NJ/NYC Eats Galore!

I was in NJ last week for my cousin's fabulous wedding and, of course, there was much dining out involved.  Here's a quick run down of some of the best:

The first meal of my trip was at Subia's Organic Market.  All the food at this Jersey City shop is vegan and everything we tried was yummy.  Check it out...

Hummus salad perfection.  This is exactly what I love to eat for lunch at home and it was perfect for getting over my major jetlag.

My companion loved his "pastrami" sandwich too.  On a hearty bun and served with a side salad, this is a plate of pure goodness.  This little market with a deli counter is something every town should have. Jersey Cityians, you be lucky.

That night, I was in NYC with friends at Bosie Tea House and started with this hearty and flavor-packed quinoa salad.  For my entree, I went with the marinated tofu panini:

Yum!  With avocado and a sun-dried tomato spread, this was the perfect meal to fuel me up for a night on the town.  The next day, I was in need of hangover food, starting with...

Hummus and pita at Pamir in Morristown.  I love this this app comes with spicy chili sauce and cool cilantro sauce.  Extra flavor is always a good thing!  This Afghani restaurant has a ton of vegan options - from salads to dolmas to entrees - but this was all I managed to get a picture of in my tired state.  Still, I highly recommend this place if you're in the area.

That night I really got my feast on at the all-veg Kaya's Kitchen in Belmar.  That's the appetizer platter, above and everything from the nuggets to the buffalo wings to the potato salad is drool worthy, but still not as good as my burger.

I got mine Jersey style, with veggie bacon and mayo... and with fries of course!  Delish.  What hangover?   :)  And for dessert???

Kaya's carries desserts from the infamously amazing (winner of Food Network's Cupcake Wars!) and all-vegan Papa Ganache, which is just a few minutes away from Kaya's.  Our table tried four different cupcakes and these two ginormous pieces of cake.  All incredible!  I only wish I had gotten to Papa Ganache itself to sample even more of their offerings (they have savory stuff too).  Next time for sure!

The next few days were filled with wedding-related events and I have to thank my family for providing vegan options for me (not to mention my vegan parents and aunt, woo-hoo!).  After that, there was only one place in NJ I wanted to go. Sapthagiri, of course!

Central New Jersey has a very large Indian population, and with that comes some of the best Indian food around.  My favorite?  The dosas, like this one from Sapthagiri's Franklin Park location.  Everything they offer on the large (and well marked with vegan options) menu is flavor-packed (try the Masala Vada and meyer lemon pickles!) and craveable.  If you're around, you must go.

Honorable mention goes to the veggies and spiced carrot hummus sandwich at The Alchemist and Barrister in Princeton (sorry for the bad picture) and all the vegan options at YaYa Noodles in Montgomery, especially the General Tso's Tofu.  No picture, but trust me.

Phew, that was a lot of eating!  Tomorrow's my birthday and I promise to tell you all about my all-vegan dinner (complete with cake of course!) once I get some photos.  After that, this bod needs a cleanse, so stay tuned for some home cooking ideas for once!  Have a great weekend, y'all.

The Slanted Door

If you love the menu at Out the Door (and you know I do) then you should really get to thee to the original, and dine at The Slanted Door.  It takes forever to get a reservation, but the location (in the Ferry Building, with sweeping views of the Bay Bridge), service, and vegan offerings, can't be beat.  We had all our standard OTD faves on our visit last weekend, along with copious amounts of a lovely muscadet (thank you, kickass sommelier), and this tasty and refreshing treat to cap off our visit:

That is their coconut lime sorbet and it alone is worth the trip.  After some spicy lemongrass tofu and smoky chard, it is the perfect way to end your time at The Slanted Door.

I'm off to NJ for my cousin's wedding this week, so stay tuned for some NJ eats soon!   Have a great week, y'all.

Bay Area Updates

Howdy Bay Area!  I had a tasty weekend and just wanted to post a quick update on two faves.  First of all, DOSA has a special collard greens and sweet pepper dosa on offer, and it is outstanding:

Really, the addition of the slightly bitter greens and sweet roasted peppers to the regular (and already stellar) masala potato filling is pretty genius.  I hope this dosa sticks around on the menu for a while, ala their also incredible white truffle dosa, because I need to get it in my mouth as many times as possible.  Yum!  Now, let's head south a little, shall we?

You're probably thinking that salad looks a little familiar and wondering exactly how far south I traveled, right?  Well, that IS the All Hail Kale salad from Veggie Grill (aka my favorite salad in the world), but I didn't have to travel to L.A. to have it.  Instead, I just took a road trip to San Jose, where VG's latest outpost is turning omnivores into vegheads, one delicious meal at a time.  Now, if only they could get a palce in San Francisco up and running.  They're up to about 20 locations and counting, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Hope you all are enjoying some good veg eats out there.  Stay yummy, y'all!

