• January 9th, 2011brittanybay area, more restaurants (not LA), san francisco

    the best indian pizza (vegan): Topped with Spinach, Egg Plant, Cauliflower, Ginger, Garlic, Green Onions, Cilantro. $23.99

    i spent new years weekend in san francisco. if that wasn’t awesome to begin with, my group of friends’ new years eve plans involved dinner at zante pizza. the option of having dinner at zante’s was presented to me over IM:

    “hey, how does vegan indian pizza and $5 pitchers of beer on nye sound?”
    “UM, AMAZING”

    and so it was decided.

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  • January 6th, 2011quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA), san francisco

    i’ve said it before, and i will say it again: ike’s place makes the best sandwiches, vegan or otherwise. the small san francisco shop is nothing short of legendary (i mean come ON, it has almost THREE THOUSAND yelp reviews) and is loved by herbivores and omnivores alike. when we checked them out in fall of 2010, they were having some major dramz with neighbors and were in the midst of being forced to shut down. fortunately for us though, they’ve found a temporary home at lime nightclub just around the corner in the casto district, and are still serving their famous sandwiches for the time being until they move to a more permanent location. (huge thanks to our BFFs at vegansaurus who keep us updated with ike’s info!) we checked out ike’s new digs on our trip to SF over the holidays, and i am happy to say that they officially served me the best sandwich i’ve eaten, ever.

    vegan sometimes i'm a vegan: grilled mushrooms, marinated artichoke hearts, soy cheese. $7.97

    here’s how it went down…

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  • January 3rd, 2011mr meanerbay area, more restaurants (not LA), san francisco

    … and I mean “SHIT”, rather than “THE SHIT”, which has a positive connotation.

    My recollection from the first time I visited Cha-Ya Vegetarian, was of bland food in small portions, rude service, high prices and extremely bright fluorescent lighting. I have to admit, though, that I was a little (a lot) inebriated after spending a few hours beforehand in Monk’s Kettle, one of Mission’s best bars. I’ve heard the odd good review of Cha-Ya, so was determined to go back again one day while sober and see how things panned out.

    Well, after a late afternoon flight to San Francisco on Christmas Day, I was delighted to discover that Cha-Ya was open at 5pm so after a quick hop and skip from the BART we were walking up to the restaurant within an hour of touching down…. and stone cold sober I might add!

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  • December 28th, 2010quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA), san francisco

    today’s quick bite comes to us from greg kanimian who recently visited fancy pants restaurant masa’s in san francisco. this isn’t a vegan restaurant by any means, but the chef accepted the challenge of making greg a 4 course animal-free dinner, and apparently it was awesome. here goes:

    I don’t remember exactly what each course was since I didn’t have a menu to read off of. I was just told what I was eating as it was given to me.

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  • December 3rd, 2010quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA), san francisco

    the quick bite series continues! this one comes to us from tettes, who recently hit up gracias madre in san francisco. as of recently we are HUGE FANS OF GRACIAS MADRE….so we were super excited to receive tettes’ glowing review. here goes:

    I visited San Francisco during the Thanksgiving holiday, and I went to Gracias Madre twice.

    Here are a couple of pics of food items that Quarrygirl didn’t order, including a butternut squash tamale smothered in mole sauce, a butternut squash quesadilla and one of the best items I’ve ever eaten: roasted brussel sprouts in a cashew cheese sauce baked with garlic breadcrumbs on top. OMG!!!

    This place is beyond amazing. Perhaps the best vegan place I’ve ever visited!

    Butternut squash tamale smothered in mole sauce with a side of refried black beans and spicy pickled vegetables.

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  • December 1st, 2010quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA), san francisco

    i’ve only been there once, but i’m head over heels in love with gracias madre. the entirely vegan restaurant in san francisco’s mission district serves up huge portions of organic mexican food that’s just fantastic.

    we hit up gracias madre a couple months ago, and were shocked by how good it was. we were first taken aback by the amazing atmosphere. i’m used to vegan restaurants being small and often times dingy…but this was a huge wide open space with a clean and colorful decor.

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  • November 24th, 2010quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA), san francisco

    on a recent trip to san francisco, the place i was most excited about visiting was patxi’s chicago pizza. three words, people: VEGAN DEEP DISH.

    there are a few paxti’s scattered around the bay area, and we hit up the hayes street location for our vegan pie. we got a great table by the window, and i was immediately pleased with the comfy atmosphere. dim lighting, warm colors, and an exposed brick wall decorated with pretty paintings.

