PA and NJ Winners

I'm currently on a plane back to SF (Hooray!) so I wanted to share with you my two favorite meals from my time at "home" before I forgot them. Not that I could - they were both so tasty! :) First up is my go-to Thai restaurant in NJ, Pad Thai.

I actually think this is some of the best Thai food you can get outside of Thailand (yes, I've been there) and they are extremely veg-friendly. Those veggie spring rolls above are light and crispy and come with a slightly sweet and jammy sauce that compliments them perfectly. Everything you could want in a spring roll. But my favorite dish on the menu is something slightly more rich and decadent, the Massaman Curry.

This slightly spicy curry is coconut-milk based and has incredible depth of flavor. The crunchy peanuts sprinkled on top add fun crunch and salty bite. I just love them. Spooned over some brown rice, this dish is something special. FYI, unlike some Thai places, all the items on the vegetarian section of the menu are fish sauce-free. Being the crazy person I am, I still ask every time. They practice restraint and manage not to roll their eyes at me. :)

Just over the river (literally) in PA, is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere: Sprig & Vine. It's a beautiful space in a great location serving up some delicious food, like the salad above. Divine dressing over crispy leaves with just a sprinkling of quinoa. Love it.

Edamame falafel is a must-try at S&V. The black sesame tahini and pickled radishes really bring these bad boys to life, but even alone they are yummy. Warm, soft, spheres of love.

My entree was the "Chicken-of-the-Woods" mushroom dish and it was amazing. It was served up with delica squash, a potato "cake," and lentils which really rounded out the autumnal feel, and the mushrooms themselves were hearty and mouth-watering. Every component paired with its neighbor and I was left with one happy mouth.

Not so happy that I skipped dessert, of course. The chocolate mousse pie is a silky sensational ending to your meal. The deep chocolate of the pie and the cool coffee ice cream are best friends and you will be happy you met them.

If you should find yourself in the area of these two places, I highly recommend a trip to both. Of course, that's not all I ate. I hit up some new-to-me places (and some old faves) in Florida, too, so stay tuned!

Boston Eats

I had such a great time in the Boston area, and some good food too! I already posted about my favorite place over at Vegan Favorites (appropriate, no?), but a close second was True Bistro. However, despite the tastiness, I couldn't help but notice that so many of the menu items at True Bistro were reminiscent of other dishes at well-known vegan restaurants like Sublime, Millennium, and Portobello. Speaking of.....

This dish reminded me a lot of Portobello's mushroom pate, and while it was beautiful, it wasn't as good. It just didn't have the depth of flavor. The pickled vegetables were nice though.

My salad was my favorite part of the meal. The house-made "chevre" was delicious and added the perfect amount of tang. I really liked it.

My entree, the crusted tempeh, was pretty tasty, but it was the scrumptious lentils made this dish. Yum.

Ice cream tasted like Trader Joe's coconut ice cream and I could have made a better brownie at home. But whatever, I like chocolate.

The dessert winner was definitely this Napolean. The layers of crisp phyllo were perfectly sweet and the white chocolate mousse (which I didn't think I would like) was amazing. Definitely the highlight of the meal.

In general I don't think I'll be rushing back to True Bistro on my next trip, but I look forward to heading back to Boston. What was once a vegan wasteland is getting more and more good vegan food all the time. Yay! Next up: Some amazing PA and NJ meals. Stay tuned...

Zante

Ok, a quick post before I take off for Mexico.... and it's a goodie. I've wanted to try Zante Indian Pizza for a while, but I figured that since they were so far away I would have to go to them. Then I learned that they delivered all the way up to my neck of the woods completely across town. Hooray! Before I knew it, the box containing their unique combination of Indian food and pizza was in my kitchen:

Look how yummy:

That's their Indian Vegan Pizza, and if you could smell that picture you would be incredibly hungry right now, trust me. The aroma of spices and veggies coming off this pie was darn near intoxicating. And the taste lived up to the scent. Now, it wasn't the best Indian food I've ever had, but it was darn good. Kind of like piling up your Indian food all onto the naan bread and eating it that way, only this crust is firmer and up to the task of delivering the goodness to your face. I'd order it again in a heartbeat.

So there you have it. Can't wait to tell you about the good eats of Mexico when I'm back next week. Eat well, y'all!

Tuba

It's a funny name for a restaurant, but Tuba (in Turkish, a tree in paradise) is serving up some delectable Turkish bites, many of which are vegan. Be warned: The servers have thick accents and weren't sure about the whole vegan thing, but they were friendly and willing to check with the chef on everything. Here's what we had:

Hummus and Dolmas to start. Both were fairly typical versions of both, only with the addition of sumac. I LOVE sumac, so I was happy. The pita (not pictured) had black sesame seeds on it, which I also love. Not a bad start.

We also ordered some ezme, a ground walnut and red pepper dish. Ezme I've had before has been very smooth, not unlike hummus, but this was a bit on the chunkier side, and also way more flavorful than those in my previous encounters. Nice warm spices really brought the walnuts and and red pepper together in harmony and, after getting past the boob-like

appearance (I mean c'mon, chef, really?) we gobbled it up.

