My reports back from my Bay Area visits are usually chock-full of tales about all the fantastic food I’ve had the pleasure to consume. Sadly my most recent visit was marred by the sudden onset of a stomach-flu type dealio which stuck around wrecking havoc with my tummy for about two days… with loss of appetite being the least of my worries (I’ll spare you the gory details). Thankfully I’m feeling much better now, and luckily I was able to get in a few great meals both before and after I got sick.

First up, vegan Vietnamese food in Alameda. Central Vegetarian Cuisine just recently opened up so I was excited to check them out. They are all vegetarian but not totally vegan, but most everything on the menu looked vegan, and they’ll veganized most things listed if you ask them to.

I ordered the Spicy Garlic Green Bean Tofu. This was a lot like Thai style Prik King, though not as spicy… I don’t think the sauce was chili based like the Thai dish. Still, the flavor and idea was similar. Very tasty, and a bit milder than it looks.

My non-vegetarian, salmon-loving friend had their Teriyaki veggie-Salmon and he appeared to really like it. I enjoyed it too… amazing how they can capture that fishy taste and texture without involving any real fishies. We had their spring rolls too, which were great as well. There were many more tempting options on the menu. Next time I’m going to have to try the caramelized chicken because it sure sounds like something my mouth would love.

After reading many reviews of the awesome tofu scrambles at Mimosa Cafe I finally had the chance to find out for myself. I’ve tried to eat there on a couple previous occasions but somehow always ended up there when they are closed (don’t go on a Monday or a holiday).

The scramble was very tasty. Unfortunately my stomach ailment was moving into full effect at this point and I only had a few bites. Too bad too because it was great and most of it just got wasted. This one came with tomatoes, spinach and mushroom. The mushrooms were supposed to be green onions but I asked for the substitution. They would normally have served this with grilled potatoes, but we got there as they were stopping their breakfast service and the grill was already off, so they let me get the veggie sausages instead. I think they were pretty good too, but by the time I tried them food was making me want to puke, so I’ll need to get you a better review next time I go. The plate also came with a tasty mango muffin. Good stuff… I regret being too ill to eat it at the time.

Next up we have some delicious Ethiopian food from a restaurant that I am ashamed to tell you that I don’t know the name of. See, a bunch of us were supposed to meet up at the Herbivore on Valencia, however, they were way too full at dinner time and we didn’t want to wait. Instead we tried the Ethiopian place about two blocks down and on the opposite side of the street. If I can get you more specific details I promise to pass them along!

This was the vegetarian combo for three people. In the middle is a spinach-potato item, surrounding that are the lentils, and on the outskirts of that, a carrot and potato combo. Served with green salad and injera bread. All of what you see here was fantastic. Again I was only able to eat a small amount but I did get to try everything, and it was all good.

Last but certainly not least, what trip up north would be complete without a stop at Herbivore? This went down the next day, and at their location in Berkeley, so there was no wait to contend with.

I got the vegan Shawarma (hard to resist getting this every time I come here). This time though I got the soy-chicken version (as opposed to the seitan version with eggplant) which comes with avocado & potatoes, seasoned onions, tomatoes, hummus, hot sauce, pickles & tahini in a wrap, and a green salad. I should have remembered to snap a picture of the inside to share with you all, but after a couple days of eating very little, you can imagine that I was ravenous by the time my appetite came back. When presented with such a delicious hunk of goodness, I was powerless to do anything other than devour it as quickly as possible.

I was hungry but craving something light and fresh, so I figured I’d visit Leaf Cuisine. I’m not totally sold on the whole philosophy of raw food, but I do eat a lot of raw food by default, being big into veggies and salads. A salad was what I’d planned on getting, but the Pad Thai listed as a special seemed too intriguing to pass up.

“Kelp & squash noodles with red peppers in a spicy peanut sauce”. The menu on display did not mention kelp noodles, but that’s the basis of this dish (I see it’s listed in the take-home menu). The display also mentioned mango… while I didn’t actually see any mango on the plate there may have been some well hidden in there. As you can see there’s also a bunch of crunchy little sprouts added to the mix.

It was very different from anything that actually tastes like Pad Thai, but not bad. It wasn’t spicy at all and had a sour lemon or vinegar tang to it. The flavor and texture was ok, but I didn’t want to eat all that much of it as the flavor was overwhelming after a few bites.

Along with the Pad Thai I also had the guacamole and kale chips. The guac was great, the chips even greater. Not sure what herbs were used to flavor them but they where very yummy.

I like the food here but I can’t say that I love it. I’m a pretty open-minded and adventurous eater, but even for me some of this stuff is just a little bit out there (in the sense of not being what I look for in a satisfying meal). Maybe I’m just feeling biased rght now because one of the girls working there gave her other coworker a look when she saw me taking a picture of my food as if to indicate it was the strangest or most annoying thing she’d ever seen in her life. Come on lady! You eat nothing but raw food, ever, and I’m the weirdo for wanting to take a picture of it? Another deterrent to loving this stuff is the price. Fancy shmancy raw food ain’t cheap.

I haven’t been sharing most of my homecooked meals with you lately mainly because they would bore you to tears. I’m back to a pretty strict diet, so watching what I eat translates into some rather non-photogenic meals based more on their nutritive content rather than how pretty they look or amazing they taste. That said, this little number that I just made up on the spot came out much tastier and much more presentable than expected, so I’ll give you a little taste.

