Vegan Brunch: Philly

Most things are fairly easy to replace in a vegan form. Now that Vegan Brunch has taken the world by storm, its even easy to replicate a lot of your favorite breakfast dishes, like the formerly elusive omelet. However, one of our favorite pastimes has always been going out for breakfast. With most diner offerings no longer being options, and our not wanting to pay $8 for a bowl of oatmeal, what is a vegan couple to do?

Well, after a quick search for vegan breakfast venues in Philadelphia, we just ate at home. Kind of a no-brainer. But then, when I was least expecting it, a place serving vegan brunch came onto my radar. Excuse me? I thought I had thoroughly researched this?!? A quick Google search told me that I was horrifyingly wrong, and hence, we had to go. ASAP.

Enter Mi Lah Vegetarian Restaurant, which is vegan, and on Saturdays and Sundays they serve up a fantastic vegan brunch.

We started out with a cup of coffee, with a sweet little plate of seasonal fruit. I love that its apple season, by the way. The decor in this place is perfectly sweet and modern, I really loved it.

It was very hard to make a decision because so many things looked so good. Okay, everything looked so good. The menu on their website it outdated, it used to be a Prix Fixe, but now they have a larger variety of entrees, and also encourage making yourself a meal out of their side dishes. (If you're curious about the price, now that it is not prix fixe, it was actually cheaper for us.)

I settled on the dish I had heard raves about, the omelet. Not really an omelet fan in my pre-vegan days, this was completely perfect.

My three fillings were red pepper, vegan sausage, and cheddar cheese. I was hesitant about the cheese, because as I've said here and again, I hate almost all vegan cheese (yes, even Teese, yes, even Daiya), but this was good. Altogether the omelet was amazing, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and plenty of filling. On the side were some red bliss and sweet potato home fries. All incredibly yummy.

Nick had the Yard Beer battered seitan with Belgian waffles. They ended up being chocolate waffles! He seemed fairly pleased with his, although he said he wanted an omelet next time.

As I mentioned, they have a wide variety of sides, not least of which is French Toast. Nick had to try the French Toast, so we split it, and...it was divine. On good crusty bread, it was wonderfully sweet with just a splash of their organic maple syrup.

All in all, I can't wait to go back. I'm not kidding, I wanted to go back for dinner (we didn't). There are quite a few vegan restaurants in Philly, and many of them are Chinese. New Harmony and Singapore are two we've tried and are both very good. But sometimes you want brunch, and sometimes, you don't want Chinese food! So I'm happy that when this place is done with their delicious vegan brunch, they break out a very local, seasonal, menu. Think: brussels sprout and butternut squash gratin. Granted, they have this at Horizons, but this is less expensive.

The moral of this story is, be sure to go here. Don't even think twice, if you're in the Philly area, or within driving distance, you must go. Oh, and you don't even have to get up that early because, in true brunch fashion, they serve until 3. You will be happy, I promise!

New Harmony in Philadelphia

We have been living "just outside Philly" for a few months now. But since we're always away on the weekends, we have barely gotten to get over there at all. And after my initial disappointment, we finally got a chance to make up for it.

There are a few places that I have really been wanting to try. First on the list however, was a place that was right over the bridge that had vegan Dim Sum. How could you possibly go wrong? You can't, and they did not. The place is New Harmony Vegetarian, and for $12 a person, we got all the Dim Sum we could eat!

Hot and Sour Soup

Steamed Veggies and Scallion Pancake

Steamed Veggies and a Tofu Skin Roll

Steamed "Pork" Dumplings

Dessert: Fried Bananas and Fortune Cookies

Not pictured is Nick's Won Ton soup, and sticky rice with black eyed peas and vegan ham.

It was all good. Every last bit of it. But the *best* was the "Pork" dumplings. They were perfectly delicate, and savory, and just really wonderful. Another winner: fried bananas. It is kind of their specialty, they suggested it as soon as we said "dessert". Simply bananas in a light batter, fried, with a light sweet sauce. It was ooey and gooey and just totally perfect.

Its going to be hard to not come here every weekend! Those dumplings were really that good. Plus, who doesn't love a good fortune cookie?

If you are ever in the Philly area, definitely stop by. Although I am glad to find that my initial disappointment was unjustified, and there are plenty of really great veg places in Philadelphia!!

Love Force (Giveaway)

You've been waiting your whole life for this...

At least, that is what the package of the Love Force bar that I picked up at Essene says.

My whole life? A tad dramatic, don't we think?

Surprisingly, no, not dramatic at all. This thing is freaking delicious. I mean..amazingly delicious. I'm sorry that I only bought the Chocolate Orange flavor. I'll have to travel back to Philly to get some more (don't worry, its only a 10 minute drive that I now know will be totally worth it).

This particular flavor features walnuts, cacao, and coconut, as well as almonds, carob, agave, vanilla bean, and orange oil (all ingredients raw and organic).

Pros: raw, organic, vegan, gluten free, absofreakingdelicious, moist, delicious, and really delicious.

