The FlavourSpot truly does bring the flavah! This small foodcart located in a video store parking lot is all the rage for their vegan waffles and fillings, so I knew I had to try it out.

Foodcarts are very popular in Portland, and I highly approve. We just don’t have this sort of thing here in Los Angeles aside from the occasional harassed street food vendors and taco trucks or the food stalls that come and go at our farmers markets. In Portland they’re all over the place and all the time, serving an amazing array of all sorts of ethnic foods as well as the usual stand-by’s, like hot dogs, pizza, etc… The other cool thing is that a lot of them also cater to vegetarians and vegans. Duh, it’s Portland.

Back to the waffles. What drew me here was the allure of the Vegan Maple Sausage Waffle. What a dreamy combination of flavors to have been veganized, right? I placed my order but unfortunately the girl told me they were out of their vegan sausage. Eee gads! They did however have the vegetarian patty available, so I got that. I didn’t come this far to try this thing only to walk away empty-bellied because of a microscopic bit of whey. I know, shame on me.

Here we have a not-so-stunning picture of the piece-de-resistance. Don’t let the simplicity of what your eyes are taking in fool you… this was gobsmackingly good! The waffle as you can see is a little on the thin side, which is nice because it doesn’t overwhelm whatever it happens to be stuffed with. To me it tasted exactly like a waffle-cone (for ice cream) that would usually be thinner and crispy, only here it was puffy, soft and delicious. The sausage patty was your typical fake meat variety, but what hits this one way out of the park is the incredible maple butter, made from 100% organic maple. This stuff is the nectar of the gods I tell you, with a texture like melted caramel and the taste of velvety, liquid love. Put it all together with waffle, sausage and this… and you’ve got a sweetly, salty foodgasm in the making.

They’ve got a number of other vegan choices too. I also tried one with mallow fluff, which while not as transcendental as the maple/sausage orgy, was still rather tasty in it’s own gelatin-free marshmellowy way. I think by the time I got to it I was already all sweet-toothed out. There’s also a peanut butter & jelly combo, fresh fruits and various other options that come and go. They’ve also got many enticing options for your meat & cheese eating friends and many coffee drinks, cold and hot. The iced soy latte that I had with my waffle hit the spot.

Loved it, and I’d go back far too often if I lived there. They’ve got a second cart going now too, so visit their website for hours and locations the next time you’re in PDX and owe your tastebuds a flavor favor®. Expect a bit of a wait, the waffles are made fresh as you order them and when we were there they were very busy. Now I know why!
www.flavorspot.com

Stayed tuned for ‘Foodeater Does Vegan Portland’, Pt. 3!

[Please see the bottom of this post for an update... Nutshell is unfortunately no longer vegan.]

I’m back from sampling Portland’s multitudinous vegan offerings, and have returned rejuvenated, inspired and over-fed satiated. I can totally see why Portland has earned the reputation of being a vegan town. For a city that felt tiny in comparison to the megalopolis I call home, they’ve packed in a hell of a lot of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants into a small (yet lush) space.

I ate so much awesome food in fact that there’s no way I can get it all into one blog post without it being crazy long. Instead I’m going to break this up into sections, basically giving you a report on each place I ate at. Shall we being?

Hot off the plane, my fabulous and gracious hosts took me straight to my first food destination, Nutshell. This place gets mixed reviews but it was high up on my list of vegan places I had to try. I’m so glad I did because I loved every single thing here that made it’s way into mouth… and there was a lot of it!

Our first appetizer was the “Crispy rice fritters with avocado puree & chili sauce”. These were so great! They were made with a highly fragrant jasmine rice and seemed like they had been lightly fried in coconut oil… finger lickin’ good. Both of the dipping sauces were equally yummy in their own ways.

Appetizer two: “Bigfoot’s bamboo fries with kung foo sauce”. I don’t know what kung-foo sauce is all about but I can tell you that I like it. And I loved the bamboo fries. They had a firmer texture than fried potato, I really enjoyed the bite and chewiness they had going on. The flavor was good, not mindblowing but more on a simpler scale, something I could easily and happily stuff my face with alongside a burger or beer (if I was a beer drinker these would totally be the fries I’d be craving). They were cut thinner than regular fries and were slightly oily too, in an enjoyable “wow, these sure are some good, greasy fries” sort of way.

