time for another edition of quick bites: where quarrygirl readers send in quick snaps and descriptions of their vegan meals. today’s quick bite comes to us from dana aka the broke-ass bride. she recently spent some time in the windy city and sent us a drool-worthy review of the chicago diner. the all vegetarian-restaurant is legendary in the vegan community, and after dana’s review i am dying to go there!

As a greek gal, the loss of gyros has been one of my biggest woes of being a vegan. Until I went to Chicago Diner. HOLY OPA! Thinly sliced strips of delicious and juicy seitan, crunchy lettuce, tomato and onion, all atop a buttery, griddled pita… with a side of the most creamy-licious tzaziki sauce imaginable. I ate these way too many times while I was in town. It was like crack. I ate it. It was good. I needed more. MORE! MOOOOORE! It comes with your choice of a side, and I got the “chicken/rice soup” which was equally to die for. I’m definitely going to start experimenting with my seitan recipe at home to try and make something gyro-y like this. Its crazy comforting and delicious. The best part is how they’ve managed to get the edges so crispy, like the kind of gyros that come from a spit. It was incredibly authentic, in the best (and least creepy) way possible…

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hey everyone, time for another field report by bess from i dream of greenie! today she reviews vegetarian restaurant mother’s cafe and garden in austin, texas…and all i know is now i’m absolutely dying to go there and grub up on burgers and mexican food. seriously looking into texas flights. check it out:

While on a recent trip to Austin, I had the pleasure of eating some of the best vegan meals I have ever had. In fact, I am still riding on a food high from the meal I ate at Mother’s Café and Garden.

This fully vegetarian spot (with almost everything veganize-able) was almost not on our meal itinerary (yes I plan out the restaurants before we arrive), but the place we were planning to eat at was closed on Monday (Beets Café, I’ll hit you up next time). However, our omni host was quick tor recommend Mother’s and all I can say is that I am forever grateful to her for this recommendation…

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Perhaps the most famous thoroughfare in Dublin is Grafton Street. Immortalized by James Joyce, Christie Moore, U2 and (more lately) the touching musical romance movie “Once”, this eclectic street stretches from verdant St. Stephen’s Green in the south to Trinity College (one of the world’s great seats of learning), and the River Liffey to the north. A few steps west of Grafton St. lies Wicklow St., the heart of Dublin’s historical arts district, and home of Cornucopia, one of Dublin’s few vegetarian and highly vegan-friendly restaurants.

We visited Cornucopia on a warm autumn evening, and immediately fell in love with the place, despite being initially disappointed with a loooong queue of people waiting inside the door. You see, Cornucopia is counter service and buffet-style, so one has to stand in a line, order from a server and then take a tray to a vacant table – if you can find one. I personally find places with this setup a little stressful – I mean, when you arrive you have no idea how long it will take to get served, and when you’re being served you’re worried about if you can find a place to sit and eat – otherwise you’ll be left standing with a heavy tray attempting to rush to a vacant table, trampling other human beings like some post-apocalypic feeding frenzy.

OK, I got carried away there, but you get the idea. Let’s now talk about the food.

Sweet Potato, Pea, and broccoli Dahl with organic brown rice, garden greens, and sprouted beans. €12.95

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hey, everyone! time for another field report by bess from i dream of greenie. this one comes to us all the way from austin, texas at a place called somnio’s cafe. it looks amazing…so you lucky folks who are headed to sxsw soon, take note!

Nynavae’s tacos (made vegan) $8

photo by meredith

Warning: international trade secrets are being shared here. With one simple modification, a vegetarian dish became one of the best vegan meals I’ve ever eaten at Somnio’s Cafe in Austin.

I was a bit overwhelmed by all the vegan options in Austin and being someone who wants to make sure she enjoys every meal on vacation, I ran my restaurant list by some seasoned locals. My omni host instantly confirmed that she loves Somnio’s and that it is BYOB with just a $2 per person corkage fee. I was instantly sold!

