Maitrea, Prague 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.

Sushi Gallery, Vancouver BC

From Vegan Gastrobot

I searched for vegan options in Vancouver BC and found Sushi Gallery with a vegan sushi menu. I didn’t know if we would be able to make it there as it closed at 9 so it would be close. Traffic was light and we were able to leave early so we made it just before they close and I am very glad we did. There was self serve tea and miso soup and they gave us a plate of edemame to start with.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We ordered the Vege Meat Teriyaki bento box with had tofu teriyaki, veg ggyoza, inari, tempura yam roll, and cold salad. The tofu teriyaki was tasty, but tasted more like gravy then teriyaki sauce. The veg gyoza I was not a fan of – they were pan fried flattened and the filling just wasn’t my favorite flavor. Maybe too much mushroom? The inari was delicious as always – sweet and tasty! I think that is my new favorite thing as it is so good. The tempura yam roll was supposed to be an avocado roll, but they were out of avocado so we got this instead. I really enjoyed the crunchy tempura coating and the soft rice combination and the yam gave it a nice flavor. The cold salad had a peanut sauce on and was alright. Really this was a lot more food than we thought it would be – the sushi roll itself would have been enough!

From Vegan Gastrobot

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also tried the Orchard roll (yellow bean sheet, banana, strawberry, kiwi with a peanut sauce. This was HUGE. We thought it would just be a normal sushi roll, but it was giant and so very delicious. I wanted to try it as I have never had fruit sushi and I am glad we did. It reminded me of a more delicious peanut butter and banana sandwich. So tasty. I would highly recommend this. The fruits were juicy and flavorful and it was just a wonderful combination of flavors.

Overall – I would recommend Sushi Gallery. Their vegan sushi rolls are amazing – especially the orchard roll.

Kabuki Sushi and Teriyaki, Washington DC

From Vegan Gastrobot

Seattle is like the home of teriyaki. I remember when I moved out here there was a Teriyaki place on every corner and I ate it all the time. Unfortunately, though, it is hard to find tofu teriyaki and when you do it is disgusting. It is one of my favorite foods, and I don’t really know how they mess it up so badly. Usually the tofu is super soft and disintegrates when you try and pick it up with the chopsticks...not good. We were walking around downtown Washington DC and needed some food and saw a small food court. We went exploring and found Kabuki Sushi and Teriyaki…with tofu teriyaki listed so I had to try it. It came with some rice, a salad with a peanut dressing (I think) and the teriyaki was lots of tofu and veggies. I really enjoyed all of this except the salad. The dressing was….not good so we didn’t eat it. The rice was sticky and rice, the sauce was sweet and tasty and the veggies and tofu were cooked surprisingly well for a food court. If I worked in the area I would stop in for lunch.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also tried one of the asparagus rolls to try out more sushi. It was good – just rice, seaweed and asparagus. The rice was on the outside so I was good (I don’t like the seaweed on the outside as I think it is disgusting when it is the first flavor to hit my tongue) and the asparagus was still crisp.

Overall – I wouldn’t make a special trip to get this, but if you work in the area of just need a quick bite to eat it is a nice option.

Dragonfish, Seattle WA

From Vegan Gastrobot

My one friend loves Dragonfish in downtown Seattle. It is her favorite restaurant and she goes there all the time. I have been a few times and while it is good food, it is not the best food I have ever had. Also, it is fairly expensive for just okay food so I don't go with her often. She wanted to get together for happy hour and she had some coupons to use here so we agreed to meet up. While their normal menu is quite expensive, their happy hour menu is well priced.

From Vegan Gastrobot

First up was a tofu veggie roll - cucumber, kaiware, avocado, yama gobo, and tofu. This was simple, but really tasty. I keep venturing farther into my sushi tasting - I was never a fan but I have found that as long as the rice is on the outside and the first thing that hit my tongue I enjoy it (I really dislike seaweed).

From Vegan Gastrobot

Next we had some curry fries. My friend thinks these are the best thing ever, but I think they are just okay. I mean they are good, but not remarkable. I would never say you have to go here and try the curry fries like my friend does. They are fried nicely, with a hint of curry flavor.

From Vegan Gastrobot

Next up was lemongrass tofu. This was just alright. It did not have much flavor which was disappointing, especially since it was the most expensive item we ordered from the happy hour menu. It was just not remarkable.

From Vegan Gastrobot

We also ordered some vegetable spring rolls. These were just alright - not the best spring rolls I have ever had and the sauce that came with them was not the best either. We also had some edamame which I forgot to take a photo of and as always it was delicious.

Overall - if you are in the area and want some cheap drinks and food then this is an okay option. The food is not the best food ever, but it is good. We would go back for cheap sushi happy hour.

Gingersnaps. New York City

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.