Tag Archives: vegan restaurants

Vegan Pitstops: Goldie

September 24, 2019

Image Sourced from Star Chefs
Photo of Samson Street Location

Goldie

1526 Sansom Street Philadelphia, 19102
Franklin’s Table at Penn 3401 Walnut Street Philadelphia, 19104
Whole Foods Market 2101 Pennsylvania Avenue Philadelphia, 19130
website | facebook | instagram

This visit was not planned at all. It all started when I was listening to Gastropod’s episode on french fries. One of the hosts said their favorite french fry condiment was from Goldies. I knew the name, I knew it was vegan, and I knew it was in Philly. So I thought just hop on a train with Wolfie, get some fries and a shake and make a fun day trip. Somehow it turned out to be a big day out with mom’s and toddlers. The fun of that was getting the input of other people who weren’t vegan.

But some history on this place before the food. So Goldie is part of the Cook n Solo family. You might of seen our review of Dizengoff, or perhaps if you are a foodie you might of seen the Zahav book lurking on a cookbook shelf or cooking site. Also part of the family is the very non-vegan federal donuts, which has a pretty die hard fanbase. A lot of these restaurants draw a large inspiration from Middle Eastern and Jewish foods. You can get some bazooka gum at Dizengoff, Goldie says their kosher on their site, and Abe Fisher serves latkas. (It’s also worth noting that Federal Donuts, Abe Fisher, Dizengoff, and Goldie are all within the same two blocks on the same street)

So what is Goldie all about? The executive chef is the super rad Caitlin McMillan. They serve pretty much falafels, fries, and tahini shakes. And let me tell you, these shakes are legendary. As I walked from Dizengoff’s to Goldies, I tried to get Wolfie excited about the tahini milkshake. A woman walking by asked if we were going to Goldies, and only had to say “Those milkshakes are worth getting excited for.”

So what makes those milkshakes divine? Probably the Soom Tahini. I am normally too poor for Soom, but we use to carry their chocolate tahini at Animo and it was bliss. Soom is a local company that uses Ethiopian White Humera sesame seeds, which ends up being the smoothest runniest yummiest tahini ever. Then unlike some copycat recipes, they use an actual milkshake machine in the restaurant, making a hard to replicate thick shake. I got the original plain tehina shake, and my goodness it is heaven. You can taste the yummy bitter notes of the tahini, but it is perfectly balanced with sweetness. I was able to also try the mint chocolate shakes which are mint flavored shakes with chocolate chips scattered inside. This shake you could barely taste any tahini at all. I really wanted to try the turkish coffee, but maybe next time I go with Jon in the future I’ll get it.

But what about the fries? Well, they were pretty good. They were served with house made ketchup, which was the star of the show. The ketchup has a hint of spice to it, nothing too spicy, even toddlers were going nuts for it. They even sell the ketchup on it’s own, if you need more than the tiny little cup they give you, or if you need to take it home.

Sadly, I didn’t get to try the falafels, which is pretty hard to do honestly. You can get falafels in a pita, solo, in a salad, or even on the fries. Oh well.

We went to their main store location, but you can visit them at Whole Food’s Restaurant Row (reviewed here), or Franklin’s Table. This makes it available for lunch if your are visiting the various museums or if you are in University City. I can whole heartily suggest visiting Goldie, even if it is just for a milkshake. Be warned, the main location is small, and can fill up easily during lunch hours. You can easily take your lunch to go and eat at Rittenhouse Square.

Posted by Jennifer in Tour Pennsylvania, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: falafel, goldie, goldies, Philadelphia, Tour PA, vegan pitstop, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurant, vegan restaurants

5 comments

My Vegan Restaurant: The Tasty

March 9, 2018

The Tasty

1401 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
website | facebook | instagram | twitter

Awhile ago I talked about the divide in vegan restaurants in Philly. They are either for rich people with fancy cocktails or healthy eats. The other restaurants are greasy fast-diner food owned by punks. Although the gap is filling in (I also ignored to mention all the Asian owned vegan places), this restaurant falls into the greasy punks camp. In fact, I am told that many of the employees are actually part of bands, I won’t name them to protect the privacy of the individuals.

My dining bud Justine, showing me the ropes of her fav restaurant.

BUT I will mention the owners. Their names are all over the fucking place. I remember there being quite a few article being written about the store opening up, I am not sure if it is because local papers thought the new owners were famous enough, or if the original store was a legendary favorite (once Atlantic Pizza), or perhaps this always happens when a new restaurant opens and I just don’t notice. The owners are Kate Hiltz (manager & producer of The Bouncing Souls, and runs the label Chunksaah), Sofia Baltopoulos, and Ben Pierce (guitarist/keyboardist for Restorations). If you want to learn more about the owners, I suggest reading this interview.

The Tasty is pretty far south. Most of their crowds are locals, maybe some suburbinites (hello me!), but I doubt they get any tourists with a capital T since you need to drive to get here. Sure you can walk, but it might take awhile (it’s as far south as Grindcore House) expect to walk for 20 minutes from Center City. But I will say it is worth the trek, the food is amazing!

Self serve station with water, coffee fixings, and silverware.

I went with my vegan friend Justine. she loves this place, and frequents The Tasty on weekends, particularly the day after a show. She says the place gets packed on weekends, so she was thrown off when we were one of the few people there. The place is designed to order at the front, then to take a seat. They’ll call your order up, and you pick up.

In case your are dying to find out what is going on with mug, click for the far side cartoon

The atmosphere of this place is awesome. There are nice teal walls, mix and match plates, and tons of novelty mugs for your coffee or tea. They also have booster seats for children, which weren’t terribly amazing, but were incredibly clean. The shape of the place is unique as the building it located at a very sharp corner, making the place feel even more quaint AF. Yup, the place is just oozing adorable-ness.

So what did we get? This place is predominantly breakfast/brunch/lunch. They are opened between 7am-4pm weekdays, 7am-3pm weekends. There has been rumors that the owners would like to be open later, but nothing yet. So the menu has lots of sandwiches, pancakes, and scrambles. Justine got the spinach and soysage. She ate a good portion and seemed to get it often (maybe?) So I am going with it tasted awesome, even though I didn’t have a bite of it. Basically it is a tofu scramble with their soysage, spinach, caramalized onion, and some vegan mozzerella cheese.

As for me? Well, I had something that I don’t see on their online menu. I got their cheezsteak, but I am 99% sure they had a specific option where it was covered with BBQ sauce. Their online menu has something similar with mushrooms, but no cheese. I liked my version best, so much seitan and yummy gooey cheese. Yum! All the sandwiches have an option of waffle fries, tater tots, or a salad. I went with the tater tots.

Is the place baby/kid friendly? I mean I assume so. Wolfie was way too distracted by his spoon to actually eat any of the food, but we got him a side of scrambled tofu and he ate my tater tots. Sadly the tater tots were fairly crispy so he had a hard time biting into them (he had only oven baked ones in the past.) He ate some of the scrambled tofu, but it was a little dry and not in big clumps so he had a hard time eating it with his hands. It shouldn’t be much of a problem for older children.

If you are visiting Philly with a car, I strongly recommend checking this place out. There is a wide range of prices you can spend in here. You can grab breakfast sandwiches for less than $5, or you can get a big spread like were did for $10. If you get a big spread there is a good chance you will have extra leftovers that you can save for the next day. So, come and make the trip, you’ll be happy you did. Greasy vegan breakfast foods can be hard to find in restaurants.

Posted by Jennifer in Food Review, Reviews, Tour Pennsylvania, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: my vegan restaurant, Philadelphia, the tasty, Tour PA, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurants

8 comments

My Vegan Restaurant: Vedge

August 28, 2017

Vedge

1221 Locust Street, Philadelphia 19107
website | facebook | instagram | twitter

It’s finally happened- I’ve eaten at the legendary Vedge restaurant! The spot is known as a major restaurant to check out for any foodie when in Philadelphia – omni, vegetarian, or vegan. It has taken me so long to write this post- 2 months! There is just so much to talk about. The history of the restaurant, building, chefs, and naturally the food. When we went we pretty much ordered everything from the menu (No- really). The meals are sold as small plates, and are suggested you get three plates per person. Each section has 5 dishes to choose from, and we had 4 people altogether. It was easier to choose what we weren’t going to order, but before I get ahead of myself let’s talk about the history.

