Murphys and More

Hello there! I've been meaning to blog for a day or two now, but life has been busy. Hey, it happens. First of all, we were in Murphys all weekend. It's a fantastically cute little town in the middle of the Sierras (think old gold rush town) that's now up and coming wine country and home to a vegetarian restaurant called Mineral. More on Mineral in my next post. We ate there on Saturday, but we arrived hungry on Friday evening. One good thing about Murphys being home to a renowned veg eatery is that most of the other restaurants offer veg-centric entrees as well. Hooray choices! We strolled down Main Street reading menus and scoping vibes and ended on up at the inviting and aromatic Grounds.

First up I had this yummy salad with roasted red peppers and a walnut vinaigrette. It was perfectly dressed and had nice extra crunch from the walnuts. All in all a great start, and it whet my appetite well for my vegtastic entree.

It may be a simple dish - grilled veggies served atop roasted new potatoes (vegetarians get dairy-laden mashed potatoes) - but Ground takes it to another level by cooking their diverse veggies beautifully, seasoning them well with fresh herbs, and presenting them piled high and hot off the grill. This was not your typical bland veggie dish often served up in omnivorous kitchens. It had a depth of flavor and thoughtfulness I really appreciated. Go Grounds!

So that was our first night. Day 2 coming soon, like I said.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd tell you about the fun I had today. My friend Melisser, The Urban Housewife, has a book coming out called The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life (yay!), and today she had a bunch of us gals over for a lunch party photo shoot. The food was amazing, and I had a great time meeting a bunch of other vegan ladies, including our photographer for the day - a blogger I really admire, Nicole. Melisser also made a big announcement: She's moving to Vienna. As in Austria. Awesome for her. Not so awesome for SF, but I wish her well.... err, better than well. I wish her joy and happiness as she spreads the vegan word around the globe!

You can watch her video about it (and keep an eye out for a cameo by yours truly!) HERE.

Have a good night/day/whatever, everyone. I need to get some shut eye....