My friends ordered the “Fuji apple salad with beets, preserved marionberries, micro greens & muscatel vinaigrette” which they kindly allowed me to have my way with. Everything here tasted so fresh, both bold and subtle at the same time. The taste was surprising, not really what you would expect from looking at it, and I mean that in a good way. They’d also mixed in some finely chopped peppermint which woke up and brought together all the different flavors. I could eat this every day if someone would be nice to enough to make it for me. Thanks in advance.

For my main dish I had the “Fried quinoa & polenta. Tandoori roasted summer squash, quinoa greens, Romesco sauce & summer savory”. So delicious, and very hearty. This was a gourmet version of comfort food, the flavors leaning just slightly towards Italian, with the nice sweet twist of corn from the polenta and the refreshingly bitter bite from the earthy greens. It was excellent, and I left hardly a drop or crumble behind on my plate.

…which certainly didn’t stop us from ordering dessert: “Fresh local raspberries with coconut custard, brown sugar sauce, pistachios & phyllo cookies“. Yeah, the picture looks a bit of a mess, and it kind of was, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t taste great. It had a really nice mix of sweet and tart, the phyllo and sugar reminding me of baklava, and the coconut custard reminding me of very decadent Thai desserts.

Overall all, an excellent meal. The service is often complained about in various online reviews that I’ve read, but our waiter was friendly, informative and attentive. There was no wait, we walked right in and were seated and served immediately, which apparently isn’t usually the case either.

Now one controversy which does not sit well with me at all is that Nutshell is owned by the same person who owns another popular Portland restaurant, Ten-01, which serves foie gras (foie gras is a “delicacy” of fattened duck liver acquired by inhumanely force-feeding the birds until their livers are diseased and swollen well beyond normal… one of the most vile, unnatural and cruel things anyone could ever consider eating). So on the one hand, I am guilty of putting money directly into the pockets of a man who’s got disgusting foie gras on one of his menus, and on the other hand, I just ate one of the most unique & delicious, locally grown, vegan meals I’ve ever tried. Oh the irony and moral dilemma of it all! Knowing what I know now I probably wouldn’t go back and support this place if I lived there despite the amazing food, but I don’t live there, so I will leave it up to you to sort out your own ethics on the matter (to clarify: Nutshell is all vegan, the foie gras is on the menu at another restaurant by the same owner). I’ve done my part in giving you the facts. I’d love to be able to whole-heartedly recommend Nutshell to you based on the great food alone, but doing so without providing the above background info would be remiss. Maybe if enough people make a stink about this, something will eventually change. If not, at least you’ve got my pictures to show you what you’re deliberately not eating for a good cause.
www.nutshellpdx.com

Stayed tuned for ‘Foodeater Does Vegan Portland’, Pt. 2!

I’d like to thank all of you who took the time to send me your very helpful Portland food suggestions… as you’ll soon see I took you up on many of them! Special shout-outs are in order for both Stumptown Vegans and Veganazi, both being Portland based vegan restaurant blogs, and both being indispensable in my research of veg places to visit while putting together my itinerary. Your city rules and so do you.

Thank you also of course to OrganicGirl and The WolfMan for your steadfast and admirable foodeating abilities. I could not have accomplished this indulgent feat of feasting without you.

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UPDATE- AUGUST 27: Word on the streets is that Nutshell has now bowed into the wrong kind of pressure… rather than the owner removing foie gras from his other menu, he’s changed the menu at Nutshell from being all vegan to now being only vegetarian… eggs and dairy are on the new menu. True, at least it’s still a vegetarian place, but I seriously doubt this new menu is going to do much to help their business, and will only add to the controversy of why some people just won’t go there.

Awww… two of my wonderful readers have both decided to nominate me for the “Brillante Weblog Award”, which basically means none other than that they think I’m rad. Or rather, that my blog is rad. And how cool is it that I too in turn hold their sites in equally high esteem?

Liz at ¡Yo Soy! calls To Live and Eat in L.A.:

“the definitive L.A. vegan blog”.

Kirby Von Scrumptious had this to say:

“I think this blog has already been nominated for this award, but whatever — this is an AWESOME site, and it showcases some of the best vegan food in Los Angeles. I was so depressed when it went on hiatus for a month, and I am so pumped that she is back up and running!!”

Sorry I left you hanging there for a bit Kirby, but I’m back with a vengence! Many thanks to you both!

