More Austin Eats

It's been busy around the Eats Well With Others headquarters lately, but now that a foot injury is forcing me to sit still and rest a while, I may as well use my time wisely and show you all some good eats! I still have more from Portland, but let's travel back to Austin for a bit, shall we? Errr... actually, let's start in San Antonio. We took a day trip over that way and got to eat some real treats along the way. First stop was the brand new Vegeria, an all vegan restaurant about 10 minutes from downtown San Antonio. Best thing on the menu? The nachos for sure:

Served up with Vegeria's own vegan queso and super flavorful taco filling, this pile of food is divine. Crispy chips and shredded cabbage and carrots give some crunch, and there's even a sprinkling of quinoa for.... nutrition? Who knows, but it is truly yummy. If only it hadn't taken FOREVER to come to the table. But more on that later. Check out my lunch entree:

This is the quinoa salad with pecans and fresh herbs. It was alright. For all the flavor that was in the nachos, this one was pretty flavorless. Seemed like Mexican food was the way to go at Vegeria as everyone loved their tacos and enchiladas while my dad's BBQ mushroom sub and my mom's avocado sub were both kind of bland. Meanwhile, the service was insanely bad. Food took a crazy long time and when it did come things were missing and messed up. I can only hope it's because they are new and they were slammed and we were a party of 6 sitting in the back room where nobody could see us. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and would definitely go back next time I'm in town for the nachos alone, but I hope they get it together!

On the way back from San Antonio we decided to take the long route and go through Hill Country. This also meant we got to eat at the truly awesome Fralo's, where we ordered the heck out of some pizza.

As you all know, I love me some artisan pizza, and this is some of the best. Perfect crust, slightly sweet sauce, and the Daiya cheese us vegans know and love. This place is not all vegan by any stretch of the imagination, so it speaks volumes about how far veganism has come that they stock Daiya for us folks! I mean, it's sort of in the middle of nowhere (imagine al fresco picnic tables surrounded by rolling hills) in Texas, which isn't exactly known for being vegan-friendly, and I was able to eat VERY well with my others. Gotta love it.

I've still got our epic celebratory meal to tell you about in Austin, so stay tuned for that. It could come quickly, since it's just me and my ice pack over here. :) Happy Friday, everyone!

PS- We've got a great giveaway going on over at VeganFavorites. Enter to win some So Delicious goodies before it's too late!

Blossoming Lotus, Portland

Since Blossoming Lotus was the only place I visited twice on my trip to Portland, I think it's high time I told you about it! I've been to BL before, but not in its current location. This slightly fancier incarnation still has a homey vibe and friendly service, as well as some delicious food. Here's a portion of what we had.

I highly recommend this starter of fried artichokes if you're into these thistles. Crispy outside and creamy inside, these polenta-breaded bites are crazy tasty, especially when paired with the smoky BBQ sauce. A great start to your meal.

This Thai BBQ salad I had on my first visit was also a fave. The combination of the BBQ soy curls and the sweet and tangy ginger dressing is really nice. Same can be said for the difference in textures between the chewy golden raisins and crispy rice sticks. Just an all around great salad/meal.

My dining companion had the lasagna and LOVED it. I would tell you more but I didn't even get a bite. Looks good though, right?

On that trip we also has the chocolate cake. Not the richest chocolate flavor in the world, but moist as all get out and still terribly yummy. Mmmmm..... cake. :)

If there is soft serve somewhere I must have it. Blossoming Lotus only does one flavor a day and they have no toppings. Fail in my book. It was still decent, but this type of vanilla is exactly why the word now has the negative connotation of "bland and boring." Vanilla should sing... this one merely hummed.

On my second visit, I decided to see what else they could do with salad and I got the house salad with tempeh. I think this was even better than the other one. The mounds of savory tempeh (some of the best I've had) really make the dish but set against the crisp fresh veggies and creamy house dressing it is divine. I love a good salad, and this is up there with the best.

That's it from Blossoming Lotus. Up next, I finish up the Portland eats and get us back on down to Texas. I'm also heading to L.A. soon so stay tuned for some SoCal eats soon. Hope you had a great weekend, everyone. Enjoy the week!

A Brief Detour Through Austin

Hi Y'all! Don't mind my newfound Southern accent - I acquired it on my recent 3 day trip to Austin, TX. :) So, while I am well aware of how many more Portland eats there are to tell you about, I wanted to do a quick round up of some of the best of Austin. First up? Breakfast of course!