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As a boy growing up in England, my mother used to cook a Sunday Roast every week. It was always a big performance, with lots of ingredients, interminably long cooking time and a somewhat formal consumption ritual of sitting at the big table, usually reserved for guests. Sometimes, though, (when we could afford it) we’d go out for our meal and my memories are filled with those occasions: smiling restaurant staff, large plates of food and plenty of subdued light from the London skies.

I also look back with sadness on the cruelty that was on my plate: the flesh we so fancifully fried was quickly relegated to a meatona-non gratis as I became vegetarian and then vegan. Indeed, I abandoned Sunday Roast many years ago in despair of such meaty plates all around me.

Fast forward way too many years for me to remember, and I can gladly confirm that the Sunday Roast is back in my life with a vengeance – at Manna restaurant in Primrose Hill. In fact, special vegetarian Sunday menu items have been served at Manna since the 1960s, and more lately their Vegan Sunday Roast delivers a traditional, yet superior (and of course cruelty-free) offering that’s to die for.

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vegan pizza day is less than 2 days away! how are you going to celebrate it? if you are in san francisco, i can highly recommend the vegan pie at escape from new york.

the small chain has 6 locations in SF, and has recently started carrying daiya. we found them by accident when we were vacationing last month, and the haight restaurant was just steps away from our hotel. the pizzeria is very new yorky-themed, from the name of the business, to the statue of liberty logo, to the massive thin ny-style pies and pizza by the slice.

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Ok, so you all know how much I love the Cat Bar here in Barcelona. And by now you also know it is Vegan Pizza Day on Saturday. Well us Europeans couldn’t stand by and let you “expats,” have all the fun, so we’ve nicked the idea… And come up with… WORLD VEGAN PIZZA DAY. Innovative no? And get this. Cat Bar have been beavering away on their pizza dough skills and experimenting with different baking trays and toppings… And guess what? Yup. Cat Bar now has pizza on the menu. The launch will be this Saturday, but as I’m one lucky Monkey I’ve had the chance to give them a go first!

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hey everyone, time for another field report from veganscraps! today she reviews a great little hidden place in lower east side manhattan called earthmatters. check it out!

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Hi, kids. JennShaggy of “Vegnize It…Don’t Criticize It” and author of the newly released cookbook “Veganize This!” Well, I feel luckier than overnight YouTube celebrity. Why, you ask? With the help of a vegan friend, I discovered FreeSoulCaffe on a recent trip to Tustin, CA. It’s an “Animal-Friendly, While, Sustainable” establishment that serves “Fine Vegan Foods and Organic Coffees & Teas” in a clean, gorgeous environment. An all vegan coffee café? Fuck’s yeah, dude!

Unfortunately for me, I went during breakfast hours…meaning only the breakfast menu was available. But the food we ate was so good, I was happier than a fat kid in a candy store.

For starters, check out this heavenly display of baked goods:

Here’s the selection of cakes and cheesecakes, including Pineapple Coconut Cake, Golden Chocolate Cake, Pumpkin Cheesecake, etc.

And here’s even more! This case includes Pumkin Scones with Spice Icing, Green Tea Pistachio Biscotti, Creamy Peanut Butter Cookies and FreeSoul Brownies:

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vegan pizza, we love it! and with vegan pizza day less than a week away, we wanna be sure to get you prepared by telling you about as many vegan pizza options as possible.

today’s vegan pizza comes to us from mythic pizza in san francisco…a small little take out and delivery joint on haight with awesome late hours (until 2am, and even open on xmas!). while mythic pizza doesn’t carry any fake cheese, they do have a clearly marked vegan option on the menu, and we became quite addicted to it last time we were in SF…

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One of the greatest poets of our times, Robbie Williams, penned the now-classic song “Millennium” to commemorate the demise of San Francisco’s famed restaurant of the same name.