Vedge opened up in 2011 with Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby. The co-owner Rich Landau has reached a minor celebrity chef status, being featured in many interviews, owning several restaurants, and even being featured on Chopped (and won!) Landau and Jacoby have shaped Philadelphia’s vegan food scene, expanding it from it’s punk and religious background. They opened up V Street, a tapas bar, and Wiz Kid, a fast food cheesesteak shop. Nicole Marquis was an employee at Vedge, and has expanded the vegan high end dining experience by opening up Bar Bonbon, Charlie was a Sinner, and HipCityVeg. Just type in “best of philadelphia” and Vedge will appear in many different articles. There isn’t much debate- Vedge is one of the best restaurants in the entire city.

If you aren’t much for “fancy” food, then grab a drink or dessert at the bar to appreciate the architecture. The building was designed by the legendary Frank Furness. He designed over 600 buildings during the Victorian era. Most of his buildings are in the Philadelphia area, and many were destroyed. But this row home has managed to survive, and it really gives a fun layout for a restaurant. When you first walk up the steps it doesn’t feel like you are going into the right building. Surely you are walking into someone’s apartment? Once you open the doors you make it to the bar area and are quickly greeted by the hostess. There is a dining room in the front of the building and one in the back, we were seated in the front, giving lots of light at the beginning of the meal for photographs. Whoo!

Thinking about visiting? Here are some things to keep in mind. One is that everything I’ve written below is subject to change, in fact, their menu changes daily. Not joking. Part of this is because they try and truly stick with seasonal produce. The waiter said there are staples to the menu, or there are some things that simply get modified. For example the radishes seem to be available year round, but the choice of radishes change according to the season. So this menu is the 2017 spring/summer menu.

Also make a reservation — now! Yes I mean now! Open a new tab, google their number, and call! They book months ahead of time for weekend dinners. My sister tried to make reservations for my birthday, and they were booked. Last year my parents in law tried to take us out to dinner but they were booked. But if you are going to be able to dine during the week- you will probably have a much better chance of snagging a table. Even still, if you don’t mind sometimes they will let you eat at the bar without reservations, which isn’t bad. I wouldn’t mind grabbing a cocktail and dessert at the bar late at night- or right when they open XD!!

On paper the prices don’t seem too expensive. But the menu is set up to order one plate from three categories. They aren’t particularly shareable- I mean try cutting those tiny radishes into four pieces! So this is what makes the price of your meal to shoot up. The review is divided up in the categories on the menu, cocktails, the vedge bar, the dirt list, the grill, and desserts.

So I will leave you to read my reviews on the dishes after saying this- Hey Vedge! Want to have me back and pay for my meal? I can totally do another review of your fall/winter menu. Hit me up. I can also try Wiz Kid or V Street! *winkie face emoji* Alright I’m done selling out- read and drool.

COCKTAILS

BLACK HOLE SUN
scotch, burnt miso, maria al monte, charcoal 14
Dummy’s Guide: scotch, burnt miso, amaro– a bittersweet herbal liqueur, hip stuff to make things black
Jon, his Dad, and myself all got this cocktail. It is a strong drink served in an old fashion. The combination is very odd, scotch plus an herbally liqueur? And what would burnt miso and charcoal even taste like? They all come together nicely, and the miso and charcoal take off some of that astringent alcohol taste. This was so good that my Father in Law got a second.

THE ELDER SAGE
gin, elderflower, lemon, smacked sage
This is a very tasty cocktail but nothing unique. Gin and elderflower are made for each other. But I can say that the flavors work very well. If you can’t stand neat hard liquor, this is probably the cocktail for you. Simple, light, and not too sweet.

LIFE OF PABLO
tequila, aperol, rhubarb, poblano
Dummy’s Guide: tequila, amaro– a bittersweet herbal liqueur, rhubarb, poblano peppers
I don’t think I’ve ever talked about my love of poblano peppers on the blog. They are my favorite pepper, and I get so excited when they start showing up at my CSA. So it was obviously in the cards for me to get this drink. They layer the drink, making a rhubarb layer and a poblano layer. The more you drink, the more they mix together. Truthfully it seems like a weird mix, but they worked so well with each other. I would never think to mix an amaro with a tequila, but they picked out what seemed like the least bitter of all the ones available.

RABBIT FIGHTER (Not Pictured)
rum, strega, pomelo, cardamom bitters
Dummy’s Guide: rum, green herbal liqueur, a citrus fruit, cardamom bitters
Hmm… I blame this cocktail- my third of the night- for my less than stellar memory. Okay- it is probably because we tried almost EVERYTHING off the menu but hey- I can still blame this right? I remember liking this cocktail a lot, but the specifics are a blur. #blogfail

THE VEDGE BAR

FANCY RADISHES
smoked tamari, yuzu avocado, pickled tofu, shishito
Let me first start by talking about how we all had to skillfully cut each and everyone of those radishes into four pieces. We divided ALL of the dishes- but this one was a particular challenge. This dish is a staple, according to our server, but the radishes change as they come into season. Some of the names I reconized from our CSA, but I was a dummy and didn’t take notes. I can hands down say that my favorites were the radish paired with the tofu and the radish paired with the shishito pepper. The tofu and pepper gave a wonderful contrast of texture to the radishes.

PORTOBELLO CARPACCIO
deviled turnip, caper puree, nigella grissini
Personal opinion here- not sure if I get the whole “deviled” veggies thing. But that is only a minor part of the dish. The grissini, or let’s be real- a breadstick, was super yummy and made daily. The portobello was amazing. They are thinly sliced and cooked or marinated to perfection.

SALT BAKED BEETS
crushed cucumber, dill, capers, cured olive, rye
This is one of Vedge’s signature dishes. They bake beets at low temperatures for 2+ hours over a bed of salt. The salt takes moisture away from the beets, concentrating the flavors. It also gives the beets a unique texture. I’m normally not a huge fan of rye or dill, but they worked wonderfully with the beets.

RUTABAGA FONDUE
today’s soft pretzel, yesterday’s pickle, charred onion
Hands down- one of best dishes of the night, or even best in this category. The pretzel was fluffy and soft on the inside but just enough crust on the outside. It is pure magic how they get the rutabaga to be so fondue like. It is fluffy and creamy. I can honestly say that the pretzel worked perfectly with the fondue. Yeah, the pickles and onion were good too- but the pretzel and rutabaga?!

THE DIRT LIST

NEBRODINI MUSHROOMS (Not Pictured)
as “fazzoletti”, “pomodoro”
If you know Italian food you probably have an idea of what this dish looks like. If you are like me and am totally hopeless, you were completely surprised. Fazzoletti is a flat square noodle, which kind-of look like someone picked apart a ravioli. THe mushrooms were served in a similar fashion- flat and square. Pomodoro is a quick light pasta dish with olive oil and fresh tomatoes. Although everything I ate at Vedge was amazing, this dish was less memorable.

POLE BEANS & ZUCCHINI
briam stew, hummus, smoked sourdough
The title is a little misleading, the pole beans and zucchini are not the highlight of the dish. I think the sub-description better explains what you are ordering. There is a big serving of hummus, topped with briam (a greek stew with pole beans and zucchini), and smoked sourdough chunks are placed on top. Even though we were expecting a larger portion of beans and zucchini, the dish was amazing. The hummus was perfectly smooth and not too thick or thin.

PEA LEAVES
flash seared, smoked onion dashi, pickled spring onions
Greens are always a little disappointing. I always want more than what they serve! These pea leaves were super amazing, tender, flavorful and not too bitter. The dashi and pickled spring onions added only a little bit of flavor, letting the pea leaves really carry the dish.

GRILLED GOLD POTATOES
black garlic tahini, za’atar, calabrian chile relish
I think these potatoes were the favorite in this category. I am not a HUGE potato person so that is saying something. It has everything you need- crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The flavor combinations were perfect. The tahini had a wonderful garlic-y salty flavor, and the chili relish gave it this dish a bright burst.

THE GRILL

ASPARAGUS “COLCANNON” (Not Pictured)
peas & green garbanzos, garbanzo crepe, smoked kohlrabi
It has been a long time since I’ve eaten asparagus. I don’t get any in my CSA and they tend to be pricey. The asparagus was nice and thin, making each bite tender. The garbanzo crepe wrapped around the asparagus, and sat on sauce (I think made from smoked kohlrabi?) with some peas and green garbanzo beans.

