California Archives - A Vegan Obsession

Healthy Vegan Fast Food In San Francisco

August 26, 2015 by India Leigh 2 Comments

I was on a road trip recently with my new husband. Yes, for those of you that follow my blog..I got married in July to a wonderful American man!! We had a blissful wedding day in Ojai, California. Magical!

We were road tripping up to Orgeon to my first nerve wracking meeting with some of his siblings and their children, and for husband to enter a 13 mile hill race. (Swoon). We stopped off in my much loved city, San Francisco. Time pushed and road weary (7 hours driving…just to here) I was pulling him around the Mission excitedly showing him cafes where I had spent many hours writing..dragging him up Bernal Heights for a night view of the city and picking up morsels of vegan food along the way.

Project Juice has been raved about by me in the past. Situated midway up Valencia Street it is a filling and stop for healthy fast food and the antithesis of our unregulated in car crunchy snacking! We ordered the Macro Bowl, with ginger, sesame kale and roasted butternut squash, and the Spiced Lentil Wrap with a cashew-turmeric aioli which honestly was so incredible I could have eaten a bowl of the stuff with a spoon! Our food was incredible. Happy making. I like it when my intense love of food is shared! We washed it all down (so incredibly full now) with an Espresso smoothie, with super foods and fresh young coconut. It was good. Husband enjoyed it. But not being a coffee girl I must say my heart is still true to the Chocoholic smoothie! Project juice are in several Northern and SoCal locations. Recommended.

790 Valencia Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

Though I’ve spent many months of my life in San Francisco in recent years..I felt like a tourist with my husband by my side! We had to take photo’s with murals..it just wouldn’t be right not to!

It was not easy to pick only two vegan restaurants to feast in San Francisco. We only had a few hours and I had to narrow it down. My second pick was Seed & Salt. A personal favourite. I had attended their opening in winter 2014. Their menu is original, organic, vegan and totally gluten free and even processed sugar free. A dream!

We deliberated a while then settled for the chopped cobb salad with chickpea frittata and the beet burger. ONE of the wonderful benefits to having a husband is that you do not have to decide on one item from the menu. You can order two and SHARE. I know. Such a bonus. So we also plumped for the beet burger, made with beets, walnuts and mushrooms. Both came with a cashew ranch dressing. Both were good and filling.

2240 Chestnut Street

San Francisco, 94123

Despite our stomachs feeling fit to burst after our eating spree, and to sort of balance out all the healthy (though very delicious) food. We also devoured a bag of Wholesome Bakery spiced oat, cream filled whoopee pies. They are soft, chewy, cinnamony, creamy and jump and and down good. I once walked past their little catering kitchen in the Mission and stood at the closed door just inhaling. Yes, I did that.

Sorry. No pics!

I am hoping another trip up to San Francisco will not be too far away. I have many, many more restaurants for my new (and oh so lovely) husband to try with me.

Which is your favourite vegan place to eat in San Francisco?

Vegan In Los Angeles

April 15, 2015 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

Organix - The Puerco (bbq jackfruit ‘pulled pork’) sandwich

Vegan In Los Angeles

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles. After spending a number of years being ever so slightly obsessed with San Francisco, it has made a nice change. I’d forgotten how much I loved Silverlake and this time I also discovered the delights of the vegan friendly neighbourhoods of Eagle Rock & Highland Park. These small walkable shopping streets are a mix of mom & pop Latino stores and artisanal food and art boutiques. The border of Eagle Rock spills down to Highland Park where one can eat vegan gluten free pizza, vegan and gluten free (make your own!!) donuts, vegan taco food truck, ‘bowls’ and tempeh reubens, and acai bowls and juices!

If I had had a car (a girl can only get so far in LA traffic on a rickety bike) and an excess of cash..I would have gone on an eating spree. I had wanted to visit Crossroads, M.A.K.E, Shojin and Au Lac for sure. They are a $$$ though and too far from where I was staying, so they (for now) remain unchecked off my list of places to eat.

The list below is of the restaurants and deli’s that I did visit AND where I remembered to take a photo. You find on a previous post the hedonistic delights of Donut Friend, home of vegan donuts - they’re GLUTEN FREE!

Hands down my first and most enduring love in terms of vegan food, in LA was Organix. A family owned vegan deli and food store in a strip mall on Colorado Boulevard. You know you have been somewhere a lot when you and the owner and life long resident of Eagle Rock, Andrew Perez are on first name terms. I ate the same thing every time. It was consistently good. VERY good. So good I was scared it may not hit the spot each time I ordered. Oh, but it did. They are truly making magic in their allergy friendly deli. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. The leading photo on this post is of the much loved puerco - vegan pulled pork sandwich on fabulous gluten free bread. $10 for a loaded sandwich. Worth EVERY cent!

