Breakfast at Freesoulcaffe

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Orange County, Veg Restaurant July 1, 2012

I’ve said this many times, but vegan breakfast foods are so hard to find at restaurants. Oatmeal or a tofu scramble might be here and there, but sometimes you just want a classic waffle. I could be wrong, but I think one only needs a single finger to count the number of restaurants offering a vegan waffle in Orange County. That place is the all vegan Freesoulcaffe in downtown Tustin. If you know of another place, please let me know in the comments. Freesoulcaffe is awesome… really awesome. I’ve already mentioned their delicious lunch and dessert options before, and now I’ve come back to tell you about their amazing waffle.

On their menu, they list their waffle flavors as classic, green tea, and pumpkin. I ordered the pumpkin, but found out that they were no longer doing this option (sad). So I got the Green Tea Waffle ($6.95). You can opt to add fruit for an additional $2. This waffle was so good! Nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. When lots of people are ordering waffles, it takes some time, but it is worth the wait. They stop serving breakfast at 11am – no sleeping in if you want to get your waffle fix.

Green Tea Waffles

But of course I couldn’t leave without getting something from their bakery case. Dessert at breakfast is what I call living!

Glorious Bakery Case

The Key Lime Pie ($5.50) has the most delicious and creamy topping. It’s the same topping they put on their Mocha Pie I mentioned in my last post. The pie itself was equal parts sweet and tart. I shared it with my fellow diners and they liked it, too.

Key Lime Pie

They have an annoying online menu that doesn’t list prices. Their paninis run about $11.50, sandwiches are $7.95 for a half and $10.50 for a full, soups are $6.50, brownies/blondies are $3.75, and the cheesecakes/pies are $5.50.

They have a lovely covered courtyard that has heaters going on colder days. Their hours are: Monday – Saturday: 9am – 9pm (closed on Sundays).

191 East Main Street Suite 1B
Tustin, CA 92780
714.371.0976

Vegan Ice Cream at Scoops

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert Shop, Ice Cream, Los Angeles June 20, 2012

It’s Summertime! And that means vegans go out in search of frozen treats like non-dairy ice cream from Scoops. They’ve been around for awhile and most LA vegans are already in the know, but some of our dear vegan friends outside the LA Metropolitan area are out of the loop. I’m here to include those poor folks and let them know of a vegan ice cream option to try on their next trip to LA. Scoops has two locations. The original location is next to LA City College and the newer spot is in West LA. Scoops sells a bunch of dairy filled ice creams (gross!) and two or more vegan varieties (yum!). The flavors change daily, so you’ll never get bored.

My latest trip to Scoops gave me Raspberry Chocolate and Oreo Ice Cream. I think it was either a very hot day or they changed the temperature setting on their freezer, because these scoops were a bit softer than I remember. I think it made them extra delicious. I also really loved the Raspberry Chocolate, because the raspberry really mellowed out the strong chocolate flavor. Most of the time when I go to Scoops, they have a chocolate based flavor, but I always find the chocolate to be too much for me.

Raspberry Chocolate and Oreo

I have yet to go to the one in West LA, but they are nice enough to update a facebook page so you know what flavors are available. The original location is very popular and sometimes sells out of the vegan flavors before closing on Saturday nights. There used to be an awesome vegan restaurant across the street (RIP Pure Luck) and I asked if their closing had any influence on the amount of vegan ice cream Scoops was selling these days. I was told that there was a decline at first, but now everything is about the same. Good for them! I’d hate to see the demand get so low that they would discontinue their vegan flavors.

