Casual Dining in Sydney

We were lucky enough to have had some fantastic high-end meals in Australia, but we also enjoyed some tasty and cheap (well, relatively, considering Australia is hella expensive!) food as we wandered around Sydney. For example, as we strolled along Bondi Beach, we came across the Beach Burrito Company, which advertised "San Francisco Style Burritos." Of course we had to check it out.

Chips, salsa, and guacamole were gobbled up while we waited (a lot longer than we would have in SF) for our burritos. The guac had red pepper flakes on it. Still not sure how I feel about that. In any case.....The burritos finally arrived. To be fair, the place was packed on a sunny Saturday and we were content to relax and let the ocean breeze swirl around us, so no big deal that they took a while.

The burritos themselves were not quite SF quality, but they were tasty enough. My "garden" version was chock full of crunchy veggies, and not nearly enough guacamole, rice, and beans, for my liking. However, the burrito craving I'd been having was satisfied, and the atmosphere was great, so win.

Back down town, we found the best burger place, aptly named Burgerlicious. They have 4 veggie burgers, all of which can be veganized by taking off cheese, if it even comes with any. My inherently vegan "Big Veg" (above) was dressed up with mushrooms, roasted red pepper, avocado, hummus, and beetroot. It was, in fact, this burger that started my love affair with beetroot dip. You can find it all over Australia and it is a mouth watering combination of beets, vinegar, and spices. But I digress.... this burger was so awesome, and the fries (advertised as cooked in 100% vegan cottonseed oil!) were crispy perfection. I wish we had made it back to Burgerlicious so I could have tried the other offerings. Next trip, I suppose.

Up next, some fancy eats in Sydney and beyond. Stay tuned... and have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Balinese Bites

I'm back! We had an amazing trip to Bali and Australia and I can't wait to share with you some of the delicious eats we had on our journey. Join me as we find ourselves in Seminyak, Bali. Most of the eateries in this town have some vegan offering, but there is a real gem among them all: Zula Vegetarian Paradise. This all-vegan eatery served up some of the best food we ate on our whole trip. While in Seminyak for 4 days, we actually went there 4 times, enjoying breakfast, lunch, and dinner! For proof, here's a photo of each:

Up first, a breakfast of scrambled tofu, steamed greens, and baked pumpkin. That's sage on that pumpkin and it was delicious! So was the tofu. It appeared to be devoid of seasoning but I assure you that was not the case. Seasoned with magic. The perfect way to start the day.

Up next was lunch. This huge salad was topped with some of the tastiest tempeh I ever did have. We heard rumors on our trip that tempeh was invented in Indonesia and while I'm not sure, I believe it. I have never had tempeh as firm and flavorful as I had in Bali, and this salad was no exception. Wish I had some now....

For dinner we split this feast of savory and filling sweet potato soup and I had a Mediterranean plate of falafel, hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh, pickled vegetables, and this red pepper relish thing that was so insanely good I asked for gobs more. This alone was as good, if not better, than all the Mediterranean places in SF, PLUS the pita was to die for. Light and fluffy and warm. Best pita ever.

Other than a chef who came to cook for me and my 16 friends in Uluwatu, Bali, the rest of our meals here were just sort of meh. Good eats awaited us in Australia though.... so stay tuned!

Metro North, Princeton NJ

This will be a quick post, as I'm packing and preparing to leave tomorrow for Bali and Australia, but I wanted to let you know about the lovely experience I had at Metro North Restaurant in Princeton, NJ last week. My cousins had raved about the place, and the menu seemed to have some veganizable items, so off we went. The atmosphere is cozy despite the fact that it is a HUGE space, with a fireplace, dim (but not too dim) lighting, and tables spaced far enough away from each other that you don't feel like your intruding on your neighbor's meal. And, indeed, there is vegan food to be had....

Nothing is inherently vegan except the mixed greens salad, which (of course) I had. It was a good salad, but not great. Whatever, I got my greens. What was great, however, is the Mediterranean Platter. When you take away the feta and focaccia crisps (both not vegan) it becomes roasted red pepper hummus with olive tapenade, crackers, and veggies.... but it's still really good I swear!