Cons: $$$, high sugar content (23g).

Nutritional Information: 280 Calories; 11g Total Fat; 6g Saturated Fat; 180g Sodium; 49g Carbohydrates; 9g Fiber; 6g Protein.

When you first take it out of the package it is a little wet, but that is just goodness that keeps it so moist. At the same time, it isn't squishy, and the texture is perfect. And those three little almonds in it? Still perfectly crunchy. Its also got the perfect balance of tasting delicious while being good for you. It is easily the best raw bar I've ever had.

The packaging is awesome too. It markets itself as "Edible Love, Light, and Happiness". How true. All food should make you feel this good. No lie, I am super happy right now and definitely in love.

So in love, that I have to share some:

1. Check out the link above and leave me a comment telling me which flavor you would most like to try (either the bars or the bread).

2. Link to the giveaway in your blog, and I'll enter you twice!

*If you don't have a blog, tell someone about the giveaway, get them to enter and say that you referred them, and you'll get yourself another entry!

The winner will get 5 bars (or breads, if that's your thing) sent to their doorstep (or post office, or mailbox, or wherever you get your mail) by yours truly!

Get the comments in by August 31st! Seriously, comment, even if you've never commented before, you want to try these, I promise!

Ragin' Vegans

No, we're not angry, and we're not mean.  In fact...we're not really "raging" at all.  But we did spend the weekend in the land of the Ragin' Cajuns, which is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's mascot (it took us awhile to figure it out).  Long story short, we had a wedding reception to go to for one of Nick's military friends.  

It can always be difficult to be a vegan "on the road" (even though we flew, you know what I mean), and I was worried that my husband's first vegan-away-from-home experience was going to be terrible.  We had no refrigerator, we had no microwave, and...we were in Louisiana.  The land of crawfish and gumbo.  Very un-vegan.  

Surprisingly, that was not the case.  First off, the Philadelphia airport made me extremely happy.  This little CIBO stand (concourse E, if you're looking for it) that was right behind our gate had the obligatory Clif and Lara bars, that would have definitely worked.  But upon delving deeper, they also had a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables, Sabra hummus and pretzel chips, and vegan cookies!  Dairy, egg, and nut free cookies!  So cute, called Divvies because they are meant to share, and share we did.  We had the chocolate chip, and they were perfectly soft, exactly what I was hoping for, but not expecting.  Looking at their website once we got to a computer, the whole company is awesome!  They don't just make cookies, but caramel corn, jelly beans, cupcakes, etc!  These are all things that I love (yes, I have a little bit of a sweet tooth).   

We were hungry when we got to Louisiana.  We were also worried and ill prepared (we didn't really pack anything but some trail mix, and we hadn't researched but one place...it was all we could find).  GPS to the rescue.  I always search International Cuisine first.  We found a really nice and really yummy Greek place called Zeus (they had bellydancers and everything).  

We had stuffed grape leaves for the first time!  I had falafel for dinner (pictured), and Nick had a vegetarian plate which included moussaka, lentils, hummus, etc.

We got breakfast from Wal-Mart.  My go-to cereal is Special K protein plus.  I really like having a little extra protein in the morning and this is lower in calories (meaning you can eat enough of it so that you actually feel full), and has a nice cinnamony taste.  We got some individual sized Silk (I don't usually drink sweetened soymilk but...it was vacation!), fruit, and we were more than good to go.  Well, after that plus the coffee we were good to go. 

The bottom with the orange top is liquid stevia.  A must, for me to drink coffee.

Lunch was at the one veg place I had found before we left.  It was a little place called The Whole Wheatery.  I had a hummus and tabbouli stuffed pita (we ate a lot of hummus on this trip).  

Dinner...well that was the night of the wedding, we mainly just had fruit and raw veggies.  But we did fill up on some snacks beforehand, which we got from the Fresh Market.  It was cool, they had about 72 big bulk bins (kind of set up like barrels, not your typical bulk bin), with everything from trail mixes to raw nuts and dried fruit to fresh coffee beans.

The next day was kind of a bust.  We had the same breakfast, we had a salad and french fries for lunch at a very local place, and the selection at the airport was miniscule.  We did, however, get some Alternative Baking Company cookies at our layover in Memphis.  Some vegan, gluten free goodness amongst the rib buffets!  I've been wanting to try these for ages, but I could never convince myself to waste the calories (about 240 calories for half a giant cookie).  I figured, since I had barely eaten anything, it'd be okay.  I went for Snickerdoodle.  Nick got both a Double Chocolate Decadence and a Colossal Chocolate Chip.  Don't get me wrong, the chocolately ones were both good (I stole a bite of each), but the Snickerdoodle was amazing!  It was soft all the way through to the middle, but still just a little firm on the outside.  Cookie awesomeness.  It actually kept me pretty full too.  Nick though, after two of them, was still feeling a little sugar-rushed by the time we got home.  

