Woodbridge Pub - Summer Menu 2012

Woodbridge Pub recently introduced their summer menu and Brian and I stopped in last weekend to check it out.  As usual, there are quite a few vegan options.

Appetizers: Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, Grilled Vegetables
Soup: Gazpacho
Sandwiches: Stever McFever, White Bean Burger (both menu mainstays)
Entree: Ratatouille
Sides: Sweet Corn Salad, Cilantro Rice, Summer Vegetable Saute 

I wanted to try a few things (um, everything) so I ordered an appetizer, soup, and a side.  Our server was SO excited that I was getting three things.  He said, "I see what you're doing . . . and I LIKE it!"  Then he called me a rock star!  And when he brought me all my food out at once, I sure felt like one.  Or a food critic.  But I like rock star better.

Okay, so I went with the gazpacho, the grilled vegetables, and the sweet corn salad.  All of them were delicious, all of them are highly recommended, and all of them I would get again.  My favorite was by far the gazpacho.  So let's start with that.

Gazpacho - $3.50 (cup), $4.50 (bowl)

I've never really given gazpacho much of a chance.  Mostly because it's cold and to me cold soup just doesn't seem natural.  But on a 90 degree day, it really hit the spot!  The fresh tomatoes, basil, melon, and lime were a perfect flavor combination and it had just the right amount of spice to it.  I could have easily eaten more than one bowl of this!

Grilled Vegetables - $9.00

The grilled vegetable appetizer made a great mini-meal for one.  The zucchini, peppers, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, and yellow squash were grilled in olive oil and salt and came with some sort of oil and vinegar on the side for dipping and/or drizzling (I didn't try it, though).  There was also a baguette on the side.  The bread was good and I dipped it in my soup but it had a lot of oil on it.  Next time I will ask for it without any oil.  (I gave half of the slices to Brian to go with his pasta.)

Sweet Corn Salad - $4.00

While the sweet corn salad side dish didn't exactly go with my soup and vegetables, it did taste amazing!  Fresh, crisp corn mixed with peppers and cilantro and some kind of light dressing.  This would go well with the guacamole or pico de gallo and the Stever McFever black bean burger.   

I'm looking forward to going back to try the ratatouille and the other side dishes.  If I can get myself to order more than just the gazpacho, that is!

Woodbridge Pub is located at 5169 Trumbull in Detroit

Green Dot Stables - Detroit, MI

A few weeks ago Brian and I went to Green Dot Stables, a horse and jockey-themed bar and restaurant in Corktown.  It has apparently been there for a long time but recently reopened under new management and with a different menu that features mainly gourmet sliders, along with a few sides, salads, and soups.  Each item on the menu is either $2 or $3.  That even includes drinks!  How can you go wrong?

 

Two notable features of the outside are the horse statue on the roof and the big parking lot.  The parking lot alone is almost reason enough to go there!  (ha ha!)  The inside is pretty cool - lots of wood paneling and brick, a big bar, and all sorts of horse-racing memorabilia.  I'm not into all that but it's got a neat vibe to it. (What should a vegan's stand on horse-racing be?  I'm not sure.  But I must admit, it was kind of fun when a bunch of people were betting on a horse race while we were there!)

Anyway, we sat at a little table near the bar and when our server came over I said, "I'm SO excited to be here!"  He was like, "Oh, okay then.  Well, I'm excited you're here too."  (He wasn't.)  Why was I so excited to be there?  Because they have a [VG] on their menu to indicate which items are vegan!  Wahoo!

There are two vegan sliders - the Black Bean and the PB&J.  Since they are relatively small, I ordered two black bean sliders.  (I can make a PB&J at home any day of the week.)  Were they the best black bean burgers I've ever had?  No, that title belongs to Woodbridge Pub.  But they were tasty, nonetheless, and came with fresh tomato and mixed greens.  No sauce, though, so I added ketchup and mustard.  The one disappointment was the bun.  I guess that's a slider for you but I would have preferred something more than just a plain white bun.

Black Bean Slider - $3

One of the most impressive menu items is their Kale Salad, which is kale, quinoa, lemon juice, and shallots.  Kale and quinoa at a slider joint?  Nice work, Green Dot!  It was really delicious, too.