SSAMJANG GLAZED TOFU
edamame puree, burnt miso, cucumber, sea beans, toasted nori
I am a sucker for tofu, and this was a delicious small slab of tofu. It was well pressed, grilled, and marinated. I especially liked the accompanying flavors. The tofu itself wasn’t overly flavored, but the edamame, miso, cucumber, and sea greens added to it perfectly.

EGGPLANT BRACIOLE
smoked eggplant, italian salsa verde, cured olive
My Mother in Law was excited to try this. She had made this recipe several times at home using the Vedge cookbook. She first pointed out how much tidier their eggplant dish looked compared to hers. But after doing some googling, I think she did a REALLY good job with her version. Naturally I can’t help but compare this dish to the one she made. I love the rice filling at Vedge, it is fluffy, light, and packed with flavor. But I think I prefer my Mother in Law’s eggplant. Hers is just a little bit thicker, which I prefer. Regardless, this is a great dish, and I am pretty sure sticks on the menu most of the year. Heck it was even on the menu when Gina from The Full Helping went 5 years ago.

SEARED MAITAKE MUSHROOM (Not Pictured)
celery root fritter, smoked leek remoulade
This was another crowd favorite. We almost ordered a second plate of it. Maitake mushrooms (or hen of the woods) are amazing and hearty. The mushrooms are very “meaty,” perfectly cooked to be tender but not too dried out. The celery root fritter adds a nice contrasting texture.

DESSERT

So this is where I really dropped the ball. I forgot to take a photo of the dessert menu, thinking it would be fairly stable each night. Nope. I know they have rotating ice cream flavors each night, which my Father in Law picked since the featured flavor of the night was pistachio. It also appears that they have different variations of cheesecake that are always available. My husband went with the cheesecake, but I can’t remember what flavor he chose. Regardless, it was one of the best cheesecakes I’ve tasted in awhile.

CHOCOLATE UBER CHUNK (Not Pictured)
malt custard, pretzels & peanut butter, stout ice cream
Although the menu changes all the time, this seems to be the staple of the house. My Mother in Law jumped on this dish the second she saw it. I don’t blame her. I had a bite and it was amazing. Perfect for a chocolate lover.

GOLDEN PEACH ROBATAYAKI (Not Pictured)
yuzu-chile cornbread, miso ice cream, honeydew duck sauce
So after three cocktails and sharing two flights of Amari- my memory is a little hazy. Well, at least when it comes to reading. I couldn’t find the name of the dessert I had, until randomly this dessert appeared on the menu again. Oddly, I remember that night being surprised there was a peach in my meal…which seems unlikely since peach is in the title. Who knows, but I am 99% sure this what I had. Peach. Check. Miso Ice Cream. Check. Honeydew sauce. Check. So much to say about what the heck this even is. Well first robatayaki is a slow barbecue method from Japan. So this is what it looked like- the honeydew “duck sauce” is poured onto the plate creating a pool. The yuzu-chile cornbread sits on the honeydew puree, then the robatayaki-ed peach and ice cream sits on top of the cornbread. It is overall sort of like a fancy-pants sundae. All of this sounds very unlikely to be a good match, but it was actually perfection. So many textures and flavors. I love how salty the miso ice cream is, then is balanced by the sweetness of the honeydew sauce. The peach is also sweet, but adds a hint of tartness. The cornbread added only a little crumble to the dish overall.

Photo from my Mother in Law showing some of the Amari we sampled

AMARI FLIGHT
This deserves mostly an explanation, and less of a review of each individual drink. Maybe one day I will go back and give a more solid review, but this is something you will most likely want to do if you visit.

So what is Amari? It’s Italian for bitter, and you might of noticed me listing some amari in the cocktails above. They are herbal liqueurs that have roots back when hard alcohol was a way to administer medicine. Today they are usually served as an after-dinner digestive, which is why they appear on the dessert menu. If you are wondering what it tastes like- well that’s where things get complicated. Each one has their own blend of herbs and strength in alcohol. They can have anything between 16 to 40 percent alcohol. Wikipedia has a great little breakdown of different types, including ones made with artichokes, grapes, rhubarb, truffles, and bark.

Again, I would love to do a sampling with a notebook and all to really do some justice about these different drinks. But for now, I will leave you with a list of drinks offered, with some notes and links to learn more about them.

*NOTE: Prices are just listed to give an idea of how expensive the bottle might be. All stores will price differently.
**VEGAN WARNING: If you decide to buy Amari/Amaro from a liquor store check this list or barnivore before buying! Traditionally the red color comes from bugs.

Amaro Don Ferne 25% ABV $50
Amaro d’Erbe ‘Nina’ 30% ABV $35
Amaro Meletti 32% ABV $20
Averna 29% ABV 40 proof $25-30 a bottle
Cynar Carciofo style (made with artichokes) 16.5% ABV (there is a special 70 proof) $35
Elisir Novasalus 16% ABV $25
Fernet Branca 39% ABV $35
Maria Al Monte Fernet style 40% ABV $30
Ramazzotti Amaro 33% ABV $20
Sibona Amaro 28% ABV $32

Congrats! You made it to the end!
Which dish are you most curious to try?
Have you ever been to Vedge in the past?

Posted by Jennifer in Food Review, Reviews, Tour Pennsylvania, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: amaro, cocktails, my vegan restaurant, Philadelphia, vedge, vegan bar, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurant, vegan restaurants

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My Vegan Restaurant: Bar Bombón

June 7, 2017

Photo credit to Bar Bonbon website

Bar Bombón

133 S 18th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
website | facebook | instagram | twitter

May is a busy month for me – having a birthday in May pretty much means you are used to your birthday thunder being stolen. I remember once being invited to two different weddings on my birthday one year (one being my uncle, the other being my grade school teacher.), as well as there being school graduations, Mother’s Day, and copious other birthdays. This year we celebrated Mother’s Day, my birthday, and my 4th wedding anniversary all in the same week. So when Jon told me one Saturday that he was taking me out for a surprise I really didn’t know what to expect. Turns out we were going out for a big birthday dinner with my sister and friends (apparently I am turning 30 this year and that’s a big deal)!

Jon got his parents to watch Wolfie as we got dressed up and got into the car. At this point I didn’t know yet that what was going on. I tried not to speculate since Jon has a poor history of keeping surprises (I’d already found a wrapped gift in the closet). I noticed we were getting off at the exit for the train so I start pulling out my PATCO card… and then we drive right past the station….

“We need to stop by your sister’s house. We split a gift for your birthday and she forgot to bring it into work so we’ll need to pick it up!”

That sounded plausible, so I thought no big deal. She also lives next to a different station so it made sense. As we start pulling to my sister’s house I see a car, one I’ve never seen. So I asked who’s car was that- or rather “Who the fuck did that shitty park job?!” Jon said that it MUST have been a friend of my niece’s – and at this point if I wasn’t sleep deprived I would of gotten suspicious. When we got inside I was surprised by Alexa and both my sisters! That shitty park job was Alexa!!! In her defense there wasn’t much she could of done, it’s just the shape of my sister’s driveway.

So we all got on the train and met up with my friend Justine in the city to eat at Bar Bombon. It is a Puerto Rican/latin tapas restaurant owned by Nicole Marquis. She worked at Vedge, and opened up Charlie Was A Sinner and HipCi tyVeg. There was a lot of hype when the restaurant opened and much has already changed. The restaurant moved from having a mix of burritos, arepas, and tacos to having more seasonal plates.

If you are thinking about coming to this place YOU MUST make a reservation. My goodness the place was packed! When you come in it is a little awkward as you immediately walk into the bar area. There is barely enough room to walk past the bar to the seating. There is also a few tables outside but it is next to alley, which isn’t terribly charming. But the inside is awesome and very warm.

Alexa’s note: At first glance I noticed that I really liked the decor of this place. I don’t go out into Philly that often unless I’m with Jen, so I just love taking in the scenery of new restaurants and such. It was very crowded, but it was also a Saturday night around peak “let’s go out” hour – I guess I was just surprised because it was also pouring rain (I’ve been out of the city for too long and apparently forget that rain stops almost no one from going out and being away from their apartments).
Overall I really enjoyed the food and drinks, they had an extensive list of cocktails that I did not partake in…unlike Jen I’m wary of liquor as opposed to beer because if I don’t like it, it’s not a pretty sight. This is a place that I would love to come back to and try more off of the menu.

BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER
Avocado, green goddess, black bean puree, mirepoix
Alexa: One of the things I miss most as a vegetarian is good barbecue and food slathered in buffalo sauce. I love buffalo cauliflower for this very reason! Let me tell you – this taco DELIVERS. The cauliflower is slightly crisp and not soggy and the buffalo sauce isn’t overpowering. While I would say that everything we ate that night certainly tasted fresh I especially felt that way about everything in this dish.

CUBANO CLUB
Blackend chick’n, smoked tempeh, avocado, dill pickles, lettuce, tomato, grain mustard aioli
Jen: This was my favorite of the dinner and it was FILLING. This is one of those confusing tapas how big/small are the plates moments as this sandwich I think was a lot more food than the tacos. The club comes with a side of fries, which makes it pretty much a stand alone meal. The club was amazing! Definetly the chick’n and tempeh make it stand out as a unique sandwich from the original cubano sandwich. The smoked tempeh was tasty, and the pickles and aioli give just enough tang. If I were to go back with hubby, I might get this again with a vegetable plate and probably would have enough to eat (with cocktails too duh)

GUACAMOLE FRESCO & PICANTE
I know it is possible to mess up guacamole, but it happens to rarely. I liked the guac here. They let the avocados speak for themselves. You can pick it “fresco” or “picante.” The picante wasn’t insanely hot, but if you want a more traditional route, get fresco. They give a good amount of guac to chips. I was able to use some of the guac with my yuca fries. The chips were pretty nice too, and clearly fried on location.

MUSHROOM EMPANADAS
Leeks, currants, pickled plantains
I had really high expectations for these empanadas and was a little disappointed. Not to say they tasted bad, I just envisioned something different. The flavor was soft, and the plantains were served on the side. The empanadas were fried to perfection though.

REPOLLITOS FRITOS
Brussels sprouts, peanut, mango, lemon
Jen: My rushed meals at home mean I don’t eat enough veggies. So this night I was craving vegetables so Jon and I split the brussel sprouts. They were roasted to perfection with crispy leaves. There was a tasty peanut dipping sauce which was amazing. The annoying thing is that I tasted zero mango. I am guessing it was mainly in there as a sweetening agent?

Alexa: I love Brussels sprouts. Jen isn’t exaggerating when she said these were cooked to perfection, I probably could have had that whole plate as a meal for myself! To be fair, I didn’t know there was supposed to be any mango involved in the dish so I wasn’t as let down, but the oil used to cook the sprouts did have a sweetness to it. So maybe she’s not off on the “sweetening agent” idea!

SEITAN “AL PASTEUR”
Guacamole, onion, cilantro, pineapple
Alexa: I enjoyed this taco as well, but it wasn’t my favorite of the two that I tried. I enjoy spicier foods, so the buffalo cauliflower was a huge hit. The seitan was cooked well and had a lot of flavor that was brought out more by the onion and pineapple. I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a “meatier” dish.

SPANISH FRIES
Roasted peppers and onions, cheese sauce
Jen: My sister seemed to be very concerned about what was in the cheese sauce. The wait staff was very hesitant to give any clue about what it was made of, but if I were to take a guess it was maybe a veggie based sauce? Whatever was in it ended up tasting great. The fries were thin and extra crispy. My only complaint is that it could of had more toppings.

Alexa: My only complaint was that these weren’t bottomless because…
a) potatoes are a gift on this green Earth
b) potatoes cut into thin pieces covered in sauce and veggies are also a gift.

YUCA FRITA
Maduro sauce
I strongly recommend getting these yuca fries. They are light and fluffy but crispy on the outside. If you like handcut french fries, you will love these. They come with a sauce that made me think of the “special sauce” that my parents would get in Southern Utah. It was just ketchup and mayo, but this sauce tasted like it had a paprika kick.

BETTER & BETTER
aged rum, mezcal blanco, falernum
DUMMY GUIDE: rum, tequila (or something like it), spiced syrup
Hubby got this drink first. I am guessing the mezcal blanco means it is similar to tequila. Mezcal is pretty much an open ended category for drinks made from any type of agave plant. So this ended up being a strong “manly” drink served in a low-ball/old fashioned glass. The drink was very robust and nicely spiced. I question the purpose of the mezcal? I couldn’t particularly pick up on any of it.

LA CLASICA
tequila blanco, orange liqueur, lime
This is a classic magarita- like a REAL one. No neon colors, no slushie ice, and all fresh ingredients. It was really refreshing and tasty. Personally I like less ice, but is perfect for people who don’t like strong drinks.

LA PREFERIDA
tequila blanco, beet, habanero, lime
This is a twist to a margarita. Alexa got this drink and it comes out looking pretty pink-red because of the beet juice in it. It had just enough habanero to give a wee little kick.

NO LOVE LOST
london dry gin, lavender, cucumber, thyme, lime
This was my sister’s favorite drink, so much so she got it twice! I can see why. I found it super refreshing and you could taste all the different components. They worked all so well with each other. I strongly suggest this to anyone, but particularly to people who don’t like strong drinks.

SMOKING DARTS
mezcal blanco, white rum, creme de violette, rose water
DUMMY GUIDE: a tequila like liquor, un-aged rum, sweet violet flavor liquor, rose water.
This was my drink of choice! I’ve been wanting to try creme de violette for some time but not many liquor stores sell the stuff. FYI it is creme because the sugar gives a creamy texture. It was really nice. It had nice floral notes but wasn’t over powering. You don’t taste much of the rum and mezcal but I think they helped prevent the drink from tasting too much like perfume.

Posted by Jennifer in Food Review, Reviews, Tour Pennsylvania, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: cocktails, fusion, my vegan restaurant, Philadelphia, puerto rican, tapas, Tour PA, vegan bar, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurants

6 comments

My Vegan Restaurant: Champs Diner

June 9, 2016

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Champs Diner

197 Meserole Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206
website | facebook | instagram

These photos have been sitting on my computer for over a month? Oh gosh, maybe two months now. I have been crazily eyeing up Champs ever since I first heard of it. I went to Champs when visiting my sister in Brooklyn, and I got to meet her boyfriend, who actually comes to Champs often with his vegan and vegetarian friends. Although being vegan doesn’t mean you only have to eat healthy foods, when eating out it seems that the vegan option is almost always a salad. Sure restaurants are starting to give other vegan options, which pretty much means you can choose between a salad and a veggie burger. Sometimes all a vegan wants is some good old fashion greasy diner food. Well, this is the place to go.

I didn’t take any outdoor shots, the place isn’t glamourous, and it shouldn’t be. It’s a diner. It keeps the interior with traditional diner decor, note the mirrors and sparkly seats. If you aren’t familiar with diners here is a basic outline. If you are American, a diner means a specific style of restaurant that is mostly popular in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York area. Originally diners were similar to trailer homes, they were prebuilt models that could be purchased. They were long an narrow for transportation purposes, but it meant it was fairly cheap to build a completely new restaurant. Because they were prebuilt, there was a very specific style (think art deco, metallic, and kind-of looking like a trailer). As the diners became more popular they became bigger. Some places sold prebuilt models that could put together on premises in order to “expand” the restaurant. Now most surviving diners are massive monsters. If you want a comparison, here is an original styled diner compared to a later monster diner.

poutine2

So as the size of a diner has changed, the decor and food is what seems to define a diner. Stereotypically diners have checkered floors, vinyl booths, a bar area, and neon signs. But overall the decor must be humble, if it is too polished it clearly isn’t family owned. The food menus are traditionally huge, with portions to match. Depending on the location of the diner, you’ll get a different menu. If you are in the south you’ll probably get grits and biscuits, but in New Jersey you probably will find lots of Italian food. I know that is the appeal for most people is that you can go in a group and if one person wants Italian and the other wants a burger, you pretty much will please everyone… well except the vegan. Sadly most diners are not very vegan friendly unless you want french fries and a salad. Enter Champs.