Along with this honor it is expected that I will in turn pass on the love and nominate 7 of my favorite blogs. Let me see what gems I can dig up for you:

Teenage Glutster: This by far one of my favorite food blogs. The Glutster is not a vegetarian, though he does love veggie food. See, the thing is… he likes ALL food, labels need not apply. This young man is an eating powerhouse and his love & passion for food are both frightening and exhilarating in their ferocity. I’m hoping he writes a book someday so that I can read it. And one of these days I will meet him for lunch (I promise).

Vegan Bits: A husband & wife run Los Angeles vegan food blog that covers restaurants as well as product reviews and current topics in veganism. I like that they don’t shy away from giving their opinions on controversial topics, and I find that I’m often in agreement with the side they take on matters. Always a good read.

Where’s the Revolution?: Always with the food porn here, and Bazu travels all over the place and shows you what to eat once she gets there.

VeganYumYum: Beautifully photographed step-by-step recipes. It’s like having the most amazing vegan chef holding your hand while you glide effortlessly through your kitchen.

Vegan Tickles: What’s better: the delicious looking food that she cooks or the super cool action figures she poses it with? Thankfully I don’t have to choose!

Vegan Visitor: One of the most beautiful sites out there, run by a professional chef, food photographer & stylist. And it shows.

Your Vegan Mom: I’m constantly inspired by how she’s able to juggle being a mom to an adorable monkey, an amazing home-chef and a super groovy chic all at the same time (who frequently eats and writes about great L.A. restaurants as well). She’s always cooking up something healthy and delicious looking in her kitchen, seemingly out of thin air.

Well I’m only allowed seven, but you know I’d be listing many more if I could. I guess that’s what my blogroll is for over yonder on the right. Visit all these sites I’ve just told you about because they’re great… then visit all the rest because they are great too!

p.s… Sorry if you are noticing some non-vegetarian ads running. My sponsor is not supposed to be putting that sort of thing up on here but apparently some setting has changed somewhere. I don’t want to see that stuff any more than you do… rest assured I’m on it.

You’ve seen & heard me rave on about the alarmingly good food at Vinh Loi Tofu. Vinh Loi is in my opinion not just one of the best vegan restaurants in Los Angeles, but some of the best food, of any kind, anywhere. I’m so not exaggerating. The food that Kevin Tran brings out from that tiny little window in the wall behind him takes flavor and ingenuity to an entirely new level. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hardcore vegan or a guiltless meatlover, the meals being served at Vinh Loi transcend all such labels.

If you’ve been there before one of the first things you noticed was how tiny the place was. Cute and clean, but very small, with a little market area in the back. The exciting news is that all this has changed! The big counter that took up a lot of the front room has been replaced with a much nicer and smaller unit, opening up a large area of the restaurant for more tables and chairs, it’s a lot less crowded now. Also the market area has been removed, creating even more seating in the back. It’s now a really comfortable space for a sit down meal (it was ok before but this new layout is a big improvement).

More importantly, not only is there now a nice new color menu with pictures, but Kevin is also constantly creating new dishes and re-inventing old ones… for example, he is indeed now serving his very own version of vegan Pho. That’s right folks, you heard it here first! Go try it… tell me how it is, I haven’t had it yet. See all those tantalizing looking dishes up on the wall? Those are just some of the newer dishes added since the menu was printed. The hardest thing about eating at Vinh Loi is deciding what to order!

And decide I eventually did. For this visit I picked the Curry Udon with Chicken.

The chicken, vegan of course, is made from some magical concoction which once began as a soybean. What I can tell you is that it’s unlike any sort of fake meat items you’ve ever tried, tasting both authentic and yet not so real that it’s too real, with flavors that just burst in your mouth of heat and ginger and lemongrass and multitudes of goodness unrecognizable to mere mortals such as myself. There’s no point in thinking of it as a meat substitute, it’s something else entirely. And that’s only the chicken…

The curry covering these perfectly cooked udon noodles is simply not something that my limited culinary vocabulary is able to properly describe or do justice. This is by far one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. Seriously, there’s no way around it, these noodles are just phenomenal. The flavor starts off for me as a Japanese style curry, but how it takes off from there in it’s entirely own directions is something of legends. This is the curry of the Gods right here. There’s plenty of veggies in there as well, cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, and as you can see a giant heap of fresh and glorious cilantro. The chilies are too hot for me even though I do like things rather spicy, but if you can take the heat these will rock your socks off.

