklyn Delhiā€™s products are all developed by chef and cookbook author Chitra Agrawal, who started making batches of her own achaar after returning from India and realizing the spicy, pickled condiment was in short supply in New York City. In 2014, she founded the company to produce them at a larger scale and has since rolled out the rest of the fully-vegan product line.

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Each year, ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶųā€™s sister publication, Vegetarian Times, celebrates the best new restaurants in the U.S. serving the plant-based dining community. This year, the list contains 11 fantastic examples of culinary craft, innovation, and resilience.

But, for those of us who have put up with countless restaurant meals where we find ourselves with no plant-based options, ordering an uninspired salad (ā€œhold the cheeseā€) or plate of fries as a main course, opening the menu at a restaurant thatā€™s fully meat-free can feel like stumbling on a treasure chest. ā€œSo you mean I can have anything?,ā€ we ask our server, amazed. It feels like weā€™re being welcomed to the tableā€”the very essence of hospitality.

The 11 restaurants on this yearā€™s Best New Restaurants list all embody this sense to the core. Places on our list come in all different shapes and kinds, from cozy neighborhood cafes to ambitious fine dining. There are elite, big-name chefs and first-timers still working day jobs on the side. But every one of them invites diners of all kinds to enjoy meals that are beautiful, delicious, and carefully crafted. And each takes a stand in their own way for a way of eating that leaves the planet a little bit better.

ā€“Ā Brittany Martin, Editor,Ā ³Õ±š²µ±š³Ł²¹°ł¾±²¹²ŌĢż°Õ¾±³¾±š²õ

Vegetarian Timesā€™ 2022 Best New Restaurants

Restaurants are listed in alphabetical order. For consideration on this yearā€™s list, we looked at vegan and vegetarian restaurants that opened to the public between August 1, 2021 and August 1, 2022.Ģż

Before dining at , I probably would have thought fish was an essential component to a great bake and saltfish sandwich, but eating here proved that wrong. Their take on the classic Caribbean dish is created with hearts of palm sautĆ©ed in tomato and spicy peppers, and made me feel like I was oceanside, not in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The all-day cafe, bar, and store was opened in fall 2020 by Nicole and Michael Nicholas, and the space is outfitted in pleasant millennial pastels and wood paneling. But itā€™s the bursting flavors on the menuā€”from cauliflower with spicy peanut sauce, to a medley of green vegetables with pesto, and a tequila-pineapple craft cocktailā€”that create an experience that feels brand new.ā€”Marisa Kabas

Sunny Santa Monica has no shortage of all-day cafĆ©sā€”but few of them come close to . The all-vegan menu blends Ethiopian flavors and techniques with California staples in ways that are at once creative and deeply comforting. The house breakfast burrito nestles tofu scramble, teff injera firfir, greens, tangfaye sauce, and roasted potatoes with Berbere spices inside a whole wheat tortilla and easily stacks up as one of the best takes on the dish anywhere. Start your day with one, along with a fresh-pressed juice or rich Ethiopian coffee. If youā€™re the type to say camera eats first, and mean it, youā€™ll be ordering Eat the Rainbow, a bountiful platter of red lentils, purple cabbage, bright sautĆ©ed greens, golden turmeric garbanzo beans, and perfectly-rolled tubes of springy injera to scoop it all up. The airy dining room and sidewalk dining area have a welcoming, family-like feel, which makes sense: Berbere is the project of married co-owners (and the T&T of the name) Tezeta ā€œTeteā€ Alemayehu, who serves as executive chef, and Tsega-Ab ā€œBickoā€ Fenta, who manages operations.ā€”Brittany Martin

There was a time where bar with vegan food implied a space with tattered booths and a local punk band on stage. at D.C. Vegan elevates the all-vegan nightlife concept to something else entirely. Stepping inside Botanical Bar, youā€™re transported to a whimsical, all-night garden party. The decor has an Alice in Wonderland feel, from the checkerboard floor to the floral-patterned walls, with lush green plants dangling from the ceiling beams and everyone sipping colorful cocktails that emphasize seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The food menu focuses on comforting Italian-American fare with Mid-Atlantic notes; the hearts of palm-based Chesapeake Fritters are a local fave, but youā€™d be remiss to skip the focaccia topped with house-made almond ricotta and sauced with marinara made according to co-owner Leah Curran-Moonā€™s grandmotherā€™s recipe. Curran-Moon and her spouse and co-owner Michael Jantz-Moon started with a vegan catering business that became so popular they decided the time was right to make the jump to add a restaurantā€”and based on the response, it seems they were right.ā€”Whit Bailey

