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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Rupp's, Vienna Austria

Location: Arbeitergasse 46, 1050 Vienna, Austria


We were in Vienna on Christmas day and even though there are a ton of vegan places in Vienna a lot of them were closed for the holidays. We did find a good selection of places that were open and Rupp's was one of the few that were open Christmas night. It is a small bar with a lot of vegan options and I wish we had been able to go back to try more of their food options. We started with the vegan toast. I don't know what I was expecting but it was not grilled cheese.



Here is a blurry photo of the insides, but it was cheese, tomato, onion, cucumber, peppers, and it was really tasty. The cheese was good and everything together was really delicious.



Next we tried the vegan bratwurst with bread. This was also very good, very meaty and tasty and the bread was tasty.



Then we had the schnitzel with potato fritters. This was good, though the meat reminded me of veal so it kind of freaked me out a little bit. Growing up we only had veal once or twice and I didn't like it at all, not to mention what it is, so Raymond ate most of it. The potatoes were seasoned well and were tasty hash browns. This also came with a large bowl of this shredded carrot salad which was...it was just shredded carrots and salad oil but it had a very strange taste and I was not a fan of it at all. I have no idea what the flavor came from as it is not something I have had before, but whatever it is I do not like it.



To round it all off we tried the vegan crepes with hazelnut nougat cream and vanilla sauce (which I know do not look that appetizing). These were amazing. The vanilla sauce was almost like pudding which is a good thing, and all together it was not overly sweet and just delicious.

Overall - Definitely check out Rupp's if you are in Vienna. The people working there were very nice and I loved the atmosphere of the place. The food was also excellent and I can't wait to go back to try more.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Xu's Cooking, buffet, Vienna Austria

Location: Kaiserstraße 45, 1070 Vienna, Austria


After a delicious dinner earlier in the week we decided to go back to Xu's Cooking to try the lunch buffet. It is a great deal as it is cheaper than most of the main dishes so we had to try it. It was actually Christmas day when we were there and the place was pretty crowded by the time we left, and for good reason. It was probably the best buffet we have been to and everything was delicious, though lots of fried food so not the healthiest, though I still wish we had this place here.



Here is my first plate of food - a little bit of everything. I try and try everything so I know what I want more of and so I don't fill up before trying everything



First up they had salads - lettuce, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and peppers. They also had two different cabbage salads, the bottom one was amazing. Light and sweet and delicious.



Next some chips, mini spring rolls, and fried onions. All very tasty. Near the end of the visit this one guy came in and just piled up 2 plates full of the chips and ate them all...not sure if he tried anything else, but he must really love those chips.  



Then there were some fried chicken and potatoes (running low - I came through taking photos right after a big group so some of them are looking empty, though they were quick to get them filled up again). On the right are some fried squash which was so so good, and the peanut balls which are tasty. There were also some fried pot stickers which were really good, but out at the moment.



And some dessert options - some kind of pudding thing (I didn't actually try it), and fried bananas which were amazing. I didn't realize they were bananas balls until after I had eaten a fair amount, but still managed to eat quite a few. I love cooked bananas.



And a bunch of filo bites that we had gotten last time as well.



Then on the top here was an eggplant dish which was really tasty, below that was broccoli and carrots, and some homemade noodles (these were just okay and the only thing I was disappointed in).



Then there is some tofu and peppers, tofu and onion, and veggie ham and beef (my favorite - so good).



Then the top is mango chicken (didn't try as I am allergic to mango), some mushroom dish (didn't try that either as I hate mushrooms) and the only non-vegan dish - fried rice with egg so obviously I did not eat that either.



And finally some avocado sushi which was really good, a pineapple salad which I didn't try as I do not like pineapple, and a cucumber salad which was amazing - so light and tasty. There were also some soups, but I wasn't in a soup mood so I don't know how they were. All in all a very delicious lunch.

