I feel like I’m reminiscing a holiday romance.  Heart longing, stomach rumbling.  Recalling that first bite...first thrilling taste that got my heart beating faster..rendered me a little breathless.  I find myself doing the ...head to on side.... goon smile, as I pour over slide-shows of entrees I’ve set on ‘continuous’..  I jealously wonder who is enjoying you now?  SAN FRANCISCO.  Five weeks were not long enough......so many VEGAN options...so little time..



How do I whittle it all down?...   WRITE A LIST!?

This is by no means an extensive list of ALL the vegan places or vegan friendly joints in SF, that would take a lifetime.  Though I would be very happy to make it my life's work!   Here is my 'buffet' list. Mostly from eateries in the Mission District...


BEST SALAD...Persimmon with chipotle vinaigrette from Gracias Madre.  So amazing, the flavours and textures are fresh...triumphant almost.  Like a party where everyone gets on well.
BEST FRENCH FRY...........Pica Pica.  Garlicky, salty, with a happy crunch and a little oozie oiliness.

Garlicky yucca fries and crispy, salty plantains...Oh sweet Jesus these were DELIGHTFUL

BEST TAMALE - (I obsessively, sampled a few)...One in the Sunshine Cafe, the Tamales de los dias served up at Gracias Madre, Amy’s Kitchen (frozen but not to be sniffed at), I’d made a promise to sample one in Sugarlump, a retro cafe in the Mission...this was not to be.   They were good, but all them were beaten hands down, by a fling with a perfectly spiced and spongy, sweet bean tamale, handmade, organic and delivered STEAMING to your door by La Guera Tamalera.  I know, I know, it is not from San Francisco but Silverlake, Los Angeles.  But I'd moved on..I needed a hit...It isn't cheating!

PICA PICA -

Yes...I ate the WHOLE LOT!  The arepas were stuffed with deep fried plantains, avocado, perfectly seasoned black beans and a warm tomato salsa

BEST VENEZUELAN  - Pica Pica Maize Kitchen.  Pica, meaning a little bit of this..a little bit of that...Their menu is gluten free and VEGAN friendly.  Their arepas are corn flour cakes.  Soft on the inside but crispy on the outside. 
BEST MEXICAN - Gracia's Madre

VEGAN FROZEN DINNER!  WOW!

 BEST 'GRAB IT FROM THE FREEZER' ENTREE....Joint first listing goes to...

GRAB IT FROM THE FREEZER

 MOST FRIENDLY & PASSIONATE RESTAURANTERS - Souley Vegan

The EVERYTHING plate from Souley Vegan in Oakland.  The deep fried tofu and herby cornbread are FABULOUS!

 MOST OVERPRICED (they should be ashamed of themselves) 'concept' restaurant - Cafe Gratitude!

No calories...fizzy, spices...catch the back of your throat loveliness.  Made in the Bay by a passionate brewer!

 

BEST SODA  - ~Taylor’s tonic. 

BEST GROCERS - ~Rainbow foods - THIS PLACE IS VEGAN UTOPIA...I spent hours wandering around in here, marvelling at the inventiveness of VEGAN BEINGS.

Oh so moreish...they make chocolate flavour too....One for my 'to try' list..

BEST SNACK - KALE CHIPS!  Blue Mountain Organics.  AN EXPENSIVE ADDICTION!  But SO  blooming good!
BEST RAW - Lydia’s Kitchen.  The Varta Plate .  I enjoyed this TASTE SENSATIONAL raw entree at a Green Fayre in the Bay and the drove all the way to Fairfax..across the Bridge, to have Varta, The sequel.

Not very photogenic but filling and DELICIOUS.  Vegan sourcream, nacho cheese, creamy avocados and curried cashew cheese.

MOST INNOVATIVE VEGAN CREATORS - Gracias Madre.  Hands down...Their quesos blancos, nachos cheese and guac, partnered with their home-grown, heirloom corn is nothing short of hands in the air, praise be, gorgeousness.

Quesadillas de Calabaza - RAMJAM PACKED with butternut squash, topped with Nacho cheese made from cashews and a sunflower salsa.  HEAVEN!

UDUPI - Indian food extraordinaire!

BEST INDIAN - UDUPI PALACE - I went to this place on Valencia Street 4 times, just to make sure the quality prevailed.. The DOSA's where so good they induced, in me, fits of giggling!  Highly embarrassing when dining solo! The sambal pasted on the crispy pancake, greeting the perfectly spiced potato curry inside was MANNA!

BEST SOUP - Whole Foods Market hot counter - Moroccan lentil - these fellas know how to use those Middle Eastern spices.  Comfort food on a spoon!