I've been to Austin before, but never to The Steeping Room, and I'm sure glad it was our first stop of this trip. Their Sunday brunch is AMAZING! Even though they are not an all-vegan place, they have a ton of vegan options, like the tofu scramble above. I love that they don't feel like they need to dye the tofu yellow with mustard or turmeric like so many places do (as though that makes it any more egg-like), and instead they focus of texture and flavor. The tofu has a nice bite to it and is paired with the exact right amount of peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Super-tasty fried potatoes and a crisp green salad round out the meal. I capped off my meal with a currant scone that had a beautiful crumb and light sweetness to it. Perfect with any of their gazillion teas! My husband got his sweetness elsewhere, however. Check out his beautiful French toast:

Vegan French toast is not something many vegan restaurants try, let alone omni places, and even from the one bite I was allowed to have, I could tell they nailed it. Wonderful balance of cinnamon and sugar, good coating on the chewy bread, real maple syrup and fruit. Not a bad way to start the trip, eh? But, alas, one can not live on breakfast alone!

Want to eat the best darn veggie burger ever? Get the guacamole burger at Mother's. I've had this before and I still think it's one of the best burgers you can buy. You can get it plain or with vegan cheese and with or without guacamole, but I'm telling you that the combination of the savory burger with the fresh guacamole is perfect. Ready for dessert? I've got two good options for you:

You could try a peanut butter cup from Wheatsville Coop and you would be a very happy camper. More like a peanut butter cookie with a thick layer of fudge than the peanut butter cups you've come to know, this is one for a hearty sweet tooth. It is rich and decadent and worth eating your vegetables for. BUT....

.... there's also soft serve from Toy Joy. Vegan soft serve ice cream is a pretty elusive commodity in this country, so if it's an option somewhere, you know I'm getting it. If I can get it topped with crushed Chick-O-Stick and chocolate syrup, I'm in heaven. Toy joy makes their own soy and coconut-based soft serves and they have two flavors everyday, which they churn out in addition to making shakes and sundaes galore. It's smooth and creamy and even better than the soft serves of my youth. I love Toy Joy!

Ok, that's enough for now. We did have one hugely epic meal in Austin, as well as a day trip to San Antonio, and I'll get to that, promise. Up next though, more Portland talk. How awesome that all these U.S. cities are so vegan-friendly, eh? Here's hoping it's that way where you are!

Portobello in Portland

While in the lovely city of Portland, we ate at many places, but I'm starting with the best. Not only was this hands down my favorite meal of the trip, it was one of the best meals I've had pretty much ever.

I'd heard good things about Portobello, and about the gnocchi in particular, but I really was not prepared for just how happy my taste buds would be. First up, the mushroom rillette:

I'm pretty sure rillette is just a fancy word for pate, but it's fitting in this case because this is some fancy-ass pate! Earthy mushrooms combine with herbs and spices (and probably magic) to make this delectable spread, and the spicy mustard and tangy cornichons are the most wonderful complimentary flavors to all that savory, smooth goodness. I would definitely order this again and again - but not if I was dining alone. The portion is HUGE! Still, we had room for entrees, of course. Up first, the cashew cream pizza:

This was one tasty pie, I must say, but honestly I've had better. I've been spoiled by the insanely good cashew cheese at Gather and the amazing sauce at Beretta I guess. In any case, it was still very good.... but let's cut to the real deal, shall we? Check out the best gnocchi in the universe:

I will be dreaming of these puffy potato clouds for some time. The way they melt slowly on the tongue, the ever so slightly crispy exterior (they're pan-fried after all), and the way they soak up all that beautiful sauce..... heaven. This is a close-your-eyes-and-go-slowly kind of dish, as you'll want to make it last as long as possible. The vegetables are cooked to perfection and the sauce (which varies depending on the season) was an orgasmic combination of pesto and olive oil and herbs and lord knows what else. Truly a dish worth traveling for... and I WILL be back!

Of course, we still had room for dessert (or at least we pretended we did), and in no time we had tiramisu with salted caramel ice cream on our table:

The tiramisu consisted of light and fluffy layers with the most creamy sweet filling and is dusted with cocoa powder and served on a zigzag of chocolate sauce. I don't remember ever eating tiramisu before going vegan, so I have no idea if this is anything like the original, but I do know that it's delicious! And that salted caramel ice cream? It tasted EXACTLY like a salted caramel, only cold and ridiculously smooth. Other ice cream can only dream of being that good.

