Vegan Paradise

This weekend I went to Farm Sanctuary's annual hoedown in Watkins Glen, NY. My friend refers to Farm Sanctuary as vegan paradise. After spending the weekend there, I have to agree. It is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been to.

Watkins Glen is not close to Massachusetts; it is about 45 minutes from Ithaca. We got on the road around 9:30. My friend wanted to push straight through to Ithaca, and we arrived there around 3:00. Our original plan was to get food to go from Green Star Co-Op and take it to a local state park. However, we got caught in a downpour as we drove into Ithaca, so we decided to eat at the grocery store instead. Green Star is a bit of a vegan paradise on its own!  We had a ton of options for lunch. We went with sandwiches - falafel, vegan Reuben, and vegan "chicken" salad. Everything was delicious!  We grabbed salads to go for dinner, along with Rice Dream mint ice cream sandwiches - how have I never eaten those delicious things before??

The rain had stopped when we left Green Star, so we headed to the state park.  Our original plan was to swim in the river under a waterfall. Unfortunately that part of the swimming area was closed because the lifeguards were off duty. It was also pretty cold after the rain, so we admired the waterfall from afar. Then we headed to paradise!

We arrived on the farm just before dark and were able to set up our tents with plenty of light. As dusk fell, we wandered over to the campfire and chatted with the group that had gathered there. We ended the night with a late, flashlight lit dinner.

Saturday's breakfast was simple, muffins and fruit. We spent the morning in the people barn, listening to various speakers, including an introduction by Gene Bauer. Lunch was outside in the sun, as it was a gorgeous summer day. The food was delicious - two different pita sandwiches and two salads on the side. After lunch we finally got to visit the animals!  We toured the farm with Susie (thanks for the invite to the private tour, Aimee!) and spent time with the cows (including baby Michael), pigs, sheep (who were all over me!), and met Turpentine the turkey. We did not have enough time to visit all of the animals before sanctuary time was over, but luckily more time was built into Sunday's schedule.

After another presentation, it was cocktail hour. Even more importantly, it was appetizer hour!!  My favorite was the vegan crab cake which had a delicious dipping sauce to go with it. We sampled some different nut cheeses, which I'm sure sounds gross to anyone who hasn't tried them, but they were delicious!  There was also guacamole, salsa, fruit, and spinach pie. Despite all of the appetizers I ate, I still ate a huge dinner - Mac and cheese, kale salad, broccoli, sweet potato fries, and cornbread. And of course, I had to try some dessert - an amazing peanut butter brownie. It's a good thing we danced for three and a half hours!  Yes, I danced non-stop, including country line dancing, for over three hours. That's a testament to how comfortable I felt among all of these people I didn't know. It was one of the most fun nights I've had in a long time.

Sunday morning we did yoga on the lawn with Derek, who is an excellent yoga teacher in addition to his hula hooping and ukelele skills. Breakfast was amazing - tofu scramble, tempeh bacon, potatoes, oatmeal, and fruit. We ate it during coffee talk, a Q&A with the speakers. We were not particularly hungry for lunch after that, but we made room for Thai peanut salad, veggies, and greens (and another peanut butter brownie). Our time in paradise ended with another trip to the barns and pastures, where I laid down next to pigs and chilled with the goats. Then, sadly, it was time to leave.

 I knew it would be a fun weekend, but I had no idea how much it would affect me. Everyone there was just inherently welcoming and friendly. It was so nice to not have to worry about food. And I loved hearing about the animals and meeting them, knowing they have been spared from an otherwise horrible life. I will be counting down the days to next year's event!!!

Vegan Thursday

Colleen is upset that I haven't been blogging since I returned from my trip, so here is a short post from last week.  I intended to spend most of last Thursday afternoon in Boston before meeting Faye for the Guster concert in Providence.  However, my plans were thwarted when I got a rather large splinter embedded in my heel.  So after visits to both the Minute Clinic and Urgent Care to remove it, I was finally on my way.  Unfortunately, it was after 1:30 by the time I got on the T at Riverside, so I had to make a change to my original Davis Square falafel plan.  That would just have been too much food too late in the afternoon - I wanted to save my appetite for Providence.  So instead I got off the T in Central and walked to VO2, the cafe in the O2 yoga studio on Mass Ave.  What a great place!  The staff was super friendly.  I ordered a chuna sandwich, which was made from chick peas and tasted uncannily like tuna.  I also got a spicy monkey smoothie, whose main ingredients were bananas, coconut milk, peanut butter, cocoa, and cayenne pepper - it was delicious!  I chatted a bit with the owner, who is still in the process of tweaking the menu.  She worked on it at the counter with another staff member while I ate.  She brought me a sample of her nacho "cheese" - it was awesome!  It was the most real fake cheese I've ever eaten.  It was a perfect stop for a late lunch, filling but not overly so and delicious.

