ROAD TRIP: Waiting for Vegan Food in Chandler, AZ

Posted by socalvegangal in Arizona, Veg Restaurant June 13, 2012

Thank you all for reading about my vegan adventures on my road trip to Oklahoma City. Today’s post is the last post of this journey. For our last meal, my mom and I stopped at 24 Carrots. This all vegetarian cafe is located outside Phoenix in Chandler. Not being from Arizona, I had no idea how out of the way this place was. When we finally got there, we were greeted with a nice, fresh atmosphere. We had about two people in front of us ordering, but it went quickly. 24 Carrots has a lot of juices and smoothies with a large selection of vegetarian food options (most can be made vegan). Their brunch menu looked amazing and (luckily) they serve it all day.

However, this is where the post gets bad. I mentioned before that two customers were in front of us at the ordering counter (not bad) and there were only a handful of other customers already there. One wouldn’t think it would take long to get our food (especially at a place where you have to order at the counter). It took 50 minutes to get our food! They said it was because we ordered brunch and they have one grill, so when someone orders a lunch menu item, they have to clean the grill before working on a brunch menu item. This is bullshit for two reasons. First, if this is the protocol for brunch menu items, then they should just stop serving it at a certain time – eliminate the waiting time so they can clean their grill! Second, EVERYONE was waiting for their food. One person just told them to cancel her food order, because her friends had already gotten theirs and left and now she had to leave. Plus, those 2 people that ordered before us only got their lunch menu order about 5 minutes before us. Really? I don’t think we would have driven completely out of the way to come here had we known we were going to have to wait that long.

Anyway, when we did get our food, we first tried the Arizona Bowl ($10.95): apple soyrizo hash, spinach, garden tofu scramble, cheese, avocado, jalapeno cilantro pesto, and aioli. My mom loves soyrizo, so we decided to try this. Sadly, there wasn’t much soyrizo in this – just tiny bits. In fact, most of this dish was potatoes (something not even listed in the menu description). It had an ok flavor, but I wouldn’t order this again.

Arizona Bowl

They managed to redeem themselves a bit with the Fried Egg Sandwich ($11.95): fried “egg,” house bacon, cheese, tomato, house ketchup, garlic aioli, seasonal fruit. This sandwich was very tasty, although a bit expensive when you look at what you are getting. Would I wait 50 minutes for this? No. If I lived in the area and called my order in ahead of time, I would definitely get this again, though.

Fried Egg Sandwich

And last, we got the Carrot Cake Pancakes ($7.95), which I don’t see on their online menu anymore. Maybe they are trying to change the quickness of their brunch items? Or maybe people didn’t like them, because we thought they were a disappointment. They tasted more like a cinnamon pancake – we didn’t really taste any carrot.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

If you have loads of time to kill and are in the Chandler area, check them out. I wouldn’t say their food is terrible, but they definitely need to get their act together (they’ve been open for 4 years?!).

24 Carrots
6140 W Chandler Blvd Ste 2
Chandler, AZ – 85226
(480) 753-4411 <—- (use this to call in your order!!)

Sunday – Tuesday – 8am to 2pm
Wednesday – Saturday – 8am to 8pm

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WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED SO CAL PROGRAM. (thanks again for reading!)

ROAD TRIP: Vegan Comfort Food in Albuquerque

Posted by socalvegangal in New Mexico, Veg Restaurant June 11, 2012

Albuquerque is a surprisingly huge city in the middle of New Mexico. It is home to a large university, so I would imagine that some of those students are vegan. Therefore, it would make sense that across the street from the University of New Mexico is Mint Tulip – and all vegan cafe with a focus on diner-type food. I was seriously in love with their decor. I think I might paint a room in my future house this minty color.

Mint Tulip

The minty color also inspired me to order a Mint Cookie Shake ($4). My mom went with the humble Chocolate Shake ($4). They make their shakes with their vanilla soft serve and are insanely good! They had many more flavor combinations that I wished I had room in my belly to try.

