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Monday, January 30, 2012

Lulu's Sweet Apothecary, New York City

Location: 516 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009, USA
From Food
In New York City we stopped to try some ice cream at Lulu's Sweet Apothecary. We had been eating a lot and trying many different places in a short amount of time so we only got one thing to share. The soft serve flavor was cake batter so we tried that. I remember my friend talking about a place in or near Boston that was very popular and they had cake batter ice cream and it was his all time favorite flavor. Since I had never seen it as a vegan option we jumped on the chance and man am I glad we did! This was incredible!! We really wanted to go back and get one of the flurries I believe they called them - soft serve with choice of topping blended up (so like a blizzard) as I think the addition of chocolate chips would have been out of this world. If you ever see this flavor offered at Lulu's definitely try it! New York definitely have some incredible vegan ice cream options - definitely try them out!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Caravan of Dreams, New York City

Location: 405 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009, USA
From Food
On our tour of New York City we stopped into Caravan of Dreams. This place was amazing! I really wish we would have been hungrier when we stopped by here so we could have tried more food. I loved the atmosphere, the people working there were very nice, all in all a great restaurant. We weren't that hungry so we just tried a couple of the raw appetizers and we were not disappointed. The first thing we tried was the beet ravioli which was so delicious. The beets were sweet and tender, the filling and sauce added a little bit of spice....All together perfect. I love the sweet and spicy combo.

From Food
The other appetizer we tasted was the raw Squash Manicotti. This was also amazing. It was very light and flowery and just perfect.

From Food
Then we asked to see the dessert menu just to see what they had, even though we were not really hungry. What a mistake. How could we not order something? We ordered the warm banana nutella - caramelized banana and vegan nutella wrapped in a crepe with 3 different sauces drizzled over it. It was supposed to come with some ice cream as well, but we knew we would not be able to eat it so we asked to have it left off. This was amazing! Not too sweet, but just spot on. It was also fairly light for a dessert which was good.

Overall I would definitely come back here, though next time I won't eat beforehand and will try more. I spied on the tables next to us and all of the entrees looked amazing! I really wish we had this restaurant in Seattle as we would frequent it often, even though it is on the pricey side. If you want to go out to a nice restaurant or someplace special while in NYC this is the place I would go. I cannot say enough good things about it.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Stogo, New York City

Location: 159 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003, USA
From Food
Stogo is an amazing vegan ice cream shop! They had 18 different flavors of ice cream with a few different bases (soy, coconut, etc). The flavors they had were not the standard fair. Sure they did have some chocolate, but they also have green tea, bananas foster, and many more exciting flavors! We sampled just about all of them and they were all incredible! Teh people working there were also super nice. All of the flavors were all so good it was hard to choose which ones we would like to eat more of.
From Food
We ended up getting a large cup with bananas foster, salted caramel pecan, and hemp chocolate. As we were eating Raymond asked me which flavor was my favor...and I was hard pressed to choose. When I tried the bananas foster I thought oh this is the best ice cream ever! Then I tried the salted caramel pecan and thought no this is the best one! Then the hemp chocolate and that was the best! and on and on. Really this is probably the best ice cream, vegan or non, that I have ever had. I wish we had Stogo in Seattle...or maybe I don't because then I would eat way too much of it. If you are in NYC then this is a must stop!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Whole Earth Bakery, New York City

Location: 48 St Marks Pl, Staten Island, NY 10301, USA
From Food
On our trip to NYC we stopped by Whole Earth Bakery. We walked in and there was a case full of treats for us to try. It was hard trying to decide what we should get. Since we didn't have anywhere else where we were going to get pizza in NYC we decided to try a slice - a whole wheat crust, tofu and veggies. This was...not the best. It was really oily and greasy for no apparent reason. The crust was dry, the flavor wasn't great. I wouldn't get this again.
From Food
The soup of the day was split pea which I love so I had to try this. Skillet corn bread was cheap if you got soup so we said why not and got the corn bread as well. The soup was really good, though Raymond didn't like it much because it was too brothy (he only likes thick soups). I thought it tasted great. The cornbread though...that was dry and flavorless just like the pizza.
From Food
We also tried a sweet treat - the Chocolate chip chewy. This like the other baked items was dry and didn't have much of a flavor. To be honest I am not sure how this place stays open when there are so many amazing bakeries in NYC with vegan good, at least one within walking distance of here. Overall I would not go back here. The soup was the only good item we had. The baked goods were all dry and flavorless and we didn't end up eatting it all. If you want vegan treats go somewhere else.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Gingersnaps. New York City