Organix

1731 Colorado Blvd

Eagle Rock

CA 90041

Interesting things are afoot in Downtown LA since I last visited 6 or so years ago. The place is getting much more fancy and vegan eateries are sprouting up all over. Cafe Gratitude (a place I oft frequented in SF before they closed that particular location), Au Lac, Localita & The Baddasserie, Tiera Cafe and Shojin to name just a few. A newly opened hub in the Arts District DTLA is THE SPRINGS. It’s an organic juice bar, yoga studio, wellness center, raw vegan restaurant & wine bar, and an online eco-vegan, mind-body, one stop shop. The food was good (my friend enjoyed his dish more than I did mine), a good selection of healthy, some raw and mostly vegan dishes (be aware that some dishes include honey, which is not vegan). Mostly gluten free too. The atmosphere is chilled, the staff friendly and the prices reasonable for it’s location and style.

Raw Nacho Salad

Seaweed Caesar Salad

The Springs

608 Mateo St

Los Angeles

CA 90021

SunCafe, a garden oasis located just off the 101 freeway in Studio City. I was expecting great things of this vegan restaurant. The reviews on Happy Cow were many and mostly glowing. They have an extensive menu - soups, sliders, sandwiches, Mac & Cheese and a selection of raw entrees. Choosing what to have was not easy. When I visited I was feeling a bit gastronomically virtuous so I opted for a salad and not my usual choice of something wedged between two slices of gluten free bread. The Raw Kale Colossus – massaged kale, SunChorizo (sadly omitted as not gluten free), mushrooms, bell peppers, pico de gallo, raisins & bananas, looked promising so I ordered that with a side of pickled beets. My dining partner ordered the Portobello Sandwich on gluten free ciabatta. We both wanted the mash & gravy side to share.

The food arrived fairly quickly. Whilst we waiting (stomach’s rumbling. Or maybe that was just me?!) it gave us time to get a feel for the place and have a look around. There is a large outdoor seating area under green arbours with an intimate feel. The staff were very efficient though not overly friendly. The clientele were not of the hipster persuasion, of the like seen in Silverlake/Echo Park and seemed more of the office-y and healthy eating tribe (though that is all conjecture).

Aside from finding the short row of four slices of banana laying on top of entree a bit odd, my salad was generous and tasty. The mash and gravy was good (but not as good as mine…Yes, I will blow my own trumpet!). The portobello sandwich was stacked and good.

The prices were in line with other establishments of similar ilk in LA.

Portobello Gluten Free Ciabatta Sandwich - marinated Portobello, avocado, tomatoes, spinach, pecan crumble, cashew cheese, special sauce. With a side of mashed potatoes and gravy (lots of sides to choose from but who can resist a bowl of fluffy mash?!).

SunCafe

10820 Ventura Blvd

Studio City

CA 91604

So what to turn to when your budget is squeezed and you go take-out? Lassens. A small chain of health food stores in LA and Ventura County. They were my local (as well as Trader Joes of course!) whilst I was in Silverlake. They have a hot and cold deli and salad bar, and in store pre-prepared food. The Raw Collard Green & Mango Wrap was cheap and heavenly. The wrap was stuffed with a rich and filling tomato/walnut ‘meat’ and the avocado/cilantro/orange sauce was sensational. I could have easily drunk it as a smoothie! Yum and under $5!

Another favourite food grab was a yellow split pea Ethiopian Wrap (100% teff injera) from Rahel Vegan Cuisine. They sell in other locations in LA too. These were a bit more spendy..(but very filling). I think the wraps are about $7.

Lassens

1631 Sunset Blvd

Los Angeles

CA 90026

I will be returning to LA in May…..Jumping up and down!…. I will update you as soon as I sample more of the vegan and gluten free eats on offer in the city.

Vegan Street Fair Los Angeles 2015

March 6, 2015 by India Leigh 2 Comments

March 1st 2015. I was so excited about the Vegan Street Fair Los Angeles. I’d managed to situate myself in the (sort of) vicinity of North Hollywood to be able to attend. I’d scrolled down the list of close to 50 vendors, to plan my path of indulgence. Donut Friend, Organix, Doomies, SunCafe, Healthy Organic Positive Eating (to balance out the vegan junk)..and more and more and more were on my hit list. But the rain, which (probably) only comes five days a year in Southern California decided it was going to give a spectacular performance on the day of the fair. I sat and watched as the rain pelted down outside the window of where I was staying. The rain pounded on the flat roof. The rain drew a watery curtain to stop me from seeing the views beyond the pane. All of my hopeful thinking and wishing away the clouds did nothing to stop it from pouring, and pouring.

4pm came and all of a sudden I rallied and me and my friend decided to head out to catch at least the last hour. Rain or no rain!