Scoops East
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-906-2649

Monday – Saturday 12pm – 10pm
Sunday 1pm – 6pm

Scoops West
3400 Overland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90034
323-405-7055

Monday – Saturday 12pm – 10pm

118 Degrees in Costa Mesa

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Raw, Veg Restaurant June 19, 2012

Awhile back, I had a Groupon to 118 Degrees. It was a great deal. Unfortunately, in my opinion, 118 Degrees is one of those reasons why I was turned off to raw cuisine. 118 Degrees was my second raw restaurant experience (after Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco – also not a very good experience). It just didn’t grab me. After two not so great experiences, I was not very interested in trying more raw cuisine. Luckily, I found some raw food in LA that I liked and the best raw restaurant in Oklahoma City. Be your own judge of the cuisine, but this is what I got.

For an appetizer, we ordered the Fried Avocado Mini Tostadas ($7): crispy buckwheat shells, spicy pepita cheese, chopped spinach, cilantro, corn, and fried avocado. This appetizer is something I have had before and liked it. However, on this trip, that crunchy coating on the avocados was lacking and brought the whole dish down. On a good day, these actually are pretty good. I can never really say anything bad about raw cheeses – I always like them, but I’m not a huge fan of dehydrated things resembling the bread (in this case: the tortilla).

Fried Avocado Mini Tostadas

My vegan guy got the Sweet Corn Tamales ($14): sweet corn masa with marinated portobello mushrooms – served warm with rojo salsa, guacamole, and napa slaw. According to the restaurant, this one sells out fast and I can see why. I enjoyed this much better than the raw stuff. Besides being comforting and warm, it also had lots of flavor.

Sweet Corn Tamales

I had the Fusion Pasta ($16): sweet miso, squash noodles in a chipotle shiitake creme with shiitake mushrooms, avocado, and dulse flakes. When I think “squash,” I mainly think of butternut squash. I’m a fan of butternut squash, so I thought I would like this dish. When it came to me, I saw it was mainly zucchini noodles. I hate zucchini. I had about two bites of this before packing it up and bringing it to someone else.

Fusion Pasta

And for dessert we got the Apple Cobbler ($9). I love baked apple cobbler, but am not so much a fan of dehydrated apple cobbler. The creme topping was nice.

Apple Cobbler

And the Raspberry Cheesecake ($9). I love Earth Cafe’s raw cheesecake, but sadly, I did not like 118 Degrees’ cheesecake. I think I liked the filling better than the crust, but all-in-all, I would never order this again.

Raspberry Cheesecake

If you are into raw cuisine (and even if you’re not), you may like 118 Degrees. I encourage you to try it out yourself.
2981 Bristol Suite B5
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-754-0718

Monday – Saturday 9am – 10pm
Sundays 10am – 9pm
Brunch on Sunday 10am – 3pm

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: Surprise, surprise! Vegan Food in Oklahoma City

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Oklahoma, Omnivorous Restaurant June 8, 2012

After a long journey, my mom and I finally made it to Oklahoma City for a wedding in the family. We were both quite worried that we wouldn’t be able to find vegan eats in the city. There might have been only a few options, but we managed.

One place with a great selection was Picasso on Paseo. We even wanted to go back to try some more of their selections, but didn’t have enough time. The first dish we did try was the Quinoa Tacos ($7): three tacos with lettuce, tomato, and avocado puree. These were so fresh tasting. We loved the innovation of using quinoa as the taco “meat.” I need to try and make something like this at home.

Quinoa Tacos

The second dish we tried was the Chicken Fried Portobello ($11): with vegan soy gravy and potatoes. We ordered it with a side of tabouli. Just like what we had in Amarillo, this tabouli was less parsley based and more grain based. It was too lemony for me – I didn’t like it – but the portobello was amazing! The seasoning on the breading was fabulous! And the gravy was perfect. I wish we could have gone back to try their vegan pizza and frito chili pie!

Chicken Fried Portobello

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any vegan desserts, so we travelled up the road to a Whole Foods for some cake. The selection of vegan cake was great! I know it’s Whole Foods, but it’s still in Oklahoma. I wasn’t expecting such a wide variety of choices. We got Apple Spice, Carrot, and Chocolate Raspberry Cake. They were all really good and moist. If you happen to be in OKC and need some vegan cake – you know where to find it.