Overall - Definitely stop by here for the lunch buffet. It is a great deal and you get to try lots of different dishes that are pretty tasty.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Bok, Vienna Austria

Location: Favoritenstraße 8, 1040 Vienna, Austria


After wandering around the Natural History museum in Vienna one morning we went down to Bok for some lunch. They have a lot of veggie options and many small things to choose from. First we tried the veggie packages. These had cabbage, carrot and spices inside a wrapper and were amazing! A lot of times fried things such as this are too greasy for me, but these I wanted more of.



Next we tried the Thai tofu - fried tofu with a sweet and spicy sauce. This was also really tasty, the tofu was crisp on the outside and soft inside and still felt really light even though it was fried.



Then we tried the glass noodle salad. I was intrigued as I had no idea what this would be like and the menu was not very descriptive, but I love noodle so I thought let's give it a go. We asked for it to not be spicy as I don't like a lot of spice and it was so so good. Glass noodles, shredder cucumber, carrots, and onion with a sweet dressing. It was very light and summery and was almost like pickles which I love. I definitely need to figure out how to make this as it was incredible.



And finally veggie duck with vegetables. This was interesting. At first I thought the duck was mushrooms as that is what it looked like and I hate them so...then I tried a piece and...it had a really strong flavor and tasted like hot dogs. Not what I was expecting, though I have never had duck so I don't know what it should taste like. It was just odd. Also with the meat was snow peas, carrots, zucchini, sprouts and mushrooms in a teriyaki like sauce which was delicious. Really I would have taken just he veggies as hot dog meat was just odd with the flavors.



Then when we asked for out bill they brought us a little treat sesame Mochi with a bean paste in the middle. Very tasty end to the meal.

Overall - I really enjoyed Bok. The food was light and fresh and delicious.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Xu's Cooking, Vienna Austria

Location: Kaiserstraße 45, 1070 Vienna, Austria


We arrived in Vienna in the evening and headed right to Xu's Cooking for some dinner. It was a Sunday night and we were the only ones in the place. We started with the assortment plate - vegetable balls and rolls, chicken nuggets. The chicken nuggets had a seasoned breading which was tasty, they were firm and meaty and very good. The balls were a dough with peanuts in. Different from what I was expecting, and anything I have had, but they were quite tasty. The peanuts gave it a crunch that was good. The roll had lots of veggies in with a chewy skin (not sure what it was as it didn't seem to be the normal rice paper wrapper) and reminded us of fast food egg rolls in the US. Really greasy, but good. This was also served with a sweet cabbage salad that I loved! It was like pickled cabbage and was delicious and a nice way to cleanse your palate after all the grease.



We also had some steamed dumplings which I love, but cannot find many places here in Berlin. These were tasty and had a strong celery flavor.



And finally we had the crispy chicken and tempura veggies. This was great. The chicken was delicious and the veggies divine.



After we stuffed ourselves silly we asked for the bill and they brought out some non-alcoholic fruit drink which was amazing, as well as a plate of fruit and filo bites. I like that it was oranges and kiwis, and the filo bites had a nutty filling in and were quite tasty. Really it felt like they kept bringing us more things and we were so full we couldn't eat any more! It was delicious though and the people working there were very friendly.

Overall - Definitely check out Xu's Cooking. They have a lunch buffet everyday which is an amazing deal, or you can order from the menu and choose from many delicious options.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Herat of Joy Cafe, Salzburg Austria

Location: Franz-Josef-Straße 3, 5020 Salzburg, Austria


Heart of Joy Cafe is a vegetarian coffee shop with a few food options. I started with a soy chai tea latte which I love. Unfortunately this one just tasted like hot water...not sure why there was no flavor to it. I would not recommend it.



We tried one of each of their vegan sandwiches. Above is the ham one - seitan, tomato, lettuce, mustard. This was delicious. The seitan gave it a smokey flavor which was nice.