Clearly Champs isn’t using a traditional diner cart, but they try and replicate the interior. They have the classic paneled mirrors, checkered floors, and funky lighting. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the decor is originally from some other diner. They have some macabre touches here and there, like I remember there being a skeleton near the cashier. Probably due to the fun interior and the great food, there was a huge wait.

cubano

Whenever I go to an all vegan restaurant I have such a hard time choosing. I am so use to only one to five options and then deciding if I want something light or not (ie do I want a salad or a veggie burger?) Even the non-vegans had a hard time deciding what to get. I figured I would go for food items I had never seen vegan before- the poutine fries ($9) and the cubano sandwich ($11). For anyone who isn’t familiar poutine are french fries that are covered in gravy and cheese curds. I never would of thought they would of been so addictive! I gave my sister a bite, and she deemed them authentic… or authentic enough (the cheese curds weren’t quite right, but I think we all suspected that.) The cubano is a vegan version of the cuban sandwich, which is a hot pressed sandwich with pork, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. This sandwich was yummy and the “ham” was bizarrely close to what I remembered of ham. Mostly it was the way the “meat” shredded. I was pretty full from the poutine so I took half of the sandwich home, which kind-of stunk up the train. Oops.

blueplate2

What did everyone else get? My sister, Lindsay, got the Buffalo Chik’n ($11), a faux chicken sandwich that has lots of hot sauce, ranch, and veggie toppings on a roll. I took a bite and thought it was pretty good, and was pretty close to an omni-style sandwich. I’ve eaten plenty of faux buffalo wing foods and vegan versions tend to only have hot sauce flavor, which I like, but not everyone’s cup of tea. Her boyfriend ended up getting the Blue Plate Special, which was only available that day. It was a mix of mac and cheese, a fried chicken drumstick, corn, and biscuits (maybe cornbread?). Lindsay seemed to like the mac and cheese, which is saying something since she is a BIG cheese fan (note: if Lindsay is reading this, I am sure she would want me to point out it didn’t taste JUST like cheese, but we all know that) The chicken drumstick was full of seitan goodness, and even had a wooden stick in it so you could eat it just like a normal drumstick.

toast

Jon and I were both eyeing up the same sandwich- the Country Fried Seitan ($13), but he “claimed” it before I did. The recipe features seitan made from Blackbird, breaded, fried, and served on texas toast with bacon, cheese, ranch dressing, tomato and greens. Funny thing is that I’ve never had texas toast before going vegan, and I am in love with it. More proof that going vegan only expands your options.

Great thing about Champs? It is fairly cheap. We got an appetizer and an entree for everyone and meal was cheaper than our lunch… and there was 4 people for dinner and 3 for lunch! Yikes! It probably helps that there isn’t any booze being served at Champs, so that kept the bill small. Also the plates are pretty big, which makes it so you only need the main meal. Even still, these are great prices if you are dining out in New York City, so if you are visiting Manhattan island, it would probably be worth the trip out to Brooklyn.

Posted by Jennifer in Food Review, Reviews, Tour NY, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: brooklyn, diner, my vegan restaurant, new york city, tour ny, Tour NYC, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurants, williamsburg

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My Vegan Restaurant: Heart Beet Kitchen

March 24, 2016

storefront

Heart Beet Kitchen

29 Haddon Ave Westmont, NJ 08108
website | facebook | instagram | twitter

I think I am cursed. I lived in Philadelphia and went vegan. Although I had plenty to eat, it seemed that once I left so many all vegan restaurants opened up. Then I move out of the Haddonfield area and what happens? An all vegan restaurant opens up within walking distance of my house. I am very glad that veganism is speading, but I do wish these places would be available when I actually live in the area. And does that window reflection look familiar? Well, I reviewed that lime green store, Espressit, back in the day, as it has many yummy vegan options.

table

But let’s talk about Heart Beet Kitchen because I really do love this place. It opened towards the end of 2015. They serve gluten-free and vegan meals that are locally sourced. The place is set up so you order at the counter, you get a numbered jar (with a napkin and utensils) and sit down, and your food is brought out to you. So it is a pretty casual setting that reminds me of P.S. & Co.

padthai

The menu is mostly raw, and is very light. I got the peanut-free pad thai, and enjoyed it. The noodles were spiralized zucchini, edamame, marinated mushrooms, carrots, purple cabbage, peppers, sesame seeds, and tossed in a sauce. The meal was surprisingly filling and perfect for lunchtime. The price was a little bit on the higher end, but if price is a concern you can easily grab any of their salads which a little bit cheaper. Note- I am not saying that the price is particularly high for what you get, it is just a little bit more than what I am use to spending on such a casual styled setting.

There is also a wide selection of drinks to choose from. This is the first place I’ve been to that has on tap kombucha. They use locally brewed kombucha from Inspired Brews in Philadelphia. If you check out their website you might see honey listed in the ingredients. I contacted the store owner and she said that they get specially made honey free kombucha. But I do give heads up that she said that sometimes they get requests from customers for other flavors that have honey. So if you are buying a bottle, check the ingredients to make sure there isn’t any honey. On tap kombucha should always be vegan.

counter

Not into kombucha? They have a list of different smoothies to order from and some fresh pressed juices that you can grab from the fridge. If you want something creamy they get almond milks made by origin almond milks, a South Jersey based company. I tried their dark cacao milk and it was very tasty and rich. If you want something hot they have coffee and espresso options using beans from Revolution Coffee Roasters in Collingswood and a variety of teas. Need a drink on the go? There’s maple water and boxed water (I think).

puppy

What I really like about this shop is the atmosphere. The owner really spent some time and money to make the place look amazing. I could picture myself coming again and getting just a drink and sitting down with a book. They are very animal friendly, and I saw people bring their dogs in briefly to pick up some food. The whole place was a big departure as I’ve gotten use to the more “junk food” vegan culture with places like Blackbird, Papa Ganache, Glory Donuts, VLife, and Dottie’s Donuts. Everything is light and super vegetable heavy which is something that can be hard to find when eating out.

Posted by Jennifer in Food Review, Reviews, Tour NJ, Vegan Pitstop Tags: collingswood, haddofield, haddon township, kombucha, my vegan restaurant, Raw, raw food, Tour NJ, vegan, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurants, westmont

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My Vegan Restaurant: Blackbird Pizzeria

February 24, 2016

Blackbird Pizzeria

507 s 6th St. Philadelphia, PA, 19147
website | facebook | instagram | twitter

Blackbird Pizzeria opened up my last year of college. I vaguely remember spending my last few months of my senior year hearing about an all vegan pizza place. As many vegans may know, people get things confused, maybe they meant all vegetarian or organic. I was in disbelief that there would be a vegan pizza place, especially considering that at the time vegan cheeses were pretty pathetic (and that wasn’t that long ago!) We heard a bunch of people say things like “I THINK it is on 6th between South and Pine….” and I would walk right by the place.

So fast forward to the future, I get my shit together and go full vegan. I heard all my friends who live in New Jersey talk about all the great vegan places in Philly. Clearly I missed my opportunity to try lots of fun new restaurants. But one place that got mentioned often was Blackbird. Then it hit me- it was the pizza place that refused to believe in! In my defense, people were right in which store it was, I was just scared. When I went the first time it all seemed so familiar, walking down 6th street staring at the store front, was it even open? Apparently. And it still is.

inside

Today Blackbird Pizzeria is an important part of Philadelphia’s vegan scene. The place is always busy, and has no frills. The place really punk, and my husband and I joked that it was filled with some stereotypical punks, vegans, and hipsters. But their customer base is really diverse with a large range of people coming in. Our most recent visit included a woman who came in with her 12 month (or less) baby, several single guys, a young couple, and large group of two families. The owner encouraged some of his workers to make vegan donuts, and started a business named Dottie’s Donuts who started by distributing donuts throughout Philly. They are now going to open a shop in West Philly, which I will be sure to review when it opens up. But for now I wrote what I thought of the donuts in my review of Grindcore House.

So what should you expect when you come? Well there is take out and tables to sit at. There isn’t anything glamorous about their set up. There is one bathroom, the sink is outside of it (which is brilliant!), you can even see how they set up their soda machine. The goal of the restaurant is just to provide awesome food, not create a specific atmosphere. It is an order and sit sort of place. They will bring your food out once you order, and usually as the food is ready so don’t be surprised if you get your single pizza slices before your wings.

pizzas

So what is available? They basically have pizzas, calzones, a few pan pizzas, hot sandwiches, a few cold wraps, salads, and seitan wings. They do have some sweet sold in the store and are kind-of done at random and on a first come, first served basis. You can pre-order desserts online. One of their popular desserts is the compost cup, where it looks like a plant is growing a cup full of dirt. I assume it is made with ground up oreos. I regrettably should of gotten on for the review. The soda selection is from Maine Root Sodas, they are all pure cane sugar based, fair trade, and made in the USA.