Cakes from Whole Foods

Even though we really wanted to go back to Picasso, we wanted to try something new. Even our waitress at Picasso was raving about our next stop: The Red Cup. Sadly, their menu doesn’t label what is vegan and upon asking, not much was actually vegan. Their noodles have egg and their veggie burger contains egg, as well. Bummer. What we could get was their Frito Pie ($7.50): Fritos, veggie chili, tomatoes, black olives, scallions, and salsa (no cheese or sour cream – add guacamole). Another dish my mom enjoyed more than I. It was tasty, but nothing to come back for. I love Fritos (GMO corn and all!), but they did get soggy sitting under the chili.

Frito Pie

And they did have one vegan dessert! Yay! Carrot cake was our option and it was good. It might be lacking on frosting for some, but was full of spices. We even met the super nice girl that made it. Thanks, girl at Red Cup, whomever you may be!

Carrot Cake

The Red Cup
3122 N. Classen Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK. 73118
405-525-3430

Monday – Wednesday: 7 am-5 pm
Thursday – Friday: 6 am-8 pm
Saturday: 9 am-8 pm
Sunday: 9 am-5 pm

Picasso on Paseo
3009 Paseo
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
405-602-2002

Monday – Wednesday 11 am – 10 pm
Thursday – Saturday 11 am – 2 am
Sunday 11 am – 9 pm

Whole Foods Market
6001 N. Western Ave.,
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
405-879-3500

Daily 8am – 10pm

———————————————————————————————————————————-

TOMORROW: RAW VEGAN IN OKLAHOMA CITY??

ROAD TRIP: Vegan Eats in Santa Fe

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert Shop, Ice Cream, New Mexico, Omnivorous Restaurant June 5, 2012

Santa Fe, NM is a pretty artsy-fartsy town, so one would think they’d be the open minded kind of people to have some good vegan food. I found a few good spots, but not a whole lot. One of these spots was a small chocolate shop that offers some vegan varieties. Kakawa Chocolate House may not label anything as vegan, but most of the dark chocolate truffles are vegan. We asked the chocolatier and she was very helpful to point out what we should get.

Kakawa Chocolate House

From their selection we got four different vegan chocolates. The Pomegranate Truffle (chocolate, agave, pomegranate, vanilla) was my least favorite – the most bitter. The Rose Truffle (chocolate, agave, rose water) and the Dark Chocolate Truffle (chocolate, agave, oatmilk, mexican vanilla) were both very creamy and less bitter than the pomegranate. My favorite was the Dark Chocolate Pistachio Clusters – the creaminess and saltiness of the nuts cuts the strong bitterness of the chocolate. Each truffle is around $3-3.50 and is worth the stop to this very cute store.

Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cluster, Dark Chocolate Truffle, Rose Truffle, Pomegranate Truffle

Because my mom and I were on a road trip, we didn’t have many meal opportunities to eat in Santa Fe. We wanted to spend dinner at a vegan friendly restaurant (Body Cafe), but got there at 8:28pm. Apparently the kitchen closes at 8:30pm and the whole place closes at 9pm. WTF? We made the deadline and they turned us away. Not cool! So we stopped at a Whole Foods on the way back to the hotel and got a bunch of vegan food.

The Couscous Salad and the Red and Black Quinoa Taboule from the deli case weren’t that great, but the Sonoma Wrap (Gardein chicken salad wrapped with grapes in a tortilla) was delicious! They even had some vegan donuts!

Whole Foods Goodies: Couscous Salad, Red and Black Quinoa Taboule, Vegan Sonoma Wrap, Donuts

The donuts were displayed from MIGHT-O. I thought it must be a typo, but what were Mighty-O donuts doing in Santa Fe? When we got back to the hotel and I tasted them and I knew they were from Mighty-O. I didn’t like them when I had them in Seattle, and I still didn’t like them. They have this sort of chemical leavening flavor. Not my cup of tea, but very exciting that vegan donuts exists in Santa Fe.

