travel

Scotland: Once More, with Scenery

/ Kelly / 5 Comments

In my last Edinburgh post, I got a little verbose about the Nut Roll. I shared a few photos of yummies from Henderson’s, but that was it – I didn’t show you any more photos of the gorgeousness that is Scotland, and I certainly didn’t mention any of the other places we ate. Let me remedy that by sharing a few choice pictures and a few paragraphs of accompanying explanations.

First up, how about something that every American clamors to see when going abroad?

Front angle view of a castle with a few round turrets and a British flag.

Oooh.

The first real stop during our coach tour of the highlands was at Stirling Castle, where we paid a rather large amount of money to spend barely an hour walking around inside the castle grounds. But it was a lovely day, we got to see one of Scotland’s largest and most historic castles, and we were on vacation – the most appropriate time to spend more than you usually would, right? Anyway, do you see that bit of yellow-gold peeking over the frontmost turret? That color is called King’s Gold, and much of the castle’s exterior would’ve been painted that color in the castle’s heyday. Much cheerier than grey stone!

After leaving the castle, our gregarious tour guide, Rob, narrated many harrowing tales of Scottish history while navigating the equally harrowing roads in the highlands. He took us on a quick detour “to see his cousin Hamish,” who, as it turns out, is a Highland Cow. Oh, Rob, you so silly. Hamish was pretty silly-looking too.

Close-up of a Highland Cow - a large, shaggy creature with long, curved horns.

My, what a drippy mouth you have!

Hamish has gained fame for being the oldest Highland Cow (‘scuse me, Highland Coo) in Scotland – he is, allegedly, nineteen years old and is basically a tourist attraction. The inherent tackiness of exploiting an animal so tourists can ooh and ahh and purchase Hamish-emblazoned sweaters and keychains and Christmas ornaments aside, Hamish does seem to have a pretty sweet life – he has a decent amount of land to traverse, he gets lots of (hopefully healthy) food from tourists who can buy it from little machines, and he has a live-in girlfriend. He even has his own children’s book. Hamish is something of a national treasure, which made Rob’s easy transition from showing off Hamish to talking about the deliciousness of Highland Cow meat rather jarring and disappointing.

We didn’t spend too much time with our shaggy friend, however; we had a lunch reservation to catch. Gulp. Vegans in the house, do you, too, get that sinking sense of dread any time you’re told that someone has “thoughtfully” made a meal reservation at an unknown restaurant? S and I were very wary indeed, imagining that our only option would be a wilted iceberg salad and that we’d have to watch our fellow travellers chow down on Hamish’s less fortunate cousins. But! What luck! Rob had booked us at the Oak Tree Inn, a feted establishment on the shores of Loch Lomond. Among the meat and fish and cheese on the menu lurked a – wait for it – vegan pizza! Yes, it was vegan as offered – cheeseless and veggie-laden, if a bit bland.* Vegan food in the highlands; hallelujah! S and I felt very American indeed as we munched pizza and chips (that’s French fries to you) while our less dietarily restricted traveling companions tried the more traditionally Scottish Cullen skink soup and “locally caught” (ahem!) haggis. Ah well – we all got to enjoy the same beautiful views after our meals, skink or no.

The shores of a lake. In the distance are sailboats and another far shore.

What can you seeee… on the horiiizon?

Ah, Loch Lomond – its banks are, indeed, bonnie. After a small failure at finding the path to the lake (really; I don’t know how we missed it, it was a stone’s throw from the Inn!) S and I meandered along the bonnie banks for a good 45 minute, taking photos and enjoying the view. Then we hightailed it back to the bus so Rob could ferry us to our next stop – a bona fide Scottish whisky distillery. I don’t have any particularly grand photos from Glengoyne because we were too sloshed on free samples to focus the camera.

Not really; we just didn’t take many photos because we were quite engrossed in the truly interesting and in-depth tour. I was also trying valiantly not to freak out after a fleck of our tour guide’s spittle landed on my face as he explained the intricacies of the single malt process; that distracted me from taking too many photos. Suffice it to say that we left the distillery with a few photos, a taste for single-malt, and a gift of whisky for our host. We also brought back a small ceramic water jug that came free with our purchase – it is emblazoned with the distillery’s logo and is our most treasured souvenir. ;)

Then it was back to the bus for the thrilling conclusion of both our tour and Rob’s narration of the various battles in Scottish history, which included Rob playing a rather melancholic version of the aforementioned Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond that left Rob choked up and S with an obsession to find that very version of the somber song so he could own it for his very own. (Spoiler: He did; it’s a version by The Corries, if you’re similarly masochistic.)

And thus ended our day-long whirlwind tour of the highlands. If you’ve been following along, this was the point when we returned to Edinburgh in the rain and hightailed it to Henderson’s for our second meal there. Full circle, y’all.

Whew – I wrote far more than intended (what else is new?). Apologies, and thanks for slogging through my wordiness. You’re chums, you know that?

How do you feel about using animals as roadside attractions? Have you ever been pleasantly surprised to find a vegan option in a less-than-promising locations?

