Ramona
Reviews written by Ramona
The food was good; nothing spectacular, but it was good. I preferred it to Saladang which I went to the night before; Chandra was cheaper, they don't put fish sauce in everything, and the atmosphere is more intimate. I also appreciated that the mild was pretty mild and the spicy was spicy. And there were enough vegan options to choose from. I stayed at the Pasadena Inn and if I ever come back to Pasadena, I'll definitely stay at the same hotel, go to Whole Foods for breakfast and lunch, and eat at Chandra Thai for dinner.
As the description says, unless you specify that you don't want this, fish and/or oyster sauce goes into all vegetarian dishes! This is kind of annoying; since I was talking to my friends, I was really worried that I'd forget to ask for no fish sauce. And since my friends and I decided to share food, I had to go out of my way to tell the waiter to skip the fish/oyster sauce in their dishes too; it was awkward (especially since I didn't particularly want to trigger a discussion about the moral status of oysters!)
That being said, the food is nicely decorated, the service was good, and the place looks nice. But the flavor is so so. We asked for "mild" (not spicy) and without spice, the food was pretty bland. The prices are reasonable, and they do have a number of dishes that are vegan if you remember to ask for no fish sauce...
I looked and looked for some baked goods or nice desserts in their bakery both yesterday and today I was totally unable to find any!
But other than that, I'm really delighted with this Whole Foods location! They have all the usual grocery options, including a ton of vegan ones, but they also have a lot more warm food options. Since I'm here for a conference, and I'm staying at the hotel across the street (Pasadena Inn), this is a big plus in my book! I got a "vegan tuna sandwich" which was so similar to "real" tuna that I almost spat it out! It tastes good though; I might get it again.
The nut bar looked so cool. And they offer free samples! I got some almonds toasted in syrup and coconut (yumm!) and cinnamon macademia nuts (yumm!).
And of course, since this is California, they have various oranges that are both organic and local. Very cool.
Seeing the compost bins was also a nice surprise! Plus, they have free wireless!
I tried 6 dishes here, and they were all good. Nothing was extraordinary, but they were all good or very good. The vegetarian lamb was very tough but it had good flavor. The vegetarian lemon chicken was very lemony and pretty good. The Indian fried rice was ok. The coconut curry was good. The eggplant with tofu was good too. The best was probably the spicy gourmet chicken; it was spicy, but not overly so, and it had a good flavor and chewy texture. Very good. The best thing about this restaurant, which made me give it an 8, is that they have Vegan Flan!! I used to love flan, but it's made just out of eggs + milk (+ sugar), but somehow Golden Era managed to make it vegan. It was very very tasty too, and just like I remember flan to be! Yumm! They also have vegan carrot cake and German chocolate cake!
I also liked that they had a lot of veg pamphlets at the front: Why Vegans, Guides to Cruelty-Free Eating, Vegetarian Starter Kits, etc.
I went to Herbivore-Valencia two years ago when I was in San Fran and I liked it. I went at some weird hour when there were very few people there and the atmosphere was mellow and nice. The food was very good too.
I went again this year at 9pm and it was filled with people. There was only one empty table. I liked the atmosphere a lot; it was very lively but not loud. The server was super nice; he put extra effort into getting our group a table. I just got dessert this time -- Maggie Mudd ice cream. Ultra super yummy stuff! I tried both the lemon poppy seed and the coconut chocolate fudge and they were both really really good. My only complaint is that the ice cream -- priced at $3.75 -- was way way too much for one person. They should serve smaller portions, so you can go there alone and get some a bit of yummy ice cream.
This ice cream is awesome! I tried the coconut chocolate fudge, which was very good and really rich, and the lemon poppy seed which was absolutely amazing! I know I'm going to crave it for the next few months.
I thought the food here was really plain. I got something that sounded exciting and exotic, but it turned out to be steamed purple rice, steamed snow peas, steamed shredded carrots, a bit of ginger and a bit of wasabi. The steamed veggies were really plain and totally not worth $9. Although it did have Yuba -- which is a kind of tofu skin -- which was quite yummy and interesting. I tried my friend's spicy peanut noodle dish and it was neither spicy nor very exciting. The only thing that was worth having was the dessert which was exciting and yummy: white ear mushrooms in sweet coconut milk. The service was good, but the place was packed. Maybe other people like it a lot more. My friend liked it. But I would not go back to spend $10 on something I can easily make.
I'm still giving them 5 points because everything is completely vegan. But perhaps I'm being overly tough on them because they are vegan. The food builds into stereotypes of what vegan food is: healthy but super bland...tofu, brown (purple) rice and steamed vegetables. They even served a side of plain tofu (with a little bit of spice on top more as decoration than anything)!
So I might be overly tough; the place was really packed and other people seemed happier with their healthy food.
I was in San Francisco for a conference. I was happy to find a Whole Foods downtown, where I was staying. Everything is so expensive downtown, so it was cool to be able to go to Whole Foods and grab some organic fruit, bread, etc. I also got some stuff to put in my hair since they confiscated my hair gel at the airport (they confiscated my sun block too because it was over 3 oz, and Whole Foods has some little ones too that I could have got). I like going to Whole Foods and know that I'll find what I need.
I tried two of their ice-creams -- the almond and the saffron/pistachio -- and they were both delicious!! I also had the avocalado smoothie which was very good too. The raw avocado/mango wrap was yummy but not very filling. The place is a bit expensive, but the smoothie was very thick and full of ingredients that cost a lot of money, especially when they are organic. I would highly recommend the place: it's vegan (the only vegan place in New Haven!), delicious, and organic!
I would give it a higher rating if they had a few more options on the menu and if the portions were just a little bit bigger.
When I walked in, I was unpleasantly surprised to see how few things on the menu were vegan. It was breakfast time, and they don't serve anything off the regular menu, so I ordered one of the two vegan items off the breakfast menu. The tofu scramble I had was much much worse than any other tofu scramble I've ever had. The tofu did not have any spices or flavor. It looked like big white chunks of gelatinous tofu on a fancy white plate. It did have a few bits of vegetables but these had no flavor or texture. It was so gross that although I was really hungry and had paid $8 for it, I couldn't finish it.
This place might be good for vegetarians, but it is bad for vegans. It makes veganism seem hard by charging extra for soy milk, not offering easy vegan dishes (e.g. I can't believe that they don't have any vegan desserts!! How hard can it be to make one vegan cookie??), refusing to make other simple things vegan, and finally making the few vegan dishes (or at least the ones I tried) without much flavor, texture, or taste.