Mint Cookie and Chocolate Shakes

The food at Mint Tulip focuses on sandwiches/wraps and salads. They also come with a side that you get to choose from a whole list of options. Our first food item was a Buffalo Ranch Wrap with a Pasta Salad side ($9). I took one bite of the wrap and immediately went into panic mode. It was so spicy that I couldn’t even eat the rest of it. If you can handle the heat, go for this item – apparently it is one of the more popular dishes. The pasta salad I could handle. It was so light and refreshing. I could eat a whole plate of this as a nice dinner.

Buffalo Ranch Wrap

The Grilled Cheese with a side of Fruit ($6) was the star of the entrees. This tasted like childhood. The bread was so crispy and the cheese was so melty (wouldn’t have guessed it was Tofutti American slices). A shake and a grilled cheese is a winning combination in my book.

Grilled Cheese

The Reuben with a side of Slaw ($9) was the second favorite. Made with the perfect proportions of Tofurky slices, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing. They certainly know how to grill a sandwich at Mint Tulip.

Rueben

They also make a Burger ($9) with housemade patty, tomato, onion, pickle, spinach, and Vegenaise. We ordered this with a side of Potato Salad. I liked this burger well enough, but if I had to get one thing here, it would be the grilled cheese.

Veggie Burger

And we couldn’t leave without trying their unadulterated Soft Serve. My mom and I both agreed that we liked it better in a shake. On its own, it kind of had a gummy texture to it – something we couldn’t detect blended up.

Soft Serve

You can see their full menu here. This place might have been the favorite meal of the trip and would almost be worth living in Albuquerque… almost.

Mint Tulip
2110 Central Ave SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-242-1320

Monday – Thursday, Saturday 10am – 4pm
Friday 10am – 9pm

ROAD TRIP: LA Vegan Thai-style Eatery comes to Albuquerque

Posted by socalvegangal in New Mexico, Veg Restaurant June 10, 2012

Los Angeles is home to a number of vegan Thai places that have the same crazy menu of thai food and burgers/wraps. I guess the owner of Thai Vegan in Albuquerque (a native of Thailand) came to the desert via the City of Angels, because the menu here has that same crazy menu. There are a few items I haven’t seen in LA, but, in general, it’s the same thing. I love vegan thai food and I might have even thought that Thai Vegan in Albuquerque was slightly better than some of the places in LA.

My mom got the Miso Soup ($2.95). What can I say? – it was miso soup and very tasty.

Miso Soup

We also got an appetizer of the Chicken Satay ($6.95): charbroiled marinated soy chicken on skewers, served with peanut sauce and fresh cucumber salad. Peanut sauce is one of my favorite sauces. This whole plate was delicious!

Chicken Satay

One dish I’m not so sure if I’ve seen very often was the Chu Chee ($9.95): soy shrimp sauteed in our chef’s special coconut puree, topped with daffir lime leaves and bell pepper. This had quite a few bell peppers and onions, which I didn’t eat, so I mainly got a lot of soy shrimp. I really loved the sauce it was in. It tasted like a coconut curry

Chu Chee

Because we love that peanut sauce so much, we got the Praram’s Plate ($9.95): marinated soy chicken pan-fried with peanut sauce on a bed of steamed spinach. Peanut sauce and spinach?! I think this was the favorite item of the evening. It was so flavorful – and we got your greens, too!

Praram’s Plate

In addition to peanut sauce, I love glass noodles. Something about that tiny noodles just tastes so good! This dish isn’t on their online menu, but is on the paper one in the restaurant. I forget what this is called, but is the only glass noodle dish at the place. It was packed with flavor. We didn’t eat all of this dish, so I took it with me to eat for breakfast the next day. Who knew glass noodles could be so good for breakfast?

Glass Noodles

They also have a few dessert items. We each decided to wash everything down with some ice cream. My mom got the Coconut and I got the Green Tea Ice Cream ($3.25 each). Both were tasty, but the texture was a bit off. It was kind of grainy – not too appetizing for an ice cream.