* Editor’s note, 1/23/18: As of today, the Vegano Pizza is still on the Oak Tree Inn’s menu! There’s also a chickpea and sweet potato curry that might be vegan — it’s marked with a (V) for vegetarian, but does come with (presumably non-vegan) naan and could contain cream or yogurt.

Edinburgh: Vegan Haggis and Chocolate Galore

/ Kelly / 4 Comments

As much as I love Ireland, I was a little more excited about the four days S and I planned to spend in Edinburgh. Scotland was a new-to-me country, and visiting new-to-me countries makes this wanderlustin’ gal happy. And when I caught my first view of Edinburgh Castle as we rode the bus into the city from the airport, I felt very happy indeed. Just look at this view:

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Edinburgh!

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I just love how the castle dominates Edinburgh’s skyline, in part because the city is so hilly. Edinburgh as a whole just has a much older feel than Dublin, making it feel a little more foreign and, dare I say, exotic. After a single day in the city, it became quite obvious to me that J.K. Rowling’s imagination was clearly fueled by the streets and sights of Edinburgh. ;)

My imagination, however, requires more than just pretty sights – it requires food. (Did ya like that transition? Heh heh.) Luckily Edinburgh did not disappoint in the realm of vegan food! On our first day in the city, we enlisted the help of our city-savvy host, S’s friend, to find the Baked Potato Shop. The shop is truly a hole-in-the-wall just off bustling Cockburn Street (that’s pronounced “co-burn” – stop giggling!), with a single booth inside and a line out the door. On this first visit, we were lucky enough to snag a booth in the steamy interior – apparently, bakin’ up potatoes all day long lets off  a lot of heat!

Although baked potato joints are quite common in Edinburgh, this particular one is notable for its vegan friendliness. Its menu clearly lists which topping are vegetarian and which are vegan – very helpful, as long as you can actually see the menu over the heads of hungry folks waiting in line!

Interior of a small building - to the right is a sign with lists of baked potato toppings; to the left is the counter and a waitress, along with some toaster ovens in the background. In the foreground are lots of people waiting!

Busy!

Giant, hot baked potatoes are totally worth the wait, however. S and I both ordered mediums on this first visit, only to discover that a medium is really two respectably sized taters crammed into a single basket – so much food! I recommend getting the small – it’s only one potato, but it’s more than enough. On this occasion, we’d also ordered a vegan haggis samosa (!) so we had lots of eats to go around. My potato[es] with haggis and a bit of non-dairy butter were enormous:

Baked potato stuffed with vegan haggis - crumbly bits of nuts and other things that look a bit like stuffing.

No interior organs in this haggis…!

I was very excited to try vegan haggis… not that I’d ever had real haggis. I didn’t know what to expect, but this stuff was delicious. I believe it was a blend of ground nuts and grains with lots and lots of savory spices, and it made the perfect counterpart to the more neutral potato flavor. Yum. My only complaint about my Baked Potato Shop dining experience is that they really should offer sturdier silverware for anyone who’s dining in – that little plastic fork could not hold up to a thick-skinned, fully loaded potato!

With vegan haggis checked off on my bucket list, I was happy to enjoy less traditionally Scottish eats. Serendipitously, our host’s flat was just a couple minutes’ walk from the Chocolate Tree, a coffee shop and chocolate café. Yes, chocolate café. The shop is just bursting with chocolate-y goodness, from freshly made cakes and tarts to truffles, chocolate bars, and gelato. Oh yeah – a fair amount of it is vegan. For example, this chocolate berry tart was calling our name the first time S and stopped in:

Close-up of a fudgy chocolate tart on a plate. It's covered with strawberries and cherries.

Pretty much fudge on a plate.

That tart was every bit as rich and fudgy as it looks. Thank goodness for those berries – I’m not sure even I could handle so much unadulterated chocolate! We enjoyed our tart and espressos outside, thankful for the easily accessible jars of lemon water to help us wash down all that chocolate and coffee.

Top-down view of a café table with a cup of espresso and a piece of rich, dark chocolate tart covered with strawberries and cherries.

Perfection.

The next time S and I visited, we didn’t have room in our tummies for cake. S ordered a soy latte and I tried the vegan Mayan hot chocolate. The Chocolate Tree is serious about its hot chocolate – just take a look at my drink:

A teacup full of thick hot chocolate.

Hmm…

Oh yes. That is basically melted chocolate – so, so rich. It was delicious, even if I had to enlist S’s help in finishing it. (He was happy to help – his soy latte was disappointingly weak.) If I could change one thing, though, I’d have added more spice to it – I couldn’t really taste whatever spices were in it.

On that trip to the shop, S and I also picked up a few dark chocolate bars to add to my snack stash. The Winter Spice bar, featuring “a cozy blend of organic gingerbread spices and organic dark chocolate,” was particularly droolworthy.

With all that chocolate as fuel, S and I conquered the climb up to Arthur’s Seat with our host as a tour guide, taking us up a few rather less-than-beaten paths. But the view was totally worth scrabbling up rocks and scraping our palms.

