And a Great Time Was Had By All...

Joselle and Brian left this morning (sniff sniff) and things are quiet around here. We had a great time, and I hope to see them both when I'm on the east coast later this month. Meanwhile, let's talk about food....

Both J and B were set on going to Herbivore, and you never have to twist my arm, so off we went, meeting up with another NJ transplant and old friend along the way. We shared the vegetable platter to start, and I always recommend this to people. It's a pile of grilled veggies, 3 yummy dipping sauces, and some bread. It was a great appetizer for the four of us. Good value, great taste, can't beat it. Moving along, here are our 4 entrees:





















I had what I like to call the big-ass salad. Not quite as big as the ones I make at home, but close. The dijon dressing and the avocados make every bit delicious. I know what you're thinking - "Just a salad?" - but I was saving room for dessert. :) Meanwhile, Joselle had the veggie and tofu skewers, Brian had the potato pie, and our other pal had the curry noodles. All my friends managed to get things off the menu that I've never tried. They all looked and smelled really good though, and judging by the happy "mmmm....." sounds I heard, it's safe to say they were.

Our friend had to take off, and rather than doing dessert at Herbivore, we opted to head up to Bernal Heights for the best vegan ice cream in San Francisco: Maggie Mudd. Joselle restrained herself and had a simple small sugar cone of Mudslide. That particular flavor is one of MM's coconut-based ice creams, all of which are a bit too, well, coconuty, for me. I went for the mini-sundae you see below with Peanut Butter Palooka. Heaven. I can close my eyes and still taste it. So good. Falling into the category of "no-holds-barred," was Brian's banana split. I'm pretty sure that every time someone finishes one of these bad boys, a vegan angle gets her wings. Brian navigated his way gracefully through this massive task, and while he experienced slight discomfort afterwards, he enjoyed every sugary, creamy minute of it.











The next day was typical San Francisco summer, which is to say cold and foggy. In my humble opinion, nothing is more warming and satisfying that Ethiopian/Eritrean food on such a day. There are a few decent places in the city, but I really love Assab on Geary. They are always happy to remove any dairy, and the flavors are so dang fresh and spicy. I had the veggie combo and it was scrumptious. After dinner, we headed out to Ocean Beach just for giggles. It was a true SF in July experience, complete with coats and scarves. Just for contrast, here's the beach and the necessary fuel for dealing with it:












So that was about it. J and B did a bunch of stuff on their own after that, which I'm sure they'll post about on their blog. Oh, I will mention that while those guys were off on their own, me and the husband were down in Palo Alto and had dinner at Bella Luna. Vegans, this place should come with a warning. ALL the pasta has egg in it, which means nothing but salads for us. PLUS, none of the dressings are vegan, so we're stuck with oil and vinegar. Not pleasant. My husband had the fettucine and was not impressed either. Stay away. Glad I got that out of my system...
Now it's time for me and the hubby to prepare for our Florida trip. Hard to believe, but Saturday night I'll be dining at Sublime. I've wanted to do so ever since reading about it years and years ago, so stay tuned!