My latest visit to the Bay Area involved a whole lot of fun, and a whole lot of eating. Here are some of the highlights:

This was the Aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry) from India Palace restaurant in Oakland. It was really good, as was the garlic naan, rice and yummy chutney. In retrospect this was probably not vegan, I always forget that most Indian food is cooked with ghee (clarified butter), which no doubt went a long way in making it taste as good as it did.

This tasty vegan sweet corn tamale with vegetables and black beans came from the Grand Lake Oakland Farmers’ Market.

Ah, now we’re getting to the seriously good stuff! After my failed attempt at having Zante’s pizza the last time I was in San Francisco (they are closed on Sundays despite the 7 days a week sign!), the efforts of my trusty pizza pals and I finally paid off.

Zante’s is an Indian restaurant with a twist… they also serve pizza… vegan Indian food pizza! I know it might sound weird at first, but trust me, it’s the most brilliant thing ever. We ordered the “Best Indian Pizza” (that’s really what it’s called, and it’s true), vegan style. They use crispy, thin crust, a very special green onion based sauce (and you know I don’t like onions, so that should tell you just how good this is if I love it) and top it with spinach, eggplant, cauliflower, ginger, garlic (a whole hell of a lot of garlic!), green onions and cilantro.

Mere words cannot describe how amazing this pizza is. If you live in the San Francisco area or plan to visit, you absolutely must try it!

Another very satisfying discovery for us… vegan Jamaican and African food at Vital Ital Calabash in Berkeley (there is also one in Oakland). Everything on the menu here was healthy and sounded amazing. I had the “Negril Jerk Bliss”, homemade jerk sauce on a tofu-veggie patty with lettuce and sprouts on a cracked wheat bun. I got it with all the fixin’s, all of which I don’t remember, but in looking at the picture, obviously one was vegan cheese. As the menu says: “from Negril to the Bay, this burger screams Reggae!”. It was really good, the sauce was slightly sweet with a hint of spicy. If I lived up there I’d probably eat at this groovy little place all the time.

These were the super good fried plantains with jerk sauce. Though they were fried, they weren’t at all greasy.

Here’s the cool and spicy ginger beer (non-alcoholic). It tasted freshly made, not something they just poured out of a bottle. Delicious and refreshing.

This was the eggplant and roasted red pepper sandwich at what I think was called the Lakeshore Cafe in Oakland. Everything about it was great, though I also realized about halfway into it that the pesto on the sandwich probably wasn’t vegan as it had probably been made with parmesan cheese. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. The salad was good too (I was quite in need of fresh vegetables at this point), as was the strawberry mimosa.

Last but defintely not least, a fabulous way to end a fabulous weekend, a fine meal at Golden Lotus vegetarian restaurant in Oakland. Golden Lotus is one of those awesome veggie restaurants known for their fake meat dishes, and they specialize in Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine. And boy do they!

First up we had the Vietnamese style spring rolls. These were really good and I regret not taking a picture of the inside to share with you. They were stuffed with basil and mint and nuts and I don’t even know what else. The sauce was tasty and mild and heaped with peanuts.

This was the delicious Spicy Lemongrass Chicken. I’m not sure what the fake chicken is made of but given the texture I assumed it was seitan. The flavor of the sauce was just perfect.

This dish, the Tamarind Beef, was out of this world good. The sauce was thick, almost gravy like, with a sweet-spicy tamarind tang. The faux-beef was covered in heaping mound of mint leaves and peanuts, and served with puffy rice crackers. Like the chicken, I think this beef was also made of seitan.

Not the best photo, but here’s a close-up to give you a better look under all the toppings. Like Zante’s, take my word for it and consider Golden Lotus in Oakland a must stop for amazing vegan food that even your meat-loving friends will be able to enjoy.