Best place to go to in New Haven if you are vegan and have a sweet tooth! And if you are European, or like more European sweets, you'll be especially pleased! The selection of vegan sweets in their bakery section was truly impressive. All the following are vegan!!
- Bars: apricot, brownies, blondies, coconut carob, lemon raspberry bars, cranberry pecan bars, date nut bars, lemon blueberry bars, pecan pie bars, berry tofu, carob tofu, and pumpkin tofu
- Cookies: mocha walnut, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, tahini chocolate chip, maple chocolate chip, raspberry chocolate
- Pies: apple, cranberry pear, pecan, pumpkin
- Cakes: apple cinnamon, chocolate, carrot, maple raspberry, strawberry coconut
- Strudel (fruit-filled)
- vegan cheese danish!! (Wow, this was awesome!)
I tried a number of their sweets and they were very good!
I also tried the food in the deli area where you pay by the pound and it was mostly good, but certainly not impressive. It was certainly nice to see that most of the options were vegan, but I would probably prefer to buy something from the grocery store and cook it.
The grocery store seems really cool. Most of the food (except for pet food?) is vegetarian and it seems to have most of the food I would want! The only thing lacking is a great selection and quantity of vegan fruit, but otherwise it's great! They have pretty much everything you'd hope for.
Both the grilled vegetable with sun dried tomato paste sandwich and the hummus wrap were pretty good (nothing super special though...). The Mediterranean Vegetable soup with crackers was cheap ($3) and good. However, it was a bit annoying to wait for my sandwiches to be made right in front of display cases of all sorts of animal flesh, including full chickens. The deli gets a rating of 4 from me.
Gourmet Haven looked very European and very familiar to me, which made it kind of endearing. The store seems to have a number of vegan options, including some organic ones. It also has some items which are usually hard to find but which I really like, like sour cherry compote, high quality jams, and a really good variety of dark chocolates. Although it has good veg options, the store could be more vegan friendly; e.g., both Amy burritos they carried had cheese. The store gets a 7 from me.
I am giving it an extra point though for having free wireless and a quiet seating area.
I was like a kid in a candy store when I discovered Hong Kong Grocery. They carry so many vegan items that are both yummy and reasonably priced! My favorite so far are the chive/soy dumplings (buy them frozen and cook them at home when you want a quick meal), the sticky rice with red bean paste balls, and the dry black fungus (I used to get this in Chinese restaurants but I've never been able to buy it; I had assumed it was super expensive, but it's very cheap at Hong Kong Grocery!). The tea is super cheap too. I'm sure you'll find something that you'll really like here; there is so much good stuff!
I'm not giving it a higher rating because they do sell a lot of meat and fish (which smells pretty badly), and they have virtually no organic items.
I appreciated the fact that their sandwich board placed outside the restaurant says "Lunch Buffet: Vegetarian and more" and that out of the 11 dishes available for lunch 9 of them were vegan. The food here was not as good as Ethiopian food in the Twin Cities area, but not as bad as some Ethiopian food I had in other places. It was too bland and oily to be great. But it was edible.
I was excited when I walked into this place. It's cool-looking (nice colorful stain glass lights on the ceiling and lots of plants climbing on the window and the ceiling). And about half the menu is vegan! There are lots of options and I was eager to try a bunch. We had the pumpkin soup, the falafel sandwich, the masdook sandwich, and a Moujedrha dish. The good thing is that they were cheap! The bad thing is that they were very bland. I'd probably go back if I wanted a cheap falafel ($2.95), but I'd go somewhere else if I wanted something tasty.
Update: I found out that my dessert was not vegan (the ball is made of milk powder). Given that I've told the waiter that we didn't eat any dairy (and he double checked with me at one point too), it's disappointing to hear that he brought us a dessert filled with dairy...
They brought us an appetizer right away, before we even ordered. It consisted of a flat very crispy and flavorful bread and 3 different sauces, all of which were really delicious. Not too spicy either (I don't have a high tolerance for spicy food). This appetizer was really yummy. We ordered two dishes, both of which were good too. At the end, they brought us a free dessert: a bready ball in a sweet syrup. I really liked this too, but after eating it, I realized that I had no idea if it was vegan or not. You might want to ask before they bring it out for you. Overall, this was a good dining experience; the food was yummy, the server was very nice, and the place was nicely decorated (not too fancy and not too simple).
For a little neighborhood store, this has a surprisingly good selection of vegan, vegetarian, and organic options. To give it a higher rating, I would like to see more vegan options. Silk Plus (with DHA) soy milk would be good for example. Replacing Tofuti ice cream with So Delicious Purely Decadent ones would also be a good idea (and it would lead to more sales).
The store has a nice neighborhood feel; the sales people are very friendly and seem to know their customers by name.
You can put in special orders (e.g. I have ordered a case of Silk Plus soy milk a few times).
The desserts are really awesome! They have lots and lots of vegan cakes and pies. The one I tried -- the German Chocolate cake -- was very good and rich. Everyone I was there with really liked the place. I am not sure if I like it. I love the fact that all the food is vegan and that they have great desserts. But I was not overly impressed with the food, which may simply be because I don't care much for American food (although their mac and "cheese" was very good). And I find the atmosphere of the place a bit pompous and not very comfortable. I also thought it was expensive for the type of food you get (e.g. sandwiches or wraps). But hey, all the food is vegan, and other people seem to really like it so I would take a group of people there if I was to decide where we want to go.
Last time I was there (about a year ago) they had all sorts of yummy vegan stuff and even vegan chocolate on sale. It was a great stop on our way back to Minneapolis; it was easy to find various great vegan snacks for the trip!
Yes, the vegan soup and the bread are excellent. I also really liked the tabouli. None of the other dishes we had (I went with a group and we tried pretty much all the vegan dishes) struck me as being great but they were all pretty good. Another reason I'm giving them a 7 is that they don't have any vegan desserts and I like having something sweet when I go out.
I like Ethiopian food but the food here is not as good as that at the Red Sea or Kilimanjaro Cafe. However, Blue Nile is much more beautifully decorated than the other Ethiopian places I've been to (and more expensive I think) and it might be a better place to go with non-veg friends or family. It depends on what you're going for... I prefer going to the other two places; they're more casual, the food is better, they're cheaper and they're closer to the University.
There are very very few vegan options here, the atmosphere is way too fancy for my taste, the servers way too snobbish, and the portions way way too small and pricey.
I went there with a bunch of friends for my birthday. They thought it was vegetarian...what a disaster!
