Review: The Naam

When my friend from Boston came, I really wanted to take her to veg places I had never been as well, acting as a vegan tourist in my own city. There are so many great places in parts of the city I don't usually hang out in, so I thought this was an great opportunity to head out there and grab some delicious vegan grub.

It was late and cold, so what better place to get some veg food than at the Naam restaurant. I've spoken to both Leila and Glen, the owners, before, and I figured if the restaurant was even a half as fabulous as they are, then it must be fantastic.

Located in the prestigious Kitsilano area of Vancouver, BC, the Naam is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the city, with an expected number of people lined up outside every night.

I've been meaning to go here for awhile, so I was glad that when we were hanging out at Calhoun's (a 24 hours cafe one street over), that I thought of the idea to head over to the Naam for dinner. Looking at the menu online makes me drool.

After waiting in the line for less than 20 minutes, my friend and I got a great spot by the window. I
already had looked at the menu prior so I knew what I wanted to order. The waitress and hostess was super nice, and although extremely loud, the Naam has a great atmosphere.

For an appetizer, my friend and I attempted to order a vegan poutine. And although an interesting take, it wasn't the traditional poutine I was hoping for (pictured above right). Soft potato wedges with melted mozza daiya, with a side of the signature miso gravy. I wasn't the biggest fan of the gravy, but I'm always a fan of daiya.

I was in the mood for some kind of ramen, so I ordered the Asian Noodle Bowl. Packed with deep fried tofu, bean sprouts, mushrooms, red pepper, broccoli, and ramen noodles, the dish was everything I was hoping it to be. Filling, flavourful, and not at all too salty. I have this horrible habit of often ordering the worst thing on a great menu, but this was definitely not the case. A 5 out of 5 for the Noodle Bowl.
The menu stretches far beyond though, with everything from Burritos and burgers, to shakes and cakes, everything containing egg and dairy is clearing marked, and practically everything can be made vegan.

Their signature dessert is their apple pie... so I wasn't going to leave without trying it. Although stuffed, it was totally worth it to get the pie. Warm and crunchy with full almonds and a side of coconut ice-cream, this apple pie is a magnificent treasure served in an un-traditional fashion - baked in it's own mini casserole dish.


Oh. Did I mention they're open 24 hours? Yea. This succulent menu is available even at 2 in the morning.
I love the Naam, and can't wait to go there once again. A Vancouver Vegan MUST.

Review: Comparing Vegan Pizzas

As tonight  I finally reached my count to 4 very different vegan pizzas I've tried, I decided to write a small review comparing them. I'm sure I'll have a lot to add to this review as time goes on, but I found that the unique tastes deserved some recognition.



Flore Vegan's Roasted Vegetable Pizza

It was at this Los Angeles Vegan Restaurant Cafe that I tried my first vegan pizza, and although the rest of what I ordered was pretty good, I wasn't 150 percent happy with the dish. Again, I love this place, but something was a little off about the pie. The roasted zucchini, peppers, onions, and mushrooms were great, and the soy cheese was good (although now I'm personally hooked on daiya), but I wasn't a fan of the crust, or the size for price. It was very dry, and half the size of a general 12 dollar pizza. I appreciate it's effort, but next time I'll stick to their great vegan cake for dessert.


Vancouver's Vegan Pizza House Pizza


Living in Vancouver, I am fortunate enough to have a place like this that exists. Every pizza pie you've ever wanted, vegan, and not only does it save animals, but it tastes amazing. I ordered the Cook's Special, topped with fantastic vegan sliced chiken, mushrooms, pepper, and extra daiya cheese. I ordered the small, and I honestly ate the entire thing. It isn't a small small, but it was worth going back even after I was full. This was the time I got my order delivered, with a side of their delicious vegan caesar. I also stopped in when it was opening and found myself getting a vegetarian slice, and ham and pineapple - both of which I equally enjoyed. The dough is moist with a crispy crust, and the daiya cheese is melted to perfection. Just thinking about it makes me drool.


Whole Foods' (on Cambie in Vancouver) Vegan Pizza of the Day

I had often walked past the pizza counter at Whole Foods, only to see that to my disappointment the vegan pizza was all sold out. But alas I managed to get a hold of a piece! Unlike the other vegan pizzas I've had, Whole Foods offers something unique. A thin, soft white dough, brushed with olive oil and topped without tomato sauce, but daiya mozza, mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, and spinach. Not at all greasy, and quite a big piece for worth the price. I was very impressed, and although extremely different from my favorite slices at the Vegan Pizza House, I enjoyed the pizza equally. 