My goal for dinner was to eat at Veggie Fun in Providence.  Rush hour traffic almost thwarted that plan.  However, we made it to Providence at 6:50.  The concert started at 7, but neither of us had much desire to see the opener.  Since the restaurant is around the corner from Lupo's, and since it wasn't very busy, we decided to go for it.  A good decision, as far as I am concerned!  We each had a summer roll to start - thin rice paper around firm tofu and veggies with a delicious dipping sauce.  I went the unhealthy route and ordered General Tsao's seitan - so good!  The sauce was fantastic.  Faye ordered eggplant in black bean sauce, which was also delicious.  I enjoy the fact that this is a vegan Chinese restaurant that is not focusing on fake meat - I will definitely go back!

We made it to Lupo's with time to spare, and I caught my first headlining Guster show in quite some time.  It was a good day.  :)

Tomorrow I'll write a longer post about vegan paradise weekend!

Le Fin

Today we head back to Boston. It has been an amazing trip, but I'm ready to go home (especially since I get to see Guster, Ben Folds Five, and BNL at Tanglewood tomorrow!).  Yesterday we visited the botanical garden in Golden Gate Park. It was quite large, and featured plants from all over the world.  They are able to mimic a cloud forest because of all of the fog, which is pretty cool. They had s tree that is only able to thrive in a few places in the world, and foggy San Francisco is one of them.

We headed to the Mission district for lunch because we had been craving mission style burritos since we arrived in the city. After some careful Yelp research, we settled on Pancho Villa Taqueria for its excellent reviews and extensive vegetarian burrito menu. Even at 2:15, there was a decent  line. Apparently it is sometimes out the door. Luckily we did not have to wait too long. I ordered a veggie burrito that beats Anna's in Boston, hands down. The flavoring was delicious and it was tightly rolled - no abrasions in this burrito!  They have a salsa bar that also included grilled jalapenos.  The food was delicious, quick, and inexpensive, with plenty of seating for their many customers. A great find!

Last night was the culmination of my vegan eating - dinner at Millennium. On Sunday nights, you can do a three course tasting menu for $42, so we all decided to do that and order different things. For starters, we tried the crusted king trumpet mushrooms, the raw Pad Thai salad, and the grilled flatbread. The mushrooms were my favorite by far - lightly breaded and fried, served with a delicious soy sauce based sauce. The Pad Thai was good, made from carrots and zucchini and dressed lightly in a peanut sauce.  The flatbread was served with delicious, garlicky butter beans. For my entree, I chose the Vietnamese style crepe with lemongrass and marinated tofu - amazing!  Kristin chose the eggplant dish, which was served with a delicious tomato sauce and a cashew ricotta. Amy ordered the nettle tamale, which came with an excellent Mole sauce. All of the entrees were fantastic!

Surprisingly, we were not as impressed with dessert. We ordered the chocolate almond midnight which had come highly recommended and was my favorite. The cheesecake was very grainy and too sweet for my taste. We also ordered a three layer ice cream dessert which included lavender ice cream. The best part of that dish was the amazing caramel corn it was  served with. All in all, it was an excellent way to end the trip.

San Francisco

We've seen quite a bit and eaten quite a lot in the past two days!  On Friday, we checked out Streatfair, the San Francisco food truck area. We got there fairly early, around noon, and the place was already hopping. After a stroll around  the perimeter to see what they had to offer, we settled on falafel. And what a falafel it was!  They crammed lettuce, tomato, cucumber, hummus, and French Fries (yup, you heard it right) in there. Then there were a bunch of other toppings to add on yourself, so I loaded m  pita up with pickles, cabbage, and jalapenos, along with hot sauce. It was not easy to eat with all of that crammed in, but I managed somehow.

After  lunch we explored the Mission district and then Haight and Ashbury. We had tickets to the 7:15 Giants game, so we walked to the stadium after eating our leftovers from Thursday night. We made sure to leave room for garlic fries though!  The game was fun an  the stadium is gorgeous, right on the water, but it was cold!!!

Today we checked out the farmer's market at the ferry building - it was massive!  We started with the shops in the building, where I found vegan donuts!  I tried a Mexican hot chocolate one, and it was chocolatey, cinnamon goodness. We then ate our way through the market, trying a variety of samples. There is also a craft portion of the market, so we spent some time browsing there too. We then walked along the water through the tourist areas on our way to Fort Mason to try Greens. Unfortunately, when we arrived we realized that the restaurant was  closed for a private party. Luckily, they have a to go counter, so w  picked up sandwiches and ate them in the park where we chatted with a dad and his 21 year old son. My grilled tofu sandwich with avocado was delicious, as was the oatmeal granola cookie I had for dessert.

We made a quick stop at Ghiradhelli Square before waiting in a very long line to get on a  cable car. It was worth the wait, though, as we climbed  up and down the hills. I kept having  Full House flashbacks  as w  drove along...