When we arrived at NoHo and parked the car the rain had eased. My worry about the rain was now replaced with the worry of how I was going to get to sample everything I wanted to before it closed. We had under an hour left. I was excited to see so many people still milling around but a lot of the vendors had already hauled ass out of there. Not because of the rain but because the fair had been so popular that they ran out of food! We purchased a few strips of tickets to pay for my food bounty and began the chase to scout out what we wanted to eat.

The rain then came down in buckets!! We dashed around, hunting out the gluten free offerings. Soy curl taquitos from Broke Hungry Vegan (oily, crunchy, tangy, chewy..easy to like), Jackfruit Puerco slider from Organix (to LIVE for!), Cauliflower wings (delish) and crab cakes (ok) from Sage Vegan Bistro, a sample of Shugah Mama cookie (swoon), a moist and dreamy cupcake from Luscious Organic Desserts (I don’t even remember what flavour it was as rivers of rain water were puddling around me at this point)….and finally coconut and cashew based hazelnut crunch ice cream from Divine Dips Vegan Ice Cream (so creamy and sweet and so very good…no photo as I was balancing umbrella and ice-cream tub whilst eating and trying to stay dry!)

I wished I’d just braved the rain sooner and got to see all the masses gathering and chowing so happily. But then again I loathe long lines for food, and am not my happiest when I am being shoved around in a sea of people - be them vegan or not. I read some glowing reviews, and some gripes online the next day. To be expected I guess. The first year is always the ironing out process. Next year will be at a bigger venue hopefully, with room to move and a bit better organised. But all those people?! 9,000 or so of them out despite the rain?! A success I think.

About the organizers
Jessica and Ken Schoech, a vegan married couple, have been entrenched in the vegan community for many years. Together, they run The Vedge.com, a resource to help explore, enjoy, and experience vegan food around the world. They have traveled the world visiting vegan establishments, beer festivals, and vegan events, in an attempt to enjoy the amazing vegan growth that has recently taken place. While savoring their travel and working in the vegan community, they knew it was time for Vegan Street Fair to make it’s debut in Los Angeles.

Jessica and Ken decided to expand on the vegan events across the world by creating an experience that celebrates vegan food while introducing the lifestyle to non-vegans in the process. Jessica and Ken will be taking Vegan Street Fair to other cities in the future too. Woohoo!

Vendors included:
AFC Soy Foods, Azla Vegan, BeetxBeet Clothing, Best Gumbo in the Hood, Blöde Kuh Artisan Vegan Tree Nut Cheese, Bramble Bakeshop, Broke Hungry Vegan Catering, Charlie’s Brownies, Chicza, Clean South, Divine Dips Vegan Ice Cream, Donut Friend, Doomie’s Home Cookin’, Follow Your Heart, H.O.P.E.- Healthy Organic Positive Eating, Health ‘n Spice, Hugo’s Tacos, Hummus Republic, Ihsan’s Falafel, India Jones Chow Truck, Jones Soda, Joni Marie Newman/ JustTheFood.com, Les Beaux Chocolats, Life is Sweet Bakeshop, Luscious Organic Desserts, Main Squeeze Lemonade Truck, Mimi’s Natural, Mud Hen Tavern, OmBrosia, One Veg World, Organix, Plant Food for People, Rachel’s Cosmic Cuisine, RawFiv5, Sage, Southern Fried Vegan, Sub Zero Ice Cream, SunCafe Organic, The Herbivore Clothing Company, The Karma Baker, The Rabbit Hole Café, The Ridiculous Baking Company, The Shugah Mama, Vegan Pizza, Vegans Rock Apparel, VegeTaryn Apparel, Vromage, Whole Foods Glendale and more.
Here are some photos/ sorry about the quality.

Vegan Donuts Los Angeles

February 7, 2015 by India Leigh 2 Comments

Vegan donuts Los Angeles.

Donut Friend two words in the English language that are good, whether alone or together. Donuts are great. Friends are great. Put together? Well, after eating a pillow of doughy, adorned heaven at Donut Friend, for a moment the world drops away to reveal a glorious illumined alter of the baked bonne bouche. Really, you say..is it that good?! Ok so vegan baked donuts that taste like they are fried with GLUTEN FREE options that you can either dress up with one of their crazy good on-menu (sweet and savoury) flavours, or, OR make up from your own limitless crazy imaginations. Yes, DIY. They slice the donuts in half and that creates a lidded platform for you to fill, stuff and cram as you see fit. THEN, yes then you get to have it drizzled, dipped, sprinkled and literally drowned in more sensational toppings.

I went straight for the DIY option, with a gluten free donut. After much deliberation I opted for the raspberry habanero jam and coconut cream filling. Chocolate and vanilla glaze. Gloriously topped off with coconut bacon. My fingers were restless as I watched them create my masterpiece. I was eager to get my hands on it. Did my friends look at me strangely to see the over-the-top pure excitement I was displaying for a donut?! No matter. It was worth getting excited about! Picking it up it was dripping in glaze, I bit into it and waited for the flavours to tinkle my tastebuds like a piano player on the ivories! It was insanely good! The jam packed an intense sweet heat, the coconut bacon was crisp and smokey and the flavours played together like a symphony! The donut was baked but it tasted every bit fried. It was so delicious!!