I guess the moral of the story here is...you can be vegan almost anywhere, and don't judge a place before you get there...or at least Google-Earth it.  Some places will be harder than others, naturally, but its all about knowing where to look.  After being vegan for awhile, you know the types of establishments that will most likely have *something* you can eat, or you can easily ask for something veganized.  We ended up eating a lot of Greek food, but there were also Japanese, Thai, Indian, and Mexican places in the area, all of which could have easily worked.  

I leave with some pictures from our trip to the Tabasco factory (which I always thought was just a name for hot sauce, not a name brand).  

Nick at the entrance

A fishy being teased by a "Tabasco pepper"

A Louisiana Bayou!

If you're going to be doing some lengthy flying, check out my Vegan in the Air post from when I went to Hawaii!  

Nick has a review for you tomorrow, so make sure to come back and give him some love!  

Welcome to Philly

Okay, so the title of this post is kind of a complete lie.  First, I need to finish with my last few bits about New York, and then...well I don't actually live *in* Philly.  But...well you'll see.  Read on if that didn't scare you away :)

The New York wrap up first.  My last cooked meal in New York had been bubbling around in my mind for about a week.  In fact, I roasted the garlic about 3 days before I ever even got around to making it.  What I ended up with was Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower with Quinoa and Peas.

It really doesn't get easier.  It is just a head of cauliflower, steamed; a bulb of garlic, roasted, 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked; and a cup of frozen peas; defrosted.  The first three ingredients go into the food processor with a little bit of cooking water from either the quinoa or cauliflower, add a little oil (like, a tsp or two) if you want, and it is all blended together.  Then mix in the peas.  While its really easy, and uses minimal ingredients, it is also really really yummy.  

You may have noticed that I stopped calculating my nutrition information around the same time I started blogging with any sort of regularity, and that is simply because I just didn't have enough time.  I'm not a calorie counter, I just like doing that to show how nutritionally complete vegan food is/can be.  That being said...I have time now!

Serves 2 (with 2 tsp oil)

Nutrition Information:  359.4 Calories;  10.2g Total Fat;  0.8g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  82.5g Carbohydrates;  15.6g Fiber;  20.6g Protein

I also have something non-food related that I want to share before I move on to what I am currently up to.  This is the front door to my parents' house (where I have been living for the past almost 2 years). 

On Wednesday of last week, my mom, brother, and I came home, and a little visitor came in with us.  Turns out, we have had a tenant all this time and had no idea.  She lives in these flowers:

And....she has babies:

SO CUTE!!  We named the mommy bird Sangria, and the two babies are growing so fast.  We've been going in the side door to keep from a.) scaring them, b.) Sangria getting in the house again.  

Cut to...today.  My student teaching is done, my thesis is finished, graduation is on Wednesday.  I still don't have a job.  I know that I mentioned my husband came home, I don't know if I mentioned that he got a job in South Jersey teaching ROTC.  Well, he did.  I really wasn't thrilled about it; when I came down a few weeks ago we were not happy, but for some reason, our attitude has changed.  I came down here last night, and today has been a really beautiful day, we found an apartment to sublet for August as long as the credit check passes ::crosses fingers::, I went to the ROTC commissioning ceremony this morning, and then...we went into Philly.  I don't know what happened, but it did not go well.  

We went to Govinda's, which I had heard was one of the better vegan places in Philly.  I, apparently, was wrong.  

Okay, that's a little harsh, but it did not live up to my expectations.  First, we went to Govinda's To-Go, which is apparently different from the actual cafe (which I just learned by reading online, oops), but it was kind of dirty, the employees weren't nice, and the thing that I really wasn't expecting was...it wasn't vegan.  Yes, it is called Govinda's Vegetarian Cafe, but for some reason, I was thinking "vegan".    

This was upsetting because the whole draw of going to places like this, is not having to ask questions.  Normally it sounds like "Is there cheese on the soup?" or "Is the broccoli cooked in butter?"  Which...is actually okay because it just makes me sound health concious.  But at a place like this you end up having to ask "Is the ______ vegan?"...and that's annoying to me.

For example:  "Is the soy cheese vegan?"  "Is that cookie vegan?"  etc.  

In case you were wondering, their soy cheese is casein free...I had to ask about that, almost all of their meals have either fake cheese (or real cheese if you want) or fake meat.  Since the employees weren't exactly courteous, I didn't feel like asking about the desserts.  

All that being said, I had the Chicken Quesadilla.  It was actually really good, although the picture isn't exactly flattering.  

So while the food ended up being pretty good, I doubt I'll go back.  I'm not big on fake meat and cheese, and I really didn't like the vibe of the place or the people who worked there.  

This explains why I've been in a bad mood today, my first vegan place in Philly and I have to give it THAT review?  Not as much fun as I wanted it to be.  If anyone is in/near Philly/South Jersey, or has been to the area and has suggestions...PLEASE let me know!!  Right now I've got a bad vegan taste in my mouth for Philly, and I'd really like to remedy that.  Gianna's Grille is next on my list right now!