The prescience of his words cannot be understated, as we witness first-hand the falling from grace of this much-hyped, over-priced restaurant:

We’ve got stars directing our fate
and we’re praying its not too late
‘Cause we know we’re falling from grace
Millennium
And when we come we always come too late
I often think that we were born to hate

Let’s deconstruct these inspired words:

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I’ve long had a love affair with Edinburgh: the most Scottish of Scottish cities. When I lived in London I’d frequently take the sleeper train up late at night for the fringe performances at the Edinburgh Festival, enjoying such classic performances as “Macbeth: In Klingon” and “Live sex on stage as performance art”. Curiously, the second of those two fringe shows had a much bigger crowd than the first!

While the Edinburgh festival fringe shows don’t remotely stereotype this amazing city, the description of Black Bo’s restaurant on their website could also apply to Edinburgh in general: “Some people call it Bohemian, some call it Leftfield, others call it rustic, alternative, quaint, eclectic, esoteric or simply – ‘That Really Nice Place We Went To 6 Months Ago And Have Never Been Able To Find Again’.”

Situated in the heart of Edinburgh but in a quiet cobbled street just a stone’s throw from Edinburgh’s main railway station, Black Bo’s is a truly wonderful vegetarian restaurant that’s so unique in appearance, menu and vibe that I can’t think of anywhere remotely like it except, perhaps, Elf in Los Angeles.

Upon walking into Black Bo’s, you’re presented with a lovely bar area: tables, comfortable seating, tap beer and a huge wine selection. The rear restaurant area has large windows overlooking the Edinburgh rooftops under which sit plenty of comfortable tables and chairs. We were there around sunset time just as the long shadows crept across the bare wooden floors, the perfect autumn light punctuated only by the well melted candles and reflections from the bright stucco beyond.

After being seated at an oversized two-top table we began to peruse the extensive menu. Our server reassured us that most things either were vegan, or could be prepared as such, and that the kitchen and chef knew what they were doing. I don’t know about you, but a vegetarian restaurant that knows what vegan means is so much better to dine in than an omnivorous place.

Baked mushrooms stuffed with "haggis" on a bed of turnip mash. ₤5.50

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Vegan curry is plentiful in Camden Market

Recently, we skewered an otherwise excellent food stand in London’s Camden Market due to its terrible customer service. Gladly, though, there are several wonderful food choices in the market that serve some pretty damn good Indian food. If you look hard enough, you’ll see “Halal Indian Food” on a few stalls, along with some huge, bubbling pots of very tasty curries.

yum

If you stay away from anything with meat, the vegetable dishes are nearly always vegan and absolutely always tasty…

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as much as i love to travel, sometimes when i’m out exploring vegan options in other cities, i get homesick for all the good eats we have here in los angeles.

vegan tofu sausage with sauerkraut, grilled onions, and mustard. $6

this is how i felt when i visited san francisco over the holidays. two days into my trip, the xmas spirit had me all weepy and wishing i was back at home, seated comfortably in tony’s darts away with a beer and a vegan sausage. thankfully, my twitter buddy @ks turned me on to the next best thing: rosamunde sausage grill.

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As a boy, I would spend my summers in Rome being dragged around the piazzas by my bohemian mother. My father is an Italian chef, restaurateur and hotelier, and I suppose some of his passion for food and good service must be in my DNA. Although my food preparation skills leave a lot to be desired, I know when I’m eating good food, and getting good service. Of course, “fine dining” in a vegan sense is rather difficult to find wherever one goes – and so I was delighted to find a highly vegan-friendly vegetarian Italian restaurant in London.

Like all real Italian restaurants, Amico Bio is owned by a family, one of which is the Chef. In this case, the genius behind the restaurant is proprietor Pasquale Amico who has partnered with his cousins Bruno and Enrique to create a truly superb experience which envelopes your senses even before you walk through the door, and continues as a happy memory long after your visit.

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