Tofurky's Vegan Italian Sausage Pizza

I had never bought a boxed vegan pizza before, but for eight bucks, I thought, why not? First of all, the box is a bit misleading, as it's a fair bit larger than the actually pie. Also, sugar is an added ingredient, so as it says Vegan right on the front, I was just praying that sugar wasn't refined through Bone Char. The pizza itself was not loaded with toppings, but had a fair amount. The cheese tasted like... well, cheese, and I guess if someone wanted an exact replica of the non-vegan equivalent, they could find it with Tofurky's. But for me, I honestly missed the daiya I've become so accustomed to. It's also a thin crust pizza which I rather enjoyed. All-in-all, for 8 dollars, I say it's pretty decent.


And there you have it! I'll definitely be adding to this review with different pizzas as I try more.

Review: Loving Hut Express Food Truck

  ..I can't believe I didn't find out about this sooner! My favorite American vegan chain restaurant has a food truck in Vancouver? Serving up vegan burgers and sandwichs? When the chain in the states serves up Chinese food?! Unbelievable. Right outside the Roundhouse Community Center in Yaletown, Loving Hut Express is making some delicious eats, including a Gluten-Free burger. I decided to take my mom here to try it with me, and celebrate a beautiful sunny autumn day.

I ordered the Crispy Gardein Chick'n Burger (left) , with battered zucchini sticks on the side, and my mom ordered (and I ate a bunch of) the Healthy Grill Sandwich (right). The burger was fantastic. A bit messy, but with a heaping helping of chipotle mayo on it, it was bound to be slippery! The load of ripe avocado slices didn't help either, but I hope you can tell I was far from disappointed.

I loved the sandwich as well, and I'd honestly probably order that again before the burger. The "chick'n" was moist, and the spinach gave it tons of flavour. Not too dry, and not too messy with red onion, avocado, spinach and tomato, this was a great sandwich.

I love this place, and you bet I'll be back soon. If it isn't for the food, it's to see the amazing chef outfits the cooks have on in this epic yellow vegan food truck.

Check them out at: www.lovinghutvancouver.ca

Review: Santa Cruz - Saturn Cafe

   Santa Cruz: The Saturn Café

My friend recommended this place, remember that it had a tasty vegetarian/ vegan menu. It took forever to get a table, but when I saw the menu, I knew it would be worth it. VEGAN BREAKFAST ALL DAY! This was definitely what I wanted for dinner. 

    We ordered a half-size Vegan Nacho order for an appetizer. This was massive for a half order, and had everything in it – black beans, gauc, veg-cheese, tomatoes, olives, jalapenos. 

    For my main meal I ordered the French toast with a tofu scramble on the side and their home-fries. The scramble was a tad pathetic, but it tasted good with the French toast, so I didn’t mind. The toast was amazing though! It tasted like the real thing on a great multigrain loaf. I enjoyed the home-fries as well, but only found them interesting slathered in maple-syrup (mmm). 

    My friend got the banana pancakes, and those were fantastic. With banana baked right in, as well as on top, these were full of rich flavor. They were fluffy and full of walnuts as well. I was so full by the end, but it was certainly worth it. In retrospect, this place was actually pretty cheap, as my fries, toast, and scramble only came out to 10 bucks.

I recommend this place for anyone wanted a great cheap vegan eat in Santa Cruz. I know I would definitely head over there again!

 

    Another jem in Santa Cruz is New Leaf, their natural food store. It had amazing vegan options, and even a deli with vegan items. I managed to find MORE vegan gum there, as well as a few flavours of vegan jerky which are certainly interesting to say the least. I enjoyed looking around in here. It has the feel of a classier Trader Joes, with a less uppity feel of Whole Foods. They also had a great raw food section. 

Beautiful weather, the beach, great friends, and vegan meals made an awesome day in Santa Cruz.

Review: San Francisco - Herbivore

San Francisco: Herbivore

Herbivore has definitely got some great reviews, so I thought I would try it when I was in San Fran. Known for their breakfast, we attempted to make it there before 2. We arrived at 2:01, and everything had been put away. A little disappointed, we ordered lunch anyway. Of course we would!

I ordered the lemon-grass noodle dish, with Thai-salad wraps for an appetizer, and my 2 friends ordered an avocado sandwich to split. I enjoyed the Thai wraps. They were nothing special, as I’m pretty sure they are the same everywhere, but the peanut sauce that they were paired with was rather good. I was not impressed with my main dish. Everything was way over peppered and over lemony, so I could hardly taste anything... not to mention the broccoli was so spicy that I could only eat one of the pieces. The only thing that differed the items in the dish was the texture, and my mouth was burning by the end. Although I am taking into account that the waitress said the pasta dishes were hit and miss, so I can't complain as I did take the risk. My friends enjoyed their sandwich though, and the side salad and fries I tasted were pretty good. For dessert, I ordered a blueberry donut, which I think is made by People’s Donuts. Either way it was really great, and a good way to end off. The service was good too. I guess I just ordered the wrong dish!