The most outstanding item here is the tofu custard dessert. It is so so delicious! It's apparently too sweet for some people and too weird looking for others but I think it's just heavenly. It resembles Creme Brule, which used to be one of my favorite desserts when I was younger. I thought there just cannot be a vegan version of Creme Brule (it's made up almost entirely of sugar and eggs). But here it is: the vegan version of Creme Brule and it's delicious! Ask for extra syrup if you are like me and like it extra sweet. This dessert will lift you up after you've filled yourself up with tons of yummy food.
For some reason, I have way more fun here when I come with a lot of people. I think I get bored of my food when I come with only one other person, but if I get to eat a bit of everything, I leave very very satisfied.
It's really really great to be able to buy vegan jerky, vegan cookies, Cliff bars, soy milk, vegan bean burritos, soup, fresh wraps and sandwiches, vegan chocolate covered raisins, and Tofutti Cuties in Coffman!! Life in Coffman and on campus is a lot better since Gopher Express has decided to carry so many vegan options!
And the manager has been great at soliciting suggestions from vegans and vegetarians and following up on our suggestions right away. If there is a product that you'd like them to carry you should let her know; she is very nice.
I wish they carried even more vegan and vegetarian food but I am happy to see that they are constantly bringing in new products (the latest being the super yummy Alternative Bakery cookies)!
After the renovations, Gopher Express West opened with a whole new range of veg food! They carry a ton of vegan and vegetarian stuff, including the newly added Holy Land products. They are cheap, filling and yummy. They also carry ABC cookies (which are absolutely fantastic -- you must try them!) and veggie jerky, both displayed at eye level in great locations. The vegan food they carry is carefully chosen (they carry some of the best products around), reasonably priced, fresh, well advertised, and well displayed. Gopher Express and Gopher Express West should be regarded as role models for other campus stores across the country.
Gopher Stop didn't seem to have quite as many options as Gopher Express or Gopher Express West, but it still has quite a number of vegan items for a campus convenience store: pita bread and hummus, Cliff and Luna bars, veg jerky, silk soy milk (but only in tiny little plastic bottles), Amy's organic burritos, etc. Gopher Stop is smaller than the other two but, unlike the other two, it has a huge section dedicated to nasty cheap candy instead of filling, healthy food.
Update: I used to give Hard Times an 8 because it was too smokey but since it's now non-smoking I think it fully deserves a 9.
I really like Hard Times Cafe! All their food is vegetarian, it's reasonably priced, it's very close to campus, and the people there are never snobbish! They always have a ton of vegan options, including vegan omlets, gyros, falafel plates, tacos, rice and vegetables, soups, salads, burgers, pancakes, muffins, and cookies. Plus they are a co-op and they once made brownies for our group (CAA-UMNTC) to give out to students for free!
The lunch specials include two vegetarian dishes: mock duck vegetable and tofu with vegetables. Each of them comes with steamed rice, soup and egg rolls, and each combo is $4.50 which is really cheap. But the soup has pork in it and the egg rolls have...eggs. Furthermore, the dishes themselves are not very good at all. I was pretty hungry but I had a hard time finishing the what was on my plate. I have only tried the lunch specials so it's possible that other dishes are slightly better.
I suppose if you're really hungry and want something very cheap, it's not horrible, but it comes pretty close to it.
I live close to Joe's but go there rarely; they just don't sell a lot of stuff that I want to buy when I am so close to home. They do have soy milk but it's really expensive and they have produce but it's not organic, which is important to me personally. They also seem to carry fewer and fewer vegan options (e.g. they no longer seem to carry Decadent Soy Delicious ice cream, vegan halvah, graham cracker pie crusts, and Tofutti cream cheese).
I love their black olives, figs, and garlic dip though. In addition to what Robin pointed out, they have Clif bars, Luna bars, Tofutti Cuties, sorbets, vegan bean burritos, various types of olives, hummus, pita, and cheap jars of grape leaves.
For $5 you can eat spring rolls, rice, green beans, fried tofu in black bean sauce, watermelon, cantaloupe, and macaroons until you are super full! Most of the vegetables were overcooked but the green beans were excellent. The tofu and the spring rolls were very good: simple but flavorful. Be careful though when you pick your spring rolls; there are two kinds of spring rolls in the same pan; one kind is vegan (the wider ones) but the other kind have meat.
I was very happy that they had a vegan dessert. The macaroons were delicious and I made sure I stuffed myself with them before leaving.
The decor is very simple, even ugly, but the food is pretty good for the price you're paying. They also get extra points for being so close to the west bank and letting you sit there for a long time and eat as much as you want.
I helped someone organize a conference and she wanted to have a family style prepaid dinner at the King & I (she wanted to be sure that we only spend a certain amount per person). For large groups, they have set menus on their web site and none of them are vegan or even vegetarian. But when I called them to talk about changing these menus to meet our needs, they seemed very very willing to change any set menu to make it vegan-friendly. I was pretty impressed by how willing they were to accommodate me and I would recommend them to people who want a family style dinner that has a fixed price. I think you need to call in advance though to make arrangements.
In addition to the dishes that you can find in their "vegetarian" section, they have a few other vegetarian and vegan dishes such as "sauteed mock duck (or tofu) salad" which you can find under the "Vietnamese Specialties" section. This salad, by the way was not great, but the vegetarian spring rolls were excellent.
Mai Village is beatiful and much more upscale than I was expecting. Everything from the chairs to the menus to the blinds is beautiful and different than what you see at most restaurants.
In addition, the owner has a collection of gorgeous Vietnamese furniture and decorative objects upstairs. If you want to see it, take the elevator to the second floor or ask your server.
In spite of being fairly upscale, the dishes are pretty reasonably priced. A vegetarian entree ranges from $6.50 to $7.95. I liked this place and I would give them a higher ranking if they had more vegan dishes on their menu.
The falafel is indeed delicious! The falafel balls are crispy and freshly made, the pita is warm and yummy, and the sauce and garnishes are very tasty!
I really like North Country Co-op. It's a workers' co-op, which is great! I also really like the fact that they are so close to the university; if you take classes on the West bank, all you have to do is cross the street and get tons of yummy vegan food. They have pretty much all I need there: lots of fruits and vegetables, breads, soy milk, cookies, chocolate, rice, spices, soy ice cream, and even fresh soup, spinach pies, and salads. Recording prices for bulk items and fruits and vegetables doesn't bother me at all. It might be a bit weird in the beginning but you really get used to it and it helps you remember how much you pay for your food. Another advantage is that if you work there a few hours a month you get a big discount. You should really check this place out, especially if you go to University of Minnesota!
Great food! The veggie sampler is all vegan and it's very yummy. It is also reasonably priced and filling. All the Ethiopian restaurants have great food, but I like the food at the Red Sea the most.