Kale Salad - $3

Of their 7 different flavors of fries (you read that right - SEVEN), 5 of them are vegan.  As I mentioned in my last post, I rarely eat fries, but I was quite hungry and the Malt Vinegar fries sounded so tasty that I caved and ordered them.  Plus they have the little [VG] by them on the menu so I felt a lot better about ordering them here than at most places.  Brian ordered the Truffle & Herb flavor, which are also vegan.  Mine were good but by the end they were just a bit too salty.  His, on the other hand, were awesome down to the last fry.  I may have to rethink my fry philosophy if we start dining at Green Dot more often . . .

Truffle & Herb Fries (background) - $3, Malt Vinegar Fries (foreground) - $2

If you haven't been to Green Dot Stables, definitely check it out.  Most of the sliders are meat so the vegan options are limited but hey, there are actual vegan options on the menu.  And around these parts, we have to take what we can get! 

Green Dot Stables is located at 2200 West Lafayette, Detroit, 48216

Jazzy Veggie - Ann Arbor, MI

Back at the beginning of June when I ran the DX-A2 1/2 marathon, Brian and I stopped in at Jazzy Veggie for dinner after the race expo.  I'd been wanting to try out this casual vegan eatery since it opened in late 2010 but just hadn't made it there until now.  We were greeted by the owner, Ananth Pullela, who enthusiastically welcomed us to his restaurant, went over the menu, and made recommendations based on our tastes and preferences.  

I decided to go with the Heart Smart Fries, which are baked (wahoo!) sweet potato fries and the Sweet Potato Quinoa Burger.  Do I love sweet potatoes?  Why yes.  Yes I do.  Let me first say that I rarely order fries.  Ever.  Why?  A) they are unhealthy, B) they generally make me feel sick and C) I don't trust the other non-vegan items they are fried with (such as buttermilk battered chicken fingers and cream cheese jalapeno poppers) not to get on my fries.  But baked sweet potato fries at an all-vegan restaurant?  Bring 'em on!  Were they awesome?  Why yes.  Yes they were.  Especially dipped in the balsamic ketchup.  YUM!

Heart Smart Fries - $3.95

The Sweet Potato Quinoa Burger was amazing!  The texture and flavor was very unique - definitely not your typical black bean or veggie burger.  It was more soft than crisp but held it's shape when I ate it.  It was topped with a red curry dressing that added a nice subtle flavor.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Burger w/ Tuscan coleslaw and pickle - $7.50

For an appetizer, Brian ordered the crab cakes.  He loves real crab cakes and these turned out to be pretty comparable to the real thing.  They were crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside, and had a "fishy" flavor to them.  I just had a small bite since they were fried and I had plenty of other food to eat.  I did think they were tasty, though.

Crab Cakes - $5.75

Brian also ordered the Pesto Pasta, which had huge artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, yellow squash, and zucchini.  I'm not a fan of pesto (too much garlic) but this had more of a lemony flavor and wasn't overly garlicky.  I'm still not sure if I could have handled a whole dish but I liked the bite or two that I tried.  Brian really enjoyed it.

Pesto Pasta - $8.95

On our way out I grabbed a piece of carrot cake to take home for dessert later.  I love carrot cake so I was pretty stoked to try it.  Unfortunately it was just "eh."  It was kind of dry and didn't really have a lot of flavor.  Some frosting would have helped combat the dryness.  They also had chocolate cake.  Maybe that's a better choice. 

Carrot Cake (sorry, I lost my receipt but I think it was around $4)

All in all, we were really happy with our meal at Jazzy Veggie.  I think it would be a great place to take anyone for lunch or dinner because even though it's all-vegan, the dishes are flavorful, appealing, and there is enough variety that no one (veg or otherwise) should miss the meat and cheese.

Jazzy Veggie is located at 108 S.Main St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Have you eaten at Jazzy Veggie?

Vegan Eats in Denver

On Friday, Brian and I packed our bags and headed to Denver for the weekend to celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary.  Why Denver?  We went for a special 2-night Wilco show at Red Rocks Amphitheater.  It was a package deal that included a hotel room, tickets to both shows, posters, tee shirts, shuttle rides to and from the show, and a "VERY (i.e. FREE) Happy Hour" before the show on Saturday.  