I had to quell the oink within to hold back from trying all the flavours that were teasing mercilessly behind the glass! Friend J had the blueberry loaded ‘Husker Blu’, Friend C had the ‘Angry Samoan’, a chocolate and coconut adorned creation. C said he could not tell the difference between the gluten and the non-gluten donuts. They both admitted my DIY donut was totally delicious. I took another friend a day or so later and they said that they’d never know it was vegan and it was the best donut they’d had. It definitely was mine too!

Feast your peepers on the menu - I dare you not to salivate with creations like; caramelised apple, with vegan cheese, caramel and toasted peanuts, strawberry shortcake, pastry cream & chocolate, the S’Morrissey with a chocolate cake donut filled with toasted marshmallows and topped with chocolate glaze and graham cracker crumbs!!!!

As if you’d care with all that amazing ‘can you even believe it’ ‘have I died and gone to heaven’ ?going on but the prices are good, the donut shop is located in a fun, cozy part of town and the staff are squeezably nice too! It is not an all vegan place but it is mostly. Which you can tell by the fact they * the non-vegan items!

If all that is not enough, Donut Friend are also in Highland Park, a fun, hip and friendly area of town which I have fallen madly in love with. I will be going back again. And again, and again…and again. Nothing wrong with having donuts for lunch!

Mine, all mine!

Yes, well it is a confection laden donut, it was never going to be the glamor shot!

Donut Friend

5107 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90065

Seed + Salt New Vegan Cafe Opens in San Francisco

December 1, 2014 by India Leigh 2 Comments

A long anticipated, now it is here. Seed + Salt New Vegan Cafe Opens in San Francisco.

I was fortunate to be invited to the preview party on Friday. I honestly did not know what to expect but from my research on the owner, I believed it would be something special.

Located on Chestnut Street, Marina District, a rather sophisticated, trendy shopping street a mere stones throw from a magnificent view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Seed+Salt has a crisp, clean, beechwood and white interior. If it is possible to effuse an atmosphere of health then this place does. It was packed with friends and family, gathered to do a trial run before opening proper.

The owner, Mo came and greeted me warmly. I have to say everything about this woman is beautiful. No flapping, ‘rabbit in the headlights’ , opening day panic was evident as she talked me through the menu. I was fascinated by her zen like air. I discovered that Mo was born with entrepreneurial DNA. At 8 she was making greeting cards and selling them in her neighbourhood in Michigan. She had balance sheets and plotted every sale and every cent. She said it just was the most natural thing for her. She then grew up and founded a marketing company. Sold it years later with a substantial book of large corporate clients. Mo then sidestepped into making designer jewellery. She told me that opening a restaurant was never part of her vision but she got a sense a couple of years ago that she wanted to build a place that served the type of food she wanted to eat. Plant based (vegan), gluten free and processed sugar free. She hired a chef from Brooklyn and over 1.5 years they developed a menu that she is really proud of. This was all whilst bringing up a small child and running several of her other businesses. ‘How do you juggle it all and look so calm?’ I asked. Meditation, came the answer.

Mo wanted to create the cleanest food that could be delivered quickly. It’s a walk up to the counter place. The menu has soup, bowls, breakfast items, sandwiches - her eggplant bacon BLT was a hit with the customers (friends/family) I chatted with. Over 90% of the menu items are made in house from scratch, from cheeses to all the delicious spreads (she plans to sell on her product line one day) and her (one day sure to be famous) nut bread and baguettes (gluten free!!). Her ‘clean’ ethos extends to all the cutlery, takeout boxes, napkins etc. All green as can be and compostable.

So, what was it like you ask?

Incredible Chef Ariel Nadelberg.

Mo Clancy. Owner of Seed+Salt.

I began with cookies. They just called to me from the stand. Chocolate chip and ginger molasses. Soft, chewy, crumbly, perfectly sweetened and very morish. One of the best cookies I’ve ever had! And healthy to boot! Just how all food should and, as inventive vegans are discovering, can be.

Next I sampled a selection of the spreads suggested by Mo. I tried the nut bread topped with wild mushroom and walnut spread, house made cheese, and a chimichurri sauce. The tri-combo of spreads were incredible. Their cream cheese is exceptional, and I can say that as I have tried many on the market. The whipped mushroom spread was flavoursome and light. The vibrant chimichurri was perfect and added an acidity that made for a reverential mix of flavours and a great acidity/creamy/umami balance.