We also tried the tofu sandwich - same as above except tofu instead if seitan. I actually preferred this one even though they were both tasty. The tofu was seasoned well and had a nice flavor and it was delicious.

Overall - I would go back for a sandwich again, though skip the soy chai tea latte. It had no flavor.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Maitrea, Prague Czech Republic

Location: Týnská 630/6, 110 00 Prague-Prague 1, Czech Republic


I find it hard to write about bad food. Probably because it doesn't stick with me (unless it is incredibly bad then I cannot forget it). Amazing food on the other hand...I can think back on some amazing dishes we have had in the past, years ago even, and still call to mind what they tasted like and how delicious they were. A few days ago I posted about Lehka Hlava which was incredible. I can still recall what everything tasted like even though it has been a few weeks since we had dinner there. They have another restaurant in the city that has a slightly different menu, Maitrea, and we were very excited to try it out. Unfortunately it was not good. I still find it hard to believe that the one restaurant is so incredible and the other so not. We started with a sushi plate - one roasted vegetable (though not really the vegetables were raw) and one with smoked tofu and spring onion. The tofu was tasty, but the onion overpowered everything. Besides that it was just okay. Something was missing. The veggies were fine as well even though it said roasted veggies and they were raw, but something was still not right. I mean it was fine, but I would never order it again as it was just okay, but definitely not worth the money. It wasn't until a few days later when we had an avocado roll somewhere else that we realized what it was. They didn't season the rice at all. It was just plane rice with no flavorings at all, so not sushi rice. I would take the avocado roll over these "fancy" fillings any day as it was so much better all because they seasoned the rice. Such a simple thing, but hugely important.



We also tried the goulash as we had seen signs for it all over town. It was seitan in a gravy served with rice. This was disgusting. I seriously could not eat it. The seitan was the most disgusting texture ever. It was so chewy and slimy and just like...even thinking about it now is making me feel a little sick. The sauce was not good. I am not sure what the flavoring is but I did not like it. Really if the seitan would have been good I could have said oh it is just not my thing, but the seitan made me gag and almost made me sick to my stomach with the texture. Not good. Not good at all. Unfortunately this is one of those bad dishes that is so bad I cannot forget what it tasted like.

Overall - I would not go back to Maitrea. I'm still not sure how their other restaurant is so incredible and this one is so bad. The people working here were also not very pleasant and overall it was just a very bad experience. I would not recommend Maitrea.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Radost FX, Prague Czech Republic

Location: Bělehradská 234/120, 120 00 Prague-Prague 2, Czech Republic


When researching places to eat in Prague I found Radost FX had brunch options for vegans on the weekends so we decided to check it out. We tried the mixed tofu - tofu with thai sesame sauce, salad, served with potatoes & toast. The tofu was tasty by itself and the sauce was tasty - nutty and a little spicy. The salad had a sweet vinaigrette which was unbelievably good. What is with Prague having all the good salad dressings? Seriously they are some of the best I have ever had. The potatoes were cooked and seasoned well. Maybe heavy on the paprika (they looked like they would have a tomato flavor but they didn't) and other spices I couldn't place. They had an odd flavor, but in a good way. I'm just not sure what spices were used as the flavors were not ones I am familiar with.



We also tried the huevos-less rancheros - Corn tortilla with beans, scrambled tofu, topped with salsa & guacamole served with potatoes and toast. This was incredibly tasty. It is hard to find Mexican good in Berlin - not much salad and beans and guacamole to be had so I was excited for this. The guacamole and salsa were spicy and delicious and it was just really really good. I keep thinking back on this dish and wishing I could get it here (or even find the ingredients to make it easily).