Now, the question you're asking is why Wilco?  Well, Brian is a huge fan and they're a band that have pretty much been with us throughout our relationship.  Unlike Ben Folds, however, this is not a band we both already loved - Brian introduced me to Wilco very shortly after we met when he handed me Summerteeth and held his breath while I gave it a listen.  I loved every song (huge sigh of relief from Brian).  Their subsequent albums haven't always kept me quite as awake as that one, however, and I have a tendency to get, um, sleepy at their shows.  It's a running joke that I fall asleep at every other Wilco show we go to.  (Sad but true.)  So although they are definitely more Brian's band than mine, they put on a great show and I was excited to spend the weekend in Denver with Brian.  So off we went.

First off, let me say that this isn't going to be one of my typical "Vegan Eats" posts because it was such a short stay in Denver.  We were just there for the weekend.  Plus we had weird timing issues with meals so really only ate at one actual restaurant.  But it was a good one.

1201 16th Street (16th Street Mall)

On Friday we ate a late lunch at The Mellow Mushroom. I was excited to find this place because they have a lot of salads, including a build your own option.  They also have tempeh, a variety of different tofu flavors, and gluten-free pizza.  I'm not sure if their crust is vegan -  I was going to ask but then ended up not getting pizza so I didn't find out.  Brian was just excited because they had pizza.  Period.

 

So, like I said I went with the Build Your Own salad option.  Oh, this is funny.  When our server came over to the table I said, "I'm so excited to be here because you have lots of salads!"  He was a little taken aback and just sort of laughed.  I think my enthusiasm about salads was not something he sees everyday.  I think it's to be commended.  He turned out to be funny and a pretty guy cool.  His name was Mike and he just completed Tough Mudder two weeks ago in Colorado.  Now that's a SERIOUS event, what with the snow and the altitude!  So we traded a few stories and he promised to check out my blog.  I promised to put up his picture and let it be known that he's the best server ever.  So hopefully he checks this out. 

Mike - our server and fellow Tough Mudder

Anyway, back to the Build Your Own salad.  Here's how it works, vegan-style: 

1. Choose a base, either romaine, spinach, spring mix, or salad mix - or you can mix any two. 
2. Load up on veggies
3. Choose your cheese - they do have Daiya, if you're down with that
4. Add protein - avocado, tempeh, tofu, or BBQ tofu
5. Dressing - balsamic vinaigrette, oil and vinegar, herb vinaigrette

Here's a picture of my super awesome salad:

My Build Your Own Salad came out to be $12.25

My salad included the following romaine and spring mix, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, Roma tomatoes, portabello mushrooms, avocado, tempeh, and plain balsamic vinegar - no oil.  (Mike was kind enough to hunt down the balsamic for me and joked that he painstakingly separated the vinegar from the oil, just for me.  That's how awesome they are at the Mellow Mushroom.)  Even though it was pricey, it was an absolutely delicious salad with really fresh, flavorful ingredients.  And it was super filling with the mushroom, avocado, and tempeh.

Brian had the Magical Mystery Tour pizza, which was vegetarian but not vegan (it had cheese).  He loved it and I have to say that it looked and smelled amazing!  I would definitely recommend checking out the Mellow Mushroom if you're in Denver.  And be sure to ask for Mike!  He'd love to separate out some balsamic for you.  (But it is a chain so there are multiple locations across the U.S. - check the website for other cities/states.)

Like I said, our eating schedule was off so we didn't really check out any other "new" and exciting vegan places to write about.  Pretty much everything we ate is your typical "fast food" vegan fare - a Veggie Delite sandwich from Subway, oatmeal from Starbucks, a fruit bowl from Corner Bakery, and fruit and oatmeal at a restaurant at the airport (though I have a sneaking suspicion the "Irish" oats was actually from a packet and may not have been exactly vegan . . .)

Fresh fruit bowl from Corner Bakery

Despite the heat, we actually spent a lot of time outside and got in a good deal of walking up and down 16th Street Mall, which is a popular shopping area in Downtown Denver.  We didn't do much actual shopping - mostly just walked up and down and checked out the area, people-watched, etc.   

There were a lot of cool pianos on 16th Street, which were usually being used by street performers, but Brian found one unoccupied and sat down to play a tune.  He didn't play long enough for anyone to give him any money, but I think if he'd remembered to wear a hat and put that down on the ground, someone might have tossed in some change.