Warm from the oven, the flourless nut bread is packed with nuts and seeds but it somehow manages to be light. Mo suggested I tried the chia seed jam coupled with the raw lemon curd. The cool sweet but slightly tart curd on top of the warm bread and the thick chia seed jam were so very, very good. The curd is like a smooth citrus butter cream and it is spoonable, sweet loveliness.

This is the eggplant bacon sandwich. Most of the people in the party I spoke with were carnivores. Each and everyone declared the eggplant bacon had a great flavour and closely matched the flavour of bacon and was worthy of much respect.

Everyone I spoke to declared the food to be full of flavour and satisfying. The cookies and nut bread and spreads were very filling. I had no room for anything else. I will be returning for sure. I have to try that eggplant bacon, and the soup, and the blackbean tempeh.

Seed + Salt is a great concept, set to flourish in San Francisco and no doubt, from what I know of the beautiful Mo Clancy, in every city another Seed+Salt appears. The staff are super friendly and passionate about their fayre. The food will speak for itself. Seed+Salt is a sure fire hit.

Seed + Salt New Vegan Cafe Opens in San Francisco. December 2nd 2014. 2240 Chestnut Street, San Francisco.

Hours 7am - 8pm.

Cooking With Tea - A Class With Philip Gelb of In The Mood For Food - [with short video]

April 11, 2013 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

Those of you that follow A Vegan Obsession regulary will know that I recently had the opportunity to attend Vegan Iron Chef San Francisco 2013. So much fun. Well the fun kind of mushroomed. I was so excited to then be invited by the chef who gained 2nd place, Philip Gelb, to his ‘Cooking With Tea’ workshop. It was to be an afternoon of discovery, and hands on experience of the dishes he prepared for the judges at Iron Chef.

Soba noodles
Tea Soup
Radiccio Salad with Tea Dressing and Tea roasted nuts
Smoked Tofu Wrapped in Yuba
Waffles with Strawberry & Orange Compote

I took the BART (San Francisco’s metro system) over the bay to Oakland and Chef Philip’s live/work kitchen studio. Six keen cooks gathered to learn the tricks and tips to Philip’s Tea Menu.
A talented musician too, Philip has spent a lot of time in Japan playing music. Whilst there, he spent a great deal of time picking the brains of Japanese chefs, and friends, to discover their culinary techniques. The menu was heavily influenced by his knowledge of Japanese cooking. We learnt about using a strange Japanese mountain potato (nagaimo) that, when grated, kind of exlopded into a gelatinous gloop (great also for using as a binder in gluten free cooking). We also got to sample a ‘milky’ green tea, the same used in the competition from …. We smoked tofu. We used tofu skin (yuba) to make ‘tofu in a blanket’ and nestled in a single mange tout pod to add colour. The tofu had been marinated and then we watched as Philip showed us how to smoke the tofu.
All of us got the chance to prepare parts of each dish. We made soba noodles from scratch! It was so much fun producing beautiful flat noodles from a ball of dough! Unfortunately, they were not gluten free so I didn’t get to taste them. The others murmured their approval so I guess they were good. I had the broth from the soup the noodles were to swim in (the one with the mountain potato grated into) and it was delicious.
Philip told us all about the infusion of tea into his dishes, and regaled us of the fun he had competing in Vegan Iron Chef. The tea we used was by Chadoen
Once all the dishes were complete we got to sit and eat/slurp together. It was a fun day. Rounded off with vegan buckwheat waffles (had wheat in too…argh! not gluten free). My body isn’t real compatible with gluten so I just had lashings of the strawberry and orange compote. Sweetened with coconut sugar and nothing else to set my body twitching I could have happily sat with a ladle and cradled the pan of compote and devoured it all. Sadly, I had to share!

Check out Philip’s website. He regulary runs events in between his catering and private parties.

I created a little montage of the day…check it out.

Philip kindly shared his waffle recipe, especially for you! To make the recipe gluten free..sub the plain flour for a gluten free flour. I’d try a garbanzo and quinoa mix . If you are soy-free then you can use coconut milk or almond milk.

Tea waffles
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 packets powdered sencha or 1 tbsp matcha
1 tbsp palm sugar

1.5 cups soymilk
1 tbsp grapeseed oil

mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. mix wet in another. Add wet to dry, mixing gently, being careful NOT to overmix. Let batter rest before adding 3/4 cups mix to waffle iron.

Strawberry tangerine compote
place the following in a saucepan.
2 tangerine quartered
2 pints strawbrries, halved
1 vanilla bean, split
1/2 cup maple

cook over medium low heat till berries break down, stirring frequently.

Have you any great recipes with tea you’d like to share? Let us know about them in the comments box below.