Spectacular view of Edinburgh - green hills in the foreground, the city in the mid-ground, and the water in the background.

Those colors!

The way back down had its fair share of fantastic views, too.

A couple walls of a ruined stone building.

Abbey that was.

So… Scotland? Yeah, I liked it. I liked it very much. And the good eats didn’t end with chocolate and haggis – I haven’t even talked about our favorite find yet! ;)

Have you tried vegan haggis? Or… real haggis?!

Dublin: Blazing Salads and a Lone Gnome

/ Kelly / 1 Comment

For our two two-day, two-night stints in Dublin (they were the bread around a four-day Edinburgh sandwich), S and I found places to stay via AirBnB. During our first stay in Dublin, we rented a room with a truly lovely older Irish couple. They were the epitome of hospitality, despite Hans’ slight mockery of “céad mile fáilte and all that bullshit.” Every morning we broke our fast at their table; they served up bread, jam, berries, and a host of un-vegan things as well, and they doled out site-seeing advice galore. With their house as a conveniently located home base, we explored the city in comfort.

Between their recommendations and my memories from studying in Ireland five years ago, we were pretty set with ideas for things to do. When it came to eating, we needed a little help. I downloaded the HappyCow app on my iPad and used it before we set out for the day to find vegan eateries that were nearby, and this approach worked wonderfully.

After arriving in Dublin and resting up, we needed sustenance. HappyCow told me that a vegetarian food bar (delightfully called Blazing Salads!) was but a ten or fifteen minute walk away, so we set out. We found Blazing Salads in the middle of a bustling shopping area, and we knew we’d struck gold when we entered the small shop and saw their signage:

Three big chalkboard-y signs that describe Blazing Salads' philosophy.

Healthy food and whole, seasonal ingredients! Yes please!

The center of the shop features a salad bar with various varieties of salads and hot bar type items. There’s also a refrigerated section with juices and pre-made sandwiches, a pantry-like area with staples and freshly baked breads, and a counter at the front with other freshly made savory items. I chose from that section, ordering a vegetable and samosa spring roll to share and a brown rice ball stuffed with aduki bean and vegetables for myself. S chose a cold tofu, veggie, and sprout sandwich. While we waited for my selections to be heated, we nabbed a spot at the window bar (there’s no indoor seating) and I sipped on a bottled juice.

A small bottle of very orange juice and a small paper bag with a carrot pattern printed on it.

So much orange!

Strictly speaking, we didn’t need that to-go bag since we ended up eating in the shop. But the cashier gave it to us, and it was so cute that I just had to keep it! The colors complemented my juice nicely, too.

Soon, our hot foods were heated and ready for the munching.

Foods!

That spring roll was filled to bursting with veggies, and my brown rice ball was a scrumptious, savory blend of beans and veggies. We had a couple of soy-based dips, and although I liked how they kept my rice from getting dry, their added salt made both the roll and the ball a bit too salty – umami overload! Even though I only ate the rice ball and half the roll, I was quite full when I finished. I wish I’d snagged a bite of S’s pita sandwich, though – it looked so yummy!

A pita stuffed with tofu, veggies, and sprouts.

Sprout overload!

Actually, who am I kidding – if I’d had any room in my belly, I would’ve gone for one of Blazing Salads’ desserts – their front case had lots of creative treats, many of them raw. Alas, I did not have room in my belly.

During that first two-day stint in Dublin, we also ate at Diwali, an Indian and Nepalese establishment not far from Blazing Salads. With many vegetarian and vegan options on the menu, S and I had a hard time choosing what we wanted. I opted for the veggie Karahi curry, while S chose a veggie vindaloo that he described as “the hottest I’ve ever had, by far.” Neither of us could finish our meals, so they returned with us to Hans’ and Deirdre’s house. Alas, they were also forgotten there when we left Dublin.

Before we left, though, we grabbed snacks at a health food shop called Nourish. Actually, to be honest, I’m not 100% sure that was the place we stopped, but I think it was. We stocked up on flapjacks (oh how I love European flapjacks!), a delicious peppermint-filled chocolate bar that filled the spot that Junior Mints used to occupy in my heart, and various other vegan bars. I kept them stashed in my purse for times of hunger… as one does. ;)

The other place we dined was Cornucopia, but I’m saving my review till later. As you’ll hear, this joint quickly became our most-frequented eatery in Dublin. ;)

Other than eating, we also toured Trinity College, saw the Book of Kells, checked out the (overpriced) Guinness Storehouse (the Foreign Extra is vegan, so make sure to ask for that as your free pint!), and took a themed walking tour. We also spent a lot of time just wandering around and familiarizing ourselves with the city, something I always enjoy doing (as long as I have a map!). And we hung out at St. Patrick’s Cathedral with this guy:

Close-up of a little gnome statue in the foreground with the cathedral in the background.

Hmm…

Heh heh. Up next in my travel tales: Edinburgh!

Airplane Food: Really Not Worth the Hateration (thanks, Aer Lingus!)