I mentioned that part of the Wilco package included a "VERY Happy Hour" at Rock Bottom Brewery.  We hung out with some really cool people whom we'd met at the show the night before.  Well, despite having already eaten and being what I thought was properly hydrated, I learned the hard way what drinking wine at a higher altitude can do to you when I took advantage of free drinks.  SO, upon arriving at Red Rocks, I was in desperate need of some food.  Brian quickly found a sourdough soft pretzel for me.  It was totally plain - no butter or sugar like most people order them so the girl who sold it to us thought we were a little nuts - and I just hoped to God the dough itself was vegan.  (Please don't tell me if you know otherwise.)  I really needed to eat that pretzel.  And then another one.  Damn that altitude!

Mmmmm, pretzel!

Back to Wilco.  Both shows were amazing.  The first night probably more so for me because A) we were center stage, row 2, B) the opening band - The Punch Brothers - were fantastic, and C) I stayed awake.  More than the second night at least.  Obviously, C was a huge factor in my enjoyment of the show.  Ah well.  I should most definitely stay awake the next time I see them!  Maybe even the next two times.  I don't know, though.  That just might be pushing it . . .

 View from our seats (not zoomed in) - we were actually this close!

I'd love to go back to Colorado and spend more time checking out other cities, doing some hiking, seeing some mountains, and trying to run.  Although I have to say that even just walking there nearly killed me!  Okay, slight exaggeration but when the temperature on Saturday reached 102 degrees even stepping outside you could almost feel the life get sucked out of you.  Maybe we'll go back in the spring or fall.  Anyway, I'd definitely love to return to Red Rocks for another concert and also to run the stairs there.  It would be one hell of a workout!

There are 69 rows of benches at Red Rocks - that's a lot of stairs!

Although it was just a quick weekend trip and the heat and altitude kicked our asses (mine more than Brian's thanks my wine at the Wilco party), we had a fabulous time.  We'll add Colorado to our ever-growing list of states to visit again!

Have you been to Denver or Red Rocks?

Vegan Eats in San Francisco

In April, Brian and I took an unprecedented spring break vacation to California.  It was unprecedented because A. Brian never takes time off when I'm on spring break and  B. We've never been to California together (in fact, I've never been to California at all).  It was a much-needed break for both of us.

We flew out on Easter Sunday afternoon and stayed until Friday morning.  Although San Francisco is a relatively small city - 7 miles each way - there is so much to do there that we easily could have spent another couple of days.  Had I not had the misfortune of losing my iPhone (er, being pick-pocketed) on the bus and needing to spend several hours (on multiple occasions) in the Apple store buying a new one and downloading my stuff from iCloud, we may have also had more time.  And money.  But that's neither here nor there.  

Anywhooo, we really packed it in with the time we had.  We did a LOT of walking (my, oh, my is it hilly!), spent some time at Fisherman's Wharf, saw sea lions, hung off cable cars, visited Alcatraz, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, went on a Sonoma County wine tour with Terrific Tours (best wine tour EVER - highly recommend!), drove to Apple HQ and Stanford, saw the Painted Ladies from "Full House", and went to the M. Ward concert at the Fillmore.

Here are a few pics (courtesy of Brian):

And now, onto the food!  Because of my phone being stolen and some software issues with the new one, not all of my photos uploaded to iCloud and subsequently were lost.  I apologize.  (Insert super-sad face here.)

Chabaa - We found Chabaa around the block from our hotel.  We're not sure if this was really the best Thai food we'd ever eaten or if we were just so hungry that anything would have tasted good!  The curry sauce was so creamy and delicious (almost buttery from the coconut milk) and I loved that they had the option of brown rice over white and fresh tofu over fried.  Best Easter dinner EVER!

Chabaa is just a tiny little place - but with Thai places, isn't smaller always better? 

Red curry w/ brown rice and fresh tofu

Starbucks - We went to Starbucks nearly every day for breakfast.  Brian had oatmeal and I had a multigrain bagel and banana.  We each had a Pike Place coffee.  Breakfast of champions!

Millennium - Although Millennium is one of San Francisco's premier vegan restaurants, you don't have to dress up to go there.  A gourmet restaurant you can go to wearing jeans and flip flops?  That's my kind of place!  I'd read about Millennium in VegNews but it was actually Brian who suggested it after reading the Steve Jobs biography.  Steve was a fan of jeans and flip flops, as well.  And vegan food.  Yay, Steve!

You'll need to make a reservation when you dine at Millennium.  Due to a glitch in Google Maps that sent us to their old location - and a slight, um layover, at the Apple Store - we were almost late to ours.  But nothing a little power-walking couldn't take care of!  We made it right on time and boy, pre-dinner drinks never tasted so good.  (It had been a stressful few hours.)