Coconut and Green Tea Ice Creams

I know we have a ton of these type places in LA, but if you happen to be passing through Albuquerque, Thai Vegan is worth the stop.

5505 Osuna RD NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109
(505) 884-4610

Monday – Saturday 11am – 9pm
Sunday 5pm – 9pm

ROAD TRIP: Raw Vegan in Oklahoma City

Posted by socalvegangal in Oklahoma, Raw, Veg Restaurant June 9, 2012

In my last post, I talked about some vegan eats in Oklahoma City. It surprises me that one would be able to even find vegan food in a state like Oklahoma. I guess that’s a testament to how the vegan movement is spreading. And to find a complete raw restaurant? RAW?! – vegan food that’s not even cooked!? Whaa? Oklahoma City? To be honest, my mom and I aren’t to enthused about raw food, so we were ok with missing this restaurant. However, when my very meat-eating cousin said how good Matthew Kenney was, we re-thought about going there. I mean, if he liked it, it must be good!

We made it a family outing and took my Californian aunt and uncle (their first time at a raw restaurant). They liked it, too! We ended up sharing a bunch of dishes. First up, the Cheese Plate ($12): House Aged Tree Nut Cheeses and Condiments: Smoked Cumin Seed, Truffle Macadamia, Mild Cheddar, Wildflower Honey, Rye Bread, Pickled Fruit. Of course the honey is technically not vegan, but my mom, aunt, and uncle ate it. I love raw cheese and this was some of the best raw cheeses I’ve had! Split between four people, I only got a tiny bit of the cheese, but I could have eaten five plates of this (sans honey, of course).

Cheese Plate

The Lasagna was next ($13): Heirloom Tomato Lasagna, Pistachio Pesto, Red Pepper Marinara, Pine Nut Ricotta. I am not a huge fan of zucchini, but the final verdict at the table was that this dish was delicious!

Lasagna

I then got my little bite of the Ravioli ($12): Sweet Corn Ravioli, Corn Mint Pesto, Tomato Paper, Herb Oil. This dish was wonderful and full of their amazing raw nut cheese.

Ravioli

Our last entree was the Crusted Portobello ($13): Warm Herb Crusted Portobello, Fresh Corn Polenta, Cherry Tomato Salad. The table agreed that we all liked this dish, as well. I was more of a fan of the crusted portobello and less of the polenta. Something about raw, whole corn kernels sits funny in my belly.

Crusted Portobello

Since we really weren’t going to be in Oklahoma City again to eat here, we decided to try a couple of desserts. The Tiramisu with Cappuccino Ice Cream ($11) was really amazing. Just look at the presentation! How could you not love it?

Tiramisu

Next was the White Chocolate Cheesecake with Candied Ginger Crumble and Grapefruit Marmalade ($11). Another amazing dish! I wanted more.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

I wish we had this place in LA. True, the prices are large and the portions are small, but the taste was amazing! This is the best raw restaurant I’ve ever been to. I probably wouldn’t eat here a lot (because it’s so expensive), but would suggest it for special occasions. I’m so glad we came – and to think I almost missed out on this beautiful, delicious food!

Matthew Kenney
5820 North Classen Boulevard, Suite 1
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
405-842-1050

Sunday and Monday 11 am to 9 pm
Tuesday – Thursday 11 am to 10 pm
Friday and Saturday 11 am to 11 pm

ROAD TRIP: Quick Vegan Bite in Amarillo, TX

Posted by socalvegangal in Texas, Veg Restaurant June 7, 2012

In my search for vegan food in Amarillo, TX, I found almost nothing. Maybe the locals know better – in which case, I urge them to post reviews online or to add these places to Happy Cow! One place that did come up in my search was a coffee house with some vegan options. The 806 has only a few food items, but after long hours in the car, I found this place to be very delightful. My mom thought of the atmosphere as a throwback to the 60s. Hippie scene or not – I was just happy for some vegan food.