Guy Vaknin, the face behind New Yorkā€™s vegan sushi conglomerate Beyond Sushi, launched the Italian-inspired in February 2022. In addition to being vegan, the restaurant is also kosher, a nod to Vakninā€™s Israeli roots. Indulge in the ā€œcheesyā€ pizzas from their custom brick oven or the decadent pasta dishes. Canā€™t miss meals include the rich mushroom truffle pizza or the eggplant lasagna. In addition to the extensive cocktail menu, the restaurant offers housemade sodas in strawberry lemon mint and raspberry grapefruit basil. Plus, the plush stools and cool tones, accompanied by custom murals done by New York artist Lia Ali, offer a calming respite from the city. Celeb-spotters take note, Colettaā€™s become known as a place where you might spy a plant-based star at the next table over.ā€”Ellen Oā€™Brien

The original Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles has been a pioneer in vegan fine dining since opening nearly a decade ago. Now Chef Tal Ronnen has taken his luxurious approach to plant-based cooking to the epicenter of luxury, Las Vegas. Tucked inside Resorts World, the first new complex to be constructed on the Strip in over a decade, this new edition of feels glitzy and celebratory from the moment you walk through the restaurantā€™s private entry corridor. That feeling extends to the menu, which mixes items beloved from the L.A. locationā€”like the signature handmade rigatoni in spicy vodka sauceā€”with new dishes that befit a Vegas level of decadence. Chestnut ā€˜foie grasā€™ with Cabernet demi-glace or a service of potato chips and kelp caviar go well with a glass of Champagne (or one of several thoughtful non-alcoholic cocktail options, should you prefer). High-rollers can skip the a la carte menu entirely and go for ā€œThe Crossroads Experience,ā€ a seven-course tasting dinner that changes with the seasons.ā€”Brittany Martin

Like their first restaurant Somebody People (which appeared on VTā€™s 2021 list), Sam and Tricia Maherā€™s pizza-, pasta-, and ā€œdisco bitesā€-focused second spot has been a massive hit since opening its Denver doors. The vibe is loud and busy with a riot of pink and orange, emerald green, black and white, and tables cheekily set with red-and-white checked napkins. Itā€™s a perfectly modern take on a pizzeria, and with the wild plant-based offerings, the spot feels thoroughly of the moment. Order the Que Sera cocktail, a bitter, appetite-inducing sip of citrus vermouth, gin, and AvĆØze, followed by the mole-spiced tripoline studded with corn and zucchini, and the falafel pizza with almond tzatziki, fried beans, tomato, cucs, and pickled onions. Bonus, in addition to being 100 percent vegan, most items can also be made gluten-free.ā€”Amanda Faison

If you find yourself in Bristol, Rhode Islandā€”a quaint, waterside New England town about 20 minutes from Providenceā€”dinner at is a must. Chef and owner Peter Carvelli oversees this classy Italian restaurant that would appear pretty traditional to anyone unaware that itā€™s entirely vegan. (If youā€™ve ever hesitated to take your meat-eating parents to a vegan restaurant, trust that theyā€™ll feel entirely comfortable here.) Carvelli honed his techniques over years of pop-up dinners around the region before committing to his own permanent place, opening in July of 2022. Menus rotate weekly but there are always luscious housemade pastas, recently including cashew cacio e pepe spaghettini and a ruby-hued beet ravioli, plumped with cashew ricotta filling and topped with pickled fennel. The move is to put yourself in Chef Peteā€™s hands and opt for a five- or seven-course tasting menu. Every colorful, artfully-plated dish is a treat and thereā€™s always something surprising.ā€”Brittany Martin