Kristin picked our dinner restaurant - Baonecci in North Beach. They are  known for their thin crust pizza, and they did not disappoint. We started with their house  salad, which was simple and delicious. I had a spicy pizza with lots of garlic and parsley. I had read that this pizza was very spicy, but I didn't get that at first. However, there were a few bites that set my mouth on fire!  It was good, though - I like to keep it spicy.

Tomorrow night we go to Millennium - I'll have lots to write about that one!

Food!!

In the past two days, we did a ton of driving. We pretty much spent all of today in the car.  It sucked, except for the fact that we drove the Pacific Coast Highway, which was beautiful and extremely fun - I loved the windy mountain roads. What did not suck about the last two days was the food. Let's begin with lunch on Wednesday. We were on the 101 in Redwood National Park. There's not too much going on there in terms of civilization. However, a very nice park ranger recommended the Beachcomber Cafe in a little seaside town called Trinidad. This place was delicious!  It's very small and quaint inside, and the staff was super friendly. I had a cup of coconut curry zucchini soup that was amazing with a salad topped with avocado and hummus with a garlic walnut dressing - yum!!

Last night we stayed at the Requa Inn in Klamath, CA. What a cute place!  It's an old inn from the 1800s run by a family. Each room is different and charming. I spent a relaxing hour reading outside in a rocking chair before dinner. Speaking of dinner - it was amazing!  They serve a four course meal every night and will accommodate any diet. We sat with a couple from Columbus, Ohio and a woman a little younger than us from Asheville. The company and food were both excellent!  The vegan menu consisted of broccoli, radishes, and onion; beets in a delicious breading with potatoes; fry bread; hazelnut fritters with cashew cheese, snow peas, and other veggies; and almond cake in a berry sauce. I am so glad we decided to do dinner at the inn. My only regret is that we had to leave before breakfast was served this morning.

Today we drove from Klamath to San Francisco. That is one long drive. We made it longer by taking route one, but it was totally worth it. We stopped in Mendocino for lunch. I wanted to try the vegan restaurant Raven, but unfortunately they do not serve lunch. So we tried the Mendocino Cafe instead, which proved to be an excellent choice. We ate on the deck with a slight view of the ocean. We shared some delicious guacamole and I had a Thai burrito with  a yummy chili sauce. When we finally made it to San Francisco and dropped off the rental car, we ended the evening with a quick Vietnamese dinner  at Sunflower. The Imperial Rolls were excellent and I got a huge portion of vermicelli noodles. Now I'll be able to have dinner before the Giants game tomorrow night!

Looking forward to more good eating in San Francisco...

Crater Lake

Today's post is not about food. Though I ate plenty of it, none of it is blog worthy. However, the awesomeness that is Crater Lake is blog worthy, though I'll keep it short because I am tired. Crater Lake is the bluest, clearest lake I have ever seen. Most people view if from the top of the crater, and it is breathtaking. But I am not most people. So instead, we hiked into the crater to the shore of the lake. And then I went into this crystal clear, very cold lake that is 700 feet deep.  Had I known you could go in the lake, I would have put my bathing suit on and actually swam. But since I did not know that, I had to settle for wading. Regardless, it was awesome, and I got to chat with some really nice people in the lake. Totally worth the strenuous hike back up to the rim!

Portland West

Today's post is going to be about food. There is so much vegan food in Portland. I want to live  here.

Lunch was at the food trucks, of course. Kristin had not yet had the Portland food truck experience, and she needed an introduction. I tried street food from Georgia (the country, not the state) at Kargi Gogo. It was so good!  I couldn't decide what to get, so the vendor suggested a vegan sampler plate. It contained grilled eggplant filled with a delicious walnut spread, pastry filled with a black bean spread, and a tomato cucumber salad with walnut dressing. Everything was amazing!!!

After some browsing at Powell's, we got in line for Voodoo Doughnuts. I tried the vegan chocolate coconut - yum!  Kristin tried the maple bacon, which she loved, and the Mexican hot chocolate, which she did not love as much. Our next stop was the vegan "mall".  Okay, it wasn't so much a mall as a block of vegan stores, but I'll take it!  I picked up an apricot strudel to go from Sweet Pea Bakery before wandering around Food Fight, the all vegan grocery store. I would move here for this block of vegan goodness alone!

Our last stop of the day was Vita Cafe for dinner. Kristin found this one on Yelp when we discovered that my favorite Thai restaurant is closed on Mondays. Cafe Vita was a great second choice!  I had tempeh and broccoli in a delicious, spicy ginger sauce. Kristin had lasagna with both marinara and vegan pesto. For dessert, we tried the raw peanut butter chocolate chip cheesecake - amazing!  Needless to say, we are both very full. Good thing we are headed to Crater Lake tomorrow to hike off some calories!