The Texas Restaurant Association Marketplace, held last weekend in Houston, offered a range of interesting products for Mexican and other Latin-cuisine restaurants. El Restaurante publisher Ed Avis was in el Restaurante’s booth during the show, and he had time to notice the following products:
Unusual Empanadas
Handheld Latin snacks were popular. D’gusto Foods and Dona Carmen both exhibited their
Dona Carmen Empanadas
Dona Carmen Empanadas
versions of empanadas, which came in the usual flavors and a range of innovative tastes. For example, D’gusto’s empanadas includes buffalo chicken, chicken jalapeno, Hawaiian, and fish. And Dona Carmen’s line includes chicken tinga, spinach and cheese, and black bean.
Tasty Beverages
Not surprisingly, the cocktail section of the Marketplace was highly popular. Among the interesting Latin-themed exhibitors were Triple-S Michelada Mix, which provides a simple and consistent way to make that popular Mexican cocktail; and Kelvin Slush Co., which makes premium organic frozen margarita mix. It’s amazing how delicious a high-quality, organic margarita slush can taste!
Keep it Fresh
Two companies were exhibiting products to keep mashed avocadoes and other vegetables fresh, NatureSeal and Avofresco. Both products were being demonstrated, and indeed the hours-old guacamole looked as good as the fresh!
Crunchy Bugs
Perhaps the most unusual food item at the Marketplace was crickets! These critters, grown in Houston, were being exhibited by a company called Aketta. They are crunchy and, when seasoned well, delicious.