Kyle and Katina Connaughton are husband-and-wife, chef-and-farmer, and partners in two restaurants in Healdsburg, in the heart of Sonoma wine country. The duo are well-known for their three-Michelin-star restaurant SingleThread, so when they came on to operate , just a few blocks away, fine dining lovers globally took notice. The complexā€”containing restaurant, cafe, bar, music venue, and farm shopā€”is a collaboration between the Connaughtons, vegan activist owners Laurie and Jeff Ubben, and Ken Fulk, an award-winning designer who heads the Saint Josephā€™s Arts Foundation, an organization dedicated to revitalizing historic buildings into art spaces. Little Saintā€™s entirely plant-based menus prominently feature produce grown using regenerative and sustainable practices on the Little Saint farm and the SingleThread farm, overseen by Katina Connaughton. Then the kitchen, directed by Kyle Connaughton and helmed by chef de cuisine Bryan Oliver, takes that produce and serves everything with an unexpected twist. Think: cauliflower biryani littered with rose petals and crispy shallots, or Nantes carrots, charred until black, dressed with vegan XO sauce and contrasted with crunchy red cabbage and puffed rice. The complex hosts live music performances too; you might catch Phoebe Bridgers or Lucy Dacus playing an intimate set while you sip a glass from wine director Alexandria Sarovichā€™s thoughtfully-curated list.ā€”Amber Gibson

Eating in Los Angeles is exciting because you get flavors from everywhere in the world. , the colorful Koreatown stripmall spot from restaurateur Danny Oh and chef and co-owner Mario Alberto, incorporates aspects of Korean, Filipino, Mexican, Peruvian, and Cal-Italian cuisines into a veggie melange theyā€™ve termed ā€œAngeleno food.ā€ Alberto has worked in a litany of notable L.A. restaurants, cooked with many of the cityā€™s top chefs, and recently served as executive chef of vegan Mexican restaurant Gracias Madre. In the tumultuous summer of 2020, he linked up with his friend Oh to organize efforts to cook and deliver food to people in needā€”and the pair found they liked working together. Their commitment to community and culture imbues every aspect of Olivia, from the genuinely warm service to the creative, delicious food. You might be eating a mushroom steak with smoked yams, a burrito with coconut rice, jackfruit, and salsa verde, or a pizza topped with roasted eggplant, macadamia feta, and kimchi. Somehow, it all goes together harmoniously.ā€”Brittany Martin

Nestled within NoMadā€™s Plantbar NYC, offers an interactive dining experience that puts a plant-friendly spin on Japanese omakase. SimpleVenueā€”the same restaurant group behind the fish-based Sushi by Bouā€”launched the vegan concept in May 2022. If you find yourself stricken with indecision when it comes to menus, youā€™ll be happy to know the spot has only one offering: a 15-course omakase experience. The innovative Truffle Avocado Oshizushi and Watermelon Tartare Nigiri are among my favorite courses. Pro tip: Youā€™ll want to make a reservation in advance, as the restaurant is only open Wednesday to Saturday and offers just a few slots for the omakase experience per night.ā€”Ellen Oā€™Brien

No stranger to the Philly restaurant scene, Mark McKinney pivoted from head chef at several iconic spots to opening up his own restaurant in 2021. A vegan since the 1980s, he created to, as he puts it, ā€œdo no harm to any living thingā€ā€”which for him means an entirely animal-product-free kitchen and one where nothing is fried and everything he serves is market-fresh and locally-sourced. Set in the hip Fishtown neighborhood, the restaurant has a laid-back vibe and serves up eclectic comfort food, from mushroom-and-eggplant burgers to masa ball soup, a combination of matzo ball soup and pozole. One of the most-popular orders is a crispy kimchi pancake that comes topped with roasted celery root sashimi, chia seed caviar, and a brush of spicy gochujang mayo.ā€”Ashley Graef

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Think back to the summer of 2019. Lil Nas Xā€™s ā€œOld Town Roadā€ is playing from passing cars, youā€™ve never heard of COVID, and the cooler at every house party is stocked with cans of hard seltzer. Sales of the drink had reached $627.2 million, , quadrupling year over year and making a billionaire of Anthony von Mandl, the founder of White Claw.

Following this uptick, dozens of companies rushed into the seltzer market and poured huge sums into marketing. But by 2021, those carefree seltzer-slugging days seemed to be behind us: A category that grew 165 percent in 2020 saw . Big names like Coors and Sam Adamsā€™s parent, the Boston Beer Company, found themselves entirely.