Before I talk about the specific foods, keep in mind restaurants change their menus all the time- at least good ones. “Really?” you might think, but it is true. It is a sign that owners are willing to improve recipes, and adapt to any changes in the public tastes. So if I post saying there is a certain type of pizza and it isn’t there when you go a year from now, don’t be too surprised. I know from reading old reviews of Blackbird there was a portobello mushroom melt, and it is nowhere to be found on their current menu.

cheesesteak

Since I knew I would be making a review of Blackbird I figured it was time to try something other than the pizza. I see that Blackbird always tries to win best veggie cheesesteak in Philly, in fact they won in 2014. Apparently they changed their recipe since that victory, but it still rocks. I never gotten a “real” cheesesteak before since I was never an all meat sandwich type of girl, but this is one you shouldn’t miss. The sandwich features seitan that was made on location and thinly sliced just like a traditional cheesesteak. There is a yummy cheesey sauce with some grilled veggies in a crispy grilled roll. It is heaven. I think next time we go my husband might want to get this sandwich instead.

Other hot sandwiches? There is a chicken parm, a fried chicken sandwich, and a cubano made with tofu. They have two cold wraps if that is more your style, but truthfully you can a vegan wrap almost anywhere. Can you get a hot crunchy vegan sandwich anywhere else? Not as common.

wings

If you are the sides type of person you have a few options. You have some non-traditional healthier vegan ones like a side of sauted kale, side salad, and chickpea salad. But you if you want traditional pizza food you can get some french fries, cheese fries, or seitan wings. The wings are super noteworthy because they are just amazing. There three different sauces to choose from- smoked habanero, root beer BBQ, or spicy sweet. I assume the smoked habanero is closest to a buffalo styled wing, but I like how they have other options to pick for people who are a little more heat sensitive.

Now I’ve had vegan wings from Good Karma, and yes they were tasty, but nothing compared to these. If you don’t believe me, they were ranked as top 10 wings in the United States by PETA. They were even trying wings from non-vegan restaurants. Blackbird takes their homemade seitan and makes them have enough surface area to get a nice crispy outside. When eating them you get the same crispy and meaty variety that you would get with real wings. We were feeling a little crazy and tried their root beer BBQ and it was fantastic. I’ve always wanted to try that southern sort of BBQ that uses soda to sweeten the sauce, and I wouldn’t surprised if they got really close to that.

pizza

So now let’s talk pizza! This is what Jon and I normally get after walking 5+ miles to the art museum and back. These are honestly my favorite pizzas in Philadelphia, vegan or otherwise. I remember really missing pizza during my college days and part of the problem was that I didn’t order out often and I had high standards to live up to. The dough at Blackbird is crisp on the bottom and chewy in all the right ways. Not too much daiya (which I find most pizza places sprinkle WAY too much on) and excellent toppings. These are the various pizza’s I’ve tried, and I have yet to be disappointed.

Balboa Pizza – Roasted cherry tomato, seitan sausage, baby arugula, pumpkin seed pesto, tofu ricotta, chili flakes, olive oil
This one is my personal favorite. It is more like an artisan pizza with the arugula, ricotta, and cherry tomatoes. It all works perfectly with each other.
Brunchbird Pizza – Tofu scramble, crispy coconut bacon, sauteed spinach, garlic butter, daiya cheese
This is the pizza that gave me the idea to put tofurky deli slices on pizza. This is a joy to eat, and you can order this any time of the week or day (I’ve heard some places make them weekend exclusive)
Haymaker Pizza – Seitan sausage, red onions, garlic butter, tomato sauce, daiya cheese, fresh oregano
This is the pizza pictured above. My husband loves the seitan sausages. This is a great pizza for anyone who use to love a typical meat lovers pizza.
Funghi Pizza – Assorted exotic mushrooms, fresh thyme, truffle oil, garlic butter, mozzarella style daiya cheese
I love mushrooms, so I really like this pizza. So creamy and the mushrooms were tender. I particularly like how they switch up the mushroom selection and don’t use canned mushroom. Yuck.
Marinara Pan Pizza – Tomato sauce, roasted cherry tomato, fresh oregano, sliced garlic, olive oil
I still have a soft spot for a tomato pie. Apparently it is a New Jersey speciality, and I’ve grown to like it since I can’t do the whole cheese thing. This definitely will fit that bill if you are craving some good old tomato sauce.
Nacho Pizza – Avocado, caramelized onions, Jalapeño peppers, tomato sauce, cheddar style daiya cheese
I am still unsure how I feel about hot avocados. This was really awesome but truthfully I think I would just ask for no avocado, or have it subbed with something else

Posted by Jennifer in Food Review, Reviews, Tour Pennsylvania, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: cheesesteaks, dottie's donuts, my vegan restaurant, Philadelphia, pizza, seitan, Tour PA, vegan, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurants, wings

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My Vegan Restaurant: VLife

January 27, 2016

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VLife

348 7th Ave (29th&30th) New York City, NY 10001
website | facebook | twitter

New York City is known for it’s large selection of vegan restaurants. Even if you aren’t eating at an exclusively vegan place, many tend to have a vegan option. The only downside is that New York City, particularly Manhattan, can be very expensive. Sure you could go to Chipotle, but that wouldn’t be an exclusively New York or vegan experience. When Jon and I went into New York to celebrate Alexa’s birthday we wanted a cheap place to eat since we know we would be spending more than normal on drinks and karaoke. VLife filled that gap.

Oh boy are you guys ready for some great photos?! Well too bad. These were taken with my cellphone because I didn’t want to lug around an expensive camera while at a bar (we went to Ginger Man, which has a killer vegan black bean soup) I already get nervous with my wallet and cellphone! Sadly, it was night time so you aren’t getting the greatest shot of the entrance, and we were a little intoxicated by the time we stopped in so I didn’t have the will power to stop and take a good photo before eating. That being said, enjoy the review.

wall

Just like my review of Beyond Sushi, this is another hole in the wall sort of place (if you notice I do these a lot, as we tend to eat out mostly when out and about). There were a decent amount of seating, but the lighting and environment wasn’t the greatest. You can at least give them some points for trying. The walls are white with bright green circles, so it isn’t the worst. It seemed that there were a lot of take out orders with people picking up, and delivery people picking up orders (which BTW, looks like they use a third party service, not sure which one though.)

If you aren’t aware of the location of the place, it is on Manhattan island close to Penn Station. So if you are going to Madison Square Garden or just getting off/to the train this is a quick place to go. Other areas you will be walking distance of (like 10-15 min walk) would be K-town, Bryant Park, New York Public Library, Garment District, Empire State Building, and Times Square. If I was instructing a vegan who is heading into New York via bus or train arrive in Penn Station, I might suggest heading here first to grab a bite, then heading up north on the island to Central Park, Saint Patricks Cathedral, Rockefeller Center and all that fancy shit- but then again I don’t know what tourists do in NYC.

burger

We were pretty hungry when we headed in, so we ordered fast. Jon got the Bodacious Burger, which is a soy based burger. The patty was pretty good, and super juicy which I don’t get often in a vegan burger. The burger came with a side dressing/sauce to spread on the bun. But the burger was juicy enough on it’s own that we saved the sauce for the fries, which is ordered separately from the burger. We picked their cajun french fries (which doesn’t seem to be on their online menu) with their mild chipotle chili sauce. The fries were very yummy, and my husband LOVED the sauce. Personally I found it a bit too sweet, but still a fun way to switch it up from ketchup.

poboy

I just came back from my trip from Florida (and had so many salads) where my Aunt made everyone authentic po’ boys. Naturally I couldn’t eat the shrimp, so when I saw it on the menu, I figured I had to get it. It was a little disappointing. This is my first time having fake shrimp, and they were actually close to the real thing. Sadly there were some problems with the authenticity of a po’ boy. The shrimp was simply too big (they probably should of just chopped the faux shrimp) and the batter seemed to have a hard time sticking on the shrimp. I guess I shouldn’t of expected so much from a regional food. But if you look past that, the sandwich was pretty good.