I just discovered that all the bread they serve, including the bread in the "vegan" sandwiches, has honey in it! Furthermore, the vegan soup (which is not very filling without the bread) comes with bread that has butter not on the side, but on top!
Even before I knew that their bread has honey in it, I was not crazy about their food. They primarily serve soups, salads, and sandwiches and their sandwiches consist of only bread, spread and sprouts. Their salads are ok but they're nothing special. Their soups are more interesting and tend to be tastier too and their apricot and cherry nectars are great! But they almost never have vegan desserts which is really bad because I love sweets!
I should note that a lot of my vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends like this place a lot more than I do. I guess if you are not vegan and you study at University of Minnesota, St. Martin's is an ok, quiet place that's convenient to get to. And they support a lot of good causes. But there is almost nothing I would like to eat there.
I always order something that I never eat otherwise (that I would have no idea how to cook at home) and everything I have had here has been very good! And the vegan items are really well-marked! The waiters have always been very nice. I didn't think they were pushy at all...maybe because I'm pretty firm about what I want and what I don't want. The only reason why I don't eat here more often is because it's too expensive for my budget and too far away from my place.
I think that this is a good place to eat at on/near the campus. It's fairly cheap, the food is pretty good, and the service is super super quick. I recommend the sweet and sour tofu.
I am not crazy about fast food, but this was a convenient place to go to since it's near Grand Central Station. I tried both the veggie burger and the soy burger and they were both pretty good; if you want something that tastes more like meat, try the soy burger. What I liked the most was their wasabi sauce; you can get as much as you want from the condiments bar. It's nice that they do deliveries by bike, and that they only use vegan mayo even for their non-veg burgers.
This place is awesome! They have *a lot* of different dishes, and they are all ready to be served! They scoop various dishes into your plate (I think you get 4 different kinds for the big plate). But unlike similar places, the food is not luke warm; it's hot and very very yummy! I also had one of their fresh juices and it was very flavorful!
They have a huge variety of food (maybe 20 + dishes) as well as vegan desserts and other baked stuff. They definitely get points for that.
The front part of the restaurant is really tiny, but at the back they have a seating area. I suggest sitting there and eating your food hot. Even thought the place was super crowded, there was a lot of seating at the back.
It's really close to the train station which was really convenient for me; I wasn't expecting to find a vegan place so close. I would give them a 9 because they only seem to have disposable plates and forks, but they are SO cheap for New York, that I think I'm going to stick to giving them a 10.
I went to Nick and Nates with a very large group, and most people ordered vegetarian pizzas. They looked very good, and people seemed happy with them. I ordered a vegan pizza which took a while to come, but it was pretty good. While waiting, I also had a very small salad, which looked fine but tasted awful (like it was moldy). My vegan pizza was good, but I'm reluctant to describe them as vegan-friendly though since they don't have one single vegan item on the menu (other than salad).
I liked the Economy Shoe shop. There were not a lot of vegan options but the dishes I had -- oven roasted potatoes and the mango papaya salad -- were very good. The tea came in a pot so it stayed hot which was important to me since I was soaking wet from walking in the rain for a while. But I wouldn't give this place more than a 4/10 if it wasn't for the atmosphere and the prices. The place has an eclectic atmosphere that is both beautiful/cool and comfortable. And for such a great atmosphere, the food was cheap (the potatoes were 3.50 for a big plate and the mango papaya salad was 8 for a huge plate -- much more than I could eat). The service was great too, especially given that I came with a group of 22 people. I can see why this is a local favorite. They just need to carry more vegetarian and vegan options.
It's not like me to give a vegetarian place a low rating. I was excited to go to Heartwood since it was the only vegetarian I had heard of in Halifax. However, the food there reminded me of the kind of food I used to eat when I first went vegetarian 11 years ago: boring, uninspired, and tasteless. It was expensive too but I didn't mind that since it's organic. The highlight of my trip was supposed to be the experience of trying out all their desserts, which are all vegan. However, they don't let you try a bunch like most pay-by-weight restaurants; you have to purchase whole slices. I tried 4 kinds anyway (I managed to pay just for a bit of each -- you won't be able to do this though). They were all ... like non-vegans imagine vegan food to be: boring, tasteless, and a poor imitation of what it tries to be. E.g. The cookie was bland, dry, and crumbly. And they don't use chocolate in their cheesecake; it's all carob. Aggh. I was so disappointed by their food and their desserts! I left feeling angry and like I had just wasted my money. I found consolation only in the thought that I had been there alone; if I had brought a meat eater, I would have confirmed their worst stereotypes about vegan food. But I think they aim for healthy food not delicious food, so if you're into that you might want to give it a chance.
They have a ton of vegan desserts including cheesecake, pies, and cakes! Yumm. I like that the vegan options are clearly labeled. However, if you don't eat honey, make sure you ask if the stuff labeled vegan has honey. I tried the chocolate cake, the lemon pie, the carrot cake, and the lemon poppy seed cake. They were all delicious!!
This has been my favorite restaurant for the last 4 years! I just love this place! It's pretty cheap, there is a huge selection of food (I'd say they have close to 100 dishes -- all vegan!) and almost everything I tried has been great (and I have tried a lot of stuff!).
I took my non-vegetarian parents to this place and at first they kep saying "We didn't immigrate to Canada to come to a place like this where we can't eat any meat. Let's go to a proper restaurant." As soon as they brought the food though, they just kept saying "Wow! This is really good food!" They've come here often and my father even takes out food to eat at work.
My personal favorites are the shrimp rolls, the duck apetizer, diced vegetables with cashewnut, sweet and sour chicken balls, the black sesame pudding, and the coconut shake. They are absolutely yummy! My parents loved the three kinds of mushroom in taro nest because it was both fancy looking and delicious. You can check out their online menu at http://www.bodeduyen.com. Note that "pork," "beef," etc. refer to "mock port," "mock beef," etc. Some of the coffee and shakes have condensed milk in them though.
Furthermore, the waiter (owner?), David, is always in and he is super nice! He is helpful and friendly without being pushy and he is very willing to answer questions about anything on the menu.
I often meet with people here because we can hear each other (they don't play annoying music like other places do), the atmosphere is comfortable, and it's never very busy. It's also open really late so you can come here for a late night dinner or yummy shake!
I've been there with my family twice. The first time everyone really liked their food. The second time we ordered a bunch of things that had the same sauce which was very sweet; I loved the sauce but my family got bored with it easily.
Their Oyster Mushroom with Veggie Duck and Brocoli is amazing. Their Pinneapple Fried Rice is the best that I've ever had. And their sweets -- especially the Deep Fried Banana with Coconut Cream and Peanuts -- are amazing!! You have to have them!