/ Kelly / Leave a comment

I am back! S and I returned from our Ireland and Scotland adventure on Sunday. It was, in a word, glorious. I have so much to share because, as it turns out, Dublin and Edinburgh are just bursting with truly phenomenal vegan eateries. I’ll be spacing out my inevitably effusive posts over the next couple weeks, but in the meantime let me start by answering the question that’s on everyone’s lips: How was the airplane food?!

Well, dear readers, it was just fine. We flew Aer Lingus, and a couple days before our flight I called and confirmed that we wanted vegan meals for both legs of our flight. Even after the customer service agent assured me that it was all set, I was a bit nervous. Last time I flew overseas, the meal on the way back from Italy wasn’t vegan – there was some confusion because that flight was operated by KLM, not Delta. But Aer Lingus came through on both legs of our flight, so S and I didn’t have to break into the sizable stash of snacks I’d brought with me. And the great thing about ordering a special meal is that you get it before everyone else on the flight because the flight attendants heat the special meals up separately. Win!

Anyway, here’s what we ate for dinner on our flight to Ireland:

Mmm, scrumptious!

The main dish was a tomato-y chickpea curry with broccoli and carrot. Yes, singular carrot – I spied but one baby carrot in my dish. Despite the slightly mushy veggies and rice, this really wasn’t terrible, and it was more creative than other vegan airplane dishes I’ve experienced. The side salad was a cucumber and tomato deal with no noticeable dressing – fine by me. The meal came with a roll, some non-vegan margarine (whey fail!), and a small fruit salad. Not bad.

After we traversed the Atlantic and jumped ahead in time, we received breakfast. While the rest of the passengers got some sort of croissant sandwich, we received a bagel with blackberry jam and a little tub of orange juice.

Brekkie!

Again, not terribly exciting, but totally acceptable.

I didn’t photograph our food on the flight back, but you’re not missing much. Our lunch was an uninspiring pasta and veggie dish; it was limp and rather flavorless. It came with a typical side salad (no dressing), a roll, actually-vegan margarine, and more fruit salad. Sadly, we did not receive a special vegan pre-landing snack. The crew came around and offered another breakfast bread-y snack (croissant? roll? bagel? I don’t even remember), but it contained dairy, so we passed. Ah well. Can’t win ’em all.

In summary, Aer Lingus definitely passed the airplane food test. It also passed my “no delay” test – I have reallllly bad luck when I fly; nearly every flight I take gets delayed, gets cancelled, or goes horribly awry on one leg (or both!). But none of our Aer Lingus flights had any issues; other than the Chicago-Dublin round trip, we embedded a Dublin-Edinburgh trip that went equally smoothly. Hooray for that.

Don’t worry – this is the least exciting of my travel recap posts. I have much more exciting stuff to talk about later!

What have your vegan airplane food experiences been like? 

What’s in the Box? Summer 2012 CSA Week Five

/ Kelly / 6 Comments

It’s week five of my summer CSA! Want to see my haul?

An empty basket!

Gasp!

What devilry is this?! Don’t worry, our farm hasn’t gone under or anything. S and I decided to donate our share to a local food pantry this week. I’d be lying if I said we did it out of pure altruism, though – it was a very pragmatic decision. We are going to be out of town for about ten days starting Friday, and our food just wouldn’t last that long. Where will we be? We are going to Ireland and Scotland! Eee!

…I know, I know, we just took a trip to RI. And I haven’t even mentioned that I spent last weekend camping with college friends. But the Ireland/Scotland trip was in the works well before either of those trips, and summer is for travelin’, right? Yeah. I’m super excited to return to Dublin, where I spent most of a summer studying during college. And I’ve never been to Scotland, so I can’t wait to explore Edinburgh and check out some Fringe events. And – of course! – we are both very excited to discover what vegan eats Dublin and Edinburgh have to offer. I was vegetarian when I was in Ireland, but I’ve never experienced it as a vegan.

So, dear readers, if you’ve been to either place as a vegan, let me know where I should eat! And do share fun things to do in Dublin and Edinburgh. I’ve done many touristy things in Dublin, but I’m open to your suggestions, too! And, tell me – do you have any fun vacations planned this summer?

Chicagoin’ it Up

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

WHEW.

That was me giving a big huge sigh of relief. My move is complete! We are safely installed in our new place (thanks in part to some hastily hired movers who hauled our two sofas up to the third floor when we utterly failed to do so ourselves)! I can now settle in and enjoy living with two of my favorite people, S and Moria. Yes, Moria is people.

I’ll talk a bit more about that settling process eventually, but for now let me take you back in time. In the midst of our moving preparations, S and I escaped to Chicago for a weekend to visit some friends who moved there a couple months back. I really enjoy Chicago, especially when I’ve got a place to stay right in the city and I’m hanging out with folks who have done all the touristy things already. This trip was pretty relaxed – we saw a movie, went suit-shopping for our friend Aaron (and helped him select one snappy number!), waxed nostalgic at the American Girl Store (I had Addy and Molly, and I loved them both to bits), and just hung out and enjoyed each other’s company. We also ate food. Duh. Half the reason I travel is to try new vegan eats. ;)

First, we headed to Standard India Restaurant for a late dinner on Friday night. I didn’t take pictures (mostly because I wasn’t feeling well at that point), but let it be known that this restaurant is incredibly vegan friendly. The servers are courteous to a fault (seriously – the service was a hair overbearing) and know exactly what vegan means. They typically bring out a small starter soup before your meal, and our server exchanged the non-vegan soup for a delicious chana masala for S and I without our even prompting him. Then, when my pakoras took longer than the rest of the food to arrive, the server gave me a samosa on the house to tide me over.

