Vegan Fried Chicken Outtakes 🍿

As I move into Round 2 of the Vegan Fried Chicken Showdown, I need to purge some chicken-y visits… and make the, I swear, final adjustment to the official brackets.

Before creating my brackets, I did some preliminary research. Then, I hastily made half battle visits… visits I can no longer write about in an informed way because they were a while ago. Starting with this trip to Modern Love Brooklyn. I got their Brooklyn Fried Tofu platter to go. “To go” made it not a fair battle as it sat in its own steam all the way to Brighton Beach from Williamsburg. Sogged it out substantially. And now, they have a vegan fried chicken sandwich on the brunch menu. I can’t wait to that face-off with Renegades of Sunset.

Hello, gorgeous.

Yikes, that very same day a friend and I hit Hartbreakers. I was blown away by their vegan fried chicken previously… but this time it was way too salty. It was barely edible it was so salty! And I don’t want to lose their battle with Orchard Grocer on a fluke.

Their seitan was also way dense during this visit, as you can see.

And this is just way too much seitan. These strips were so salty too.

So I am officially taking Bad Gyal Vegan off the brackets. The crisp and crag is to die for but I need to stay true to the no processed soy protein rule in my battle. Things are evolving so quickly and cannot overlook that the base is a packaged/frozen food product.

If this was solely a crag battle then… that’d be a different story.

Taking their place, newcomer Petsico Vegano‘s Coconut Fried Tofu Sandwich.

And some baos I had in waiting in the Bao Super Bowl. These first ones are from the all-vegan Spring Cafe in Chinatown. Really good price though they needed something more. They were bean curd skin. What do you think of that stuff?

Ah, summer manicures.

And I don’t even remember where this bao was from!!

Ok. Now I am ready for Round 2 of the Vegan Fried Chicken Battle. (Cracks knuckles)