These are the vegan “shrimp & chicken” rolls at Vinh Loi Tofu. I’m not sure what exactly is in the dipping sauce, but I can tell you it’s damn good (especially when mixed with the chili paste!), as are the rolls of course. Along with the fake meaty bits, they are stuffed full of rice noodles, cilantro and other green leafy veggies.

This will be my last post for a few days as I’m heading back up north to the Bay Area for the holiday weekend. Rest assured there will be plenty of fantastic food from the exotic lands of Oakland and San Francisco to share with you upon my return. Have a great Memorial Day and long weekend!

It’s so rad that I can pick up the phone, place an order with Vegan Plate, and within half an hour, have incredible, fresh, delicious vegan Thai food delivered to my front door.

First off, the Tom-Yum soup was to die for. “Assorted mushrooms, tofu, tomato and exotic herbs in hot & sour lemongrass broth”. It’s exotic alright… with just enough sour and a hint of sweetness from the tomatoes. This was crazy good.

This lovely two-parter involves the mock-chicken satay (I was good and passed on the scrumptious peanut sauce that came with it) and the Chinese broccoli in a garlic sauce with seitan. Delicious all the way around.

Here’s a good example of making something out of nothing. Well obviously there was something, but the deal is I hadn’t been to the store in a few days and was too tired after a hard workout to go out to eat. There was very little food left in the house, so I basically took everything that was left and put it together.

So we end up with: Quinoa-corn pasta (no wheat), seseame flavored baked tofu, steamed broccoli, asparagus and shitake mushroom, tomato pasta sauce, coriander, red pepper flakes, olive oil, lots of fresh crushed garlic and nutrional yeast. All organic ingredients. Not too bad for an empty fridge!

I am pleased to report back with another successful attempt at roasting vegetables. I made this up with what I had on hand, improvising every step of the way. First I marinated the tempeh for about an hour in lime juice, Braggs, small amount of hoisin sauce, coriander, curry, nutritional yeast and sambal. Once that was ready to rock, I mixed it (along with the rest of the marinade, olive oil, more nutritional yeast and agave nectar) into a combo of chopped broccoli, fennel and apple. This went into a 425 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, with a good mixing halfway thru.

I didn’t feel like cooking or eating any grains, so I served the veggies over some TVP. The result was a whole lot of yum.

Kale & garlic salad with “Ranchero Tofu Salad”, both from Whole Foods. I eat this tofu stuff all the time, it’s a tasty, quick and healthy lunch when I don’t have time to make one myself.

Back to basics: steamed asparagus, orange bell pepper, shitake mushroom, seitan and cashews. Also added basil leaves from my window. The sauce was a mixture of roasted red pepper dressing (Seeds of Change), nutrional yeast, flax oil, lime juice, curry powder, and a dab of sambal (Thai chili paste) for spice. Sprinkled with gomasio and more fresh basil. Ahhh… good stuff.

Todays was a simple lunch at home as I didn’t have time to go out. You’ll probably see more homecooked meals for a while as I attempt to indulge a little bit less.

Here we have tasty couscous with currants, topped with a garbanzo salad mixed with a bit of tahini, eggplant salad with cucumbers & sundried tomatoes and grilled seitan (from Whole Foods). Yummy, nutritious and simple.

This is the ginger dish from Vegan Plate (take out): “Stir-fried mushrooms, fresh ginger, garlic, green onion and bell pepper in chef’s special sauce.” I had mine with the soy chicken option, served on brown rice. Very good.

Here’s another fine example of a completely vegan breakfast. This is the “Cowgirl Pancake Breakfast” at Vegan Express. “Pancakes, tofu scramble topped with soy baco bits and vegan cheese”. I had them substitute the regular pancakes for the “Tropical Pancakes”, made with bananas and blueberries. Served with maple syrup and vegan butter spread. The tofu was very thick, almost bread like… more like a tasty loaf than a scramble. The pancakes were… well just look at them, you don’t need me to tell you they were delicious, you just know.

All that and a vegan Thai iced tea too!