Street Beet: McDaddy’s

The Street Beet team has done it again! Street Beet, is a vegan popup that cooks up their versions of fast food menu items. Previous pop ups included Vegan Taco Hell, Pizza Butt, Kentucky Fake Chicken. The latest popup featured their take on McDonald’s, offering items such as the McRibby and Filet No Fish. Street Beet’s popups are a place where vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters come together to experience Street Beet’s tasty creations. People come from all over to try Street Beet’s menu. One of the guy’s sitting next to us, traveled over an hour from Ohio. Check it!

McFake Chicken

Fried fake chicken patty, mayo, lettuce, bun. Look at that big, thick, juicy patty! Classic McChicken seasonings, crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside. This McFake Chicken hit the spot!

Filet No Fish

Tofish filet patty, tartar sauce, cheddar slice, bun. This was my favorite! Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. The tartar sauce added a nice tang, a bit more than a standard tartar sauce. The Cheddar slice tied it all together.

McRibby

Smoked yuba, BBQ sauce, pickled, onions, bun. This was my first time trying yuba, which is thin tofu skin made from soybeans. The thinly sliced yuba had an interesting texture, almost meat like. The BBQ sauce is what really drove this sandwich home. It was sweet, rich, and smoky. The pickles and onions added a nice crunch and freshness.

French Fries

Shoestring fries. These tasted just like McDonald’s fries! Crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, generously salted and lightly golden.

Blue Oreo McFlirty

Ice Cream Plant blue moon, gluten free Oreos. Superman ice cream is one of my favorites, so naturally, I had to try this McFlirty made with blue moon ice cream. For those of you that don’t know, blue moon is one of the flavors in Superman ice cream. So, think the deliciousness of Blue Moon ice cream with Oreos! It was good!

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Now, that we drooled over the food, let’s get to know the ladies behind Street Beet, Nina Paletta and Meghan Shaw.

Where are you ladies from/where did you grow up?

Both grew up in suburbs of Metro Detroit, Nina in Commerce and Meghan in Woodhaven.

Where did the idea of recreating fast food favorites come from?

We wanted to recreate food that makes you feel nostalgic, but in a more quality, healthy, cruelty-free manner.

What does the menu creation process look like? How do you get the flavors so close to the real thing?

During the creation of our menus, we experiment with ingredients that allow for the flavor profile to be reminiscent of what we are recreating. For example, when we are creating a fish substitute we incorporate sea vegetables into the recipe to give it the umami seafood flavor we are seeking.  Often times with creative use of ingredients, marinating, seasoning, condiments, and cooking styles we are able to achieve a result that is equally as delicious and strikingly similar to the real thing.

What fast food menu will you be vegan-izing next? 

Wendy’s.

Do you have plans for a permanent restaurant? If so, when can we expect it’s opening? Location?

We do! We are currently working on securing a permanent location. We will announce details as soon as anything becomes official.

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If you weren’t able to make it out to McDaddy’s, don’t worry. Street Beet hosts their popups pretty frequently. Check out the below events list so you don’t miss one of Street Beet’s next pop ups:

• Kentucky Fake Chicken & Waffle Cones: July 12th, 6PM @ Sanctuary Detroit, Hamtramck
• Kentucky Fake Chicken, July 17th, 6PM @ Nancy Whiskey’s, Corktown, Detroit
• Vegan Taco Hell: July 23rd, 4PM @ PJ’s Lager House, Corktown, Detroit
• MoPop Festival: July 27th & 28th @ West RiverFront Park, Detroit