The atmosphere is comfortable; the place is nice looking without being too fancy. Except for except for optional condensed milk with the coffe, everything on the menu is vegan! Yumm!
The vegetarian lunch special is pretty good and reasonably priced, the atmosphere is ok, and the service is good. The dinner special is big enough for 2 people. I personally liked that nothing is too spicy.
This is a good resource if you live in the area. The main drawback is that they sometimes sell food that has expired months ago! If you are not aware of this, you might pay lots of money for it only to go home and find out that it's rotten. If something is on sale, it's probably very very old.
This place has pretty much everything I need (huge variety of soy milks, Tofutti cream cheese, vegan bread, vegan margarine, Cliff bars, Tropical source chocolate, Tom of Maine toothpaste, etc.) but their selection of fresh fruit and vegetables is really small, especially in the winter. One thing that you might want to check out is the pies they bring from Le Commensal which tend to be pretty fresh.
I think Evergreen is owned by the guy who is almost always there (who has a fantastic memory, by the way). He has really struggled to compete with the bigger stores in the area and to make this a veg friendly place. If you live in the area, this might still be the best place to support in spite of its drawbacks.
Great selection of environmental books, animal friendly books, and veg cookbooks! I like the fact that they are a new independent bookstore; it's worth supporting over the mega-stores like Chapters and Indigo. Really good location too: right in the heart of downtown, within walking distance of everything, including tons of veg restaurants.
This place has fantastic smoothies! The people working here are cool and most of the food is vegan. But the place can get quite busy in the evening which can be a bit annoying because the tables are very close to each other.
This place is beautiful! I especially love the way they decorated the ceiling. This is the most elegant and artsy restaurant in Toronto; I like to take my more artsy friends and my picky family members there. The portions are small and rather expensive but very yummy! We were all happy with what we ordered. While we were waiting for our dinner, they also brought us a lot of fancy bread with a really yummy vegan spread for free, which made the whole dinner more filling.
This restaurant is perfect for a date or for bringing your parents out to a nice dinner. It has beautiful furniture, gorgeous lamps, artistic photographs on the walls, and a nice intimate atmosphere.
Having a large, almost completely vegan menu to choose from was great too. The food was good too. The desserts were fantastic. The vegan cheesecake is among the very best I ever ate. The service was great too.
If you are just hungry, and don't care about the atmosphere, I would recommend Bo De Duyen; the food is cheaper there and the atmosphere is more casual (and the food just a tiny bit better, I think). If you want a more elegant atmosphere, go to Happy Buddha.
I had the Hibiscus Special which consists of soup and a selection of all 8 of their salads, which was $7.50. The soup was great -- cold mango melon soup, perfect for a hot day like today. I didn't like any of the salads though (but I'm not a big fan of salads in general).
Advantages: Quiet, nice atmosphere, pretty good service, VegNews magazines to browse while waiting, fantastic soup, good vegan options.
Disadvantages: So so salads, very small place (only 4-5 tables), and not much selection of food, too many cheese options for the crapes.
The good thing here is that you don't have wait for the food to be cooked which is a big advantage for me because when I realize I am hungry I have to eat right away and I can't stand waiting. Unfortunately the food is ok but not great. The desserts on the other hand are very yummy! There is a fairly large variety of desserts and most of them (all of them?) are vegan! You can also buy a whole vegan pie to take home and munch on it later.
The food is very good and the atmosphere is nicer than Bo De Duyen's or Buddha's. The King's Vegetable Soup is amazing! It has all sorts of mock meats, mushrooms, veggies, etc. The servers were very attentive and helpful in telling us what's vegan and what's not.
I should also note that they have a store in the back that sells lots of other vegetarian stuff, including amazing mock meat products!
Some people that I know love it but I don't think it measures up to some of the other vegan-friendly restaurants in Toronto. First of all, some of the dishes have eggs in them. Looking at the menu won't be enough to figure out what has eggs or not; you have to ask. The milk shakes are made with cow milk and it's not even possible to have them with soy milk. They have a few desserts but only 3 that are vegan and these didn't look very tempting.
I can't really afford eating a full meal at Le Commensal but it's good to come here when you are in a hurry, not sure what to eat, or with a large group of people (especially if they arrive and leave at different times).
The fact that you get to serve yourself means that you can taste a little bit of every vegan dish they have. But recently they only had a couple of vegan desserts in the pay-by-weight section and even these are not very good. But they just added Soy Delicious ice creams, including fancy little ones which are ultra delicious! If you want an ice cream, you have to order them separately or you can grab the one you want out of the cooler that's by the door.
I like the way this place is decorated; it's so colorful and happy! The portions are small for what you pay but the food was very good. The service was also good. My parents -- who are not vegetarian -- were quite impressed by it.
I want to really like the Lotus Garden! First of all, it's all vegan! It also has nice service, a great location and a very tempting list of dishes. But I tend not to love their food. The Buddha Delight Soup is my favorite but the Deep Fried Wonton, the Wonton soup, and the Jicama Rolls are also good. Other dishes I've had need improvement in my opinion. But it's possible it's my taste buds that need improvement because when I ate there with friends, they've been very satisfied.
My friends, who are both vegan, have just decided to order their wedding cake from them (they're having a vegan wedding). They were really pleased with LPK's commitment to sustainable practices, but they also really liked the taste (they did a taste sample). They're very enthusiastic about LPK's. Their cake is going to have little bikes on it, which I think is cool.
This is a small health food store, but it has a good selection of vegetarian food. Great location too; right next to the subway stop and near UofT. They have a good bulk section at pretty decent prices too.
I went there for brunch with a couple of friends and we were all satisfied with our food. I thought it was cute that the waiters wore a shirt that said "Vegetarians taste better" on the back. From what I recall, they also have some cookbooks that you can look through while you wait for your food to come, which is a nice idea.
Sushi on Bloor has amazing lunch specials. For $5.99 you get a fair bit of sushi, a soup, salad, and unlimited tea! And the food is really good! The soup is hot and the salad has an awesome dressing -- the best thing I've ever had. The oyster mushroom sushi is super yummy and the (very crunchy, tempura) sweet potato sushi is surprisingly delicious! If you order off the menu instead of going for a special, try the sushi hand rolls.
I really enjoy going here; it's so cheap for the quantity and quality of the food you get! I'm just not giving it a higher rating because it does have a lot of fish options. I wish it was (even) more veg-friendly.