Be well

India Leigh xx

p.s The video has cool tunes by Luc & The Lovingtons. A band out of Oakland, where Philip has his live/work kitchen studio

Raw Food In San Francisco - Judahlicious - Review with photos

April 2, 2013 by India Leigh 2 Comments

When ever I return to San Francisco, I make sure I bike through Golden Gate Park, stop and watch the sea, then cycle on to Judahlicious, located way out in the boondocks..well, Outer Sunset but it feels like another world. It’s a great ride though, and works up an appetite. With the closing of Cafe Gratitude in 2012 in the city, it made a trip here even more important for me to get my raw food fix.

This place has had bad reviews in the past on Yelp. But don’t let that stop you. Times have moved on and I’ve always found it a worthwhile destination. The staff have always been friendly and the food is delicious, lovingly presented and prepared nice and fast.

They have 6 raw food and 6 cooked vegan dishes, lots of smoothies and juices and desserts and even a filling acai bowl.
The seating could do with a feng shui consultant. I’d prefer small tables rather than the two rather awkwardly placed benches but this is a little critiscim. I was super happy to see lots of school kids queuing up for green juices. Bodes well for our future generations health!

So, what did we eat?…

Sherpa Sandwich
Served open-faced on our house-made raw bread. Hemp Pesto, Fresh Vegetables, Pineapple, Avocado, and Marinated Kale. Drizzled with a Cashew Curry “Cream” sauce and Gogi sauce and topped with Vegan Parmesan (contains walnuts).

The raw bread was the best I have ever tasted. The texture was unlike any other I tried and was almost cakey. The flavours combinations were interesting, and really worked well together.

Soup Mahendra

Cauliflower, Green Lentils, Russet Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, and a Spice Medley. Topped with Marinated Kale and Vegan Parmesan (contains walnuts).

Cannot fault it. Perfect. Warming. Homey.

Dark Side of the Shroom

A tamari-marinated portabella mushroom topped with fresh Zucchini, Kale, Cauliflower, Bell pepper, Onion, Sunflower Seeds, Sprouts, and Pineapple. Drizzled with our Cashew “Cream” sauce and Avocado Cheese sauce. My friend ordered this. I’d give it 6 out of 10. I don’t think the mushroom was marinated enough and it lacked flavour somewhat.

RAW vegan cupcakes. Fresh Coconut meat, cashews, sweet stuff, super foods. I was in heaven! I made myself take absolutely ages (well, it felt like ages) to eat/enjoy. It melted on my tongue, and I swear I didn’t stop smiling the whole time I was consuming it! The silver case was flattened and I scraped it clean!

Raw Carrot Cake - my friend’s dessert of choice. Though good, thick with cashew nut cream topping, and a generous wedge of nut ‘cake’ with grated carrot (of course), and lovely warm cinnamon spices. However, it paled in comparison to my beautiful, swirly cupcake. I admit to being a little bit smug that I’d picked the best food. I know…so childish!

Judahlicious

3906 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

3906 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Good LYFE - Healthy Eating in Palo Alto

April 1, 2013 by India Leigh 2 Comments

Love Your Food Everyday - I do, I do!!!

This is the mantra/concept behind a new restaurant opened up in home-of-the-rich-geeks - Palo Alto. Their 2nd just opened in Culver City, Los Angeles. The cast list of CEO’s and chefs is quite something. Two of the CEO’s with background’s in McDonalds. The Chefs have fed Ms Oprah Winfrey no less. Tal Ronnen is a vegan chef who famously cooked for Oprah during her 21-day VEGAN stint, a cookbook author and former Executive Chef of Gardein. Chef Smith has a non-profit called Common Threads that teaches nutrition and world culture to children in low-income areas.
Most of the people behind LYFE seem to have brought my consciousness to their diets and now combine their love of food WITH health.

I was heading out of San Francisco and down to Stanford University, in Palo Alto, to go to the 10th Anniversary of KIPAC. Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. It was a day of lectures on dark matter, dark energy, sun gazing, 3D simulations of formations of galaxies and black holes. You could speak to real life scientists who work on particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider. My mind was blown so much I just stood in complete awe of these people. Promising myself that in my next life I will focus on my science studies in school and cultivate my geek early on, rather than concerning myself who would be Number 1 in the charts or whether I should try making my fringe blond again by dipping it in household bleach (DO NOT try this at home) despite clumps of hair disintegrating alarmingly.
Of course this meant research to find out where I could eat lunch, after the self imposed imagined stress of getting the correct Caltrain and manoeuvring my bike up the steep steps into the train. A funky train by the way. With upper seating levels that hang out over a coach especially for bikes. I felt I was part of a club of intrepid explorers, despite the fact the journey was only an hour and to a built up, and rather grandiose, city. Google returned a result of LYFE, not a vegan restaurant but a place with health in mind and with lots of vegan options, and made it my lunch choice.
The place is located just of the main drag. Lots of diners where sitting outside enjoying the sun. Inside is bright, lots of seating, clean and had such a great atmosphere. The server was incredibly patient and seemed genuinely concerned that I’d find something both vegan AND gluten free. They do have a good range of both but together was a little more challenging. I sampled their 3 soups and opted for the corn chowder. For entree I had roasted butternut squash with brussel sprouts and cranberries with a vegan garlic aoli dressing. A side of kale with a lemon dressing gave me my punch of greens for the day. All meals are odered at the counter and paid for. You are given an electronic table number which they can use to track where you’ve sat. How novel! Water is on tap and beautiful and expensive cutlery and napkins make it a real nice dining experience.
The staff, called Lyfers, were ALL super helpful. It was very busy and I sat opposite the kitchen and watched them prep. Though they were inundated with orders they all appeared amazingly calm. I was happy for them to be preparing my food. I cannot eat somewhere if the staff don’t seem to care. I want LOVE on my plate!

