by | October 22, 2010

Travel Feature: 118 Degrees Restaurant

Name of Establishment: 118° Degrees Restaurant
How Vegan-Friendly is it? 100% Raw Vegan
Location: Located right by The Camp in Costa Mesa, CA

Comparable in PDX:		 It’s the most comparable, atmosphere and selection wise, to Blossoming Lotus or Prasad – though as you know, there is no entirely raw fine dining in Portland. It reminds me of the late Grezzo in Boston, MA.
Times Visited: 1

Recommended Dishes:		 Pistachio pesto stuffed mushrooms
Why it’s worth the journey: It’s a classy, serene stop for quick and multi-course raw dishes by The Camp.

Thoughts from the Stumptown Vegans:

I have two basic hopes when visiting a raw restaurant:

  1. Creative, complex presentations.
  2. Fresh ingredients. If the kitchen uses tomatoes I wouldn’t want on my sandwich, there’s a big problem.

When I walked into the 118° Restaurant, I was immediately content with how calm it was. It wasn’t a laid back emptiness that’s pierced with sporadic sounds of a juicer, either.  It was a small, serene environment, with a lot of quiet, date-like conversations for a lunch time visit.  It reminded me of Tao of Tea on SE Belmont in Portland – a running waterfall would not have been out-of-place. After a short wait, where I perused the printed information on cooking classes on the counter and the selection of raw cookies and crackers, , I was seated by a very courteous and hip waiter.

118 Raw has a full menu of appetizers, soups, entrees, combinations, steamed almond milk and coffee beverages, tea, and wine selections. I’ve recently noticed a mild allergy to almonds, and my waiter had a great knowledge of the menu concerning allergens, and even double-checked my order with the kitchen. I started with a large cup of rousing green tea and ordered the Taste of Italy plate ($15 combination plate), with the lasagna option (as opposed to the raw pizza). I have a hard time resisting Italian offerings, and 2/3 of this plate did not prove my instincts wrong. The Caesar didn’t skip a beat with its lack of a creamy dressing – the chewy, caper and sun-dried tomato flake adorned greens were fantastic, especially with occasional bites of perfectly fresh avocado.  I never would have thought to put avocado in a Caesar, and now I know better. While the lasagna packaged a whole lot of impressively creamy, macadamia nut sauce, layered with thin strips of zucchini, and even more cream with a sun-dried-tomato sauce on top, the overall sweetness and lack of diversity in the lasagna vegetables left me with just that, bite after bite of sweet cream. Not so savoury Italian. The stuffed cremini mushrooms, on the other hand, were amazing. They were appeared marinated, stuffed with a rich pistachio pesto, and more the sun-dried tomato cream sauce. In this case, it was welcomed in contrast to the salty filling, and earthy base. I have honestly never been so confident in the raw culinary arts as I have been with those mushrooms.

If you’re in the Costa Mesa area and looking for a spot for a refreshing lunch of dinner date, and engaging conversation, I’d highly recommend 118° Raw.

 

Taste of Italy

 

 

Green Tea

 

 

The Strip

 

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Filed under lunch, jess, travel, dinner, all vegan, all vegetarian, date, raw, local

by | October 13, 2010

Travel Feature: Mirkwood & Shire Cafe

The Stumptown Vegans Travel!
Travel Feature

Name of Establishment: The Mirkwood and Shire Cafe
How Vegan-Friendly is it? 100% Vegetarian, with easy substitutions of Daiya vegan cheese
Location: Northern Washington: 

117 E Division St
Arlington, WA 98223
What’s comparable in PDX? If the Hungry Tiger Too and Three Friends Coffee House were merged by geeky friends and moved into the church down the block.
Times Visited: 1
Recommended Dishes: The Misty Mountains menu
Why it’s worth the journey: It’s a laid back, entirely vegetarian Lord of the Rings themed cafe, located 30 minutes north of Seattle.

