Golden Krust Vegetable Patty Vs Beef

I tried the meatless Jamaican patty Lizzo raved about on Instagram, and the vegan version has most of the spices and heat of the original

lizzo_thumb — Left: Lizzo on Instagram with the vegan patty. Right: The author with her version.

On October 26, Lizzo went live on Instagram to talk to her fans while eating a vegan Jamaican patty.
The Grammy-winning singer said that the plant-based Beyond Meat patty, encased in golden pastry, gave her a "mouthgasm."
The meatless patties from Golden Krust are meant to taste similar to beef patties, a company spokesperson told Insider.
I tried two vegan patties, one alone and one with coco bread, and a beef patty.
While the original beef patty was delicious and still my favorite, I can see myself moving away from it and choosing the vegan version instead.
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Pop superstar Lizzo went on Instagram Live on October 26 for three important reasons: to remind people to vote, to tell them to watch Harry Styles' latest music video, and to rave about vegan Jamaican patties.

"I had the best f****** mouthgasm of my life," the singer said while digging into the golden brown pastry, filled with plant-based Beyond Meat, made by New York City-based Caribbean chain restaurant Golden Krust.

Lizzo, who has been publicly vegan for nearly seven months now, commented on the flavor, the flakiness, and how similar it tastes to regular beef patties, while frequently breaking into song.

After she finished eating the first one, she gave viewers a quick peek at her table, which was covered with flakes of pastry. "Now this is what I am talking about. It needs to be a mess," Lizzo said.

Steven Clarke, a Golden Krust spokesperson, told Insider that the patties are meant to taste like their beef patties.

"We have seen that folks have stopped eating as much beef for dietary reasons, primarily, and we wanted to be inclusive and offer our traditional layer of flaky crust with a Beyond Beef filling, or plant-based filling," he said.

Clarke explained that the vegan pastry is supposed to have the same flavor and is seasoned just like their regular beef patties. He added that they've seen an increase in engagement on social media and questions from consumers after Lizzo posted about the patties.

Lizzo cooked up her own version of homemade vegan patties in May and shared the video on TikTok. Clarke told Insider that Golden Krust saw Lizzo's video back in the summer and made a note to send her a box of their vegan patties after the October 23 release.

I compared Golden Krust's vegan patty (which I tried on its own and also sandwiched between the coco bread Lizzo said she was craving) and the chain's original beef patty. While the one with meat is still my favorite, the vegan version is a great alternative, with the same recognizable blend of spices and most of the heat of the original.

According to Culture Trip, a Jamaican patty is a golden semi-circle pastry filled with meat, spices, vegetables, and sometimes even fruit. It's similar to a baked empanada.

A Jamaican patty served with dipping sauce.

Source: Culture Trip

As a Jamaican patty lover and a big Lizzo fan, I knew I had to try Golden Krust's vegan patty after seeing the pop star rave about it on Instagram on October 26.

Lizzo eating vegan patties on her Instagram.

Golden Krust is an NYC-based fast casual chain specializing in Caribbean cuisine.

Source: Golden Krust

I learned that not all Golden Krust locations are serving the vegan patties when I asked about their availability. Luckily, I managed to find one store that had them only about a mile away from where I live.

The author holding a Golden Krust patty.

I ordered one spicy beef patty and two of the spicy vegan patties Lizzo had — one to try on its own and the other to have with coco bread.

Left: Regular spicy beef patty, Right: Vegan spicy patty.

The vegan patties and the beef patty looked similar, with the same golden pastry and crimped edges, but the regular one was more uniformly golden. The vegan versions were darker in a few spots.

The beef patty (left) has a brighter golden pastry compared to the vegan one.

When I held them in my hand, the beef patty also felt sturdier than the vegan one.

The vegan (right) and regular beef pasty (left) on a plate together.

I started with one of the vegan patties. It was flavorful with a great blend of spices and had a nice kick of heat to it, which I enjoyed.

I love spicy food, and the patty was exactly as advertised. I have eaten many beef patties in the past, and this meatless version definitely hit all the right notes.

However, the pastry in my patty was nowhere near as flaky as Lizzo's. Here's a side-by-side comparison, with my patty flakes on the left and Lizzo's on the right.

My patty was not nearly as flaky as Lizzo's.

I was so hungry when I started the taste test, I quickly finished up the first patty. I continued to the next item, already feeling very full.

I finished the first vegan patty because I was so hungry and it was so delicious.

I tried the beef patty next. As soon as I took my first bite, a beautiful blend of spices hit me and I quickly realized why it's one of Golden Krust's most popular items.

It had the same flavors as the vegan one, but those flavors were more pronounced. It packed roughly the same level of heat, though the meat patty may have been slightly spicier.

It also had the unmistakable flavor of meat that the vegan patty didn't, which was to be expected.

Even though they looked very similar from the outside, the beef patty was a lot flakier than its vegan counterpart. It was so flaky, I even had to clean the area around the table.

The flakes left on the plate after the beef patty.

During her Instagram live, parts of which were later uploaded to her story, Lizzo repeatedly mentioned wanting coco bread.

On the live, Lizzo mentioned she's on the hunt for good coco bread.

Coco bread is a sweetened bread made with flour and milk, according to the culinary website Immaculate Bites.

The coco bread I bought at Golden Krust.

Source: Immaculate Bites

Steven Clarke, a Golden Krust spokesperson, told Insider that they'd sent Lizzo some of their coco bread so she should be all set for next time that craving hits.

The vegan patty that had Lizzo craving coco bread.

For the last portion of my taste test, I put the second vegan patty inside some coco bread I got at Golden Krust — in honor of Lizzo, of course.

The vegan patty in between two slices of coco bread.

It was messy but delicious. The sweetness of the coco bread perfectly balanced the spicy patty. I went back for second and third bites.

The partially eaten coco bread and vegan patty.

Overall, the best thing I ate in this taste test was the coco bread with the vegan patty. But if we're judging by patty alone, the beef version is still my favorite.

The coco bread with vegan patty was my favorite thing in the test.

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).

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Source: https://www.insider.com/taste-test-lizzo-golden-krust-vegan-jamaican-patties-2020-11