Overall - I would highly recommend Radost FX. The brunch options were amazing and I wish we would have had time to go back again and try their other food choices. Next time. Definitely stop in if you are in Prague.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Lehka Hlava, Prague Czech Republic

Location: Boršov 280/2, 110 00 Prague-Prague 1, Czech Republic


We spent two of our holiday days in Prague checking out their Christmas markets and food. We were supposed to arrive early in the day, but due to some train mix-ups we arrived in the evening. First up we were going to go to Vegan City, but unfortunately it closed early that day so we headed off to our second choice - Lehka Hlava. We had been here on our last trip and I remembered the food being quite good, however I wasn't getting my hopes up since some other places we have gone back to have been not as good. Fortunately Lehka Hlava did not disappoint! We were so hungry by the time we got here we ordered a ton of food, and it was all amazing. First up was the Pâté from smoked tofu and cashew nuts, cranberries served with toasted bread. I was a little skeptical of ordering this as a) I have never had pate and b) we tried some vegan Pate while we were in Paris once and it was disgusting however the cranberries intrigued me enough to order it. I am so glad we did as it was incredible! Seriously I need to know how they made it as...yum! The smoked tofu gave it a nice full flavor, but the cranberries really pulled everything together and gave it a nice sweet tangy flavor burst that just pushed it over to incredible. Without the cranberries I would not have liked it as much. I never would have guessed it, but it worked wonderfully.



Next up was the borschov - their version of borsch. This was tasty, though not at all what I expected flavor wise. I was expecting a sweeter soup from the beets and an earthy flavor, but this had a really meaty flavor. Like a beef soup with carrots and cabbage. Good, just not what I was expecting. We still ate it all.



I don't normally order salads as well I figure I can usually make them at home pretty easily. The rustic salad however sounded delicious and I was feeling like lots of veggies so we gave it a try. The salad consisted of green leafy salad with roasted potatoes, roasted vegetable sausage and beetroot dressing, bread on the side. The potatoes were delicious. I could have just eaten a plate full of them. The sausage was like large bacon bits in flavor which I for one love so it was great. The beet dressing again was not sweet like I expected. It had almost a nutty cheese flavor, which was good but had to get some with ever bite. Overall a delicious salad.



The last main we tried was the bulgur risotto - bulgur with stir-fried tempeh, spring vegetables and sun-dried tomato and peanut pesto. I was excited to try the sun-dried tomato and peanut pesto as it was an starter option but we went with the pate instead. Unfortunately I did not like it at all and did not eat it with the rest of the plate (Raymond however loved it and thought I was crazy). The flavor just was not good to me. The rest though was delicious. It tasted almost like teriyaki which I love but hardly ever get to eat. It was very savory and the salad served on the side was very sweet. Raymond loved the combination and thought they went well together. The salad itself was amazing. It had a nice fruity dressing on it which I wish I knew what it was as I would eat it all the time. So so good.

Overall - We loved Lehka Hlava. If we would have been in town longer we definitely would have gone back. Highly recommended. The waitstaff was very nice and friendly, they spoke English which was nice since I didn't really know any Czech, and the atmosphere is great. I love the decor and the food is incredible. It is not all vegan, but there are plenty of vegan options. Definitely give it a try if you are in Prague.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Yellow Sunshine, Berlin Germany

Location: Wiener Straße 19, 10999 Berlin, Germany


We were down in Kreuzberg one evening and needed some place to eat. While searching we found Yellow Sunshine and decided to check it out. It is a vegetarian restaurant with about half vegan options that are clearly labeled. We tried the Mac Wheaty Mexico burger (patty, lettuce, cheese, avacado, peanut sauce) with fries. The fries were delicious and crisp. The burger was really tasty. I liked the cheese the used a lot. One of my favorite things before I was vegan was to have melted crispy cheese, and that is what I had on this burger! I was set. It was really tasty and a good combination of flavors. The burger patty reminded me of these little meatloaf rounds you can get at the supermarket that are vegan. Delicious!



We also tried the double chicken cheese. This is two chicken pieces with cheese and lettuce. This was also really tasty. The chicken was delicious and the same cheese as the other burger. Really I was hard pressed to decide which I liked better. I also think these are the best burgers in Berlin...well maybe. I would have to eat one from Vego and here at the same time to compare and contrast. Either way they are tasty.