We all ordered from the a la carte menu rather than do the buffet or thali meal, and I only had the pakoras because I’d actually already eaten dinner. S enjoyed samosas, while our dining companions had something meaty. :) I wish I’d been hungrier, though – the buffet had clearly labeled vegan options that looked fantastic. The food was delicious, perhaps even more so because the restaurant is BYOB and our server kept our wine glasses filled at all times. ;) The only slightly unpleasant aspect was the very irritated reaction a server had when we asked if he could prioritize running our credit cards because we were running late for a movie. I think it was because the restaurant is fairly traditional and prides itself on its slow, impeccable customer service, and he perhaps felt offended by our rush to leave. Still, his knee-jerk look of irritation was off-putting. Beyond that, though, it was a pleasant experience with good food and attentive service.

The next morning, we broke our fast at Handlebar, a vegetarian and very vegan-friendly hipster-tastic establishment with a great variety of sandwiches, breakfast foods, and traditional (and not so traditional) bar food (fried pickles?!?). I enjoyed a cup of coffee and these melt-in-your-mouth tender slices of French toast:

Toast-tastic.

This was remarkably filling, for being only two triangles of toast! It was actually a side order, and I complemented it with a side order of breakfast potatoes. They were perhaps the least memorable part of my meal, because the toast was just so delicious and the potatoes were pretty average. I love that the French toast came with pure maple syrup, too. So yummy. S also wholly enjoyed his breakfast – biscuits and gravy:

Vegan Bloody Mary in the background!

That seitan sausage gravy was a savory, meaty treat! I’ve never really encountered biscuits &andgravy before, but now I see why so many people love this meal – more on that later! S thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to consume a veganized version of this meal, and I felt the same way about my delicious French toast. If only Handlebar had a location in Madison – I’d be brunchin’ it up all the time!

Because we brunched around 11:00, we didn’t have a full lunch. Instead, we stopped at Big Bowl after finishing our suit shopping for some refreshing drinks and appetizers. A couple of them are vegan; S and I shared summer rolls and… something else I can’t remember. But we ate light because we were saving our appetites for dinner. We’d intended to head to Karyn’s on Green for a fancy-pants meal, but the timing didn’t work out so we decided to hit up Native Foods instead. I never say no to Native Foods!

My stomach wasn’t terribly happy by the time we got there, and I knew I needed something loaded with veggies. The Soul Bowl was the perfect choice. It’s a big gigantic bowl of brown rice, red beans, steamed broccoli & kale, ranch sauce, BBQ sauce, and a couple pieces of Native Chicken. And by “a couple pieces” I mean one normal piece lying atop the bed of veggies and one skewered, BBQ-slathered piece proudly standing tall like a fake-meat tower:

A majestic sight.

Insane, right? And a HUGE amount of food! I barely got through half this bowl, which meant I had lunch ready for work the next Monday. Win! It was just what my upset tummy ordered – veggie-rich and delicious. I could’ve done with a little less ranch sauce, but I’m a big weirdo who’s not actually very fond of ranch.

S and one of our dining companions ordered the Portobello and Sausage Burger, which happened to be the special, so S enjoyed a free side of sweet potato fries. We all shared the Native Nachos as an appetizer, and they were fantastic – the Native Chipotle Crema and Native Cheese made for an appropriately cheesy platter, and the entire dish was loaded with guac, veggies, black beans, and taco meat. Perfection.

S and I rounded out our meal with dessert to go – a Peanut Butter Parfait for S and a Double Delight Brownie for me. We saved them for later and enjoyed them while watching a movie. The brownie was nothing to write home about, but it was certainly worth $2.95. I very much appreciate the accessible prices at Native Foods – no $7.00 desserts there!

The next morning, we all brunched at The Chicago Diner before S and I headed back to Madison. I was extremely excited to finally eat there – it’s a veggie institution, but in all my visits to Chicago I’ve never made it there! (Although S did bring me back a treat that one time.) We all sat in their semi-outdoors back patio area, which is fully covered by a yellow tent. Hence the lack of pictures – the tent gave my pictures a hideous, radioactive mustardy glow that made all the food look very unappetizing. However, it was very appetizing indeed. I stuck with my brunchy theme of ordering sides and had a bowl of fruit and a small plate of biscuits and gravy. Y’all, I’m totally sold on this biscuits and gravy dish – it’s so perfect! It’s got a carby element that’s undeniably welcome at breakfast time, it’s savory and filling, and it’s incredibly satisfying to mop up that salty gravy with a flaky biscuit. S also had the biscuits and gravy, and rated them on par with those at Handlebar.