I’m telling you, this dish kicks all kinds of ass, proving once more that vegan food isn’t all pansy-hippy-granola. There’s at least 30 or more new dishes up on that wall that I haven’t tried yet… what’s a girl to do?! Vinh Loi’s also now got extended hours (open everyday from 9am to 9pm!) and a brand spanking new website as well, so click on over, then drive on out to humble Reseda to get your serious eating on: www.vinhloitofu.com

My advice? Go hungry… go very, very hungry!

I’m planning a romp through Portland, Oregon next weekend and hope to fit in as much awesome eating as is physically possible while visiting this vegan mecca.

While I’ve been pouring over all the vegan PDX food blogs and compiling quite a list of great ideas, I’d love to hear any last minute, non-obvious suggestions if anyone’s got any “must try” tips for while I’m there. Like, what’s the most amazing vegan thing that I absolutely have to eat while in town? Non-food tips and cool event suggestions welcome as well (not much of a drinker so you don’t need to tell me about your favorite pubs). Please reply in the comments… and thanks in advance! Expect a full report when I return, if I can fit back in the plane.

Update: I’m back!
Thank you ALL for your fine tips and suggestions, many of which were indeed followed, utilized and enjoyed. Stay tuned for a full report on all the massive quantities of delicious food that was consumed in PDX… I think I may have left you all with a shortage :) I’m closing the comments on this post because it’s making me feel guilty that people are still leaving helpful hints now that I’m already back home.

Hello friends! It’s been a long and introspective one month plus since you last heard from me, the time away was much needed. I’d like to thank you all once again for your kind words and thoughts during what was a whopper of an ordeal for me… and I’m so glad you’ve stuck around because I’ve got a ton of food tales and photos to get you caught up on. I have a feeling that some of my groupies out there are at the edge of their seats in anticipation of some drool-worthy vegan food porn, so how about we just dispense with the niceties and get to the heart of the matter? In this particular case, the heart of the matter equals breakfast.

One of the upsides of personal calamities is that they tend to make me forget all about being on a diet… which brings me back to breakfast. This is one of the fabulous vegan tofu scrambles at Real Food Daily. I can’t remember the exact name and try as I might I cannot find their breakfast menu online anywhere, but whatever it’s called just know that it’s divine. From what I recall it involved avocado, tomatoes and spinach topped with their yummy cashew cheese sauce which comes in regular or jalepeno. I, being a devotee of spice chose the later. This came served with hemp bread, vegan butter and choice of fruit or hash browns (I already mentioned throwing diets and giving a shit about carbs to the wind, right?).

Here we have yet another scrumdidliumptious breakfast at Real Food Daily, which you might have figured it out by now is one of my favorite places for a delicious and comforting morning meal (not that I would turn down a visit for lunch or dinner either). This time around it was the omelet with avocado, spinach, spicy cashew cheese along with tempeh bacon. Their tempeh bacon is to die for… a perfect texture and smoky flavor that to someone like me who hasn’t eaten bacon in many years, tastes awfully baconish (in a good way). The omelet itself is a thing of beauty… far surpassing anything that would come from an egg. It was crispy on the outside with a well-cooked eggy feel on the inside… both chewy and flaky at the same time. I absolutely loved it and ate up every last crumb of the stuff. I had the hemp toast again but this time opted for fruit instead of potatoes.

As far as I’m concerned, you can’t go wrong with breakfast at Real Food Daily. FYI, I’m talking about the West Hollywood location, I have not been to the one in Santa Monica yet. Despite the not cheap prices (come on, it’s all organic, kosher & rad) and regardless of the occasionally hard-to-find parking and often über-hipster/celebrity patrons, the food at this place truly is good: real, healthy and unpretentious. The next time you’re feeling like crap and are up and mobile before 3pm (on a Sunday… just found out this is the only day they do brunch), head on over there and set yourself up with a plate full of anything on their breakfast/brunch menu and you’re sure to leave feeling a lot more positive about the day ahead of you.

On that note, here’s to moving forward and feeling good. See you all soon with more gastronomic indulgences!

Dear readers, friends and strangers alike,

I’m just stopping in for a quick note to let you all know that I haven’t disappeared and I’m certainly not ignoring you or this blog. This past week has been one of the worst ever for me… first, one of my very best friends ever since Jr. High school was killed in a tragic and senseless accident. Then, just two days later, my beloved kitty had to unexpectedly be put to sleep. She was 14 years old and I’ve raised her as my own baby since she was 3 1/2 weeks old. You can imagine the shock and grief that I am attempting to cope with right now. As they say… “when it rains, it pours”. At this moment I am in the midst of a perfect storm.