The menu at Millennium is very impressive.  We spent quite a bit of time poring over it, trying to decide what to order.  Finally we settled on the following: 

• Black Bean Torte (appetizer) - with caramelized plantains, smokey black bean puree, and pumpkin-habenero papazul
• Seared Polenta Nera (my entree) - with butter beans, leeks, mushrooms, bitter greens salad, roasted fennel, seared rapini, and green peppercorn relish
• Pumpkin Seed & Cornmeal Crusted Portabello Mushroom (Brian's entree) - with masa arepa, yellow eye bean and corn hominy stew with coconut & aji chile, and sauteed greens
• Seasonal Sorbet & Ice Cream Sampler (my dessert) - flavors change daily; I can't remember what mine were because they were unusual but deeelish!
• Terrine (Brian's dessert) - a layered chocolate thing with ganache topping; very rich but he loved it
• Sweet Endings - cookies and truffles (On the house!  A surprise for our troubles finding their new location.  Now that's what I call sweet - HA!)

Seared Polenta Nera (prepared low-oil, per my request)

All the food at Millennium was delicious.  We loved the fresh, innovative ingredients and the unique combinations.  It was wonderful to see so many fresh vegetables mixed together to create a delicious dish rather than a few vegetables and a whole lot of rice, which is so often the case with vegan dishes around here.  

Although we may have overdone it a bit on dessert and left feeling pretty stuffed, we knew we had a week of walking ahead of us so we weren't too concerned.  (Well, Brian is NEVER concerned and I knew I would work out in the morning PLUS have a week of walking ahead of us so...)

Sunflower Caffe Espresso and Wine Bar - We ate at the Sunflower Caffe during our Sonoma County wine tour.  There weren't really any vegan offerings so I just had my Larabar and ordered a smoothie.  We all sat out back on the patio with heat lamps (it was a damp, dreary day) and enjoyed a cozy lunch together.

The Plant Cafe - We went to The Plant Cafe after our day of wine tasting.  We had been to 3 wineries and a tasting room (a tasting room with FIVE Pinot Noirs).  I hadn't eaten much along the way so by the third winery I was River-dancing and cracking inappropriate jokes with my fellow wine-tasters.  I needed a hearty meal STAT.  The Plant Cafe came to my rescue.  I ordered the Wasabi Plant Burger, which is made from lentils, beets, cashews, mushrooms, bulgar wheat and topped with sauerkraut, wasabi, and raspberry aioli.  It was an incredible burger and totally hit the spot!  It also came with mixed greens and herb-roasted potatoes.  Brian had an asparagus pizza, which he liked a lot.  There are several locations; we ate at the Embarcadero Pier 3 restaurant.

Wasabi Plant Burger on sourdough

Water!

Yoshi's Jazz Club - We ate dinner here before the M. Ward show at the Fillmore.  Yoshi's is a swanky jazz club/Japanese restaurant.  There was live music playing during dinner, which was cool.  Although it was quite swanky (yes, I'm repeating that word because it's truly the best descriptor I can think of for Yoshi's), we didn't feel under-dressed in our jeans.  That's what I love about San Francisco!

The food was pretty good.  For an appetizer we ordered the Asparagus and Beet Salad.  As the name implies, it was only asparagus and beets but it had both green and white asparagus and red and yellow beets.  It was drizzled with a sesame dressing.  VERY flavorful!

Asparagus and Beet Salad

Instead of an entree I ordered another salad and a sushi roll.  The salad was Grilled Vegetables - nasu, kabocha, zucchini, shiitake & enoki mushrooms - with a spicy miso and wasabi yuzu aioli for dipping.  This was an amazing salad!  I could have eaten two of them.  Unfortunately, the sushi roll was not nearly as fabulous as the salads.  It was a standard veggie roll and was just sort of "eh."  Kind of bland, although it did have a rather interesting sauce in addition to the wasabi.  Too bad it needed the extra sauce, ya know?  Ah well. 

Coupa Cafe - Coupa Cafe is located on the campus of Stanford University, which is an absolutely gorgeous campus.  We walked around it one morning for a couple of hours and stopped here for breakfast.  I had an amazing fruit salad and a bagel.  And a coffee, of course.  With cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.  Mmmm...