Even more delicious was my pizza (sans cheese of course) with mushrooms. Really nice sauce and good quality olive oil make all the difference here. I know that cheeseless pizza and hummus and high on the list of things vegans hate ordering in omni restaurants, but Metro North's versions may change a few minds. My husband also really liked his roasted portobello sandwich with a side of broccoli rabe instead of potato salad.

Anyway, Metro North is a lovely place to eat well with others in NJ. I'm off to finish packing. I look forward to sharing all the vegan goodies I discover in Bali and Australia when I'm back at the end of January. Meanwhile, have a mightily happy new year, everyone! Eat well!

My New Love, Samovar Tea Lounge

A while ago, there was a Groupon for Samovar Tea Lounge. I scoped the menu online, decided it was vegan-friendly enough and then proceeded to forget all about it. Meanwhile, a vegan friend of mine who is more on top of her game snatched it up, went, and told me all about what I was missing. I was jealous at first, but then happy to know that there is even more good vegan food in San Francisco that I was previously aware of. Plus, it comes with tea!

Needless to say when they ran another Groupon recently, I was on it, and last weekend the husband and I tried it out. That is my incredibly mellow and lovely mint tea, above, which was served as part of their "Moorish Service", easily veganized by switching out the cheese for tofu. Check it out:

Ok these crazy bad phone pics do this food no justice, so forgive me. Next time I'll bring a real camera. Anyhoo, up front you see their super-flavorful marinated tofu over greens with a tarragon vinaigrette. In the middle are the two dishes of roasted eggplant (to make up for the lack of yogurt it normally comes with) and one dish of hummus. The hummus was just alright but the eggplant had a deep and rich smoky flavor I loved. The crackers this meal was served with were also quite tasty, and the meal was rounded out with two mint-stuffed dates. The entire experience - from food to service to ambiance - was just wonderful, and I'm already looking forward to going back and trying some of their other vegan options. To note: I went to the location in Hayes Valley and each outpost has a slightly different menu, so just check online before you go.

In other news, the holidays are closing in like something that closes in really fast, and between my parents visiting and us traveling to Bali and Australia, I may not get to write for a while. I'll still be posting regularly over at Vegan Favorites, though, so stay tuned over there. Here's hoping you have a wonderful holiday season - full of laughter, love, and eating well!

Ubuntu, Now Closed

I was lucky enough get into Ubuntu for dinner on the last weekend they were open. They officially closed for the winter on November 21st, so even though I've been to Ubuntu a ton(including an amazing meal this past May, I feel compelled to share this last little ditty with you, lest they never reopen their doors. But, they will, I hope, because veg dining inNapa has never had it so good. A quick rundown of our last supper:

Olives and almonds. Always on the menu, always incredible. This time was no exception.

Thai curry coconut soup. My second most favorite course of the evening. This really popped

with authentic Thai flavor. Well done, Ubuntu.

Roasted beet and fennel art. As tasty as it is pretty.

The infamous "Garden Snake" salad. So lightly dressed it can be off-putting to those who haven't tasted their veggies naked, but I LOVE it.

And there it is folks, the best thing on the whole darn menu, always. The Rancho Gordo bean stew. I dare you to find a bean stew you love more anywhere on the planet. So savory and rich and wonderful... it's just crazy how good it is. We asked for more. And by we I mean my husband who guarded his extra bowl with his life until he had slurped up every last drop. Lucky dude.

Roasted butternut squash and house-made focaccia bread. A new fall classic. But it's no bean stew. :)

Dessert this time was terribly underwhelming. This hodgepodge of veggies was more savory than sweet and screamed, "We didn't plan for a vegan dessert on our second-to-last night of being open." Oh well, the rest of the meal made up for it.

So there you have it - no more Ubuntu postings until they reopen, folks. Up next? I fall completely head-over-heels in love for a vegan tea service. Stay tuned!