What I like about this place is the price point and location. This is a great lunch stop for most NYC tourists. The prices are cheap for the city, leaving Jon with a $7 burger, and me with a $9 sandwich, and fries that were an undetermined amount (it could of been $2 to add to my sandwich, or around $4 as a side, I don’t have the bill with me right now.) The Happy Cow got a lot of mixed reviews on their site and I can see why. I would probably give the place a 3 out of 5 stars, but might come back for more. Most everything is mock meats on the menu which can rub people the wrong way, but I rarely cook with them so they are usually a treat for me.

Posted by Jennifer in Tour NY, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: my vegan restaurant, new york city, tour ny, Tour NYC, vegan, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurants, vlife

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My Vegan Restaurant: Beyond Sushi

November 10, 2015

storefront

Beyond Sushi

You may of read in one of my posts that I had a surprise concert in September. I got a call from my Father in Law asking if I was free, he bought tickets to see a concert but his wife was sick. He said he would invite my husband, but he knew that he had a particularly bad work week (apparently he didn’t get home that night until 9!) So we rushed plans, caught a train into New York City, and I looked for some vegan grub for us to get. I found out the venue was really close to Beyond Sushi. I’ve heard of Beyond Sushi from an instagram post by Terry Hope Romero– and yeah I dug deep in the instagram archive to share that image with you.

092515-o

First sorry for the photos, we were kind of rushing. I am not sure why. I knew it would be awhile for the band to start, but there is still that hardwired feeling to get to the venue when the doors open. Plus I didn’t want to carry an expensive camera to a show or look like weirdo with my Father in Law… though I doubt he would of cared. So you get poorly lit iPhone photos! Oh well. We decided to kind-of share our sushi and get two different combos (combo number 2, two rolls, and two a la cart/individual pieces for $14.25) We got the following rolls:

Might Mushroom: Six-grain rice – Enoki – Tofu – Shiitake – Micro arugula; Sauce: Shiitake Teriyaki
Green Machine: Six-grain rice – English cucumber – Asparagus – Basil marinated veggies; Sauce: Jalapenõ Wasabi
Spicy Mang: Black rice – Avocado – Mango – English cucumber – Spicy veggies; Sauce: Toasted Cayenne
Pickle Me: Six-grain rice – Gobo – Carrot Pickled daikon – Avocado; Sauce: Carrot Ginger
Individual Pieces: Baked Tofu, Carrot, Enoki, and Seaweed

The store also provides some other non-sushi options. They will make some rice paper wraps, ranging from about $6 to $10. There are also hand rolls, side salads, side soups, and meal salads. There were also desserts and juices that looked like they might of been made at a different site. I didn’t get a good look at the company that makes them, but I assume it is another vegan shop located in New York City.

longrows

Combo number 2 was pretty filling, and I would probably get again. My FIL (father in law) didn’t quite eat all of his plate, like maybe two pieces too many. I found the seaweed and baked tofu individual pieces pretty awesome, the tofu being really firm and the seaweed perfectly spiced. My FIL seemed happy with his enoki mushroom and carrot choices. His favorite overall was the Green Machine, which had nice crunchy veggies inside, and a mildly spicy topping. My favorite was the Mighty Mushroom which had lots of umami flavors and made me think of eel rolls that I use to love to eat. The spicy mang packed a nice punch, making it most comparable to spicy tuna rolls. And the pickle me was yummy, but truthfully the most unoriginal for vegans, since pickled daikon rolls are common place vegan option in sushi bars. It was still good, but if you aren’t from the area, you might want to try the other rolls first.

I definitely would like to take my husband here next time we go into New York City. The place is awesome but truthfully not the most relaxing spot. We went to the Union Square location (229 E. 14th St) and it was a hole in the wall, as many of the stores are on that block. There aren’t many seats, and some seasoned New Yorkers might be a little rude and take up extra space to prevent you from sharing a table (though I am sure they would just move their shit if you ask if you could sit down). I would suggest coming during off hours to grab a seat, or ordering take out, which sushi holds up well for that.

Posted by Jennifer in Food Review, Tour NY, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: beyond sushi, japanese, Japanese food, my vegan restaurant, sushi, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurants

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A Vegan Trip to Frederick, Maryland

October 23, 2015

A shot of downtown Frederick

So you may of seen my post for Vegan MOFO about How we planned our trip for Frederick. Well, we went on that trip and now I am reporting back. It is worth noting we were only there for 2 days, and mainly for a wedding, so we don’t have so many things post about places to go and see. So if you read our post earlier, I talked about making a list of places you want to go to and make a small chart, maybe according to when those places are opened and figure out holes in your schedule. But always be flexible! For example our trip changed because my friend ended up having a rehearsal dinner that we were last minute invited to so we didn’t do as much exploring of Frederick as expected.

The Game Plan

Thursday:
Eat breakfast at home, packed
Head out to Frederick around 10 am
Arrive in Frederick really late around 2 pm whomp whomp
Eat pre-packed wraps and apples for lunch
Spent some time unpacking, talking to our AirBnB hosts and generally relaxed
Around 3 pm we went to Flying Dog
Headed to The Orchard for Dinner
Rummaged through some used records
Headed over to the bride and grooms rehearsal dinner, late, around 8pm
Went to bed around 11pm

Our flight from Flying Dog- Kettle Sou, Spiced Pear, Counter Culture Red Ale, and a Pumpkin Beer

Friday:
Packed lunches for the hike
Drove to Glory Donuts for breakfast got two snacks for the hike
Headed directly over to Annapolis Rock trail around 10:30
At the end of the trail we ate our faux deli and cheese sandwiches
Got back to our car and got ready for the wedding
Went to the wedding around 4pm packed some bars just incase
Drank a buttload, ate fresh fruit, crackers, bread, and artichoke salad (picked out cheese)
Went to Wedding after party (we got invited to TWO! Life of the party!)
Went to bed around midnight

Saturday:
Packed all our stuff
Headed directly to Glory Donuts
Decided we were too tired (or hungover) and headed home.. whomp whomp

Flying Dog is served everywhere, including the wedding we went to.

Packing List

4 sliced apples (2 leftover apples)
1 pack of celery sticks and carrot sticks (never ate)
1 box of clif bars
4 protein clif bars (3 leftover)
4 peanut butter packs (3 leftovers)
Tofurky Peppered Deli Meat
Go Veggie Vegan Cheese
Sliced Bread

As you can see, we didn’t really eat any of our snacks. We were pretty busy or just had a lot of options of things to eat. I think if we stayed a day longer we would of eaten more them. Heck when we got home my husband pretty much ate a bagel, chips, and a clif bar. *rolls eyes* You could of just eaten the bar in the car. But part of the lack of snack eating was because we stopped by Glory Donuts and got some muffins and donuts that we partially had during the hike.

The BBQ sandwich from Glory Donuts, three slices of bread, tofu, bbq sauce, tomatoes, greens, and a slice of chao cheese

It is funny because way back when I told Alexa we had a wedding to go to in the middle of Maryland. She mentioned how she had a wedding in Maryland that was in a very boring place. She told me, but I quickly forgot. When talking to the bride and groom we asked where they were living since their wedding registry shipping address was still listed at their parents house. They explained that they lived in an apartment but it wasn’t in the greatest neighborhood in Hagerstown so they were shipping it to their parents so no one would steal it. Hagerstown is the place where Alexa’s wedding was. Now, before we get any Hagertownians getting mad, we are both well aware that there are nice areas and bad areas in Hagerstown. But regardless Alexa was a little bummed since there were a bunch of cool hikes and places in a short drive away.

Overall from what I can tell Hagerstown and Frederick are the two big cities in central Maryland. Hagerstown I think is bigger and more based in industries while Frederick is a college town and most people who live there actually commute to Baltimore or Washington D.C., making it a commuter town or a sleeper town. The numbers show the difference in income. According to the numbers on Wikipedia the medium income for Hagerstown is $30,796, while Frederick’s income is $303,900! That extra digit makes a big difference! So each town has their own different charms. I mention this only because Alexa visited one place, and the two are close to each other, about a 30 minute drive. Frederick is about an hour drive away from Baltimore, Washington D.C and Gettysburg, making it a great place to make a day trip out of.