Their sweets are absolutely delicious! I have tried a bunch of their stuff (at Vegetarian Haven and a couple of other local restaurants), and I was never disappointed. Their (vegan) cheesecake in particular is absolutely amazing! It has the perfect texture and taste. Everyone else I know loves their stuff as much as I do.
This is a wonderful place! I was impressed with the large selection of food, 99.9% of which is vegan, the good food, and the fact that they had "Why Vegan" pamphlets on a table that you see right when you go in.
The ambiance is also very nice, somewhat fancy but not too fancy. The food quality can range from very yummy to bland. My Buddha Delight Seitan dish was delicious, flavorful, and filled with a variety of fancy, expensive mushrooms, which were excellent. The fake sea food appetizers and dishes -- especially the king prawns -- are all really good too. But I have also tried other dishes that seem to try too hard to be healthy and are not very flavorful.
The desserts -- made by Sweets from the Earth -- are amazing!! They have the best desserts ever! Their chocolate fudge cake (including the wheat-free one), their German chocolate cake (with a scoop of nondairy ice cream), their carrot cake, and their blueberry pie (with a scoop of ice cream too) are all really really yummy. The cheesecake is made with tofutti cream cheese not tofu; it's really really good. And the pina colada smoothie is amazing!
Every time I've gone there, everyone else at the table liked their food and loved the desserts too!
This has such a large selection of vegan and vegetarian products! My main complaint is that last time I was there the fresh fish section was way too near the fruit section. I also didn't care for the cheese placed on top of some fruit. And of course this is a big chain. But this is the store with the largest selection of vegan and vegetarian food in Toronto that I know of, and it's thus a great resource! You can pretty much find anything you want there!
For vegetarians, this place is ok although it is kind of expensive. But for vegans, it's not too great since there are only 2 vegan options (if you exclude the salads). However, I was glad that they had something vegan at least and that the food tasted decent. My server was vegan too, which was nice since she could explain what was vegan and what wasn't. They have free wireless service, which is a plus. If you stay at the Grande Lodge or at the Best Western next door (which has a microwave and a fridge in the room), you might want to just walk over to Safeway, which is not too far, and get yourself cheaper vegan food.
For vegetarians, this is a probably good place to go to. For vegans, it's not so good. Occasionally, they have 2 vegan dishes, but more often than not, they have none. They don't even have vegan soups, which are the easiest thing to make. And I have never seen vegan desserts.
It seems like they could try a bit harder, especially since they are next to a campus that is trying to be well-known for its sustainability. Making vegan soups, entrees, and desserts is easy nowadays, especially with all the advice out there on the internet, and all the products available.
If I wanted to get a cup of tea or a smoothie, this would be a great place to go and hang out. I love the atmosphere! It's so so happy and funky. And you can always discover something new and interesting there!
If they had more vegan options, this would get the highest ranking of any coffee shop I rated. But unfortunately, they don't...
I had some of their muffins at the Animal Law conference at Lewis & Clark and they were very yummy! I was also thrilled to see their booth at the Portland Farmers Market. They have such a large selection! It took me about 15 minutes to pick something. I tried the macaroon (a little weird but good), the chocolate hazelnut bread pudding (very good as a breakfast treat), and a fruit thing that was super super yummy!
About a year ago, I was very excited to give this vegan bakery a try (don't the pictures look amazing?!) and I emailed them to find out how much a cake would cost, hoping to order a vegan birthday cake. But they never got back to me! :-(
I went to Blossoming Lotus a few times and I thought this place was very good. I am giving it a high rating because: 1) the food I tried was very good, 2) it's all vegan, and 3) it's affordable for the kind of food you get (organic, etc). The service was also very good too; the people we ordered from were funny and they seemed honest. I would definitely go back!
They also carry vegan soft-serve ice cream which is SO good! It's also very reasonably priced! I feel like going there every day to see what new flavor they have and to try them all. I tried a bunch of them already. They are all so so yummy! And you can get a fair bit for $1! I also tried the chocolate fudge and it was very delicious: very very chocolaty. Yumm.
Super cool grocery store! It has a huge bakery section filled with vegan baked goods (I think most of the stuff they carry is vegan), and a ton of really cool products! The ice cream section is fantastic; they have fun stuff like vegan monkey bars and other goodies. They carry a lot of other hard to find things as well as all the basics. I think I could get whatever I wanted there! And the whole place is vegetarian (except the cat and dog food I think), which is really really nice.
The food here was so so. Those who are used to getting the vegetarian platters at Ethiopian restaurants will be disappointed to get only 4 dishes: red lentils, split peas, cabbage mix, and green salad; there was no spinach or green bean dish. The cabbage dish was a bit oily for my taste too, but overall the food was pretty good (certainly better than other Portland Ethiopian restaurants that I've heard of). However, it was really cheap; you get a ton of food for $8.99: enough to fill two people for sure.
The service was ok, but very slow.
Dave's killer bread seems to have some loyal customers for good reasons: it's yummy, healthy, organic, and vegan! My favorite are the 21 Whole Grains and the Blues; they're awesome.
I just visited Food Fight! at their new location and I was very happy! They do have a number of cool vegan treats like vegan honey, gummy bears, jerky, nougat (addictive!), smores (they are SO good!), coconut chocolate bars, the new vegan cream, and fancy cheeses. I was pretty impressed.
They also had some things that you'd find at other stores - lip balm, frozen entrees, shampoo, etc. -- but it seems way nicer to get it here and not have to look at labels.
And I liked the fact that they carried bread, soy milk, fruits, and veggies (which were all organic, by the way). It gave me an excuse to go there (um, I'm just going to get the basics), and then of course, I got a bunch of sweets! I can't wait for Sweetpea to open too!
Food for Thought is a very cool place. I was impressed by how many vegan options they had; I think all their baked good, for example, were vegan when I went there. And everything was so cheap! And they are serving organic, and locally produced stuff. Very cool. I really liked the atmosphere too. It was busy and lively, and yet, I was able to get lots of work done. The people there seemed really cool and the few conversations I overheard were actually interesting. The food was so so, but I only tried one dish, so I definitely plan to go back and try more.
This is a definitely a place worth supporting, and that's easy to do because going there was a very pleasant experience.
I had the vegan wonton ravioli which was very good; it came with a coconut sauce that was very creamy and delicious! My friend had the vegan mac and cheese which I didn't like; it was mostly "mac" and not much "cheese". The service was great (I went there during Vegan Bingo night! Our server was leading the game and serving us at the same time!) But the food is typical American food, definitely not my favorite cuisine. And people were smoking inside! I haven't been around smokers in a long long time, so I really minded it; my eyes started itching and my clothes were really stinky afterwards. Yuck.