Greens Restaurant - Another Steve Jobs' favorite, it was rather funny how determined Brian was to get to Greens.  [Side note, the day we went was when we'd done our build-your-own Silicon Valley tour that included a Steve Jobs' former home drive-by and a stop at Apple HQ.]  Due to yet another stop at the Apple Store, we were forced to make a reservation that was late even for us.  We took a bus, walked several blocks in the wind and rain, and finally made it it to Greens looking a bit disheveled.  Lucky for us, like Millennium, this is another one of those upscale/casual eateries so we were okay.

The menu at Greens changes daily based on what the chef sources from the local farmers' market each week.  Everything is local, seasonal, and organic.  Everything is vegetarian and I was told that anything that is not vegan can easily be made so.  It all sounded fresh and innovative.  We went with a sampler plate for an appetizer, which included quinoa salad, hummus, grilled artichoke, three beet salad, spicy tomato jam, grilled pita, and olives.  We both agreed that the quinoa salad with fruit and pistachios was the best part.

Spring Sampler

I also ordered Moroccan Lentil Soup and for my entree I had Mesquite Grilled Brochettes, which were tofu and veggie kebabs with carrot slaw and rice.  They were good but I asked for the half order and received the full.  Should I have said something?  Yes.  Should I have eaten just one kebab?  Yes.  Did I instead keep eating until my plate was clean?  YES!  Ah well.  I did mention I was hungry, right?  Neither Brian nor I remember what he ordered, but whatever it was, it was good.

Farm : Table - I didn't see any vegan breakfast sandwiches or pastries at Farm : Table but this tiny little coffee shop brewed me the best cup of coffee (next to Astro).  Bonus points for having homemade almond milk!

That was our trip!  There were several restaurants on my list that I didn't get to try (and other city sights to see) but we definitely have plans to return to San Francisco in the near future.   

Have you been to San Francisco?  What are your favorite veg restaurants/places to visit?

Seva Detroit

Last night Brian and I took our good friends Aaron and Terry to Seva.  Not only was it their first trip to Seva but it was their first time dining at an exclusively-vegetarian restaurant.  Aaron used to be quite the carnivore until he attended a life-changing Morrissey concert back in December.  Morrissey showed the audience "Meet Your Meat" - a video that graphically depicts the inhumane treatment of animals raised for slaughter.  After seeing that video - specifically the herding of the cattle and the dirty conditions of the poultry - Aaron decided that he could no longer eat meat.

It's been 5 months and Aaron is doing an amazing job sticking to his vegetarian diet.  I am so proud of him!  Although not vegetarian herself, Terry has been a big supporter of his dietary changes and has been helping him experiment with new protein sources.  (Just don't try to get him to eat quinoa!)

Okay, back to Seva.  We sat in the main dining area, which I love because of the huge wall of windows.  As luck would have it (or was it fate?), who should stroll over to our table to take care of us for the evening?  It was Dan - the best Seva server ever!  (See previous Seva post.)  It was quite a thrill.  For him and for us.

As we went through the process of ordering, he was very helpful with answering questions and making suggestions about menu items (of course - he's the best).  For an appetizer, we ended up going with the roasted red pepper hummus, which comes with crackers and raw veggies.  It was very flavorful and quite delicious.  I didn't have very much of it because I also ordered soup, which came out just after the hummus, so I got started right away on that.  It was amazing!  I had a bowl since it was only $1 more than a cup.  Brian had a cup of the African Peanut Soup.  I didn't try it but he said it was good.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus - $7

Greek Lentil Soup - Cup $4/Bowl $5

African Peanut Soup - Cup $4/Bowl $5

For our entrees, Brian had one of the specials - the Mushroom Sliders with yam fries.  They can be ordered vegan; however, his were smothered in regular cheese so I did not take a picture.  Aaron had the Eggs Veracruz.  Terry had the Cilantro Peanut Stir-Fry (vegan), which she really liked.  I had the Spinach Salad (minus red onion).  Dan recommended trying it with a tofu dill dressing but I went with the smoky maple that comes with it and I liked it.  I thought it went well with the tempeh, avocado, and red peppers.  It was an all-around awesome salad - a perfect combination of ingredients!

Cilantro Peanut Stir-Fry - $12

Spinach Salad - $11

So, once again, Seva did not disappoint.  With fantastic food and a phenomenal server, how could it?  Next time, however, we have to get dessert.  I'm not sure Dan will let us out of there without it...