It’s a very simple saute of asparagus, green chard, tomatoes and grilled seitan in a bit of olive oil, rice vinegar, lemon and garlic. The seitan came pre-made from Whole Foods and the lovely tomatoes I grew myself. I also added a bit of sambal (chili paste), black pepper and nutritional yeast. This was served over green chili and cilantro flavored polenta slices (it’s the pre-made kind you can by in a handy little log). I was worried it would taste very boring but I somehow managed to add just the right amount of flavorings and spices to make it not only edible, but actually yummy.

It’s ironic to me that some people think vegan eating is boring and tasteless. It’s actually been the exact opposite for me. In the time since I’ve gone vegan (about 7 months now), I’ve encountered so many incredible new foods… some of which are hard to stop eating! It’s totally a myth that all vegans and vegetarians are skinny and malnourished. To the contrary, with the introduction of all these new and exciting foods I’ve managed to put on extra weight, and it’s been a struggle it to keep it in check. I’m back on the ball now, dropping the extra pounds and attempting to stay aware of the fact that just because something is vegan doesn’t mean it isn’t fattening. When you’re predisposed to gaining weight like I am, even lettuce can make you fat, so it requires constant vigilance. This is easy to forget sometimes when surrounded by incredible vegan restaurants and products at nearly every turn. The key for me is going to be finding a balance between indulgence and common sense, as well as eating more homecooked meals. So for now, it’s back to the kitchen and back to basics.

I’m only now getting around to sharing my bay area food stories with you nearly a month after the fact, but as they say, good things come to those who wait. So without further adieu…

My first stop was Neecha Thai which recently opened in the Grand Lake district of Oakland. They are not an exclusively vegetarian restaurant but they have a plethora of vegetarian/vegan choices. For starters we had their incredible corn cakes. Think of these as an edible orgy of crispy, slightly chewy corn and lime love. Fantastic.

As I’d just stepped off a plane I opted for a lighter meal and went with their salad. Sadly I can’t recall it’s name or all of what was in it, but I do remember it involved apples, crispy yams and a very tasty, citrus dressing.

The next day we got to catch up with the folks vending vegan soul food at the Lake Merritt farmers market. Wow… this was so awesome! My plate consisted of spicy greens, stickily-sweet amazing yams and finger-lickin’ good BBQ tofu. They also had a great potato salad as well as a lentil dish. Now that’s some good eating right there.

Next came a special treat as we learned that Herbivore had just opened in their new Berkeley location on Shattuck. Of course I had to go!

First came our appetizer of soft tacos: “two soft taco shells with beans, guacamole, vegan sour cream and salsa”. Yum!

My entree was the Lemongrass Noodles: “Char-broiled vegetables garnished with fresh cilantro and crushed peanuts in a lemongrass-ginger dressing over rice noodles with tofu”. It was delicious with the strong and pungent flavor of the lemongrass and the spiciness of the ginger. Berkeley just got even that much cooler.

I’d heard tell that the vegan brunch at Fellini (also in Berkeley) is something else. I can now attest to the fact that these rumours are all true, it was excellent. I had the tofu scramble with vegan sausage, which came with grilled potatoes & vegan sour cream, wheat biscuit, jam and vegan butter.

Yet another breakfast spread, this time on another visit back to Herbivore.

I tell you, I can’t get enough of their blueberry cornbread. It’s the best thing on earth!

I had already starting moving stuff around on the plate before remembering to take a picture, which is why it looks a bit of a mess. Anyhow, this was their Southwestern style tofu scramble which comes with potatoes, black beans, guacamole, vegan sour cream and spicy cornbread. All of it rocked. Talk about being in multi-flavored cornbread heaven! I actually only tasted some of this savory-spicy version, which was great, but at that point I’d really had my fill and needed to go catch my plane.

Here’s to another delicious time well spent eating and cavorting up north. I highly recommend it.

Here’s the tofu scramble at Hugo’s.

I can’t believe that I’ve been dining at Hugo’s all this time and I’d never tried their tofu scramble until recently. It’s really freaking good! “Organic tofu scramble with sweet potato, green onion, tomato, spinach, garlic and mushrooms with ginger-soy sauce”. The tofu was the super firm kind and it nicely picked up the flavor of the sauce, which was delicious. The addition of the sweet potatoes give it a really nice depth, sweetness and texture. Definitely one of my new Hugo’s favorites.

This is the delicious salad at Vinh Loi Tofu.

So good and fresh on scorching hot summer day. “Fresh green leaves with tofu, vege beef, vege chicken and coconut sauce”. As you can see, it’s actually much more than their humble description would lead you to believe. Along with the greens there are also bean sprouts, cucumbers, shredded carrots and radish, cilantro, mint and those yummy crispy onion bits. Aside from being fantastic, it’s also huge, they don’t skimp on anything here.

To make use of the last few ripe tomatoes I grew (until the next batch ripen), I made a fresh chunky salsa.

I chopped up my red juicy red tomatoes along with some orange heirlooms I purchased, and added in a bunch of cilantro and chopped green onion. I was going to forgo the onion but decided to go against my usual preference so that the salsa would taste authentic. I didn’t use too much, just taking some little baby steps. Into this medley went the juice of two fresh squeezed limes, one finely chopped jalapeno pepper, black pepper, dried garlic flakes and nutritional yeast. I added the yeast because the lime along with the juice from the tomatoes made it all a bit more watery than I’d hoped, so the yeast made it just a bit thicker, plus I’m addicted to the flavor.

This was poured over a piping hot bowl of steamed red potatoes and carrots. For my first time ever making anything even resembling salsa, this came out great! So fresh and quick and easy, I’m sure I’ll be coming back to make something like this often.