We've been vegetarians for just about 3 years now and this past year I've tried to add more vegan recipes to my repertoire. Cutting back on eggs and dairy while incorporating more vegan products (besides veggies, grains and legumes) into the mix.
It's challenging.
But fun - like a science experiment with your taste buds. Who would have thought something called nutritional yeast would finally make tofu taste good?
And vegan curries rock.
We happen to live in one of the best places in the world for vegans/vegetarians. Vegan blogs profess our big city neighbor to the north as "Vegan Mecca" for crying out loud. And we certainly have more hippies per capita than Stumptown!
Veganism aside, it's fun trying new things and even better when they turn out to be delicious.
Last night J took me out for the big V-day holiday. This is the one night a year that he gets to call the shots on dinner. It's always a surprise. I never know where or what or when.
Last night he made reservations for us at a new Vegan/French restaurant in town. A sweet little bistro style place downtown. The menu was full of some interesting vegan appetizers and entrees as well as a couple vegetarian (i.e. with cheese) options. Sticking to the spirit of the evening, we ordered all vegan:
sesame crusted mushrooms
mixed greens salad with walnuts
french lentil filo stack with cashew creme sauce
black bean empanadas
Well, the food was so-so. Appetizers good - entrees mediocre. But I don't think it is because the food was vegan. I think the flavors just didn't meld well. The chef was bold with his choices and I applaud that. But bold doesn't always mean good.
One thing I love about some of the better restaurants in town is that I often come home and try to make a few of the dishes myself - and I usually make them a bit healthier.
Not after last night.
We came home and raided the pantry for my chocolate chip banana muffins :)
3 comments:
Don't you just hate when you go out to eat and the food is only so-so. Jane is big on ambiance, and sometimes that gets in the way of a good meal.
Also, we've found that our favorite vegan cuisines tend to be Mexican or Indian. When you wrote "french/vegan" my initial reaction was, hmmm doesn't sound like a great combination. Of course, you never know until you try.
Lane of VeganBits.com
How cute that your dog likes tofu! Mine are quite fond of veggie dogs (dogs that eat veggie dogs... hmmm, something sounds wrong with that). They also enjoy seitan.
I like your blog headline, "life with the world's grumpiest dog" :o)
lane: I totally agree with you that Indian and Mexican cuisine are great "veganized." French just sounded interesting and to the chef's credit there were a lot of Northern African spices and dishes in the mix, but it just didn't work. Oh well.
So we wait for the next great Vegan restaurant to open up!
Chocolate Covered: I have yet to make seitan, but I have feeling Walrus will love it too!
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