Thoughts from a Stumptown Vegan:

The Mirkwood and Shire Cafe is not only a multi-purpose establishment inspired by the classic trilogy, it’s a funky, vegetarian, and vegan oasis in small town northern Washington. Once you head north of Seattle, vegan offerings are very limited until you hit Bellingham, with a few exceptions. The Mirkwood and Shire is one of those worthwhile exceptions, and I’d say it in Elvish if I could. Now, before you go expecting lembas and ent-draughts, I’ll give this warning: it’s not as decked out as you may expect. No one’s in costume, the film soundtrack isn’t playing round the clock, and the doorways aren’t miniature. However, the independent, crafty spirit is clear from the beverage menu and special touches, like a coffee beverage served in a handcrafted Shire mug, and the location itself – an old church building renovated with character and plenty of comfortable seating.

Inside this old church, one can continue onto the following:

  • a show at the Mirkwood stage
  • gaming supplies (are you catching onto the geek-love?)
  • a tattoo or new piecing at the amazingly  named Mordor Tattoo & Piercing
  • a bang trim upstairs at the Paul Mitchell licensed Rivendell salon
  • most importantly, sustenance at the Shire Cafe and the Misty Mountain Pub (which are alongside in the building)

Although on our visit, my friends and I did not sit on the side of roped off Misty Mountain Pug, we glanced over often, perusing the wooden bar, its taps of PBR, local microbrews, and an extensive and exciting menu of custom shots and cocktails. Specialty drink names include the Eye of Sauron, Morgoth, Butt Pirate, Transylvania Tea, and the Wrath of God.

The matter of their food is last. While it was an enjoyably wild, vegetarian find, the food itself was decent. Maybe if someone with hairy hobbit feet had presented it I would have overlooked it, but I didn’t. The vegan BLT ($7.99) with Smart Bacon I quickly smelled cooking in the kitchen was tasty, but the multi-grain bread was very over-toasted and my few pieces of lettuce were nearly all short pieces of the inner lettuce rib.  It’s obviously edible, but I would pick on my friends for serving me this, and I’ll do the same for a restaurant. The side salad with vegan Caesar was very fresh and served in a cute bowl on the same plate, but the tangy sauce could have been thicker.The french fries ($3.99) were clearly from the freezer, which is fine for the price, but good to know. And another shared appetizer, the veganized Artichoke Dip ($6.99), seemed to rely solely on the creamy dairy substitutes, while lacking artichokes and any other flavor. That being said, I liked how it was served with a mix of soft pita triangles and a few stray tortilla strips. It was mildly zany and kept with the character of the place.  Speaking of vegan cheese, as stated on both menus, there is no problem veganizing most dishes on either menu with the substitution of popular Daiya cheese.

It pains me to say negative things about a fantastically themed vegetarian restaurant, but I can easily see this place receiving even more critique if it was in Portland, both theme and meal wise. Laid back vegetarian food in a funky coffeeshop is totally appreciated, I’d just like to see some more enthusiasm in the Lord of the Rings inspired setting and menu.

The promise is there.

Soy Latte

Now with Pesto Avocado Burger that my dining companion raved about (see comments!):

Vegan Pesto Avocado Burger

5 Comments

Filed under jess, themed, travel

by | October 7, 2010

Cinnaholic

Cinnaholic, Brief Review
Overall Service Food Quality Atmosphere Vegan Options
9.5 10 9 9 10
Location: 2132 Oxford St. Berkeley, CA
Recommended Dish: Peach Pie Roll
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 8am-7pm
Saturday and Sunday 9am-7pm		 Times Visited: 1

Stumptown Vegans Travel!

If you’re going to open a restaurant and only serve one food item – it better be good.  Good thing Cinnaholic fits this notion.  Cinnaholic makes cinnamon rolls fresh every day, and for my fellow sweet lovers, they are all vegan.

Located in downtown Berkeley, Cinnaholic couldn’t have a better location, unless it was in Portland. They are situated on a Oxford street, next door to the wonderfully vegan friendly – Saturn Café, and across the street from the UC Berkeley main entrance.

Cinnaholic is a fairly small shop with a refrigerated case highlighting a few of the rolls from the expansive menu, but all rolls are assembled fresh. This punk rock style walk-in restaurant’s menu is a sweet tooth’s dream, so I was glad to see the special of the day was a savory roll – tomato sauce and Daiya cheese.  The regular menu offers many suggestions for rolls from the basic with any flavor or frosting, to Rocky Road to Apple Pie, or, you can invent your own with their vast menu of toppings – all starting at $3.50.