BEST ICE-CREAM - Coconut Bliss  ANY FLAVOUR

How can i sum up VEGAN San Francisco, when I feel I only scratched off the first layer...the crust?  How about entrees I wished I’d tried?  Like the Tamales at the Ferry building or Sugar Lump Coffee Lounge, Potato Pie at Herbivore (instead of ordering the sugar laden carrot cake....regrets I have a few..) or the tofu scramble at the Sunshine cafe.  Millennium.how about Millennium?  How could I have missed that?!  No, NO, I will have to go back.  San Francisco, this is not the end....

Carrot cake at Herbivore... Too much sugar!

THE BEST TAMALE...SO GOOD THEY SHOULD NAME IT TWICE!  La Guera Tamalera

My late night writing haven in the Misson...Sugar Lump Coffee Lounge



Tamale and tea at the Sunrise Restaurant









Leon's London

Brighton...Infinity Cafe

Back in Brighton.  A Victorian seaside town, dubbed 'London by the Sea'.  It is a fun place and absolutely chock with Veggie Vegan restaurants.  A pub, one owned my Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife, weird named ones... "Why kick a moo-cow"!  Brighton has been a love of mine for a while so I've eaten in 99% of the veggie restaurants but not reviewed them before.  There are tons so probably will take a while to get around to them all but I happily take on the task!

My first stop was a 'no brainer'. INFINITY FOODS CAFE,  I grabbed the last of the soup and a spot by the window up stairs.  It is situated in the hip North Lanes and people watching here is addictive and fruitful.

The gluten free bread was all gawn so I chose to 'sample' a rather large VEGAN scone.  Suffering from a miserable cold I was afraid I wouldn't be able to taste a thing.  The bright colour of the carrot, orange juice and coriander soup was lovely to peer down the bowl into.  It did the trick and my taste buds were doing a little dance of joy.  Though the flavour came in waves (down to the cold and not the fault of the lunch).  The scone was quite good. 

Infinity has a store a few doors up,  and later on I had a slab of VEGAN tiffin.  Not the Indian fayre but a thick wad of chocolate and biscuits.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffin_(confectionery) .  It has been years since I had tiffin and I did not know they did a vegan version.  It was bloody mighty good.  Thick chocolate, crunchy biscuit and pecan with just the right amount of raisins.  Yummy! 



Idyllwild California

Idyllwild, is a small mountain town.  A 'getaway' place. Extremely friendly with lots of hiking, cabins & retreat centres.  It's gorgeous.  I came to stay for a few days.

I decided to go to Nature's Wisdom.  Three years ago they were offering organic raw & vegan entrees.  The menu has changed and the raw has been replaced with meat dishes and only one vegan option...soup.  Not overly succumbing to the rather tatty interior I requested a sample of the soup.  It was a 'chop it all, chuck it all in' type veggie broth, that failed to rally my appetite for more.  Especially the cost $8 for a bowl of soup, served in a plastic bowl.  I think not.  Shame.  I said thank you and promptly left.

The next three days I didn't even consider eating elsewhere after I discovered a small health food store tucked away on the fringe of town MOUNTAIN HARVEST MARKET.  It is not a restaurant but they have a little homemade food section, comfy sofa and tables around a toasty fire and smiles.  My lunch was a 'to go' rice based entree of perfectly cooked brown rice, zucchini, kale, red peppers, onions and peas.  It came with a tub of DELICIOUS vegan 'gravy'.  So satisfying and just the right amount.

I loved this so much I had it two days on the trot.  The last day I had a spicy biryani style dish which was a smidgen away from pulling it off as a dead heat. I was also fortunate to meet lovely Cathy, the woman responsible for the dishes.  She effuses enthusiasm and warmth.  She clearly loves good food and enjoys offering her meals at great prices too.  $4.75 for an entree or salad.Bargain!

The first day I had room for dessert and grabbed a slab of Earth Cafe Pumpkin cake.  Hmm, it had a  strange texture and a weird 'unnatural' kind of flavour.  It was not very nice. 4 out of 10. I know they can do better.  'Who's Your Daddy' used to be a frequent pud rattling around in the bottom of my shopping basket. I've not eaten them for a while but I guess the other flavours are still hitting the spot as they netted an award with a vegetarian magazine as Best Raw Goodies, winner. Earth Cafe

Natural Sisters Cafe - Joshua Tree

Being obsessed as I am...with good vegan tucker, a favourite pass time and necessary tool for my craft..of discovering and eating aforementioned sustenance, is Googling tasty words like...VEGAN...DOSA...REUBEN...TAMALE....(focus! focus!)  On a road trip, the prospect of treasure is exhilarating.  Where will X mark the spot?  At Natural Sisters Cafe????

A fifty-mile detour...each way, from my trajectory would of course mean that I fully wanted to LOVE the place.  I'd read a YeLP.com review about 'biscuits and gravy'.  I'm English and have no idea what this crazy entree is so of course I want a piece of the action.