I haven’t written this to make you all sad. In fact I’m doing my best to try and focus on the happy memories that I shared with these two beautiful girls and that’s helping me to get through the hardest parts. Mainly I just want you to know that my absence is only temporary (who wants to eat at a time like this, you know?), and that I will be back soon with some new and delicious posts for you, as well as to reply to the many great comments you’ve all been leaving. They are all appreciated as always.

So please do keep on checking in, and for goodness sake don’t unsubscribe from my RSS feed! I’ll be back before you know it to tease and taunt you with more tantalizing food porn and then once again, all of your diets will be in jeopardy.

In the meantime, please go and hug all of your loved ones, both human and animal, and squeeze them so tightly that you make them squeak. Then, hug them some more.

So guess what? The results of Robin Robertson’s Couscous Cake contest are in and my recipe was awarded 3rd place! You have no idea how cool that is! Once you see all the other amazing submissions that she received, you’ll realize just what an honor it is to have been chosen for 3rd place… by a panel of judges no less! To see the other winners and rest of the top contenders along with their creative & delicious creations, please click on over to Robin’s Vegan Planet website. What follows is my submission for the contest… enjoy!

Apple Pie Couscous Cake (vegan)

1 cup drained silken tofu
1 cup baked apples *
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup apple juice
pinch salt
1 cup instant couscous

For frosting:
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup cream cheese (Tofutti)
1/2 cup light coconut milk

Ok, first things first. I am not a cook. Nor am I a baker or a dessert maker (or a candlestick maker for that matter). I’ve never baked an apple pie before. In fact, I’ve never baked any sort of pie. Or cake. That said, and having already successfully tried my hand at Robin’s no-bake Pumpkin Rum Couscous Cake (minus the rum), I thought I could probably pull off my idea for an apple pie inspired couscous cake for this contest. Here’s what I came up with, along with very helpful suggestions along the way from my mom (someone who actually does know how to cook).

* The first step was to bake the apples. I roughly chopped 3 large green Granny Smith apples and placed them into a baking dish along with 1/2 cup of butter (Earth Balance), 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. This was put into a pre-heated 350 degree oven. After 10 minutes I took it out to stir and realized now that the butter was melted that I’d used too much of it (1/4 cup should be more than enough). I wanted the apples and sugar to caramelize and that wasn’t going to happen with all this liquid, so I spooned out quite a bit of the butter, then put it back in for another 30 minutes (stirring every 10).

Next, I made the couscous mix as called for in Robin’s original recipe: In a medium sized sauce pan, combine apple juice, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and pinch of salt, bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in the couscous. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off heat and let stand 5 minutes.

While the couscous did it’s thing, I made the tofu mixture. Into the blender went 1 cup silken tofu, 1 cup of the baked apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. This was blended until smooth yet still slightly chunk with soft apple pieces.

Once the couscous was ready I transferred it to a large bowl and combined with the tofu and apple mix until well blended. This was then spread into a lightly oiled 9″ spring form pan, pressed in firmly and evenly. The rest of the baked apples were then spread on top of the cake. This was placed into the refrigerator and chilled overnight.

The next day I made the delicious frosting. I was going for a cashew cream sauce that I was going to pour along the top of the cake and have run down the sides, but what I came up with instead was a much thicker sort of topping which ended up even tastier than I’d imagined it would.

Into the food processor first went the cashews and dates, processed until the nuts were chopped and the dates in pieces. I then added in the cream cheese and coconut milk and processed until it reached a creamy, pasty consistency.

I then applied the frosting to the cake while it was still in the spring form pan. I spooned it on around the apples in the center, using my fingers to get it on firmly and evenly. I was afraid that the frosting would pull away when I took the sides off the pan, but thankfully it did not. I was also pleased and relieved that the cake did not fall apart :)

I then decorated the cake with a more cashew nuts and frosting.

The verdict:

It was really good! I was pleasantly surprised that it worked as well as it did. It was actually quite tasty and pretty close to how I’d envisioned it in my mind. Not exactly, but pretty close. I think it could have done with a bit more sugar and cinnamon, and my mom concurred. Mostly I think it’s the idea that’s a winner, if not the execution.

I think this concept of the apple pie couscous cake is a really good one, and in the hands of a real cook who already knows how to bake a mean apple pie… well, that person could adjust the flavors like a pro and probably make something incredible out of this. It sure was fun to try and make it though… and even more fun to eat it!