After our meal, S and I got two cinnamon buns to go, and we stickily devoured them on the drive back. They were melty, sweet, soft, and totally perfect. Chicago Diner, I think I like you.

For a two night, one point five day stay in Chicago, this trip was full of noteworthy eats. Our hosts were incredibly gracious in accommodating our veganism, never once complaining about being forced to eat mostly meat-free for a weekend. Our friend Aaron remarked a few times that the non-meat in his meals was good and not really noticeably fake, and I think both our hosts enjoyed all our meals. So hooray for Chicago and its omni-friendly veg eating establishments!

Where have you traveled lately? How do your omni friends react to eating at veg restaurants?

Vegan Eats in Maryland and DC: Part II

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

Hello, all! Happy 2012. I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and that you welcomed 2012 with some awesome people – I sure did. :) I’ll recap my very vegan Christmas soon, but first I have to finish blabbering about all the delicious food S and I ate in Maryland! In Part I, I talked about Great Sage, Sticky Fingers Bakery, and Pho 14. Now to the rest of our eats!

Liquid Earth in Baltimore, MD

Besides hanging out in the Columbia area and visiting DC, S and I also spent a day in Baltimore. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend the American Visionary Art Museum – I’m generally pretty ambivalent about contemporary art (okay, that’s generous… I’m usually not too fond of it!), but I truly enjoyed the amazingly creative and fun works at AVAM. I also appreciated their definition of visionary art: “…art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself.” It’s so inspiring to see how people from around the world feel the call to creativity and subsequently produce beautiful, thought-provoking art.

But that’s a total digression, because I’m supposed to be talking about food. Our first meal in Baltimore was at Liquid Earth after a morning of wandering around AVAM. Boasting an impressive juice and smoothie menu, Liquid Earth feels a bit like your stereotypical veg restaurant – cozy, with eclectic decor and inked-and-pierced servers – my kind of people! ;) S ordered (and really enjoyed) the Filly Cheese Phake, which substitutes tofu for steak. I didn’t try it because it includes provolone cheese, so I’ll have to trust his review. I lunched on their T.L.T., which featured a house-made organic “bacon.” The sandwich was not really anything to write home about, but that was exactly what I was craving: something simple, tasty, and filling that reminded me of my beloved BLT sandwiches of yore. I also got an Original Strawberry Smoothie, which was sadly disappointing. It’s hard to imagine that you can go wrong with strawberries, bananas, soy milk, and ice, but it seemed as if ice was the main ingredient in my smoothie, rendering it bland and lackluster. However, S’s Ginger Zinger juice totally made up for my drab drink. A simple mixture of Granny Smith apples and copious amounts of ginger, this was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted (yes, my juice experiences are limited). S and I both loved it – it was zesty and spicy and totally, totally delicious. I wish I had a picture of it and its beautiful green hue!

One World Cafe in Baltimore, MD

After an afternoon at the National Aquarium,* S and I met up with his mom and one of his college friends for dinner. We headed to One World Cafe, where I was delighted to discover that it was Taco Tuesday! $5.50 for two tacos and a side of spicy rice? Yes, please! Sometimes a girl craves tacos; what can I say. One World Cafe offers a vegetarian menu with many vegan options, and they happily substituted Daiya cheese for the dairy cheese on my dish. The tacos were exactly what I wanted – simple and spicy, with all the fixings.

Tacotastic!

My dining companions enjoyed lasagna and macaroni and cheese, so I can’t speak to those dishes, but their reviews were quite positive. :) Our meals filled us up and gave us the energy to navigate the crowds on 34th street in Hampden to see the houses all decked out in their Christmas light finest. As S’s mom put it, “Tacky but beautiful.”

Busboys & Poets in Hyattsville, MD

Busboys & Poets is a very cool, very politically involved, and very activist-y establishment. Although they try perhaps a little too hard to make the decor seem very hip and artsy, the overall ambiance of this place is definitely my style. The menu features meat but is very veg-friendly, with lots of vegan options that go beyond the ubiquitous portobello mushroom sandwich that most restaurants seem to think meets their veg quota. S and I started out with the Coconut Tofu Bites as an appetizer.

Coconutty and crispy.

Oh my goodness. These were so, so tasty. These bite-sized morsels of creamy, melt-in-your-mouth bits of tofu were encrusted with crispy, fried coconut and dipped in a sweet plum sauce with hints of pineapple. The combination of flavors was just perfect, even for someone like me who is generally wary of sweet dinner items. I’m sure these are terribly unhealthy, but for a rare indulgence, it really couldn’t get much more delicious. And I’m so impressed that a mainstream restaurant did something so very creative with tofu – this little dish would not be out of place at an upscale all-vegan restaurant, yet it’s on the menu at an establishment that also features meat. I really appreciate that creativity in a restaurant!

For our main meals, S and I both ordered the Veggie Burger, a “homemade vegetarian burger with sprouts, avocado, tomato on wheat bun.” It did not disappoint.

