Oct 18, 2009

Toronto nom's - Part I

Toronto has become one of my favorite cities in the whole entire world, it just so happens some of the most amazing vegan places in the world are here too.

There are so many places in Toronto i need to eat this will be in parts. Here are a few of my favorite places i have eaten at recently.



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Sadie’s Diner - I’m pretty sure if you are new in town and you ask a vegan where a good place to get some food is, this will be the first place they say. It is a classic style diner that serves vegetarian/vegan food, mostly breakfast/brunch style food like tofu scramble, pancakes and french toast. This is one of my all time favorite dishes that they serve, the tofu club sandwich.

Simple toasted bread with tofu, bacon, lettuce, tomato and veganaise and a side of fries has never tasted so good. If you are ever in Toronto i strongly recommend you grab a bite to eat at sadie’s.

http://www.myspace.com/sadiesdiner



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One Love Vegetarian Cafe - This place is fairly new and run by a jamaican couple hence forth them specialising in jamaican dishes. Above is the Pumpkin Spiced Roti, this thing is huge and amazingly filling. It’s a whole wheat shell filled with potato, pumpkin and a creamy onion filling.
It is incredible and serves well as a main course. Below is the spiced stir fry with peppers, avocado, tofu chunks and fried plantains. Again this is a huge dish and more than enough to go around.
This dish will fill you up but leaving you wanting alot more of it.

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http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/one-love-vegetarian-cafe





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Hibiscus - Holy shit! Hibiscus was hidden from alot of my friends and i for a while and only discovered it mid summer, but so worth it. Hibiscus serves buckwheat pancakes both sweet and savory and also different selections of salads. But the thing i love about this place is the vegan ice cream, they make it on sight and it is quite different to anything else i have ever had.

The two flavours above are raspberry/coconut and earl grey, i had these on a traditional buckwheat pancake with sugar, cinnamon and lemon. Possibly one of my favorite desserts i have ever had since being vegan.

http://www.blogto.com/cafes/hibiscus





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Get Real Cafe - Saved the best till last, Get Real is a vegetarian/vegan brunch spot in the west side of the city. These waffles are the best thing i have ever eaten in my whole entire life. Buckwheat waffles on a bed of forest berries covered in maple syrup and sugar with a selected serving of fruit. I really cant describe how incredible these waffles are.
Get brunch there the next weekend you are in Toronto.
They also have some of the best earl grey tea i have had since being in canada, which is a big deal, being british and all.

http://www.getrealcafe.com


Sep 29, 2009

New York Noms...

I hadn’t been to New York City in 4 years and i was far from vegan 4 years ago, so being in the city this time around was completely new for me, i had some of the best food i had ever tasted whilst being there and i wish i could eat it forever.

I HEART NY

Ok so first things first, i went to to ‘VP2’ which is owned (i believe) by the same people as ‘Red Bamboo’ or atleast serves exactly the same food. I was so stoked on this food i forgot to take pictures of it before finishing it off.

But i suggest everyone go to either of these places if ever in the city.

For an entree i had the “World Famous Crispy Soul Chicken with Bbq Sauce”, so incredible… and for the main course “Vegan Lemon Duck” with various vegetables on the side. I love anything lemon and i used to like duck years ago, so trying this made sense. I couldn’t finish the whole thing, the lemon sauce was rich and thick and the duck was at first weird, but after a while i got used to it and it was incredible but strangely filling.

http://www.vp2-nyc.com/
http://www.redbamboo-nyc.com/



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My first day in the city i was just exploring and i came across this place called “Zen Palate” just off from Times Square. The place served noodles, soups and rice dishes. But i saw they had a “Portabello Mushroom Burger with a side of Yam Fries”, i chose this dish because i had earlier passed up the same thing in New Mexico. I was close to Central Park so i wanted to find the place where Home Alone 2 was set and eat it there, but i got very lost and by the time i gave up the burger was pretty cold. All the same it was incredible, It was Portabello with shaved carrot, lettuce and a tomato. It blew my mind.