Location: 130 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009, USA
From Food
I was very excited to stop by Gingersnaps probably because I really like the name. I thought it would be a nice place to just stop and have a small bite to eat since we weren't super hungry. We walked in and..it was odd. There weren't many people there and the people working were just hanging out chatting to their friends. Most everything was already made and in a refrigerated case, which was not what I was expecting. We decided to try the nori rolls even though they were kind of expensive ($10 for 1 sushi roll). The nori rolls were cauliflower "rice", avocado, peppers, and sprouts. This was the first time in a while trying the sushi with the seaweed on the outside and I really just don't like seaweed. If it is the first taste then I can't eat it. Raymond however is a big sushi fan, but even he did not like this. The cauliflower rice was odd and the texture was...just not good. Overall based on this and the fact that everything was pre-made I wouldn't come back here again.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Candle Cafe, New York City

Location: 1307 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10021, USA
We stopped by Candle Cafe for a late lunch. It was very busy but we were able to get a table right away in the back. I loved the atmosphere in this restaurant.
From Food
We tried the Seitan Chimichurri as an appetizer - citrus herb marinated seitan skewers. I've been veggie for 11 years and these were the first and only thing I have ever eaten that was so much like meat that it kind of freaked me out. The seitan was soo tender and just fell off the skewer in a manner that was a lot like meat. The citrus herb marinade was very light and they were delicious, but I had a hard time getting over the appearance of it.

From Food
For entrees we ordered the Tuscan Lasagna - Grilled zucchini, peppers and onions, tofu basil ricotta, tapioca cheese and seitan ragout topped with tomato sauce. Served with sauteed greens. This was good, but not spectacular. It just tasted like a standard lasagna. Good, but not amazing or anything special.  

From Food
We also tried the Paradise Casserole - Layers of sweet potato, black beans and millet over steamed greens with country gravy. Without the gravy this was just so so. The gravy however tasted like turkey gravy and really pulled the dish together. The sweet potatoes tasted like pumpkin pie - hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. It tasted like a thanksgiving dinner casserole.

From Food
For dessert we tried the Chocolate Mousse Pie. We were pretty full from the other food and the dessert didn't come instantly, but we didn't care. We weren't in a hurry and it really wasn't taking long, but when the waitress brought it over she was so apologetic for the length of time it took to get us our dessert. They ended up giving it to us free of charge because of the wait, which I thought was nice but unnecessary. The pie itself was very good, very rich. It was hard eating much of it because of how rich it was. but man was it good.

Overall if I lived in NYC and wanted to go somewhere different for a special occasion I might come back here. The entrees were all over $15 a piece so it is not somewhere I would go often and I think we had better food at a similar restaurant, but once and a while it would be a nice treat.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Terri, New York City

Location: 60 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10010, USA
From Food
We recently spent 36 hours in New York City and ate as much food as we could! Our first stop was Terri, a nice vegan sandwich place in Chelsea. There are only a couple of seats at a counter by the windows and it was incredibly busy while we were there. Everyone working there was friendly and helpful and the food came out very quick (which was good as we were very hungry!) The problem with Terri? Way too many options that sounded amazing! They have sandwiches, wraps, smoothies and juices, shakes and desserts, lots of amazing food. I like that I could get healthy options at this fast food type sandwich place. I also loved the space - high ceilings, very bright from natural light, just very open. We ordered two sandwiches - the first a buffalo chicken sandwich. I don't think I have ever had buffalo sauce before, and it isn't my favorite. This sandwich however was really good and consisted of "chicken", buffalo sauce, vegenaise, lettuce, tomato, onion, and celery. I think the other ingredients on the sandwich helped temper the buffalo sauce for me.

From Food
The second sandwich we ordered was the meatball sandwich - "meatballs", marinara sauce, Daiya mozzarella. One of the few things I miss from my meat eating days is meatball sandwiches. This one came with an extra container of marinara sauce to dip it in which was wonderful. This was definitely one of the better meatball sandwiches I have had. There was a lot of Daiya, but it was not overpowering. I loved dipping the sandwich in the marinara instead of having on the sandwich and making a mess. I wish we would have had more time in NYC - we will definitely be going back to Terri to try some more of their sandwiches.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Wasabi, Willow Street, PA

Location: 2600 Willow Street Pike N, Willow Street, PA 17584, USA
From Food
A few years ago when Wasabi first opened we tired it out on a visit home. I remmeber really enjoying the food there so on this trip to Lancaster I asked to go back again for a family dinner. We got the vegetable gyoza which I always enjoy and these were very good standard vegetable gyoza.

From Food
Then I started trying sushi with the rice on the outside (I dislike seaweed and normal sushi with the seaweed taste first I cannot eat). We tried the Jade roll (avocado, cucumber, and asparagus) and I loved it! I would definitely get this again.