Bun Mee

Today's post is about yet another place I've been meaning to get to for some time, and I will soon go back, as all the food was so good!  I am quite a lucky gal since these tasty dishes live not many blocks from my house, at Bun Mee.  It's a play on the Vietnamese sandwich banh mi, get it?  Anyway, peep the eats:

First up, fresh spring rolls.  Packed with tofu and noodles and herbs and veggies, these are some of the best in town.  Peanut dipping sauce also stellar.  Sriracha on every table? Perfection.  Just beyond the rolls you can see the also delicious mango sesame salad.  It's tart and bright thanks to the lime juice and ginger and is a great palate cleanser before moving on to the main deal, this Saigon Peanut Rice Bowl with Tofu:

So pretty, right?  The tofu and peanut sauce alone would have been divine but the addition of pickled papaya (say that three times fast) and jalapeno really makes this dish sing.  A lovely blend of textures and flavors that covers all the bases.  The husband tried their vegan banh mi sandwich and loved it, and there are some other vegan options on the menu too, so another trip is definitely in order.

That's is for now but I'll be back soon with some vegan eats from Vegas, baby.  I'm headed there for a vegan friend's bachelorette party, so you know there'll be some yums.  Have a great week, everyone!

Off the Grid

I have no idea why it took me so long to get to Off the Grid at Fort Mason.  It's near my house, has great music being dj'ed, a good vibe, and is full of reasonably priced vegan offerings.  Talk about missing out!  Luckily, it's still going strong and I finally made my way to this weekly meet up of dozens of food trucks, carts, and stands last night, and I'm already looking forward to the next one.  Look at some of the yums:

The husband and I shared this plethora of goodies.  Top left is the "deconstructed samosa" from Curry Up Now.  Smashed samosa on top of turmeric rice with diced raw tomato and onion and mint chutney drizzle.  Flavor-packed and filling.  Next door at twelve o'clock are fresh tofu spring rolls from Little Green Cyclo.  Not the best I've ever had, but decent.  However, they do make the best ever on planet Earth sweet potato tator tots (3 o'clock).  Those bad boys are addictive as all get out and I want more right now.  So good.  Up front is the "donburri" plate from Onigilly.  This rice dish comes with edamame, a side salad (some of the only fresh greens to be found in all the trucks!), and your choice of toppings.  I got all three vegan options - the shiitake mushrooms, hijiki seaweed and umeboshi plums.  All were good, maybe a bit salty, but I like salt.  :)

Fact:  From here on out, Off the Grid is where you'll find me on any given Friday night with good weather.  Hope to see you there, something vegan in your hands!

Tarla Grill, Napa

I love me a gorgeous day in wine country, and this past Wednesday was one of the most lovely I've ever experienced.  Not a cloud in the sky, warm breezes, delectable wines, and a stop at a new-to-me spot for lunch that really wowed both the vegans and omnis in the group, Tarla Grill in downtown Napa.

We started by splitting a Mezes Plate, giving the stuffed mussels and yogurt sauce to the omnis while the vegans devoured scrumptious dolmas and hummus.  Olives for everyone.  :)

Then came this awesome veggie sandwich, ordered without cheese and with the Greek potatoes cooked in olive oil instead of butter.  Piled high with veggies on a chewy ciabatta roll slathered with whole grain mustard, this was the perfect thing to eat between wine tastings.  Flavorful, filling, and fantastic!

Other vegan options at Tarla include salads, including a barley salad with pickled onions, olives, and pistachios, that my mom loved, and a stuffed eggplant that was raved about by a friend.  Next time I'm in wine country and in need of some fuel, I'll definitely hit up Tarla Grill again, and suggest you do that same.

Next up, stay tuned for some more SF eats...

501 on Main, Park City

Happy Monday, everyone!  From last Wednesday until yesterday, I was in Park City, UT, getting some fresh air and staying with friends in one of their family's homes.  It was lovely.  We cooked together and ate all but one of our (very veg-centric) meals in, but when we went out, we made it count.  Picking 501 on Main was an easy choice because of its very well-marked menu (v=vegetarian, v2=vegan, gf=gluten-free), but turns out it is extremely darn tasty as well.  Here's what the vegans among us had:  

The biggest mistake of the evening was the salad, but only because the dressing they put on the side was not vegan (duh).  This was quickly rectified, however, and soon we were devouring this delish pile of greens, roasted beets, dried fruits, and pumpkin seeds.  Winner.

What omni restaurant has vegan chicken bites on its menu???  501 on Main, baby!  These addictive poppers were a hit among the whole table.  Fried and glazed wheat meat, y'all.  Gotta love it.  And I did.

I almost can't even handle this entree.  I mean, it's incredible risotto, chock-full-o veggies, served in a "bowl" made of fried potatoes.  YES.  I don't think I need to say any more.  And yet, it still wasn't my favorite of the night.  Meet the vegan curry:

More of those wheat meat bites get matched up with veggies galore, cooked in a savory and deeply-flavored curry, and served atop fluffy rice... all on another fried potato basket!  Good lord I loved this dish.  From concept to execution, perfection.

Bummer that this place had no vegan desserts (I know, right?) but next time I'm in Park City, I know where I'm going, and if you should ever find yourself there, I definitely suggest a stop at 501 on Main.  Sundance, anyone?

Up next, a bunch of my family is coming to SF, so that means lots of dining out around the whole Bay Area.  Stay tuned!