Another Guest Post: Papa Ganache in Keyport, NJ

My wacky parents are at it again! Always on the hunt for good vegan food, they stayed a bit closer to home this time but still found a real gem. I'm really jealous, as this is a place I've wanted to go for a while. We just never seem to find the time when I'm visiting NJ. Now that they've experienced it, however, I have a feeling it won't take much arm twisting to get them to go back. Here's their story:

Today we headed to Red Bank for lunch at Pizza Fusion (great, as usual). Afterward, I got out the smartphone and googled Papa Ganache, a vegan bakery we've heard of but had never been to. It's in Keyport which is a bit far to drive just for a cupcake but, today, we were already in Red Bank so we were right in the neighborhood… more or less. So, GPS in hand, we made our way to 25 Church St. Sharing a storefront with other businesses, Papa Ganache isn't huge but is instantly charming.

When we walked in, I only had one question..."What's vegan?" The answer was, "Everything." Good answer. At that point, the only problem was keeping our purchase down to an amount that seemed reasonable for two people. Everything looked so delicious! We picked a few choice goodies, had them box 'em up, and got out of there while we still had our wits about us. (An all-vegan bakery case can be quite intoxicating!)

In the photo, you can see most of our choices this day (we WILL be back!). In front, you see the chocolate chipwich and the smaller, heart-shaped, whoopie pie. The two cupcakes in the back are the chocolate/chocolate on the right and, to the left, the "Dripping Elvis", a banana cupcake with peanut butter icing, crushed peanuts, dried banana slice and a chocolate drizzle. Finally, to the right, tomorrow's breakfast...a blueberry/lemon muffin and a pumpkin crumble muffin.

I said that these were most of our choices because Joan also got a chocolate chip cookie and I got one of those whoopie pies "for the road". They were, predictably, amazing and leave us thinking that the rest of these goodies will be so as well.

That's the story. Now it's about time for me to stop typing and start enjoying that chocolate/chocolate cupcake!!!

So there you have it folks. Makes you want to take a trip to NJ, right? Things have been busy here at EWWO headquarters lately, but I promise to actually write a post of my own sometime in the relatively near future. Meanwhile, I hope you are eating well and making sweet memories all your own.

Guest Post! Lambs Bread in Columbia, SC

Now that my parents are both retired, they have taken to doing crazy things like going on road trips to South Carolina (and beyond!), looking up meals on Happy Cow along the way. On a recent expedition, they found themselves at Lambs Bread. Here's what my dad had to say:

The story goes like this... A search of Happy Cow came up with only one vegan restaurant in Columbia: Lambs Bread. Off we went with our GPS in hand and finally came to a store front in an otherwise dark block of Main St.

Most vegan restaurants can be preppy or new-agey so we weren't expecting one filled with African art. In fact, one side of the room was a virtual altar of objets de Afrique:

Also most unexpected was our host, the proprietor of this establishment, Khurhu, whose business card lists him as "demon slayer":

We were the only customers there as it was a Tuesday night, and we had some great conversation with Khurhu. There are no menus - just a whiteboard listing some basic sandwiches (vegan cheesesteaks etc.) but the real food was broken into proteins and sides. A small plate was a protein and two sides; large was a protein and three sides. We ordered small plates. One came with coconut curry tofu and one with "beef tips". We also ordered a bowl of black bean soup to share. But, when the Khurhu brought the food to our table, he explained that since it was late he gave us extra sides.

So we had white beans, rutabaga, sweet potato, cabbage, collards, kale.....a whole heap of goodness. The overall feel was very "soul food" but with vegan proteins. As such, the food was substantial as well as delicious and we ended up taking some home. Khurhu was a true delight. A vegan for over forty years, he also runs a store called The Oracle Speaks which specialized in African arts, oils, incense, candle, drums, etc. He described himself as a sun king and explained Lambs Bread as referring to the idea that food generates spirit, so purity and non-cruelty are key. Or something like that. Overall, a most enjoyable evening.

So there you have it. If my folks should end up anywhere else interesting and tasty, I'll have them post again. Meanwhile, stay tuned for Napa eats... and have a fantastic Thanksgiving!