I had this delicious "Ttuba" salad for my entree, and it was really tasty. Kind of like a Greek salad but with no cheese, and with the addition of pita chips and dried cranberries. The sweetness of those craisins was an unexpectedly nice touch. We also got a side of falafel that was nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. I crumbled it into my salad and was quite happy.

All in all, I'd go back to Tuba in a heartbeat. The prices are great, the atmosphere welcoming, and the food ain't bad to boot!

Off to Mexico on Thursday (where I hope to eat VERY well) but I may get in one more SF post before leaving, so stay tuned.

Atelier Crenn

In keeping with the tone of the fancy meal of my last post, I give you an even fancier meal this go around. Last weekend, some good friends and I hit up a spot in SF that's been getting a lot of buzz lately for pushing the boundaries of what food can be: Atelier Crenn. An understated decor (a few whimsical touches against a rather grey backdrop in the "metaphorical garden" room where we ate) really let the artistry of the food shine. Our entire table did the chef's 8 course tasting menu, my husband and I going with the vegan version. Check out what Chef Crenn and team provided for us lucky folk:

First up, a tomato and herb amuse bouche. As a first taste, it was perfect. It captured the essence of its ingredients, whetted the palate for more, and revealed the talent behind the food, peaking our curiosities for what would be next. We were still not prepared.

The second amuse was an uber-delicate orb of cocoa butter. Slightly sweet and filled with a liquid center, it really defies explanation. It almost has to be experienced to be believed that such a paper thin shell could hold anything, let alone the divine nectar it concealed. We were now amazed and ready for the first course.

Gorgeous, right? This garden on a plate was such a fun layering of vegetables, crunchy quinoa, and sauces worth slurping (I restrained myself) that I could hardly take it. Art in edible form.

Course 2 was a carrot sorbet with aloe gelee. I couldn't even conceive of such things in my wildest dreams. The sorbet was beautifully salty and the aloe such a surprisingly good partner for it. By now my mind was being blown. It continued.

Course 3 was... well... I don't even know. The only thing I remember about the server's description was the "cucumber sheet". So basically we had pockets of crazy textures and flavors all covered with this blanket of something intensely cucumber-y (in a good way). I'm pretty sure magic was involved here.

Course 4 was my favorite flavor wise. I love mushrooms, and these may be the best I've ever eaten. I was getting pretty tipsy (off the best pinot noir I've ever tasted, by the way) so I'm not sure what combination of herbs and foams were at work here, but I simply remember wanting there to be a big old messy pile of these mushrooms on my plate instead of the thin, artistic line.

Course 5's eggplant was delicious as well, the carrot puree on the plate adding a nice brightness. At this point, the wine is not helping these photos at all. Apologies.

I can not even tell you how fragrant course 6 was. Suddenly we were in a eucalyptus forest, the astringent scent filling the air and totally reviving our wine and umami-soaked tongue. You see, attached to a few of those eucalyptus skewers were frozen, eucalyptus infused sorbet lollipops. Incredible, cleansing, and a lovely preparation for what was next.

What I remember most about course 7 was that stunning coconut powder in the center of the plate. Wow! I am not even a huge coconut fan and I loved it. LOVED. You'd think by now I'd have stopped being flabbergasted by everything that arrived in front of me. Not true... but even if that had been the case, dessert would have still blown my mind.

This peach explosion was so enjoyable to look at, dissect, play with, eat... it was really the most wonderful way to wrap up the meal. Encompassing the best of all the dishes, only in sweet (but not too sweet) form. I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

For a final treat, us vegans got the chocolate bark and jelly candies and they were a much appreciated sweet bite. Even now, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the food we ate at Atelier Crenn. Having eaten at almost all the high-end restaurants in SF, this was hands down the most creative meal I've ever had. The service is also attentive without being coddling, and the whole meal took place over the course of about 4 hours. This is the same with most of the fancy pants places, but the difference is most other places also serve tons of bread. Here the focus is strictly on the main courses, which I liked. However, this did mean we left pretty drunk and not quite full. I would still go back to AC for the experience, however. I don't know of any other place in SF pulling off such innovative cuisine, and I'd love to see what they could come up with next time....

Ok, back to the real world in my next post. A new-to-me Mediterranean place to be exact. Stay tuned!

Olivia, Austin TX

You are so not ready for what is about to happen. We certainly weren't. Follow along. You see, we went to Austin to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. This is a big deal. We wanted a fancy meal to match the fancy occasion and, while Austin has a gazillion vegan food trucks and casual eateries, they have zero high-end vegan places. What's a gal to do? Well, I researched all the fancy pants places, found a few that always have veg or vegan entrees on their menus and asked if they'd kindly make our group of 6 an all vegan meal. Only one replied in the affirmative (well two, but the other wasn't open on the Big Day) AND they replied that not only would they be happy to help, they'd like to create a TEN COURSE TASTING MENU. Bless whoever came up with Southern hospitality. Here's what the wonderful Oliva restaurant gave us:

So other than to say that it was incredible and long and we also drank a lot, I'll keep it to a short blurb about each dish.

