The Six Best Things I Tried at America's Biggest Gourmet Expo
From snack bars to sweets, what you want to be eating now
Liz took one for the team a few months ago when she conquered Expo, the annual natural products food show, to bring back the crazy (and not always good crazy) trends that we would be seeing in grocery stores this year. I got the more fun gig: a trip to New York City to the Fancy Food Show, where you can find Italian prosciutto, Spanish olive oils, hummus, popsicles, dumplings, pickles, hot sauces, cheese, spritzers, and so, so much Dubai Chocolate.
The Fancy Food Show is much smaller than Expo — only 2,500 exhibitors stretched across some 3 million square feet at the city’s convention center. In addition to the Fancy Food Show, I also attended the much smaller and more manageable Good Food Mercantile, which is run by the folks who put out the Good Food Awards, which is always a worthwhile cheat sheet for high-quality foods.
I wasn’t so much looking for trends but for new food companies with stand-out products, and a good story to boot. In other words, I avoided many of the current fads like probiotic beverages or over-the-top protein snacks. I was on the hunt for foods you want to eat now and that, if they do well at the show, may soon be available near you.
What follows is a list of some of the best things I tasted and foods it seemed like Consumed readers would want to know about. I didn’t include fabulous but already well-known brands. (Think: Jacobsen’s Salt or Mike’s Hot Honey.) And, though none of them are necessarily a bargain, I tried not to pick things that were outrageously expensive to buy or ship. Enjoy!
As Liz knows well, I hate snack bars. The immense category brims with unrealistic promises and misleading claims — and, in my experience, they either taste bad or like nothing at all. But I was wowed by Patter Bar, a new company out of Denver that makes its bars with only mostly organic whole ingredients and delivers on all kinds of claims — dairy free, soy free, seed oil free — without sacrificing taste.
Named for its founder, Patter Gersuk, the bars are a recipe she developed because, like me, she couldn’t find any she liked. Her son-in-law persuaded her to bring them to market. Patter Bars come in six flavors including cherry cacao (my fave), pear and pepita, and blueberry lemon. Note: While there are no added sugars, they are certainly not low sugar. All those delicious dates and other dried fruits are naturally sweet! But if you’re looking for an on-the-go breakfast or a high-energy snack, I’d wager you can’t do much better. (Available in the Denver area or buy online: $19.50 for six.)
The one candy I truly love are York Peppermint Patties. I don’t eat them often enough to concern myself about the ingredient list and as a loyalist I’ve been skeptical of imitators. No more.
At the Good Food Mercantile, I met Mike Seely, a third-generation mint farmer in Oregon. His business — which is not new but new to me! — started by accident in 2007 when a glut of mint on the market drove prices so low it wiped out 44 percent of local growers and threatened to bankrupt him, too. He started taking his mint oil to farmers markets and brought along a few homemade peppermint patties to show customers what they could do with it. Soon the chocolate was the thing, and you can now buy Seely’s treats in Whole Foods nationwide. These patties are made with real mint oil — not the synthetic stuff — and have a bright, almost spicy punch. Coming this fall, a strawberry-mint patty that tastes as good as it sounds. (Available at Whole Foods for $2.49 per patty and at other retailers or online.)
It wouldn’t be a 2025 food roundup without some tinned fish. And while I’m quietly tiring of the trend — aspiring brands focus more on the pretty packaging than the actual seafood — once in while I still find one that impresses me. In this case, it was Nice Cans’ Sardines in Tomatoes and Pepper. The fish was meaty without a trace of the fishiness that terrifies tinned fish skeptics, and had a round, almost jammy, sweetness from the tomatoes.
Even better, the friendly guy at the booth was a burly, bearded Canuck named Moose, who amped up my already feverish desire for a Canadian passport! (Get it? Nice Cans!) The brand only just launched in April but you can find the company’s three flavors online: $7.65 per tin.
I love a good, wholesome cracker, one that holds its own on a cheeseboard rather than just serving as a delivery vehicle for Brie. The one produced by Norwegian Baked (a company that, contrary to its name, is based in Brooklyn), is my new favorite. Called “crispbread” in Norway, it’s made with organic rye flour and packed with seeds: sunflower, pumpkin, flax, and sesame which include fiber and healthy fats. And you don’t have to only serve it with cheese. It would be divine with a smear of good, salted butter and smoked salmon … or, for extra heft, with peanut butter and jelly. Try the classic Sea Salt Flakes flavor, but the Lemon-Rosemary is also a treat. (Available at various New York retailers including Fresh Direct, and online, $12.95 per bag.)
Allo Simonne Chocolate-Hazelnut Spreads
It is hard to believe, but somehow true, that Allo Simonne, a Montreal chocolatier, has created natural chocolate hazelnut spreads with only 5 grams of sugar per tablespoon. My first taste was the Jaguar spread, the closest to a traditional Nutella. It was deeply chocolatey (unlike Nutella) and super creamy even though it’s made with dark, not milk, chocolate. But the standout was Sarrasin, which was crunchy with earthy nibbles of buckwheat that were both surprising and made perfect sense. (Two great flavors that go great together!) Allo Simonne also makes beautiful chocolate bars and other treats. All come in gorgeously colorful packaging that makes them a perfect gift for someone you love—or for yourself. Buy online for about $12 for a 7.7 oz jar.
Phish is one of the highest-grossing touring bands of all time. So what happens when a global pandemic grounds them? Lead singer Trey Anastasio heads to the kitchen to develop an excellent frozen burrito.
I know what you’re thinking! Frozen food is mediocre. But the freezer is our friend! It’s the only way to make convenience foods without all those ultra-processed preservatives and stabilizers. Heated up on a griddle (not the microwave, which is also an option), Sous Casa’s burritos tasted as good as the ones from your favorite food truck; I particularly liked the spicy chorizo-and-cheese option. Sous Casa products, which come in plastic-free, ready-to-eat-in-the-car packaging, are currently only available in the Richmond area and online for $6.25 each. But these are worth ordering — and asking your retailer to carry!