Triangle VegFest (Durham 2017)

Still filled with throngs of people in the middle of the afternoon, several hours after starting.

Goodie Bag

As with most VegFests, the first x number of attendees is incentivized to show up on time with a goodie bag. The Triangle VegFest bag had the usual offerings of coupons and a few cosmetic samples, but then there was the sampler pack of Dandies marshmallows and the sustainable latex condom.

Receiving a condom in a food festival gift bag is one of the funniest things I've ever had happen to me.

That gift bag is like a vegan date starter kit: use the cosmetics to get ready, the coupon as an excuse to extend your date activities, the marshmallows to innocently invite the person in for hot cocoa, and the condom if things really go well (and you confirmed they don't have a latex allergy).

Baozi Food Truck

The Baozi Food Truck offered three options; I went for the "Kung Pao Soy Vegan BBQ Bao."

There was a good helping of the vegan BBQ nestled in the fluffy bao bun--they didn't skimp out. The toppings were obviously pretty: enoki mushrooms, red peppers (supposedly roasted, but their flavor didn't jump out at you), and shredded cabbage off to the side, keeping the fried rice company.

In being a Carolina native constantly lusting after a veg version of Eastern NC-style pulled pork, I though the BBQ--which I assume was TVP--was a little dry and could have used a dash of marinade or vinegar to offset the sweet sauce. But, as I've said before, not everyone can handle my preference levels for vinegar, so I understand why the food truck would cook to please as many palates as possible.

Overall: delicious and I wish I could eat these fluffy buns more often.

Souly Vegan Cafe

Their sampler plate of a main and three sides in addition to rice.

As you can see, my plate was greens, mac, and gluten-free cornbread alongside the BBQ chick'n.
I rather liked the BBQ sauce over the little bite-sized pieces of toothsome chick'n. The cornbread was a little too sweet for my tastes, but everyone knows Southerners only find perfection in cornbread they style themselves. The mac was the "soupy pasta" variety not the "heart attack casserole" kind I love best, but was still seasoned well. The greens were tender, but not very smoky and needed chili flakes plus vinegar (that's a theme with my country ass).

I really want to go to their brick and mortar location to further explore their menu and keep their business alive, since it's so damn hard to find good vegan soul/Southern food I don't have to cook myself.

Revolution Gelato

A blurry photo of a scoop of their coconut/cashew-based gelato in the espresso flavor. It was so thick and creamy! You'd never guess it was dairy free or had coconut in it, because they did not skip out on the espresso flavor. Gotta watch yourself around this brand or you'll make yourself into a piglet!