A proper southern gentleman invited me to pick any restaurant in town that I’d always wanted to eat at. Ever since I’d learned about the special vegan tasting menu at XIV from quarrygirl.com, I’d been wanting to try it, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. XIV (pronounced Fourteen) is the brainchild of Chef Michael Mina, and it’s not a place you would expect vegans to be getting all excited about considering it’s a restaurant that serves all manner of animal bits & bobs, but this omnivorous upscale eatery hasn’t left animal loving foodies out in the cold. XIV has created not only a special vegetarian menu but also an entirely separate vegan menu.
Think about it, that’s kind of amazing. Here you’ve got this expensive, ultra snazzy restaurant catering to Hollywood’s lobster & foie gras eating elite, while at the same time making an all-out extraordinary effort to also please herbivores. Just a few years ago restaurants like this would have scoffed at vegans, now they’re vying for our attention and practically begging for our business. How far things have come!
For vegans, XIV offers a full menu complete with appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts. The way to really get the full experience however is to go for a multi-course tasting. You have the option of 8 courses (“A light Meal”), 11 courses (“Something More”), or the whopping 14 courses (“Fourteen from XIV”). I was expecting that we would go with the 8 courses but my generous host suggested we dare for the 11 courses instead. More food? Who am I to argue?
We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, let’s get started!
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