A bit of an indulgence, but totally worth it.

Can you see how big and plump that burger is? It was just bursting with vegetables, beans, and lentils – the perfect veggie burger! I loved that it was topped with avocado, too – I need to remember to incorporate that wonderful green fruit into more of my burger-eating experiences. With a side of sweet potato fries, this was a really tasty (and filling – I only ate half!) meal, and I rounded it off with a soy cappuccino – the perfect end to the Maryland portion of my holiday vacation.

So there you have it – all my Maryland eats! I’m drooling just thinking about those coconutty tofu bites. :)

What’s the most creative vegan dish you’ve had in a mainstream restaurant?

*My views on aquariums are similar to my views on zoos (shared at the end of this post).

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Vegan Eats in Maryland and DC: Part I

/ Kelly / 4 Comments

Greetings from Rhode Island! After spending five fantastic days in Maryland with S, I hopped on a quick one-hour flight to Rhode Island. Now I’m chillin’ with my family until S joins us late Christmas night. So far I’ve baked one batch of cookies (Five-Spice Snaps from Hannah Kaminsky’s Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season), taken the train up to Boston to visit friends, and otherwise just schlepped around in my super-comfy new plushy bathrobe. Tomorrow we’ll do lots more Christmas baking and food prepping, so I’ll feel a bit more productive.

But I’m getting ahead of myself – I have some Maryland-related eats to share! I was blown away by all the veg-friendly restaurants S and I encountered in MD (and DC), so I figured I’d share ’em! I highly recommend all of these places – each one was impressive in its own right, and definitely worth a visit. I’m splitting this post into two, though, because I’m prone to ramblin’ and it’d get mighty lengthy if I didn’t!

Great Sage in Clarksville, MD

S’s mom treated us to dinner at Great Sage on one of our first nights in Maryland. Their menu is totally vegan, and their dishes feature local and organic ingredients. We started with the Artichoke-Spinach Dip appetizer, a chunky dip with just the right amount of mozzarella Daiya. Spooned onto crusty crostini rounds, it made for a creamy and satisfying start to our meal. For my main dish, I went with the Santa Fe Salad because I was in the mood for something a little on the light side. The salad was fantastic. Mixed baby greens, black beans, roasted corn, red onions, and tomatoes were perfectly coated in a delicious house-made lime-cilantro dressing, then topped with a generous scoop of guacamole, a light sprinkling of cheddar Daiya, and finished off with tortilla strips and big cubes of marinated tofu. The combination was perfect, and I really loved the dressing – it was tangy and flavorful without being overpowering. I was slightly disappointed with the tofu, which seemed a little bland for my tastes – grilling or broiling it might’ve fit better with the theme of the dish. But otherwise, it was perfect and completely filling.

If only you could smell the dressing!

Sticky Fingers Bakery in Washington, DC

Man… I am so envious of anyone who has easy access to an all vegan-bakery like Sticky Fingers. On our list of stuff to do in DC, “visit Sticky Fingers” was right alongside things like “go to museums” and “visit the Botanic Gardens.” As soon as we arrived in the District, we headed straight for the bakery for breakfast and a coffee fix. S enjoyed the Breakfast Burrito, a whole-grain tortilla filled with tofu scramble, black beans, Daiya, tomato, and a generous helping of spinach. Because he’s a generous gent, he offered me many bites, and I can attest that it’s a solid breakfast option. The addition of ketchup made it even better, until some uptight indie boy came over and demanded that S return the ketchup then didn’t even crack a smile when S laughingly apologized for hoarding it. Uptight Indie Boy, you give vegans a bad name and I do not want to be associated with you. Anyway, S also sipped this pretty cappuccino:

Swirly!

I did not get anything nearly as fancy for my breakfast. I enjoyed a simple (but really tasty) cup of coffee along with a Cranberry-Ginger Muffin, their seasonal muffin flavor. I can’t remember the last time I ate a muffin that neither I nor my mom baked, so it was a real treat to enjoy a light, fluffy, bakery-style muffin that I didn’t have to lift a finger to prepare. If the ginger had been a little more prominent, it would’ve been an absolutely perfect breakfast! In fact, it was so good that I forgot to take a photo until I was halfway done eating.

Proof of this muffin's deliciousness.

S and I had plans to return to Sticky Fingers for dessert later in the day, but that didn’t pan out. Alas! I really wanted to try a Peppermint Fudge Brownie. Maybe one day!

Pho 14 in Washington, DC

After a morning of ogling gems and minerals and questioning the necessity of a Chilean miners exhibit at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, S and I met up with two of his college friends for lunch. S introduced me to pho when we were in Chicago over the summer and I really enjoyed it, but sadly, Madison’s vegan pho offerings are non-existent. We made our own version once, but it wasn’t quite the same. So, S was pleased to discover Pho 14, which offers both traditional pho options and a more animal-friendly variety. While S opted for a veg bowl of pho, I went for something slightly different – Bun Chay, described rather sparsely as “vegetables with fried and dyed tofu.” I received a big ol’ bowl of yummy tofu, slightly pickled veggies, thin, round rice noodles, and even more fresh veggies, all of which tasted fantastic when doused in a sweet chili sauce. It was the perfect meal, the kind that fills you up yet doesn’t leave your tummy feeling heavy or uncomfortable. It was light, clean, and absolutely delicious, and it provided me with lots of energy for perusing the fantastic collections at the National Gallery of Art.