Overall - If you are in the area definitely check out Yellow Sunshine. The burgers are really tasty and we will definitely be back for more.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Green Garden, Paris France

Location: 20 Rue Nationale, 75013 Paris, France


Green Garden is an Asian restaurant that is all vegan and has plenty of mock meat options. It is quite a bit south of downtown, but easy to get to by subway so out last meal in Paris we went down to eat here. I was hoping it would be amazing like Tien Hiang that was our first meal and end the trip out on a good food note. We started with the ravioli entree. This had veggie meat on top and filled with sprouts and soy. This was alright. Not as good as the ones we had at Tien Hiang, but not horrible either. They didn't have much flavor by themselves and the sauce they came with had an odd flavor that I couldn't place.



We also tried the soya protein Pekinese style. This was crispy on the outside and really chewy spongy on the inside. The sause was sweet and...I just didn't care for the texture very much. It was...I just didn't like it. I wouldn't order it again.



We also tried the Kai Lan rice noodles - rice noodles, mock meat, and greens. Raymond did not like the mock meat at all - he said it had too strong of a flavor. I enjoyed it, much more than the other dishes, it wasn't what I was expecting it to taste like. I couldn't place the flavor but it was not like the chicken like that I was expecting. This dish was just alright. The noodles were a little crisp and it just did not have much flavor overall.



Finally even though we were pretty full we ordered some fried bananas as they are usually delicious. These were..the batter was just way too greasy for me. I love hot bananas so I took off the batter and just at them that way, but it really wasn't that good which made me very sad. I love fried bananas!

Overall - I would not make the trip down to Green Garden again. The food is just alright and you can get much better elsewhere.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Green Pizz, Paris France

Location: 32 Rue de Dantzig, 75015 Paris, France


Green Pizz was listed as having one vegan pizza option, which normally I wouldn't put that on my list of places to eat at, but it sounded really tasty. We were close by Green Pizz our last day in Paris so we stopped by for a bite to eat. The pizza that is vegan is the Tutti Legumi - green sauce, onions, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tarragon, roquet and olive oil on a thin crust. You can see them making the pizzas right there. We had asked if we should each order one and they showed us the dishes they came on so we decided to get two. Really one would have been plenty because they pile on the toppings. The toppings were super delicious - roasted nicely and had a really great flavor. The dough was really really good. Light and super tasty.

Overall - When I am in Paris again I would definitely come back for another pizza. Even though they only have one option, that option is really good.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

M.O.B., Pairs France

Location: 32 Rue Charlot, 75003 Paris, France


MOB is a restaurant that we tried to eat at when we were last in Brooklyn, but unfortunately they were closed when we stopped by. When I saw they had a location in Paris as well it went on the list of places to eat at. They really have one thing - a burger and fries. They do have some desserts and other small items you could get, but burger and fries is the meal. It is a tiny place and there are not that many seats, but one big table everyone sits at. The guy working there was very friendly and seems to do everything himself (but really with one item I guess you can get away with that).



Unlike East Side Burgers these were actually good and filling and more than two bites. The patty wasn't mushy and was served with thousand island sauce, relish and onions. Very tasty and I would take the subway here for a burger anytime. The fires are just huge potato wedges cooked well.



We also tried some of the desserts - a chocolate chip cookie and chocolate cheesecake. The chocolate chip cookies was delicious and everything it should be. I wish we would have gotten one to go as well.



The cheesecake was actually pretty good. It was made with coconut, but didn't have a strong coconut flavor. It was nice and chocolatey with a good cracker crust. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

Overall - Even though they only have one meal option, the option is pretty tasty. Definitely stop by here if you are in Paris. Besides the food it is a quirky place. There were some plaques with fruits mounted on them like you would see deer heads or something which was just ridiculous and silly and I loved it. The guy working there was friendly and you sit at a communal table so you could make some new friends also.