The soup was creamy, and perfectly seasoned. The best chowder I’ve eaten so far in my time on this dear planet of ours. The kale salad was a touch too lemony/acidic for my tastes but the roasted vegetable plate was filing, not oily and quite lovely. The sprouts balancing the sweetness of the squash. The ranch dressing was so good I could have drunk it!

A great place to go for vegan and non-vegans alike!

167 N. Hamilton, Palo Alto, CA

650-325-LYFE(5933)

Dante’s. Weird Fish. Indeed! A Great San Francisco SUPER Vegan Friendly Restaurant.

March 28, 2013 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

This place has alluded me in the past. It opened up. It closed down. It opened again…. I’d just I left San Francisco days before! It changed it’s name. Was bought by 2 new owners. I returned to SF. It was the first place I headed.

The menu took some deciphering. It’s not all vegan but has LOTS of plates to choose from. When it a dish has a fish type name..it isn’t a fake fish, it’s real. Be warned!
Brunch offers lots of scrambles, vegan sausage and chorizo. Dinner has soups, salads, taco’s. Deep fried and brutally good starters, and VEGAN fish & chips, curries, sand-witches and even vegan desserts. The Menu is the stuff of bedtime reading (or is that just me?!)

It took some time for my friend and I to choose. The waiter was super helpful (and patient!). My friend is a great dinner partner. A fellow foodie, and always happy to have us scavenge off each others plates. It makes deciding what to have a little easier!

The picture above is battered tofu. GLUTEN FREE and HELL-A good! The batter is worthy of some sort of Noteworthy and Delicous Vegan Batter Award. If no such award exists…. It needs to! I would wash their dishes for a week to get my mitts on the recipe! Did I mention the VEGAN tartare sauce? I nearly cried! Like, nice, Sunday afternoon movie type tears. Or ‘I’m eating heavenly creamy food/dip’ type tears. The chips were crispy, white potatoes and sweet potatoes. With just the right level of lip smacking deep fried oiliness!

Dante’s Weird Fish. It’s a cozy place.

The rice and beans were so tasty. Slices of olives gave for a really original flavour. The rice was as fluffy as a poodle in a parlour!

Waco Taco

yam, spinach, guacamole, pepitas

This sounds simple, right? Hats off to the chef. The yams were mashed and so deeply, homely sweet. But the real thing was that the flavours were so distinct yet harmonious..balanced. the slaw and pepitas (sunflower seeds) adding vital crunch!

Coconut-curry & banana leaf (tofu-veggie) I opted to forgo the tofu and have ‘sock it to me’ amounts of veggies!
Cooked to perfection and seasoned by a condiment-God of some sort!

LOVED < LOVED < LOVED it! Going to return.SOON. Inferno or not!

Address: 2193 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Phone:(415) 863-4744

Prices:

$$$$

They also own St Francis Fountains on 24th Street. I went along, with camera. Ordered ‘The Vegan Thang’ (huge pile of potatoes, vegan cheese, guacamole) and a side of the vegan chilli. Camera was out of juice! Sorry, no photos!
Verdict - first..a tip. The small $6 bowl is probably enough for any human. Belly filling, comfort food. Delicious!

TCHO and the chocolate factory

April 1, 2012 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

I recommend, when you visit any city, to get out and walk around, with no fixed goal. Or hire a bicycle, and go where the fancy takes you. You will probably find most unexpected things of interest, great cafes, fascinating neighbourhoods with distinctive personality. You may get chatting to friendly strangers, who will point you in the direction of a landmark or restaurant only the locals know about. You may even cycle along the Embarcadero, whilst watching for the Golden Gate Bridge to step out from the fog in San Fransisco, and happen upon a whacking great chocolate factory. Upon entering the factory store, you may have a chat with a member of staff who informs you (whilst you are taking full advantage of the free samples) you can enjoy a free tour of the premises, if you feel so inclined. But you can’t book it there. Oh no, you have to go all the way back home and book it on the Internet. I’m not sure the idea of going on-line and booking one of the two, daily free tours would have got Mr Roald Dahl inspired. The notion is profoundly dull and uninspiring, in comparison to the fervent chocolate bar buying that Willy Wonka incited. But hey, let me tell you, I found it just as exciting AND stressful gaining access to the shrouded world of TCHO’s chocolate making machines.