From Food
Then for the entrees we ordered Massaman Curry with tofu. There were a lot of peanuts in it which I don't really like (I usually don't like whole nuts in my food unless it is a baked good) but the curry flavor was pretty good. Not the best I have had, but not the worst either.
From Food
We also ordered Pad Thai with tofu. This was the dish that I remembered that was sooo good that I wanted to come back. The first time we had it it was flavorful, and different from any other pad thai I have ever had. This...this was just....okay. It didn't have much flavor it was just subpar. I definitely would not recommend this for anyone to order and would not get it again.

Overall pretty good, though it is pricy (all of the entrees are over $10 a piece which for the so so food was way too much). The sushi was excellent so if you check out Wasabi I would stick with that and maybe some appetizers.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Addisu Ethiopian, Lancaster, PA

Location: 1027 Dillerville Rd, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA
From Food
When I saw that Lancaster had an Ethiopian restaurant I knew I had to try it. We have a lot of Ethiopian places in Seattle and a lot of them are very good. I love getting the veggie combo (as long as I can eat everything) so I can have a little bit of everything. We walked into Addisu Ethiopian and it was pretty empty, though it smelled amazing. It is also a small Ethiopian store where you get get everything you need to make your own food at home. While we were waiting we heard the other people who were leaving say "This was a lot better than the place we go in Seattle." I was pretty skeptical - I really like the place we go to in Seattle, but I was hopeful that this would be good. The veggie combo came with YĆ«misir WĆ«t (Split lentils with garlic, onions, canola oil and finished with berbere sauce), YĆ«difin misir WĆ«t (Whole lentils with garlic, onions, canola oil and sliced green peppers), YĆ«kikk Alicha (Mild yellow split peas cooked with onions, garlic, and sliced green peppers), Fasolya  (String beans, carrots, and onions sauteed in a blend of exotic spices), and Cabbage & potatoes (A special blend of cutup & cooked cabbage, fried potato slices, onions and mild spices). This was amazing! Definitely better than the place we go to in Seattle. The Fasolya was probably my favorite dish, but they were all incredibly good. All of the lentils were cooked to perfection. The beans and carrots and cabbage....perfect. The spicing was spot on. I loved everything (usually I don't like all of the options in the combo). One veggie combo was plenty of food for both of us. We left full but not completely stuffed. If you are in Lancaster and need 1 place to eat this is the place I would recommend the most. I cannot say enough good things about this food - I now wish the place we go to here in Seattle was this good. Definitely will go back when I am in Lancaster again.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

SeƱorita Burrita, Lancaster, PA

Location: 227 N Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA
From Food
Senorita Burrita is a small burrito place in downtown Lancaster across the street from the art school. For some reason I find it hard to get a good burrito in Seattle and I don't know why...just some veggies, beans, rice and it should be good. We went in here after walking around all day and they had a lot of vegan options - two pre-selected options, or you can create your own choosing from the list of fillings they have (including vegan ground round and sour cream) as well as a vegan chili. We decided on the two pre-selected options.
From Food
The first one was the burrito barley - Sun-dried tomato tortilla, brown rice, pinto beans, corn salsa, romaine lettuce, shredded cabbage, spicy barbeque sauce, and non-dairy sour cream. I didn't know how I would like this one as the spicy barbecue sauce might be too much, but this was my favorite. It was a little sweet and completely delicious! Raymond didn't like it that much and prefered the other one so it worked out as I didn't like the other one as much.
From Food
The second burrito was the west coast burrito - Black bean tortilla, brown rice, vegetarian chili, spinach, SeƱorita house salsa, and non-dairy sour cream. It was good, but not as good as the burrito barley. I will definitely come back here next time I am in Lancaster.

Monday, January 16, 2012

On Orange, Lancaster,PA

Location: 108 W Orange St, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA
From Food
While looking for places to eat while visiting family in Lancaster I came across a listing that indicated On Orange had vegan breakfast option. Since breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out (for some reason I dislike making breakfast - I live to cook, but not breakfast) we had to try it out. We got there around 10am on a weekday and it was packed! We waited about 15 min to be seated at the bar. Everyone working there was very accommodating. They have 2 vegan options - one of which was the vegan Swedish pancakes (there is a surcharge to make them vegan). These were made with organic oats and usually come with stewed apples, but since these were not vegan they offered us applesauce instead. They also have vegan margarine to use if you would like and real maple syrup. We also got a side of vegan sausage. I really enjoyed these pancakes. They were a little gooey and very hearty and filling. I think one would have been plenty, but we thought they were going to be thin pancakes some got two and brought one of them home. The sausage was pretty good - not my favorite vegan sausage, but good.
From Food
We also tried the vegan waffle with sausage. I believe they use the same batter as the pancakes but for some reason I really didn't like these. I think there was too much surface area that was cooked and kind of crispy. I don't know...whatever it is I would order the pancakes I instead.
From Food
With the check they usually give you chocolate chip cookies, but since they are not vegan they gave us chocolate covered coffee beans! It is very nice to still be included like that. Overall a good option if you want to go out for breakfast while in Lancaster. The people are very accommodating and all in all it was a great dining experience.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Lanviet, Lancaster,PA