My favorite of the three was the Hummus ($4.15): vegan-friendly and made from scratch; traditional or today’s feature, lightly chilled and served with toasted pita. The pita they use is so good! And the hummus wasn’t bad either. Not authentic tasting hummus, but a decent attempt at it.

Hummus

The Taboule ($4.65) [awesomely-vegan mediterranean wheat salad with fresh spinach, red onion, cucumber, tomato, and baked tofu. served w/ toasted pita] was tasty, although I was expecting the tabouli that emphasizes parsley. A nice healthy snack.

Taboule

My least favorite was the Chili ($4.35): veggie-burger crumbles, roasted veggies, and spices – served with organic blue corn chips. I thought it was too burger crumble heavy. It had a nice a flavor, though.

Chili

So, if you are passing through Amarillo on that long dessert drive across country, stop in at The 806 for some vegan grub.

2812 SW 6th Ave
Amarillo, TX 79106

ROAD TRIP: Vegan in Sedona

Posted by socalvegangal in Arizona, Omnivorous Restaurant, Raw, Veg Restaurant June 4, 2012

Continuing with posts about my recent road trip, I bring you Sedona, AZ. My mom and I absolutely loved it here. It was so beautiful – red rocks galore! I definitely recommend a trip here, and if you do, take a tour on the Sedona Trolley. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the sights.

Because Sedona is more of an artsy community, vegan food is easier to find here. They have a natural foods market to get your vegan groceries and a full vegetarian restaurant. Plus, many of the omnivorous restaurant offer vegan options.

My mom and I got to Sedona in the evening, so we hit up Simon’s Hot Dogs. Sedona has some very strict regulations about signs and lighting, so finding this place was rather difficult. It is inside the Oak Creek Brewing Company on this side street. Once you find the place, you are in for a treat! The head guy (I’m assuming Simon) is super nice and he’ll direct you to what can be made vegan. They have one vegan dog that is substituted for the meat dog (it’s like a Field Roast sausage).

We got the Bratwurst Sauerkraut: vegan dog with spicy mustard and sauerkraut with your choice of chips or a pickle. I love sauerkraut, so I loved this dog. The vegan dog is very flavorful and combined with the mustard and sauerkraut – so good!

Bratwurst Sauerkraut

We also split the Cowboy Dog. This is like a chili cheese dog – only he uses vegan chili with tahini for the cheese. And I thought I loved the sauerkraut dog! This one was even better!! We wanted to come back to this place, but just weren’t in town for long enough.

Cowboy Dog

For lunch the next day, my mom and I went to the vegetarian restaurant ChocolaTree. This is like your typical earthy, yoga-loving cafe. You can eat inside or outside in this cozy courtyard complete with hammocks and gardens. They also have a complete display case full of raw vegan chocolates (some contain honey).

Most of the menu items are vegan (some contain honey) and a lot of them are raw. They also have an extensive beverage menu. My mom felt like she needed a vitamin boost, so she tried the Beyond B ($4): probiotic base B vitamins drink. It was described as having an herbal tea taste, but I thought it tasted more like what it is: vitamins. My mom enjoyed it.

Beyond B

I was very focused on trying the Buckwheat Waffle ($7) with vegan butter and cinnamon agave (beware: the optional add-on of coconut creme contains honey). That cinnamon agave was so thick it barely came out of the dish – but it was delicious. I loved this waffle. It was a bit denser than a typical Belgian waffle, but so yummy!

Waffle

We also tried to get in some greens with the Kale Quinoa ($11): quinoa, kale, and Thai sauce topped with shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, red onion, and red bell pepper. I really need to figure out how to make this on my own. It was so good. The kale was not bitter at all and the Thai sauce was delicious! It’s a healthy salad without tasting healthy.

Kale Quinoa

Then the Almond Butter Sandwich ($6): warm banana bread with stone ground almond butter and honey (obviously I didn’t get the honey). This wasn’t your typical sandwich – you definitely had to eat it with a fork – but the almond butter was the best I’ve ever had. It had the perfect amount of creaminess. Of course the banana bread that it was poured over was also very tasty.