I honestly can't wait to go back here and try something else... possibly make brunch this time? It seemed like such a passionate place, that trying one of their more signature dishes is definitely on my to-do list.

Review: Earthbeam/ Que seRaw seRaw

Burlingame CA: Earthbeam/ Que seRaw seRaw

Although no fancy pictures to go with this review they are most definitely worth noting.

My friend and I made it just past closing for Que seRaw seRaw, which is 4 o’clock, but the lovely owner opened it up for us anyway.

The prices were expected, since I had looked up reviews before, but I found that it was certainly worth it. The store is set up just as a pick-up area with a cooler case to select the food. The menu constantly changes, so although I wanted a raw samosa (being the samosa nut I am), it was unavailable. There were plenty of other choices, though so we managed to pick up some tasty items. My friend and I both got the Thai salad wrap, and the collard wrap, and she also ordered the nori-rolls. The Thai-salad wrap was like any other, but the sweet sauce that came with it was delicious. The collard wrap was unexpectedly sweet! It had a raw cashew mayo in it that had an amazing creamy texture, with a flavor that almost reminded me of a creamy slaw dressing. I found my friend’s nori rolls to be good too. It had a fantastic mock-tuna pate in it, which I certainly can’t wait to make at home.

Earthbeam is a natural food store right beside the raw place, and although small, this place should NOT be under estimated. It had a great selection from fruits, to frozen vegan items. We were lucky enough to grab hold of some Earth Café vegan cheesecake…. which was too good to be true. We also picked up some Terra taro chips, and their new exotic blend we were planning to have with the spinach hummus we had got at Whole Foods. The hidden treasure of this store though, hid in its fresh baked bread case. There it was… the green onion bread. Vegan, moist, full of the most fabulous onion flavours, this was by far the best bread I’ve ever had. At 4 dollars for a huge flattened baguette looking slab (which is cheaper than the Rudi’s loaf we also bought), we (aka, mostly me) devoured this delight in a mere few hours. I bought it once more before I left, and it was gone with a similar result. I could go for another one right now that’s for sure! Be sure to get one early though. They don’t get that many and they generally sell out before the afternoon.

So 2 wonderful locations, right around the corner from where I was living. Perfect!!! 

Review: Mary's Gone Crackers

My parents went to the Grocery Show here in Vancouver (as they work in the food industry), and my mom brought be back a bunch of Mary's Gone Crackers (and Cookies), that she was given.
Very excited they were vegan, I've almost tried them all! (yes, this means cheating on raw).

I have different feelings on all of the different types.

Crackers:
I love that all of the Mary's products are organic, vegan and for the most part, pretty much allergy free!
The crackers come in a variety of flavours (including herb, black pepper, etc). They aren't bad all in all, but taste a tad spicy, almost as if they were burnt, but not quite.
So interestingly enough, I don't like eating them on their own, but with hummus or vegan cheese, they made a fantastic off-set. I couldn't stop eating them!

Cookies:
Mary's also makes cookies, that are of course, still organic, vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free, etc. I love the "oat" meal raisin, as it's moist, but the chocolate chip and double chocolate flavours are a little over-baked.. so I was semi- disappointed. I have yet to try the snickerdoodle.


Product Summary:
Pros: organic, gluten-free, vegan, (most allergen free)
Cons: over-baked

Rating: 6.5/10

LA Review: The Vegan Joint

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos for this review, but I thought that I might as well do a quick write-up about it.

I met up at the Vegan Joint with some friends in the morning, so I decided that getting a vegan breakfast was the thing for me. After looking at their large menu for quite some time, I settled on the Tofu scrambled-egz and pancakes: pancakes, tofu scramble egz topped with soy bacon bits & cheese. It was ok... not the most amazing vegan dish I had eaten in LA.
My friend's kids were picky eaters, and ordered simple dishes like the quesadilla, and plain pancakes. And since again, they were picky, I ended up eating what they both ordered (that's the way I roll ;D So kind of me to offer right? ). The quesadilla was extremely plain, and the cheeze was just barely melted. The pancakes weren't anything overly awesome, but added to my breakfast.
However, although the food was mediocre, I also ordered the Thai Iced Tea.. and that was AWESOME. I could of had a few more of those.

All and all, nothing to rave about. I wish I had ordered something more intense though. The rest of their menu looks pretty good.. and I could go for a wonton soup.
It also delivers! I don't find that many purely vegan restaurants do that.

www.theveganjoint.com