http://www.zenpalate.com



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Soy & Sake - I am a huge fan of sushi, especially when it comes to eating it with Johanna, sadly she wasn’t with me to taste this. Soy & Sake is an all vegetarian sushi place, I chose the “Tuna and Avacado roll”. I have to say it was delicious, you can’t go wrong with avocado in anything and this fake tuna was too real.

http://www.soyandsake.com/



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Lula’s Sweet Apothecary - That night for Dessert i tried Lula’s, it is a ice cream/candy store all vegan and mostly gluten free. I went for the “Coconut Fudge and Coffee and Cookies ice cream topped with Coconut Whipped Cream and Sprinkles. I have never tasted ice cream so good in my life. It is all home made and it makes me want to attempt to make my own vegan ice cream.

http://www.lulassweetapothecary.com/



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Olive Garden - This last one isn’t anything special, i think i enjoyed it more because of where i ate it. It was Just a simple Olive Garden “Seasonal Vegetable Soup”, assorted vegetables with pasta and soft warm bread. I ate it in Central Park again, this time i wasn’t to fussed on anywhere particular, so just sat on some of the rocks with the best view of the skyline as possible. It was a good lunch.

http://www.olivegarden.com/



I love New York City and everytime i go there is always something new to look at, a city i will truly never get bored of. Now i have knowledge of all these new places i think every visit will get even better each time.


Sep 28, 2009

San Francisco Noms...

I absolutely love San Francisco, i was there for just under a week and i didn’t want to leave, one of my favorite cities in the world that i have ever visited. I ate so much amazing food there, here are a few things.

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First off, Burritos! You can’t go to California and not have a burrito, it’s insulting.
I got this at this little place in the mission, a real mexican place.

Beans, guacamole, rice, salad, tomato and onion w/ a side of chips and salsa and a mexican coke (the mexican coke they use real sugar cane)

Defiantly one of my all time favorite burrito’s.




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Underdog - they serve vegan and organic hot dogs, I treated myself to the “italian dog” which was a mix of sundried tomato and various spices, obviously topped with ketchup and onions.

Defiantly a place to go to if you are a huge fan of hot dogs and in the bay area, it stood out from anywhere else i have ever been and tasted better too.

http://www.myspace.com/underdogorganic



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Jay’s - When i walked into this place, i thought it was the same old kebab shop you find in any major town or city, turns out i was very wrong.
The menu had endless combinations of vegan options for different flavored cheesesteaks. I went for the “Bell Pepper Seitan” cheesesteak.

Incredible, a tad expensive but well worth it.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/jays-cheesesteak-san-francisco



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Weird Fish - I was never the biggest fan of fish before i went vegan but i have to say this ‘Seitan Fish Steak with Yam Fries and ranch dressing’ was incredible.

For dessert i had a slice of “Blackberry Cheesecake”, i love cheesecake but i had never had a very good vegan cheesecake experience, this changed all of that. It only left me wanting more though.

http://weirdfishsf.com/



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Ike’s Place - I heard about this place thanks to my good friend @markxrat, he told me that i had to try this place or my visit wasn’t worth it. I ended walking about 3 miles to get to this place, i have to say totally worth it.

After looking at the menu for atleast ten minutes i made my mind up and went for the meatball sub, a foot long sub filled with vegan meatballs and pasta and salad. I encourage everyone to go if visiting San Francisco and i can’t wait to go back.

http://www.ilikeikesplace.com/



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Pirate Cat Radio - Best thing to end San Francisco Noms on, Pirate Cat Radio is a small independent cafe where you can intern to DJ on the station.
They are well known for there Vegan Doughnuts.

I was in a rush cause i had to catch my flight to New York but i grabbed a “Lemon Poppyseed”, “Chocolate Crunch” and my favorite “Bacon and Maple Syrup” Doughnut, not going to lie… best breakfast i have ever had!!

http://www.piratecatcafe.com/menu.php

So it begins...

So after traveling a lot more recently and reading Dan SYG’s “Road Noms”, i had the chance to taste a bunch of new vegan eat’s around the world.

Since being vegan i have learnt to appreciate food a whole lot more than i used to and i have tried a ton of new things and enjoyed them greatly.

I have decided to share a few of my favorite places.




I LIKE FOOD.