Location: 14 E King St, Lancaster, PA 17602, USA
From Food
Lanviet is a small hole in the wall restaurant in a strip mall type area. When you walk in the dining room is nothing spectacular - it feels more like a cafeteria than a restaurant. They have a whole page of vegetarian options. I had read a review that most everything on the vegetarian menu was vegan, but upon asking the lo mean and chow men noodles contain eggs. Everything else we could eat. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and helpful. When I had originally asked about things being vegan she had thought the lo mein was, but she went back to the kitchen to double check which is always nice. Everything was also incredibly cheap here - you could get a comination lunch special for $5! Anyway, we tried an order of the Bean curd, vegetable, and mock duck spring rolls. The vegetable spring rolls...well I wouldn't order them again as they were basically just lettuce in a rice paper wrapper. The tofu and mock duck spring rolls were both very good. The mock duck was probably my favorite (I believe the mock duck was just flavored seitan).
From Food
For entrees we got the special combination fried rice (combination means tofu and mock duck). This was another place where they do not add egg to the dishes so no need to ask for them to leave the egg out of the rice. This fried rice was good, it had a very light flavor. One thing I would change though is offer brown rice because I prefer that to white, but this was still tasty.
From Food
We also got the special vegetarian rice noodles. This also had a very light flavor which was nice, though it was a little oily (but I was in the mood for it at the time go it was good).
From Food
The last entree we ordered was the curry mock duck and bean curd. I really enjoyed this. The flavor was really good, just a little bit of spice (though too spicy for my mom who cannot handle any spice) and I really enjoyed it. Overall I would recommend this place. The mock duck was delicious, the favors very light and the staff incredibly helpful.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Sukhothai, Lancaster, PA

Location: 398 Harrisburg Ave, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA
From Food
I grew up in PA (southern Lancaster county) and there were never very many diverse options as far as food goes. One time while home from college after having Thai food that was amazing we tried the only Thai place in Lancaster and it was....disgusting. This time when we were there we decided to try a Thai place that my mom liked since there are so many new restaurants open there now. We went to Sukhothaifor lunch and had 3 of the lunch specials(we shared with my mom). The lunch specials came with an appetizer and an entree. We ordered two with fresh rolls
From Food
And one with Crispy rolls. These were both good, but the usual. They are the standard appetizer, rice noodle, lettuce, sprouts, cucumber, and carrots. I really enjoy fresh rolls - they are definitely one of my favorite foods - and there were enough veggies that they were flavorful, though they came with a sweet and sour sauce which while it was tasty I prefer a nice peanut sauce to dip them in.
From Food
For the main course we had pad Thai with tofu which surprisingly was better than most I have had. It seems like pad Thai is always hit or miss (at least here in Seattle - for some reason they like to use ketchup in the sauce which I find disgusting). This had a nice flavor, not very greasy and really good. Also, just as a side note - this dish doesn't come with egg so no need to ask for it to be left out. I would definitely order this again.
From Food
We also had mas samman curry with tofu. Usually I do not like whole nuts in my food, they get kind of soggy and just bleh. I didn't mind the cashews in this curry. I don't know what they did different, but whatever it was I wish more places did. This was tasty, not super spicy (I don't like super spicy things) but it was not the best curry I have ever had. If I were to go back I would consider getting this again, but would probably try something else.
From Food
My mom ordered the vegetable stir fry with tofu. This came with lots of veggies in a light flavored sauce. The veggies were not overcooked - they were crispy and delicious! This one I would definitely get again. Overall I really enjoyed our lunch here at Sukhothai. If you find yourself in Lancaster and want some Thai food this would be a god option. Next time we will have to try the other new Thai options in the area to compare.

Hello!

Hi! I thought I would write a quite intro post to let you know what this blog is about. We travel quite a bit - as much as we possibly can - and have "food vacations" - we try to eat at as many different places as we possibly can in the time alloted.  Since I often hear people talk about how hard it is to travel as a vegan I thought I would write reviews of all the amazing (and not so amazing) places we have eaten at on our "food vacations" so maybe other people will see it is not that hard being vegan : ) I hope you enjoy it!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

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