The fact that the whole menu is "meat"-friendly (with little stars for items that can be veganized) and you have to use your imagination to figure out how they'll veganize your food (what will they use to replace "pastrami"? Tempeh, seitan, deli slices?) is not ideal. There are so many vegetarian and vegan places in Portland, I doubt that I'll be going back to Hungry Tiger Too.
The store seemed to have a wide variety of Indian products, spices, ingredients, etc., including a lot of things I was not familiar with, as well as ready-to-eat stuff like canned and frozen Indian entrees and desserts, and drinks. And it's great that it's all vegetarian!
The food in the cafe seemed fairly inexpensive. I had a dosa and a lentil soup for $5.45. However, neither were super tasty; they were fine, but nothing special. And they use plastic utensils and paper or Styrofoam plates. The one thing I did like about the cafe is that it has an open kitchen, so you can watch the cook make the food.
I'd give the store a 9 and the cafe a 6, but I don't know much about Indian food, so someone who is more knowledgeable should review it.
The food here was pretty good, although somewhat expensive for me... I am no expert in Indian food, but some of the people I had dinner with really like Indian food and they really like going there, so I guess it's pretty good. The waitress was knowledgeable about vegan items and very helpful.
They lose points for not having any vegan desserts. I ended up ordering a cherry naan though which was very good.
Kalga is located in a beautiful space; the wall towards the street is curved and full of big, spacious windows. The place is nicely decorated inside too, with copper colors, interesting paintings and candle lights. I was impressed with the atmosphere; it seemed a bit too fancy for me, but a great place to go out for dinner with certain other people (parents, colleagues, or a date).
But I was not super impressed with the food. It was ok or good, but not great; not great enough for the price anyway. It was somewhat expensive for me ($10-12/dish) and all the dishes I tried (three - Asian stir fry, a Thai dish, and an Indian dish) were very small for the price paid and they were mostly rice (that's the part that made the meal substance). They also had some normal veggies (e.g. carrots) or tofu; nothing that would, in my opinion, justify the price. The service was pretty bad when I was there (our server seemed absent minded and a bit cranky), but I've only been there once.
I love the vegan selections of cakes at New Seasons!! Every time I went there, they had at least 6-7, sometimes a lot more. I tried a few -- the German chocolate cake, the cranberry and the Irish oatmeal -- and they are so good!! I especially loved the cranberry cake: great texture and great taste (a bit sour -- really yummy)! They are irresistible. They also had carrot cake, lemon coconut, mint chocolate, and something with raspberry; I can't remember the rest. You can also get the cake on a plate if you don't want a ton of plastic packaging (you can be tricky like me and ask for the cake on a plate and then put it in your own container if you can't eat it all or you're having 2 slices).
They have a really nice area where you can sit and eat your cake. They have couches and nice tables, real silverware, magazines to look at, and free water.
The grocery part of the store is good too. It's huge and they have pretty much any vegan product you'd want.
I just wish it was all veg ;-) and that it was closer to the max stop (it's about a 10 min. walk, which is not bad, but I would stop there a lot more often if it was closer).
I have not been there yet, but I just talked to someone who says that "the food was tasty, the portions were large, the prices were low, and the owner was friendly." I've also heard that the waiters didn't speak English well; my friend ended up with a dish that was extremely spicy in spite of asking for non-spicy food.
The vegan dishes are nicely labeled on the menu, and they even have a vegan mezza. We were going to get the vegan mezza, but the helpful waitress told us that the vegetarian mezza is vegan except for the tzatziki, and we could get this replaced with tahini sauce. This was a great choice as it included yummy spinach pies, a huge pita bread, hummus, falafels, tahini sauce, tabbouleh and something else which was very good. I really liked everything.
They make everything from scratch on the spot, which is a big plus in my book.
There is no vegan dessert though which was sad. Mostly because of this Nicholas gets an 8 and Ya Hala a 9. But Nicholas is much cheaper. But Ya Hala is fancier. So it depends on what you're looking for.
This place is indeed very popular; it's very crowded inside and when we got there at 7pm on a Tuesday night, and had to wait outside for more than half an hour. So, keep that in mind when you go there.
Everyone I know raves about this place, including non-vegans. So, I thought I'd give it a try, although I was worried it wouldn't live up to the expectations.
But it did. I was very impressed to hear that the menu changes not just seasonally, but sometimes weekly to accommodate the supply of fresh veggies from local farms; the chef often creates new and interesting dishes! My dinner companions asked about the lasagna they had last time. The waitress said that they didn't have any fresh tomatoes, so they weren't making lasagna right now. But they will get some heirloom tomatoes from a local farm soon, and will be making more lasagna. Wow. Lasagna made with heirloom tomatoes from a local farm!
I also loved that the waitress seemed to *love* working there. She raved about the chef and how great it is to work there. She seemed very genuine too; it didn't seem like a rehearsed speech.
The food was very good. Very creative too. Not your typical dish. I had a Jamaican entree that included lots and lots of different things. The orange stuffed stuffed with yams was amazing!! I also tried the risotto cakes which were good, but it was the appetizers that blew me away. When my friends ordered them, I thought...hmm, these don't sound interesting at all! Why are they ordering them? But they were really awesome. Very very flavorful. One was a beet and apple salad, the other something with red chard and kale. Sounds boring, right? You won't say that after you taste them! The chocolate tart with cashew vanilla sauce was very dense and tasty too. Very intense.
I'd definitely go again and I'd definitely recommend it to someone looking for a place that serve more creative, seasonal, or just plain yummy cuisine.It's a little bit expensive but not overly so (an entree is $12-14; appetizers and desserts are $5-7).
Wow! These cakes are awesome!! I tried a few -- the German chocolate cake, the cranberry and the Irish oatmeal -- at the New Seasons in Beaverton, and they are so good!! I especially loved the cranberry cake: great texture and great taste (a bit sour -- really yummy)! These cake are irresistible! And the New Seasons in Beaverton had 5-7 vegan cakes from Piece of Cake every time I went there!
This market is huge and there is a ton of good stuff. For the first stuff half an hour I just wondered aimlessly sampling free stuff. There was so much to sample! I bought a bunch of fruits and veggies that tasted really good and were reasonably priced. It's also nice to chat with the farmers and find out more about how the difference between the various artichokes they sell, learn how to cook their special mushrooms, or hear stories about their cherries. I'm sure I'll keep going back there!