Stressful because when I booked, the first time, and began my bike ride from the Mission District. Grabbed my bike from the basement to peddle like a tornado was nipping at my heals. Down Valencia Street, took a right onto Market and down to the Embarcadero. Lands end. My ETA was off by three minutes. THREE. ONLY 3 minutes, and my place was nabbed with breathtaking swiftness, by another ardent fan of the cacao. I couldn’t believe it. Just three minutes and I’m out. I was deflated, dejected…and very sweaty. But my mind, Exocet on getting behind the big willowy curtains blocking my view from the chocolate making, I went home, got on the Internet and booked again. I returned a week later. Hardly learning from my mistake and arriving at four seconds past the tour start time. I ran in, again sweaty from cycling like the clappers down Market Street, and rugby tackled Iris, the tour guide, shouting my name to announce my arrival, as I flew through the air to grab at her heels. I was in!

TCHO (the phonetic spelling of the 1st syllable of chocolate) is, in their words, ‘New American Chocolate’. They are a local chocolate factory, housed somewhere in between the Ferry Building and Fort Mason.They claim to go beyond fair trade when sourcing their beans and buy and collaborate direct with their growers. They improve the growers production from planting to the racks the beans dry on. An interesting fact I learned is that most growers from the cacao producing countries TCHO source from (Peru Ghana Ecuador Madagascar….ALL on my bucket list BTW) haven’t even tasted chocolate as we know it! They just grow the beans to feed the market. Timothy Childs, ex NASA Space Shuttle contractor and co-founder of TCHO, built laboratories on sight so the growers get to taste the chocolate that their beans will produce and understand more of the process of fermenting, roasting, conching and tempering. TCHO seem to be as obsessive about chocolate as I am about anything vegan. Karl Bittong, the other founder, has been so consumed by cacao that he moved to Ghana live next to a plantation. Between them they’ve literally bodged together the laboratories and the San Franciscan factory with a hotch potch of retro machines and futuristic technology.

A DVD injected a quick information download. Once that was done, finally, we were guided through the 40ft gossamer curtain to behold the world of the crazy chocolate makers. Strips of clear plastic separated the machines from the packing area where conveyor belts transported of cooling confection. I kept pushing one of the strips to let in the noise of the motors, so tickled I was by the effectiveness of their sound proofing qualities. Huge silver vats held tonnes of roasted cacao nibs. They were being ground to a liquid. Another belly of steel was tempering the chocolate. Heating it to encourage the molecules get in an orderly line, to help create the satisfying ‘snap’ you get when breaking a piece from a bar. It’s then freed from the heating process, along tubes and down into the final moulds, in rods of warm, fluid chocolate. Crazy technology means Tim can crawl out of bed, grab his iPhone and adjust tempering times or roasting temperatures, without even changing out of his pyjamas, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and driving to the factory. The influence of the CEO and the President of TCHO, Louis Rossetto & Jane Metcalf who founded digital culture, Wired magazine?

Natty head-gear

brightly coloured cacao pods

the white gloop that covers the beans. This is what ferments the bean.

roasted cacao beans

the happy growers

Aztecs believed that wisdom and power came from eating the fruit of the cocoa tree, and also that it had nourishing, fortifying, and even aphrodisiac qualities. The Aztec emperor, Montezuma, drank thick chocolate, unsweetened - sugar was not yet found, apparently he drunk a whopping 50 goblets every day!

Standing there, albeit looking silly in a flimsy white paper hat. The rich evocative smells dense in the air. I got it. Theand smooth? Pre-tour, one might think it a bit ‘poncy’ to imagine flavours and ‘top notes’. It’s chocolate, right? But the earth, the plants, the air, the roasting times, how the beans are dried…they all influence the flavour and impart the memory of where the bean originated. Honestly, I could taste citrus. I detected berries. I acquiesced, yes, indeed I could discern a suggestion of floral notes, when all the disc of chocolate contained was 80% cacao and a little sugar.

Just over an hour later I emerged back out from the hanger and into the strong sun. I untwined the bike lock from the park up and went off on my merry way. Chocolate powered. Shaking ever so slightly from too much sugar and theobromine. Next stop to hunt down a huge concrete organ built into a tiny promontory in the Marina, that shoots musical notes into the air at high tide, in the name of art.

Vegan In Los Angeles

Organix

A long anticipated, now it is here. Seed + Salt New Vegan Cafe Opens in San Francisco.

167 N. Hamilton, Palo Alto, CA

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