I arrive at this simple, clean, bright and welcoming cafe.  It feels comfy.  The candles and fresh flowers give the place a teeny tiny sense of occasion.  The waitress was super sweet, helpful and obviously proud to be working there.  Oh I'm excited!  I order the B&G even though it was way past breakfast, they agreed to whip me up a plate.  The Indian spiced soup makes my mouth flood so I order a small cup too. 

To my horror (ok more..disappointment) I find the biscuits and gravy are not vegan.  The biscuits are what in Blighty we call scones and the 'gravy' is thick sauce...a whole damn plate of it!  My mouth drooped involuntarily.  I just had to try the 'gravy', what was all the fuss about?!  I sampled a tiny quarter spoon.  Blurgh!....  The biscuits were sweet!?  I do not understand this dish.  I mark this one off the score card. 

The soup, delivered in a clear glass cup was thick, perfectly spiced and seasoned and was very moreish.

Desperate to claw back the drumroll expectations of the extended road trip, I ordered the chop salad, a local 'favourite'.  Oh dear. The sundried tomatoes were not soaked, the tahini dressing was sour.  'Off' sour.  It was unremarkable.

I feel sad when I eat 'average food'.  I loathe writing poor reviews.  10 out of 10 for customer service, appearance of venue and for a heartwarming dahl, is the best I can say.  Maybe the sandwiches would of been a better bet?  Hopefully the cafe was having an 'off day'.

I feel a Reuben obsession coming on...

I am submitting myself to food CRUELTY, writing this post when 3000 miles away from the land of the Reuben Sandwich.  Oh, how wonderful that humans have taste memories!

Wikipedia are stumped as to who actually first threw together some deli ingredients to concoct this sandwich.  Who cares?  All I know is they do it vegan and New Frontiers Natural Marketplace managed to stoke a fire that Flore in Silverlake failed to. 

This experience will cost me far more than the $6.99 for their masterpiece, as I will now have to go all the way to Chicago and visit the 'famed' Chicago Diner.  Bummer.  Anyway Stephen, the very tall server at the food counter was impressively clued up on his food.  He threw down two inflatable guide tubes on the bowling alley on my decisions (metaphorically speaking...ok..long metaphor, too long!) Everyone loves the Red Rock Reuben he said with confidence.  Five minutes to whip it up, it came.  As you can see I had to eat some straight away.  I am a Gemini and a foodie, patience is a trophy when won. 

Somehow the flavours of the sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, fine caramelised onions and Seitan stood alone but united. What  a concept!  The tub of veganaise took it up a notch higher.  It had 100% mouth appeal.  Oozy, crispy, slightly tart and then deliously creamy.  Oh my....I am almost calling the airlines now.  Get me a Reuben!

West Sedona.

Green - New American Style in Arizona

I was heading on a road trip to get some sun (yeah, right....bloody joke that turned out to be.  Thanks Mr Weatherman!) in Sedona and needed a stopping off point to break up a long..long drive, 'cross dusty desert.  I Googled Vegan, Arizona.  Happy Cow and Yelp offered me some choices.  A stream of zesty adjectives assigned to reviews for Green in Tempe had me booking a nearby hotel and plotting my course.

Green is located in a rather nondescript shopping strip.  Its signage straightforward and lacking flair.  Inside it opens out to a large room with plenty of seating, mostly occupied.

The decor is a bit 'college' style and fun.  The menu is extensive and I asked the waiter to help me choose.  I then proceeded to order something entirely different?!!  I opted for the special, THE BRAT, a take on a Bratwurst in beer, with mustard and sauerkraut.  A side of the sweet potato puffs ensured my appetite was well catered for.

I found a seat, the owner (I think?) came over and wiped it clean and chatted to me about the menu for a few minutes.  He seemed very interested in his customers and stoked about his food.  I waited for about ten minutes and then it came, delivered 'basket' style.  The puffs a dazzling shade of orange.  It looked gooood. 

It tasted.......average.  From the reviews I had built up in my mind a taste rocketing sensation to blow my mind.  Hmm, it was... ok.  The sweet potato puffs were... pleasant, nice and crisp.  I'd opted for the Ezekial bap. It was papery.  The filling...lacking...something....I'm not sure.  More mustard perhaps  The owner guy came over as I cleared my plate.  He asked.  I was honest.  He seemed genuinely open to my comments and not offended.  'Come back,' he said.  'Try something off the menu'.  Not said in desperation to please, but with a confidence that I'd find it worthy.   My attempts to break into foodie raptures with the dessert cookie failed too.  I found it a little too sweet.  I vow to give them another try when I head back down this way.  I'll let you know what I find.

Have you eaten here?  I'd love to hear your experience.  Send us a comment or a link to your blog.