Oh, and of course I must mention the company again.  Brian and I had a fabulous time showing Aaron and Terry the vegetarian and vegan ropes at Seva.  

So glad you met your meat, Aaron!  

BTW, when John Salley was in town he mentioned dining at Seva and loving it.  Uh, did I tell you I met John Salley?

Seva is located at 66 E. Forest in Detroit

Woodbridge Pub - Spring Menu 2012

Spring has sprung at Woodbridge Pub!  The new menu has been out for a few weeks but Brian and I have been so busy that we didn't make it over there until this weekend.

I'm quite pleased with the variety of vegan offerings this time around and wanted to try everything!  (Then I remembered how often we go there and knew we'd be back soon, so I restrained myself.)

The following menu items are vegan:

Appetizers: Salsa Verde, Hummus w/ Tapenade
Soup: Carrot Ginger
Salad: Moroccan Carrot
Sandwiches: Stever McFever, White Bean Burger (both menu mainstays)
Entree: Seitan w/ Rice Pilaf
Sides: Grilled Asparagus, Spring Vegetable Saute, Rice Pilaf, Roasted Red Skin Potatoes

There are also a few other vegetarian items, as well.  Well done, Woodbridge.  Well done.

After much deliberation, I decided on the seitan entree.  It came with three house-made pieces of seitan atop a large bed of rice pilaf.  The pilaf is brown basmati rice with almonds, golden raisins, and peas.  Swirled around it all was a grape and fennel sweet and sour sauce.  Overall, it was a delicious and flavorful dish.  The seitan had a nice meaty texture and the combination of ingredients in the pilaf was just right.  I also really liked the flavor of the sweet and sour sauce.  As much as I liked the pilaf, however, it seemed to be a disproportionate amount for the dish.  I would suggest serving it with about half as much rice and subbing in some grilled asparagus, instead. 

Seitan w/ Rice Pilaf - $13.00

I only had the entree but Brian ordered a cup of Carrot Ginger soup (to go with his non-vegan shepherd's pie) and he let me take the first taste.  Both of us thought it was good.  It had a strong carrot flavor but the ginger was less pronounced.  I'll order it for myself next time so I can give it a more thorough review.

Carrot Ginger Soup - $3.50 (cup), $4.50 (bowl)

Woodbridge Pub is located at 5169 Trumbull in Detroit

bd's Mongolian Grill

bd's Mongolian Grill used to be a favorite place for Brian and me to go to eat before I became vegetarian.  Even after, it wasn't so bad because they have tofu and they would cook my food on a separate part of the grill, away from the meat.  I wasn't too concerned about cross-contamination so that was fine with me.  Since becoming vegan, however, simply moving over on the grill wasn't going to cut it for me so I've steered clear of bd's for almost 4 years.

A couple of weeks ago my friend Jen and I got together for her long-overdue birthday dinner.  I said she could pick the place and she wanted to go to bd's, saying she thought they had a separate grill for people with allergies, so it would be perfect for me.  We went to the one in Canton.  I don't know if they all have this but sure enough, there it was . . . The Allergy Zone!

It's a totally separate grill from the main grill.  I made up my bowl of veggies and tofu, added the sauce (after thoroughly checking the ingredients which are listed on the wall), and took it over to the Allergy Zone.  A very friendly Mongolian griller asked me what I am allergic to and when I told him I'm vegan and started to explain, he knew exactly what it meant and got right to work cleaning off his grilling utensils.  I was highly impressed!

The food was pretty good but in the end, it was a stir-fry.  To me a stir-fry is always something that I can make at home so to be really impressive in a restaurant, it has to be pretty darn amazing.  Some of the veggies were clearly either canned or frozen, so that's unfortunate.  For what you pay it should all be fresh!  I had the mandarin orange sauce, which I liked, but next time would spice it up a little bit with some red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic.

Veggies w/tofu and mandarin orange sauce

What's great about discovering the Allergy Zone at bd's is that now there's another place I can go to eat with non-vegans.  (Brian was especially excited to hear the news!)  I don't know if all bd's have it but I assume they would.  I hear the Dearborn one has it!  

I might not recommend bd's Mongolian Grill to people with serious allergies because of all the opportunities for cross-contamination in the salad bar approach to creating your bowl, but for vegans looking for another dining option in this crazy meat-filled world, this one isn't half bad.

Have you been to bd's Mongolian Grill?  What do you think?