That rollback may have left an opening for smaller brands to enter the space. New cans have since arrived on shelves, offering more of a craft take on hard seltzer, similar to the craft-beer movementā€”and in fact, many of them are made by small-scale breweries. This second generation of seltzer has prioritized using real fruit for flavor and keeping ingredient lists minimal. Even sippers who never saw the appeal of a White Claw might well be convinced to set down their Aperol spritz and crack open a can.

We tested an array of these new drinks over two warm evenings in Los Angeles. Here are our notes on the best hard-seltzer options out there right now.

Amass Sun Sign ($55 for 12)

One of the most popular samples in our test group was on seltzer. Notes of vanilla and oak provided a depth beyond the typical fruit flavor, though the mandarin oranges added a lovely citrus element. Itā€™s closer to a cocktail than a LaCroix, and itā€™s the one we would most eagerly buy again.

Madre Desert Water, Grapefruit and Yerba Santa ($41 for eight)

This was delicious, coming in with a little smoke and bite (in a good way), commingled with citrus and herbs; itā€™s a flavor trip to the desert, as the name suggests. It also claims to be infused with adaptogens, plants and fungi that some purport have a variety of wellness-enhancing properties. ā€œThe other drinks all seem summer-specific, but I would drink this one any time of year,ā€ one tester said.

Sprindrift Spiked Sparkling Water, Pineapple ($36 for 12)

Another crowd favorite, this received high marks. Opening the can released a strong, natural pineapple aroma, and the drink went down like a fun, fizzy juice drink. ā€œI could crush these,ā€ noted one reviewer. Her only concern was that it was so quaffable, she might drink several without thinking about the alcohol content.

°ä±ō¾±³¦³óĆ© Wine Seltzer, Mirabelle Plum and Hibiscus ($12 for four)

Developed by Napa Valley winemakers Dave Phinney and Joe Wagner, pitches its chic-looking drink as the hard seltzer for wine lovers. It had the strongest fragrance of anything we reviewed and a bold, sweet flavor that one taster described as akin to ā€œlicking the bottom of a fruit cup.ā€ This was the most divisive seltzer we popped, with tasters either marking it at the top or bottom of their score sheets.

Happy Hour Margarita Seltzer, Passionfruit ($22 for eight)

While a little sticky in the mouth, had a strong and satisfying tequila flavor and mouthfeel. Of the several tequila-based hard seltzers we tried, this one earned the highest marks. If you arenā€™t in the mood to whip up a whole pitcher of actual margaritas, Happy Hour would serve as a solid alternative.

Onda Tequila Seltzer, Pineapple ($65 for 24)

ā€™s can gives off Miami Vice retro-cool vibes, which are so big right now. While most of our tasters enjoyed the drinkā€™s sessionable, not-too-sweet taste, one noted an odd endnote that threw them off. All agreed that we would need to be sitting poolside to properly judge this oneā€”as it seems intended to be consumed.

Modern Times Bubble Party Hard Seltzer, Tangerine Fiesta ($19 for eight)

This had a cereal-like alcohol aroma upon popping the top, with a tangerine flavor that was bright and slightly tart, in a good way. ā€œIt reminds me of an old-school Mikeā€™s Hard Lemonade,ā€ one sipper noted, adding that his comment wasnā€™t entirely a criticism.

Good Sunday Lemon Vodka Soda ($20 for six)

ā€œIt’s giving Pledge,ā€ was the initial response from one taster, a reaction to this ā€™s strong lemon scent and flavor. Others were unbothered by the lemoniness and appreciated the bright and natural citrus flavor, noting that the tartness seemed intentional. Is a canned vodka soda technically a hard seltzer? Maybe not, but it seemed similar enough to warrant inclusion.

Ranch Rider Spirits Co. Ranch Water ($14 for four)

At 5.99 percent alcohol by volume, had the highest ABV of the drinks we sampled. And while others were sweet and fruity, this ranch water was salty, with notes of bitter lime. Tasters thought it needed even more lime, and one reported an ā€œoff-putting leather smellā€ upon popping a can.

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