Mighty O Donuts

When we finally made it to Body Cafe, my mom and I shared two vegan-friendly dishes. Body Cafe didn’t have a whole lot of vegan dishes to choose from. A few dishes are raw and they have many juices/smoothies. One thing that really irked me (besides being turned away before they closed the night before) was their statement on their menu. Describing vegan, Body Cafe states it “does not contain any animal products including eggs, dairy. We often use honey in our vegan recipes.” So your vegan stuff isn’t actually vegan if it contains honey (yes, I know some vegans eat honey). Knowing I now have to ask if their vegan food is actually vegan, I discovered that the Caesar Salad ($11.95) [romaine hearts, jicama, sunflower croutons, capers, house caesar dressing] is totally vegan. Maybe it was my annoyance at Body Cafe, but I just wasn’t too thrilled with the food. My mom enjoyed it, though.

Caesar Salad

And the Green Chile Burrito ($9.95) [tofu, pine nut cheese, green chile, potato, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, salsa fresca, onion, spelt tortilla] just wasn’t that good, either.

Green Chile Burrito

Body Cafe
333 Cordova Rd.
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505-986-0362

Monday-Friday 7 am – 9 pm
Saturday 7 am – 9 pm
Sunday 7 am – 9 pm

Kakawa Chocolate House
1050 E Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM
505-982-0388

Monday – Saturday 10-6
Sunday 12-6

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: Amazing Desserts at Nami in Phoenix

Posted by socalvegangal in Arizona, Dessert, Dessert Shop, Ice Cream June 3, 2012

Like I said in my last post, if you go to Green, try to hit up the one in Phoenix. Next door is the all vegan Nami – known for their Tsoynamis (a soft serve type treat) and baked goods. This place is so good! My mom and I ended up going here twice on our road trip.

NO’s & Mint Tsoynami

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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

Gourmet Pizza Shoppe in Redlands

Posted by socalvegangal in Omnivorous Restaurant, Pizza May 24, 2012

Yet another pizza place has made the brilliant decision to get Daiya and provide some vegan pizzas. When it is in the Inland Empire, this decision is especially wonderful. The more vegan options, the better!! The Gourmet Pizza Shoppe in Redlands is another one of those local favorites that have had such great success, they have expanded to a second location. People just love their crazy (meat and cheese filled) pizza pairings. I’ll tell you that even before they started carrying Daiya, I was still a huge fan of this place, too. Yes, it may have been only because of their bread, but (wow!) you have got to try their Breadsticks and marinara! Yep, I eat the whole thing. Nice and soft on the inside with a crispy seasoned crust – served with a wonderfully flavored marinara sauce ($2.99).

Breadsticks with Marinara

Of course some of you might not be enticed by just bread alone, so lucky for you, vegan pizza is an option. I love their crust! Their regular pizza sauce has dairy in it, so be sure to get it with marinara sauce instead. Top it with vegan cheese and whatever vegetable toppings you like. I got my Personal Sized Pizza with Mushrooms ($7.50) – super delicious. The Redlands place is like one of those pizza parlors from your childhood. I love it here. And when you are done, walk around the historic downtown Redlands (go on a Thursday night and the whole street is shut down for the hugely popular Market Night).

Vegan Pizza with Mushrooms

The Gourmet Pizza Shoppe has two locations (Redlands being the one I frequent):

120 E. State Street, Redlands, CA 92373
(909) 792-3313
Sun: 12 PM – 8 PM
Mon-Sat: 11 AM – 9 PM

13661 Calimesa Blvd, Yucaipa, CA
(909) 795-8000
Sun: 12 PM – 8 PM
Mon-Thurs: 11 AM – 8 PM
Fri & Sat: 11 AM – 9 PM

So Cal Vegan Gal

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