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  • November 16th, 2010quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA)

    it’s field report time! this one is written by i dream of greenie, who recently took a trip to cinnaholic in berkeley. we blogged about mail order cinnamon rolls from the all vegan bakery last week, and now i am dying to visit the shop even more. be warned, this post contains graphic imagery including cookie dough, dandies, and offensive amounts of frosting. YUM.

    cinnamon roll with macadamia nut frosting and cookie dough chunks

    I have a full set of sweet teeth so when I heard about Cinnaholic, a bakery in Berkeley that boasted custom ordered vegan cinnamon rolls, I knew I needed to visit this spot next time I was in the Bay Area. After drooling over the photos on their website, it became evident that Cinnaholic was the first place I needed to stop upon getting into town.

    En route I began to worry that I was about to suffer from a classic case of the letdowns. There is a major difference between enjoying eating something and getting a full sensory gratification and I was definitely hyping it up to be the latter, which from my experience is a rarity. After having been there multiple times, Cinnaholic is simply THAT GOOD.

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  • November 11th, 2010quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA)

    cinnaholic is an all vegan cinnamon roll bakery (yeah, you heard me right) that opened in berkeley earlier this year. they have gotten rave reviews from many trusted blogs…and i can finally confirm that this place is WORTH THE HYPE!

    just think about it. an all vegan cinnamon roll parlor with “build-your-own” options that range from root beer flavored frosting, to pie-inspired rolls, to toppings like cookie dough and vegan marshmallows. there is just one word for it: INSANITY! i can’t even believe that a place as wonderful as cinnaholic exists.

    while it’s sad that cinnaholic is located a whopping 6 hours away from los angeles, i’m happy to report that they can ship cinnamon rolls to hungry vegans around the nation! recently on twitter, i was tweeting bummed out messages about how i hadn’t tried cinnaholic yet. within like 30 minutes, they replied to me and offered to send me some of their goodies. of course i said yes!!! damn, i was so excited to try these rolls, and they ended up being even better than i imagined.

    cinnaholic sent me two rolls with two different frosting flavors, maple and caramel. they came with easy to use instructions, and after just a few minutes in the oven they turned into warm mounds of gooey goodness.

    seriously, i have never had cinnamon rolls this delicious…vegan or not. the frosting was so sweet and melty and the rolls were moist and flaky. i can only imagine how wonderful these things would be right out of the oven. and if plain rolls with just frosting are this good, they must be crazy delicious with added toppings! i am contemplating taking a trip to berkeley soon just so i can eat a vegan cinnamon roll drenched in vanilla frosting and covered in cookie dough and brownie chunks.

    if you are anywhere near northern california, get over to cinnaholic ASAP. if you live far away, you can order cinnamon rolls by the dozen as well as frosting shots online. 12 may seem like a lot of cinnamon rolls, but trust me, i could get through a dozen of these in a couple days. oh, and they freeze well too!

    i am still getting over the fact that an entirely vegan cinnamon roll bakery even exists. damn, this is such an exciting time to be alive! thank you, cinnaholic!

    cinnaholic
    2132 Oxford Street, Berkeley, CA
    (510) 647-8684 ‎

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  • September 20th, 2010quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA)

    i’ve eaten at countless restaurants all over the country, and if you were to ask me to name my favorites, souley vegan would be near the top of that list.

    the modest oakland eatery is miles ahead of most of the places we have here in los angeles, what with its home cooked animal-free menu, fried food sensibilities, friendly service, and spacious interior. we hit up the northern california soul food joint recently with laura of vegansaurus fame, and it was a meal to remember.

    the menu at souley is on this huge chalkboard posted on the wall, and is a little intimidating at first glance. it’s hard to believe that so much vegan goodness exists under one roof.

    click to enlarge

    they’ve got everything from collard greens to southern fried tofu, and prices range from 6 bucks per dish to 8 bucks for 2 dishes, and increasingly better value right up to the “everything plate,” which includes almost every side dish available for $19. naturally, that’s what we ordered.

    the everything plate is one huge platter stacked up with collard greens, cornbread, black eye peas, southern fried tofu, lentils, potato salad, bbq tofu, mac n cheese, and yams. to call it epic would be an understatement. you can see it pictured at the top of the post from one angle…and below is a shot of it from behind.

    the everything plate: collard greens, cornbread, black eye peas, southern fried tofu, lentils, potato salad, bbq tofu, mac-n-cheese, and yams (YES, those are YAMS, you sicko!) $19

    make no mistake—those orange things are yams, okay?! anyways, this plate was amazing. where do i start? the bbq tofu was well-seasoned and sweet, while the mac and cheese was mild but extra gooey and velvety. the lentils were earthy and tasted great all mixed up with the collard greens (which you can’t even see, because there was so much food on the plate). the potato salad was so damn creamy, i had a hard time believing it was vegan…and the cornbread was like a delicious oily sponge. for an extra $6, you can add fried okra along with beans and rice to your order, but we simply didn’t have room for that. next time!