The view from Gambrill State Park’s Tea Room

With that said, I think I was surprised by how cute the town of Frederick was. It reminded me a lot of Philadelphia’s residential sections in Center City. Only the houses in Frederick were all in perfect condition! Although you would think Philadelphia would have the money to keep places in top shape, but many row homes are rented out into apartments, and therefore aren’t always well maintained. There is clearly a town wide pride in keeping the city historic. We saw many newer building but they would be attached to older farms. On the flip side, since there is a university in the town, there are a lot of hip stores as well. Point and case would be Glory Donuts, a vegan breakfast shop.

So what can you do in this town? Well, if you are strictly talking about the town, there are a few historical sites to see. Sadly, Jon and I didn’t get the chance to see them. You could easily park your car and walk around the downtown area, and expand outwards with lots of beautiful building to photograph. There are many ghost tours, walking tours, and museums. One of the most talked about museums is the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

If you are willing to venture out of town there are lots of parks and hiking trails to the west. We went on a trail to Annapolis Rock, but there are many other places. Just ask anyone in town what their favorite trail is, and you probably will get an answer. There is Gambrill State Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, Cunningham Falls State Park, and parts of the Appalachian Trail. To the east of the city, where we stayed the night, the scene gets more rural. We passed by many different hay rides, corn mazes, petting zoo, and the like for the fall season. We could of made a day out of those alone! So there is plenty of things to do if you look around. We didn’t scratch the surface since of our friends wedding. We definitely would like to make another trip down to discover the area more in the future. But for now, here is the list of places we checked out.

Food:

glory
frenchtoast

Glory Donuts
45 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701
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Hands down this has been my favorite place in Frederick! It is clearly a town wide favorite. My friends that were getting married heard of it and they aren’t vegan or interested in vegan food. While we ate there, people were always ordering doughnuts and breakfast. I wonder how many people knew the food was vegan? Their doughnut flavors are really creative, they had rosemary, vampire chocolate (novelty vampire teeth were on the doughnut), s’mores, and chai tea. Our favorites were probably the cinnamon sugar twist, chocolate bourbon, and the peanut butter chocolate pretzel.

But they also have sit down brunch foods. They have a menu on their official website, but they have daily specials as well. We got the regular stuff though we were tempted by their pumpkin french toast! Jon got the salted apple pie stuffed french toast. Now when you hear a name like that, you sometimes just assume they use apple pie as way to describe the overall flavor, right? We were told that the french toast might take 20 minutes to make because they were still BAKING THE PIE! Yup, they weren’t joking around with that. I got the bbq tofu club, which was amazing to have a savory breakfast food. It had 3 slices of toast, a tofu slice, veggies, ranch dressing, and a slice of chao cheese. When we went the second time, Jon got the bbq tofu club and I tried the tofu fried egg sandwich. Everything was pretty awesome.

I can’t recommend this place highly enough! There aren’t many stores like this vegan or otherwise. The staff was nice a chipper even though I was probably incoherent. They definitely know the regulars, and I even caught one of the staffers using sign language with one of their deaf customers! Okay, maybe it is a person they knew before working there, but it just shows how well educated the staff is. If you are going to Hagerstown, Baltimore, Washington DC, or Gettysburg, go out of your way to try this place out! It is your duty as a vegan!

theorchard

The Orchard
45 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701
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The Orchard is an omni restaurant focusing on organic and locally sourced foods. They mean it, even down to the booze! They do have lots of options for vegans, vegetarians, and gluten-free. They have it very clearly marked on the menu, including meals that can be made vegan. Most of the vegan options are tofu stir fries so keep that in mind when picking here to eat. There are so more options if you don’t mind your food to share the same deep frier as meat. In fact, they assume that you as a vegan, wouldn’t want that. So some foods in the appetizers are listed as not vegan because of this. Our server knew the menu well, and knew most of the answers on top of her head about what was and wasn’t vegan.

We didn’t mind the shared frier so we got the vegetable tempura which was cooked to perfection. I got the hunan bean curd (pictured above) which was pretty amazing. It was a little salty, but that is part of the dish. Underneath all those tofu pieces is a pile of brown rice. My dish was an entree, so I got a soup. I picked the BBQ bean soup, which was recently made vegan by subbing the honey for maple syrup. It was a nice balance of bbq flavor and soup consistency. My husband got the Polynesian stir fry and ate the whole thing, so I can only assume it was good.

Sleeping

101515-o

Crickenwood Farm via AirBnB
Greystone Drive, Monrovia, MD
Hydrangea Room | Silhouette Room | Victorian Room
This AirBnB is highly recommended from my husband and myself. The two owners were really nice and provided a clean and unique house. They were really laid back and we enjoyed sitting down and talking to them. There is a continental breakfast, and they offered to buy us anything we needed for our vegan diet. We would of took up that offer if we didn’t keep going to Glory Doughnuts. They have a bunch of friendly puppies on their property, and they do own some cows. The place is nicely tucked away and gives a nice quiet place to sleep. Downside is that the drive is 30 minutes into Frederick, which wasn’t so bad except we had to drive back and forth often because of the wedding. (we went hiking then had to drive to get dressed, the drive all the way back)

Places of Interest

Annapolis Rock & Black Rock
12000 Government Center Parkway Fairfax, MD 22035
Trail Information
There are lots of different parks in the area, so if you want to go hiking you have options. We asked our friends if they knew of a long trail that wasn’t too long that we could do before the wedding. He recommended this trail, which seemed to be popular with the locals. The trail is part of the Appalachian Trail, an important part of American natural history. I always joke with my husband that if he looses his mind and quits on the job, I would take a long vacation, sublet the house and hike the entire Appalachian Trail together. But I digress. This hike is pretty easy, it is steep on the first bit, but levels out after while. You also walk next to the highway for a little bit, but it quickly goes away. The hike is one way, so you pretty much will walk past Annapolis Rock, then to Black Rock, then backtrack to the parking lot. The trail continues, but it will not bring you back to the starting point. Roundtrip it is a little under 8 miles, and took us about 3 1/2 hours, though lots of people suggest that it would take more like 4 hours.

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Flying Dog
Greystone Drive, Monrovia, MD
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Flying Dog is a fairly common beer in the area. Although we have it always around us, we rarely drink it. So visiting the brewery was really nice. They do beer tastings at their brewery, so you will get to drive down “English Muffin Lane” and through some warehouses. They do tours, but they usually only take reservations before hand, which I wasn’t use to as New Jersey requires people to take a tour before sampling beer at breweries. They have it so it is set up like a bar, you can get growlers filled, individual glasses, and flights. There are also some non-vegan meat and cheese platters, but it looked like some people brought their own take out and ate it there as well, though you might want to call and ask before hand if this is okay. Their website says that children aren’t allowed in the tasting area, and everyone must be 21 and older, so keep that in mind. We did get carded when entering.

All beers do not use any animal products during the filtering process, though they had a few beers in the past that used honey and oysters. So ask before filling up your glasses. The brewery is known for their experimental brews. While there we were surprised by their interesting brew choices. For example we got the Counter Culture Red Ale, which I would never of thought to put coffee in anything outside of a stout. Their best known beer is probably the Gonzo Imperial Porter. If you don’t have time to check out the brewery don’t worry, almost all restaurants in the area serve the beers.

The Record Exchange
151 N Market St, Frederick, MD 21701
8642 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
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Jon and I recently got a hold of a portable record player that sits upstairs for when we workout. So when we left The Orchard, we figured we would stop by The Record Exchange. It is a nice grab bag of vinyl, cds, tapes, dvds, video games, and even laserdiscs! Prices range from a buck to $40! It really depends on the type of record, is it new, and if it is collectable. For example they did have a copy of Aaliyah’s Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number that I was eyeing up, but it was like $35. But we still managed to find a bunch of records, none that we paid more than $4 for.

Rock & Roll Graveyard
115A E Patrick St Frederick, MD 21701
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I thought I would mention this place even though we didn’t actually get to go here since my friend swears by it. If you are a big music nerd, supposedly you can find more records at cheap prices. The owner goes to flea markets, buys a bunch of a dirty records in bulk and cleans them himself for the store. So nothing goes over a few bucks. Worth checking out since it is still in the general downtown area.

Posted by Jennifer in Tour Maryland, Traveling, Vegan Pitstop Tags: air bnb, annapolis rock, Appalachian trail, beer, black rock, crickenwood farm, flying dog, glory donuts, hiking, movies, music, my vegan restaurant, omni restaurant, records, the orchard, the record exchange, tour maryland, tour md, vegan bakery, vegan pitstops, vegan restaurants, vinyl

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