That's okra, olive oil, an basil waiting in the bowl for the rich tomato soup to be poured on top. Next level gazpacho, people. YUM.

In the fresh and light melon and herb salad I encountered my first taste ever of powdered ingredients. Molecular gastronomy goes vegan, and the results are divine.

This pepper was one of my faves of the evening. The apricots brought just the right amount of sweet to an otherwise savory and slightly spicy dish. Beauty, texture, and flavor perfection.

Battered and fried eggplant! Another huge hit at our table. The sesame glaze was to die for and the powdered ingredients really just melt on the tongue. A nice contrast to the crispy eggplant. Umami heaven.

This was the one course we all could have done without. Except for the potato chips. Those were bangin'! Wish I could pick them up on the shelves of my local grocery. The other two were just too plain potato-y.

Holy risotto. This one was fantastic. I know it doesn't looks like much (it was getting darker and harder to photograph by the second) but the creamy and slightly sweet rice paired so well with the olives and (yes) coffee crumbs that it was kind of hard to believe. The ginger crisp was a brilliant way to incorporate a bit of brightness and it made for a great scooper. Talk about the perfect bite! Mmmmmm....

The lemon in this quinoa dish was in powdered form and it was amazing just how much it lightened things up. And crispy mushrooms? Yes please.

So pretty, right? Sadly, the rutabaga tasted a little too much like plain rutabaga, even with the tasty red wine syrup. I'm a fan of greens, though, and I remember the peppery arugula pairing nicely with whatever wine I was drinking at the time.

Our last savory course was this grilled peach with truffle oil. I would not have thought this would work (and for some at our table it did not) but I loved it. I thought it was a genius way to bridge to savory/sweet gap at prepare our palates for dessert.

Now, you know me: I like a rich decadent dessert, but honestly, after so many courses, sorbet was a lovely ending. I forgot which one I took a picture of, but the table's favorite of our choices was an unbelievable raspberry pepper combo. Another one that I didn't think would work but which really surprised me. Go chef!

Speaking of the chef, we thanked him profusely at the end. I mean, he and his team went out of their way to accommodate us, on a night when their entire dining room was packed with regular menu eaters, and the food blew us away. We were truly unprepared for how good the vegan food coming out of this omni kitchen would be and so so SO grateful to Olivia for making it happen. Moral of the story: Ask. You never know which restaurants have chefs just dying to cook something different for a night. Not to mention that the more us vegans demand vegan food, the more vegan food there will be!

Up next, I'm back in SF and have one casual and one high-end meal under my belt (literally) already, so stay tuned.

Cafe Yumm and Two "Sweets", Portland

After reading all the buzz around something called "yumm sauce" (best sauce name ever, right?) I was psyched to learn that Cafe Yumm, purveyor of said sauce, was 2 blocks from my hotel in Portland. Off I went!

That's their groundnut soup, above. It was good but not great. Needed more peanut flavor. The end.

Ok, now we're talking. This is the classic yumm bowl with greens, without the sour cream or cheese, and with plenty of yumm sauce. I must say, it was pretty tasty, but I wasn't blown away. Yumm sauce is kind of cheese-esque in flavor, made primarily of cashews, nutritional yeast, and veggie oils, as far as I could tell anyway. I'd eat it again but I'm not about to jump on a plane for Portland to head there (unlike the Portobello gnocchi, about which I still fantasize).

We also went to SweetPea Baking Company to check out the baked goods. They provided some stellar cupcakes for the opening night of VidaVeganCon but they make so much more, like my chicken-less salad above. I think I like the Teany version better, but this all vegan bakery and cafe is so charming I can forgive a little heavy-handedness with the vegan mayo. Besides, the lovely bright balsamic cuts through it nicely.

Since (this wo)man can not live on food alone, I had to try out Portland's newest all-vegan bar. Yes, newest. As in there's more than one vegan bar in Portland. Ugh, so jealous. Especially since The Sweet Hereafter also straight up rules. It's got great ambiance and awesome beers on tap and incredibly good bar food. That little platter of goodies above included some very tasty hummus, olives, roasted almonds, crostini and a dipping sauce of some kind. If only every bar served food like that! Or, like this....

That's my "3 Sides" in which I chose kale (of course), broccoli, and the house tofu. The latter is seasoned nicely with herbs and nutritional yeast. So great with beer! And, if you want something even more substantial, you could go for my friend's sandwich:

That right there is the "Steve Martin". I have no idea how this scrumptious sammy got its name, but I bet the reason is both hilarious and charming, not unlike the man himself. In summary, I love this bar and want it to move to San Francisco BADLY. Sigh...

Guess what, folks? That's it for the Portland eats! Next up, there's one epic meal in Austin to share and then we're back by the bay. Yay!