Almond Butter Sandwich

And we couldn’t leave without trying a few of the goodies in their huge selection of raw chocolates. I think my favorite was the White Goji Berry (white raw chocolate with goji berry) – no bitterness at all. My second favorite was a toss up between the White Jungle Peanut (white raw chocolate with jungle peanuts) and the Almond Butter Cup. I just love that almond butter! The Jungle Peanut Butter Cup had a bit too much raw dark chocolate for me and made it way too bitter.

Left to Right: White Goji Berry, Almond Peanut Butter Cup, White Jungle Peanut, Jungle Peanut Butter Cup

ChocolaTree
1595 West Hwy 89A
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928)282-2997

Daily from 9am-9pm
Simon’s Hot Dogs
2050 Yavapai Dr
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 496-0266

Mon, Tue & Thurs 4pm to 9pm
Fri & Sat noon to 9pm
Sun 12 noon to 8pm
Closed on Wednesdays

ROAD TRIP: Green Vegetarian in Phoenix

Posted by socalvegangal in Arizona, Veg Restaurant June 2, 2012

Recently, my sort-of-vegetarian mom and I went on a journey to Oklahoma City for a family wedding. Of course this vegan food obsessed girl had to make a list of all the vegan friendly restaurants to try along the way. Our first lunch stop was in Phoenix.

My mom and I have actually stopped here before about three and a half years ago on another road trip together. We have been talking about the food we got there ever since – so, of course, we had to stop and get it again. Green Vegetarian has two locations: Phoenix and Tempe.

Our first appetizer was their Crab Puffs ($4): mock crabmeat, vegan cream cheese and secret spices. My mom really liked this one. Even though I was the one that really wanted to get this dish, I was less than pleased. I think the crabmeat had a flavor that I just wasn’t a fan of.

Crab Puffs

My mom wanted to order a salad and went with the Balsamic Picnic Salad ($6 small/$9 large): toasted organic pecans, apples, strawberries and figs over fresh greens tossed in a home made balsamic syrup. Again, she liked this dish more than I. I am not a fan of balsamic vinegar and this salad was very strong with it. All the fruits and nuts were very tasty – I only wished we had gotten it with a different dressing.

Balsamic Picnic Salad

The Meatball Po-Boy ($8) was a sandwich my mom and I had gotten on our original visit. We absolutely loved this sandwich! We even tried to come back to get another one that first road trip, but arrived when they were closed. We were so excited to get this dish on this trip, but, unfortunately, it didn’t live up to our expectations. It was tasty – just not as tasty as 3 years ago. Made with mock meatballs cooked in a tomato sauce and topped with melted mock mozzarella. I think our expectations were just too high.

Mum’s Meatball Po-Boy

Our last item was a Greenza Flatbread Pizza ($10): homemade pesto sauce (basil and pine nut) with vegan mozzarella cheese. I thought this one was very simple and delicious. The crust was super thin and crispy, the pesto was very flavorful, and the cheese was not dominating the pizza.

Greenza Flatbread Pizza

If you go to the location in Phoenix, you can go next door to their all vegan bakery (see my next post for these amazing treats!)

2022 N 7th St
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 258-1870

2240 N. Scottsdale Road #8
Tempe, Arizona 85281
(480) 941-9003

Monday – Saturday 11 – 9
Sunday – Closed

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STAY TUNED FOR MORE ROAD TRIP POSTS OVER THE NEXT WEEK!

Getting Warm at Leaf Cuisine

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Raw, Veg Restaurant May 30, 2012

I have gone to Leaf Cuisine a few times recently and I have discovered that I am more of a fan of their fusion cuisine than their raw cuisine. Their fusion cuisine consists of cooked and raw foods combined. I especially like their fusion wraps.

Their Chick’in Pesto Wrap ($10.99) is really good – Soy Chick’in mixed w/ cashew kreme cheeze, sauerkraut, pico de gallo, sour kreme & sprouts. This wrap was very flavorful – I loved the pesto used to drizzle on it. It was also a large portion, so you can always take the one half home and enjoy it later.