    southern fried tofu. $6

    not knowing how much food would arrive, we also got a side of the southern fried tofu on its own. this proved to be a good decision though, because the this tofu was definitely one of the most delicious things on the table. all coated in batter and fried up in a fantastic blend of spices, the skin on this stuff was probably half an inch thick. i’m so glad they served it on a piece of lettuce, because that totally makes this meal healthy, right?

    the crispy. $6. plus $2 per side.

    laura was all about ordering the “crispy,” a fried tofu sandwich that she said is one of the best things she’s ever eaten in her life. it came with the same beautiful hunk of tofu we ordered along with condiments and toppings on a bread roll for 6 bucks. you can add sides to your sandwich for just $2 each…so i think next time i am gonna go with this option rather than the everything plate.

    inside, souley vegan is nice and roomy with two separate seating areas to choose from. it was empty when we were there (at around 11am), but we were told to get there early because the place can get packed. with food this good, i don’t doubt it.

    if you are ever in the bay area, souley vegan is a MUST VISIT. it’s just a short train ride from san francisco, and the restaurant is walkable from the station. deep fried vegan has never tasted so good!

    souley vegan
    301 Broadway
    Oakland, CA 94607-3804
    (510) 922-1615

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  • August 2nd, 2008quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA)

    way back in march when i started this modest blog and was still posting pix taken with my cell phone, my first post wasn’t really about vegan food, but instead a super hoppy and wonderful beer: pliny the elder. now 4 months and 87 posts later, i’m returning to pliny. while in santa rosa, i had the fortunate opportunity to visit the place where the magical beer is actually brewed, the russian river brewing company.

    pliny the elder at the russian river brewing company in santa rosa

    now, unfortunately there isn’t much vegetarian stuff on the menu. but honestly, who needs food with beer like this?

    pliny the elder at the russian river brewing company in santa rosa

    with an abv of 8%, pliny is too strong to legally be sold in a pitcher. that didn’t stop me from ordering 3 pints of the hoppiest beer i’ve ever tasted!

    pliny the elder at the russian river brewing company in santa rosa

    so if you are a beer lover in santa rosa, drink up at russian river. you won’t regret it! and hungry vegans can be satisfied at the sushi restaurant down the street.

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  • July 30th, 2008quarrygirlbay area, more restaurants (not LA)

    next stop on the quarrygirl roadtrip, crazy hippie sushi from santa rosa at tex wasabi’s! what makes these sushi rolls hippie, you ask? is it organic ingredients? creed of the establishment? psychotropic drug references? nooooooooo. it’s just the names of the dishes, of course—what more could you ask for as a tourist? if the menu makes me think i’m eating hippie food, then i’m gonna buy into it.

    morgan\'s earthy crunchy roll at tex wasabi\'s
    morgan’s earthy crunchy roll: tapioca rice paper roll with sushi rice, crunchy tempura bits, avocado, cucumber, julienne vegetables, daikon sprouts served with a ponzu dipping sauce. $6.95 (double order pictured, so i will have a double amount of hippie-ness and feel twice as close to the earth)

    woodstock roll at wasabi\'s
    woodstock roll: sunset mix, romaine lettuce, daikon sprouts, cucumber, avocado and topped w/ ponzu sauce. $7.95  (of course this roll reminds me of watching janis joplin, the who and jimi hendrix while under the influence of several unmentionable substances…but in sushi form. how did they capture the fantasy so accurately with just a few daikon sprouts?)

    in all seriousness though, this sushi was pretty tasty albeit a bit fusion-y. the rice paper was a welcome change from the nori i’m used to…and it was nice to have a wide variety of innards in my role, rather than the standard avocado and cucumber combo. morgan’s earthy crunchy roll was the favorite at the table (good thing since we got a double order); the crunchy tempura bits blended together with the creamy avocado tasted divine.

    although there’s not much for vegetarians to eat on the menu (most of the sushi has fish, and they also specialize in southern bbq) these 2 rolls are enough to please and definitely delicious. plus, the place has that chilled out rockin’ roll vibe that a lot of sushi establishments have been adopting lately. i like it.

    oh, and don’t forget to start off with some edamame. it’s the root of all that’s good in the vegan diet.

    eddie\'s mommy (edamame)
    eddie’s mommy (eda-mame): blanched soy bean pods, dusted with kosher salt. $4.25

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