Because, for me, dessert must always mean chocolate, I opted for the rosemary chocolate tart, and boy am I glad I did. I was a little fearful that the rosemary flavor would be overwhelming, but it balanced the decadent chocolate nicely, freshening it up a bit by providing a slight kick of lightness in an otherwise rich dessert. The silky layers of deep dark chocolate, crunchy cocoa nibs, and caramel drizzle, make this a study in texture as well as a true chocoholic's delight. This was honestly one of the best desserts I've had in a long time.

I can't tell you how sad I am that Portobello is not closer to me. I guess I need to start coming up with excuses to visit Portland more often!

Up next: More Portland eats, plus I'm on my way to Austin, TX soon and will surely be eating well there as well, so stay tuned!

Final Bites at Cha-Ya.... Next Stop: Portland!

Last night I enjoyed my last dining out experience in SF for a while, and since it was a gorgeously hot day, I chose the delicious and beautiful sushi creations at Cha-Ya. Not wanting to have any of their very yummy noodle soups on such a warm evening, I was still hungry after a few rolls, and decided to order dessert, something I've never done there before. The ice cream sundae was calling my name, however, and it was on the table in no time flat.

With red bean and green tea syrups, I was sure this was going to be one interesting dessert. Sadly, it tasted like old school chalky Tofutti ice cream and not much else. And those pineapple chunks were straight from the can. Oh well. Next time I know to just eat more sushi. :)

In more exciting news, I leave tomorrow for VidaVeganCon in Portland, OR. I can't wait to mingle with other vegan bloggers, including Shelley of course! And then there's the food. I have to loosen my belt just thinking about it! Right after Portland, I'm off to Austin, TX to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.... and eat even more great vegan goodies. All I have to say i stay tuned, people. There's gonna be a lot of eating well to go over when I return!

Back to Some Old Faves

When my friends are in town, I like to show off the bounty of great vegan-friendly restaurants we have here in the Bay Area, and what better way to do that than by picking two places that also feature our watershed's amazing produce. Back to Gather and The Plant Cafe we went!

At Gather, the vegan charcuterie is a must. This time around it was as stellar as ever, with the bbq "pulled mushroom" slider (second from the left) being my favorite. Smokey bbq and cool coleslaw perfection.

Up next I had the crazy good - and good for you - kale salad. There is always some version of a kale salad on the menu and it is always delicious. This time there were carrots and capers and pine nuts - oh my!

Behold the beauty that is the spicy tomato pizza. Made with cashew puree instead of cheese, it is warming, rich, and wonderful. The crust alone is worth writing home about. I miss it already.

At The Plant, I got my standards. The summer squash soup (above) was peppery and light and just the right thing to take the ever-so-slight chill out of my bones.

Here you see the MNM salad, my go-to. It was, as usual, full of fresh and crunchy veggies. Like a salad should be.

My stomach is taking a break today after our week of dining out (no I didn't take more pics, sorry), but I'm sure to back out and eating well soon. Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

Napa Eats

We headed up to Napa this past weekend for some good wine and sunshine. Of course you gotta eat too, and Napa has some of the best food around. As you know, I am a big fan of Ubuntu, but on this trip, we decided to try some new spots. First up was Michael Chiarello's Bottega. I was psyched to dine here, especially as Chef Chiarello won the vegan challenge on Top Chef Masters. Sadly, I wasn't that impressed by their vegan fare. They also seemed totally taken aback by the vegan request, even though I had noted it on the online reservation AND called to make sure we could be accommodated. Sigh. Anyway, here's what we had:

This heirloom tomato and beet salad was actually delicious. Don't let the hue throw you off. We were underneath the orange awning, making all our food appear reddish. In any case, it was tasty, mainly because it's the height of summer and the ingredients are outstanding.

Our main was a risotto. It was good, but nothing to write home about. Maybe I set my expectations too high? Do I have to be Zooey Deschanel for the Chiarello kitchen to step up the vegan goods?

So, of course, there was sorbet for dessert. The cantaloupe was the best. It's cantaloupe season after all.

The next night, we decided to try to get some better Italian food in our bellies and crossed our fingers as we entered Uva Trattoria. You know what? It was great! My husband got the big bowl of pasta with veggies he was craving (pays for you to have egg-free dry pasta sometimes, Italian restaurants) and I was delighted as well.

I started with a simple but scrumptious veggie pizza topped with arugula. So satisfying after a day of wine tasting! Crisp crust, perfectly roasted veggies and a slightly sweet sauce made for a great dinner.

The raspberry zinfandel sorbet didn't disappoint either. It really packed a wollop of flavor and was a beautiful way to end the meal. Thanks Uva!

Next up, more Bay Area dining, as I've got friends in town and we're eating our way around the Bay....