Chick’in Pesto Wrap

Another wrap is the Philly Cheeze Stake Lavash ($10.99) – Soy Beaf Stips w/ melted vegan cheeze-, marin onions, spicy sour kreme, cashew kreme cheeze, sauerkraut, tomato & spring mix. I didn’t taste this one, but my vegan guy enjoyed it.

Philly Cheeze Stake Lavash

We also got a dessert to go (well, it was given to us, because of a mistake in our order). I obviously had a lapse in judgment, because I went with the Raw Chocolate Cheesecake. I should have known I wouldn’t like the bitterness of the raw chocolate, because I never do. And it was bitter. The raspberry filling was also way too tart for me. The only good thing about this dessert (besides being free) was the creaminess. Next time, I’ll opt for a non-chocolate cheesecake.

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

Leaf Cuisine is located at:

11938 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 397 0700

Hours of Operation
Mon – Fri 10 AM to 9 PM
Sat – Sun 11 AM to 9 PM

More from Green Earth in Pasadena

Posted by socalvegangal in San Gabriel Valley, Veg Restaurant May 25, 2012

It’s rare that my vegan guy and I are in the Pasadena area, but when we are, we like to stop at Green Earth in Old Town.

One of my new favs is their Golden Wontons ($4.50): fried wontons served with sweet chili sauce. They have this creamy center, crispy outside, and a wonderful, slightly sweet dipping sauce. I love them!

Golden Wontons

My vegan guy got their Chick’un Burger ($8.95): crispy breaded chick’un breast, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle, avocado, and house made tofu mayo. This burger is like your basic chicken burger. It had great flavor and wasn’t dry. Simple and delicious.

Chick’un Burger

I was trying to get something a little more wholesome and not so much fake meaty, so I opted for the Spicy Lemongrass Tofu ($8.50): tofu sautéed with spicy minced lemongrass. I am not a fan of overly spicy dishes, but I could handle this one. A few bites that contained more of the chili sauce were tough for me to get through, though. Luckily, this comes with rice to mellow out the spice.

Spicy Lemongrass Tofu

Green Earth’s menu is large and varied. I definitely recommend a trip to Pasadena to eat here. You can even park for free for 90 minutes across the street in the parking structure.

37 South Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-584-0268

Sun – Thur: 11:30am – 9pm
Tue: CLOSED
Fri – Sat: 11:30am – 10pm

Vive le Euphoria Loves Rawvolution

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Raw, Veg Restaurant May 19, 2012

I tend to have a love-hate relationship with raw cuisine. Sometimes it can be really good, and sometimes it just makes me want to gag. I think I initially put off raw cuisine, because my first experiences were more of the gagging kind. Luckily, I persevered and found items I liked. One place with some tasty raw cuisine is Euphoria Loves Rawvolution in Santa Monica.

One of my new favorites at Euphoria is their Warm Adzuki Bean Miso Soup ($4 cup/$7.50 bowl) – soy free miso with homemade Nofu, scallions, and mushrooms. The Nofu just melts in your mouth and the broth has great flavor. I’m going to remember this soup when I feel a cold coming on.

Miso Soup

I also got a Taco Salad ($11.50) – walnut taco meat, guacamole, and tangy mayo on a bed of lettuce. This thing was huge! I had to take half of it home. The taco meat was very filling and they give enough of the topping so you can have some with each bite of lettuce. I really hate it when places are stingy with the dressing.

Taco Salad

My vegan guy got the Avocado Cheese Scramble ($10) – homemade cashew scramble with avocado, sunflower seed cheese, red bell peppers, red onions, and marinated mushrooms served with heirloom purple corn chips. I had a tiny taste of it and really liked it. He also enjoyed the dish. Good thing breakfast is served all day, so we can get this anytime.

Avocado Cheese Scramble

Euphoria Loves Rawvolution is located at:

2301 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 392-9501

Open 10am to 9:30pm daily

So Cal Vegan Gal

Category Archives: Veg Restaurant