We read lots of reviews online before deciding to go to Queen of Sheba. The reviews were excellent. We were very excited about going there. Although the server and the cook were very nice to still serve us food in spite of the fact that we got there at 9PM (we didn't know that they stop serving food then), the visit was a huge disappointment. The food was not yummy at all. I never had Ethiopian food that I didn't like, but I guess there is a always a first. In spite of paying lots of money -- $22 -- for the big veg sampler and being excited about Ethiopian food, I had to force myself to eat the food, and in the end, I had to take some home because I just couldn't eat much. All the dishes were spicy, which I'm not used to. But that was not the only problem; the food had almost no flavor! All the dishes on the our platter -- lots of them -- tasted similar. The flavor that is usually the highlight of Ethiopian food was missing!! The injira was not as fluffy and good as usual either. I was very sad.
I decided to still enter it in the VegGuide because it does offer a lot of vegan dishes and it does have a lot of excellent reviews on other sites. So, maybe I just had a bad experience and someone else will enter a good review. But I would not want to pay $22 again.
I tried their vegan blueberry cheesecake and it was good. It was a bit soft, but yummy. It looks quite nice and fancy too; it has a round shape, blueberry glazing, and fresh blueberries sprinkled next to it. But I don't know if I would ever go back to eat it again. It's $9 for a serving! (It's a little bit bigger than a normal slice, but still...)
They have a huge assortment of truffles -- which range in price from $1.50 to $3.50, and they will let you sample them for free. However, there are not too many vegan options, and 1 or 2 times I was there they had nothing vegan other than the truffles -- which are a bit too expensive for me especially since I make them at home all the time. To give them a higher rating, I'd like more vegan options and vegan labels.
I had the most awesome looking cake ever: a cheesecake topped with huge pieces of brownie and frosting! It was pretty cool. I also had a toasted coconut cupcake which was really yummy. Very moist and flavorful. My friends were very happy with what they got too (a slice of coffee cake and a chocolate cupcake). I don't go there very often though even though I am addicted to sweets; I like variety, and as far as I can tell they pretty much always have the same things: cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and cake slices. This is great, of course, since they're all vegan, but to get 5 stars from me they'd need more variety and more unusual stuff (e.g. danishes, Tiramisu, lemon bars, fruit pies, macaroons, raspberry chocolate bars, tarts, etc).
This is a very beautiful restaurant! The benches are fantastic; they are made out of stone, but are also very comfortable. The tables in the center are made out of tea crates. Awesome interior design!
The menu does not say which items are vegan which is one of my small complaints about this place. My second complaint is that the menu is rather small and focused on Indian food. But dishes I had were good. The dessert was fantastic!! It was sticky rice (very sticky) with banana, wrapped and cooked in banana leaves and accompanied by cranberries, mango sauce, and toasted coconut. Very very yummy and very filling!! Highly recommended.
This is a very peaceful place to go to if you want to relax, have a bit of food (the portions are small and they don't have a huge selection) and drink some yummy tea. I wouldn't go there with a large group, or if you're in the mood to be loud and/or obnoxious, or if you are very hungry.
They have a lot of vegetarian and vegan food! My favorites so far are the dumplings -- mushroom dumplings, kimchee dumplings!, leek, and of course the regular vegetable ones. You can also find various unusual items like veggie fish, delicious mushrooms, other fruits and veggies, spices, etc. I'm just giving them 3 stars though because I didn't totally enjoy digging through pork dumplings and because they don't have much organic food at all.
The prices are decent, but don't assume that things will be cheaper; soy milk, for example, is more expensive than the same soy milk at Safeway or Whole Foods.
Their Saturday brunch is affordable and delicious; I had a plate full of food -- vegan sausages, baked potatoes, tofu scramble, bread pudding, biscuits and gravy, -- all for $5. The Irish oatmeal cake was extremely delicious! The double chocolate fudge cake was a bit dry but it was still yummy. Their lunch menu is a bit too focused on sandwiches for my taste but otherwise, they seem great. The food was very good, the servers were super nice, the other customers were mostly young and hip, and the atmosphere was nice and relaxed.
Wow, this menu is huge!! And it's pretty much all vegan! I felt like going up to other people's tables to ask them what they were having; all the food looked so yummy. I was there three times; the food was always good and the servers were very nice. This is a great place to come with a group of people so you can order a bunch of dishes and share. I should note that they also have vegan desserts!! I tried the deep fried banana with red bean paste and I thought it was amazing; it's definitely worth trying if you have a sweet tooth!
Update: I went there for the buffet lunch and it was not great. It was pretty cheap ($6.50 for all you can eat), but there were not a lot of options and the food was very typical -- fried rice, noodles, miso soup, tempura veggies -- and not that yummy. I still like this restaurant a lot, but I don't think it's worth going there for the buffet lunch. Today I decided to buy a pack of faux meat from their freezer: it's a huge and only $8.50!
I got a cheap but nice helmet from them. The staff was very nice and friendly, and not pushy at all.
I have not been there for breakfast, which is what everyone raves about, but the dinner was so so. The portions were indeed huge and the service was very good. The place also has a certain endearing quality and I can see it can easily get new fans because of its atmosphere. But all the three dishes I tried at dinner were so so; nothing was bad, but nothing was very good either. I also don't like that the menu doesn't make it clear what's vegan and what's not (which would be easy since the waiters said that almost anything can be made vegan; but some people might not feel comfortable asking). I liked other places in Portland a lot more.
Update: I just had the chick-o-stick today and I just can't wait to have it again! It was totally amazing!
Pretty good selection of vegan donuts: there were about 12 different kinds when I was there. They don't have the kinds with cream inside, which is what I really wanted. I got one with coconut on top, and one with Oreo pieces. Both were yummy.
Whole Foods has such a large selection of vegan and vegetarian products! You can pretty much find anything you want there. If you are a new vegan, you might be better off going to Food Fight! and getting everything you need there, so you don't need to check labels. However, I know exactly what I need, and I live near Whole Foods, so I just go in and get what I want.
Their bakery and deli is not very vegan friendly, especially if you compare it to New Seasons (where you can find a huge selection of vegan cakes). Here, the selection of vegan stuff is small, and it seems impossible to have a slice of cake without getting a ton of plastic packaging. However, I ordered a chocolate mousse cake from their bakery for my teaching assistant's birthday, and my students -- none of which are vegan -- really liked it! It was rich and
Mar 30
This is my favorite airport restaurant! I can't think of any other place in any airport that has as many vegan options. Some of my favorites include: tempeh ruben sandwich, chili, raspberry bars, and vegan cupcakes! Lots of other options available. They are also very quiet (you can't hear any of the annoying announcements -- a big plus!) and they have plugs under every chair -- also a big plus since I always need to recharge my computer. I should say that I always sit in the more casual section (on the left as you go in).