All basic cinnamon rolls are made on-site, the same day, and assembled to your order. A cooled roll is reheated in their oven, topped with  selected condiments, and served in a biodegradable cardboard box, whether your dining in at their few, small tables, or taking it to go. I was a little disappointed to see the displayed rolls were not actual size – they were about 2” in diameter larger than what was served.  This is probably for the better, really.  One roll is enough for a dessert, breakfast, dinner…or whenever you’re supposed to eat cinnamon rolls.

The toppings list is expansive and the varieties of frosting flavors are just as long.  Vegan marshmellows, caramel, peanut butter, chocolate chips, sandwich cookies, caramel or root beer frosting… The options are laid out in a bar, similar to Subway’s bar of sandwich fixings and I assume you could just point to what you want as your warm roll is assembled.

The first cinnamon roll consumed was one suggested by our friendly server – chocolate frosting, coconut, marshmallows, and nuts!  The roll was swimming in sugar.  Delicious sweetness.  Finishing this roll was a task, since it was so sugary, but it was a task my dining mates were happy to take on.  The heat of the roll lightly melted the frosting to create a wonderful soup that soaked into the firm, yet soft dough.  It was rolled tight enough to make unrolling it a bit difficult.  It wasn’t too loose that it just fell apart, or too tight that it was like a bagel.  Just right.

The Peach Pie Cinnamon Roll next.  It was refreshingly not as sweet as the other roll.  A thin layer of peach vegan buttercream frosting was smoothed over the warm bread, topped with peaches, and sprinkled with oats for a little crunch.  It was somehow cute.  The taste was light, sweet, and made me forget I was eating dessert for breakfast.

The special pizza-like roll was a great offering for those who aren’t into sweets. Instead of cinnamon, the dough was rolled with a layer of tomato sauce a little Daiya cheese, baked, and then topped with more Daiya before baking and serving. My only criticism of Cinnaholic was with this roll.  Since they use the same dough as the others it was still slightly sweet. I would have preferred to taste sweetness only from the tomato sauce instead of the dough. But overall, I am glad that this option exists for my friends of savory foods, and I hope to see it as a regular menu item in the future.  Say what you will about Daiya, it was a good combination.

I would love to see Cinnaholic offers more indoor seating and savory options, to capture a wider audience.  A small refrigerator is filled with various drink options, including multiple different flavors of soy milk. Don’t forget the coffee, they will fulfill your coffee needs as well.

Cinnaholic tries to be environmentally conscious and  works to pay their employees well.  All transactions are either cash or card, but you won’t get a paper receipt.  An iPad application and accompanying accessory captures your card information and emails you a receipt.  Employees are paid above minimum wage and will soon, hopefully, have health insurance.

So, if you have a sweet tooth and are in the Bay area – Cinnaholic is a must visit.   The options for creating your dream cinnamon roll is there; And to top it off, it’s a killer location, especially if you’re a UC Berkley kid.  Take your sweetheart here and split a warm roll with as many toppings as possible piled high.  Or, if this review has you going, try their new mail order!

Custom Chocolate Madness:

Peach Pie:

Daiya Roll:

3 Comments

Filed under all vegan, catering, coffee shop, date, dessert, san francisco, travel, webly

by | September 16, 2010

City O City

City O City, Brief Review
9.25 9 9 10 9
Location: 206 E. 13th Ave, Denver, CO 80203
303-831-6443
Recommended Dish: La Michelle Pizza
Hours: Mon – Fri 7am – 2am, Sat & Sun 8am – 2am
 Times Visited: 1

The Stumptown Vegans Travel!

If you have visited WaterCourse in Denver, CO, you’ve probably heard of City O City, a sister vegetarian restaurant. City O City has more than great coffee and baked goods from this little storefront; they have a full menu including pizza, sandwiches, and other American foods. But that’s only half the menu: the other half, another four pages, contains a long list of beer, wine, and other alcohol drinks.