…and that’s it for this installment! I’ll talk about the rest of my yummy eats soon. But first – what fabulous restaurants did I miss in DC?! What’s your favorite travel destination, food-wise? 

And also… happy holidays! :)


What I Ate (or, drank) in Italy

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

Orange rectangular banner that says "Vegan MoFo" and "Vegan Month of Food 2011."

Hello, all! I’ve returned from Italy, but you’ll have to wait for a big food recap post. Instead, here is a one-photo summary of my Italian eats:

A bottle of red wine next to a small mason jar filled with wine.

Heh heh.

Yes, that is grocery store wine from a mason jar. Yes, I’m joking; that’s not all I ate in Italy, but I surely did enjoy the wine! :) I’ll be back with more soon.

Vegan on the Go: Travel Snacks!

/ Kelly / 11 Comments

Orange rectangular banner that says "Vegan MoFo" and "Vegan Month of Food 2011."

One of my most popular posts is this one, where I got really excited about finding clearly-labeled vegan to-go items at a shop in O’Hare airport. Judging by my search terms and stats, lots of hungry vegans have Googled “vegan food O’Hare” and landed on that post, and I’m really happy to have helped them find something to eat during a long layover. It’s so irritating to be ravenously hungry in an airport and have to wander up and down the terminal in search of food, getting even hungrier and hungrier as you lug the carry-on suitcase you didn’t check because you’d be damned if you’d pay $25 so some burly dude could haul the tiny piece of luggage you can just as easily shove into an overhead compartment. Inevitably, when you finally give up and shell out $4.50 for a measly bag of crappy trail mix filled with GMO peanuts and way too many raisins, five minutes later you stumble on a stall that has vegan burritos or a really awesome salad or something actually filling. It’s so annoying.

Anyway, I’m hoping to avoid that pain as I travel today. As you read this, I am journeying from Madison to Minneapolis to Amsterdam and, finally, to Florence. Thanks to good ol’ layovers, I’ll be en route to Italy for nearly a day (give or take a time-change or two). Because I don’t want to deal with checked baggage on my international flight (and because I’ll only be gone for a week), I’m just taking a carry-on, which means I will be lugging it around the airport. To avoid the aforementioned annoying food-searching situation, I’ve taken matters into my own hands and prepared on-the-go, travel-friendly snacks for myself. Behold:

A backpack with food spilling out of it: Five Larabars, one Halo candy bar, one apple, a bag of coconut-covered date rolls, and a container of homemade trail mix. There's also a reusable cloth hand towel with a flower and the word "SUSTAIN" printed on it. All items are labeled in the photograph.

Vintage E.F. Tours backpack ftw.

The key to my travel snacks? Protein. Protein is what fills your tummy and keeps you satiated, so I made sure that my homemade trail mix (details in a post to come!) is filled with protein-laden nuts, as are the Larabars. I’ll eat the apple early on in my travels so it doesn’t get bumped and bruised, and I know it’ll make me feel nice and healthy. And I’ll use the cloth hand towel Lisa gifted me last year during a swap so I don’t have to waste lots of paper. It’ll totally offset the environmental unfriendliness of the airplane in which I’ll be flying, right? Yeah.

And the Halo candy bar? Well, there’s no lofty purpose to that one! It’s for pure pleasure, baby. I’ve never actually had a vegan candy bar (other than regular ol’ chocolate bars, of course)!

Close-up of the Halo candy bar in its packaging. It's the Rocky Road variety.

CANDYYYYY!

I’ll be sure to share my thoughts about the Halo bar, and I’ll let you know what vegan eats I encounter along the way. I’ll also report back on the vegan meals I’m served (or not served…) on KLM – I requested vegan meals from a very kind customer service agent who assured me all was set, but I’m not expecting anything grand. Who knows, though – maybe I’ll be surprised!

Anyway, that’s all for now. You should check out my “Vegan on the Go” tag for lots more travel tips! My favorite: carry your toothbrush with you. I always feel SO much cleaner and less grungy and travel-worn when my teeth are sparkly clean and minty fresh. And as I said in my first-ever travel post (be kind; it was early in my blogging days!):

[…a]nd if brushing your teeth in a public bathroom skeeves you out (which, to be honest, is pretty much the case with me), you can wait ’til someone cleans one of the restrooms and then dart in there, or you could bring some of those wet wipes and wash the handle, or you could use bottled water and not even touch the handle at all… don’t let germ phobia keep you from feeling minty fresh!

Word.

What are your favorite travel tips? What food do you bring when you travel? What’s your favorite vegan candy bar?!

Note: This is a scheduled post, because I’m currently traveling. Apologies for any weirdness with auto-publishing!