The cafe portion of City O City is a small, standing room only, cafe with baked goods displayed in refrigerated cases and a full service espresso bar.  The restaurant and bar area is a large, dimly lit space filled with free-standing tables, some with booths and bar seating.

City O City is probably best known for 3 three things: the baked goods, the pizza, and the seitan wings. Most items on the all vegetarian menu can be made vegan including the pizzas.  Their housemade vegan cheese is a simple cashew cheese, which is more like sauce.

I started with the $8 Seitan Wings, from the “To Start” section of the menu, choosing a split plate of both the Buffalo and Teryaki with ranch dipping sauce. The tender strips of seitan were fried before being generously coated in their respective sauces. The Buffalo sauce made its presence known before being consumed.  A whiff of cayenne and vinegar entered my nasal passage and I’d be a liar if I said my eyes didn’t water! I braced myself and bit in.  Frying the seitan didn’t have the crunch I was expecting, but rather, it helped to firm the tender finger-length strips of wheat meat.  As for the heat, it wasn’t as bad as I expected, it was the vinegar that made my eyes water. In fact, I would imagine those who love spicy foods might want to add additional hot sauce, which is available on the table. This isn’t to say my lips weren’t burning, but a plate of the Buffalo wings alone would be too much for this spice wimp. The Teryaki sauce was the favorite of the two.  It had a little bit of heat, but the sweet and salty flavors were both mild in spice and bold in combination.

Next up was The Sherman, an $8.50 sandwich from the “Hand Held” menu. This is a dry rub tofu sandwich topped with coleslaw on a house made sweet potato bun. The frozen, then thawed tofu had a nice crust of Carolina dry rub BBQ seasoning. The blend of spices can only be described as tasting like a Bar-B-Que picnic. Combined with a green chili relish, crunchy purple cabbage slaw, and a fresh-baked sweet potato roll, I couldn’t help but think of a summer time back yard BBQ meal. This sandwich was sweet, savory, smooth, and crunchy – all in one.

The City O City offers pizzas ranging from a vegetarian ‘meat lovers’, called Animal Lovers, to a ranch and spinach pizza.  The 10″ pizzas range from $9-11.  Of course, you can choose your own from a wide variety of sauces, cheeses, and toppings.  I opted for an unique pizza – La Michelle, with a fig base topped with sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and rosemary. The fig base didn’t bring the sweetness I expected. Instead, the tangy capers paired with the sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary, melded together with the house made cashew cheese sauce to touch each taste bud on my tongue. The crust was thin, cooked enough to hold up the minimal toppings, but not enough to provide a crunch that would have worked well the “pop” of the capers and the creaminess of the cashew cheese.

All of their beautiful baked goods are made by WaterCourse Bakery.  It was hard to resist one, so I went with th HoHo.  When I think of Ho Hos, I think of a rolled cake with cream filling coated with ganche. Their Ho Ho Cupcake is a large chocolate cupcake with the top cut off spread with a vanilla cream layer, and dark chocolate ganache on top. Not the same, but still very good. The chocolate cake was dense, but moist, without much crumb, and brownie-like in taste. The vanilla filling was light and fluffy without too much sweetness. I enjoyed the mild sweetness of the frosting because it allowed the sweetness of the chocolate cake to come though. I only wish I had tried more of their baked goods.

My two favorite things about City O City are that they support local and organic farmers and that they are not afraid of unique combinations to bring bold flavors to their menu options. While I typically opt for a simple dish of greens, garlic, and Braggs – City O City helps me reach out to combine sweet, salty, savory, bitter, and sour for an amazing combination of tastes.

Next time you’re in Denver, do not choose between City O City and WaterCouse, or another vegetarian restaurant, find a way to visit both of these delicious restaurants.

Inside:

Seitan Wings:

La Michelle Pizza:

Tofu Dry Rub Sandwich:

Ho Ho Cupcake:

Ho Ho Cupcake, inside:

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Filed under webly, lunch, downtown, travel, bar food, dinner, pizza, dessert, all vegetarian, date, Sandwich, organic, local