hey everyone! today’s quick bite comes to us from fred (aka @cycled) who visited maggiemudd, a very vegan-friendly ice cream parlor in san francisco, over presidents day weekend. man, i really wanna go here someday. check it out.

We arrived here on a Sunday afternoon looking to indulge in some tasty treats after withstanding the deluge on Saturday. After staring at the menu board denoting a multitude of variations available to make your ultimate frozen treat, I couldn’t help but feel indecisive.

Mudslide and Birthday Cake, covered with soy whip, sliced almonds, and cookie crumbs. $7

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hey peeps! time for a field report on one of my favorite foods ever: NYC PIZZA! this one comes to us from blogger JL goes vegan, as she reports on the super vegan-friendly west village pizzeria, slice. i am booking a trip to manhattan as you read this. no joke!

I attended the NYC book signing party for The Happy Herbivore Cookbook which was held at SLICE (on Hudson Street). I’ve been dying to have a slice of SLICE’s vegan pizza!

I started with the Fresh Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing…

Fresh Salad: Organic mesclun greens, carrots, cucumbers, plum tomatoes. Choice of homemade carrot ginger dressing or house balsamic vinaigrette. $4

This is a great, fresh salad. The dressing is good (LOTS of garlic).

This was my first time at a “pizza joint” with vegan choices (you know, other than “hold the cheese”). I went with the server’s suggestion and ordered the Skilled Eggplant.

Skilled Eggplant (vegan): Herb crust, sundried tomato pesto, vegan cheese, sauteed eggplant, kalamata olives. $13

I ordered the personal pizza size (versus one slice). And…

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vegan field report time! it’s another one by bess of i dream of greenie, and this one comes to us again from austin, texas. here she gives us quick reviews on 2 different places. she covers some awesome thai food at veggie heaven, as well as some vegan soft serve from toy joy. i am officially more jealous than i ever thought possible of those of you who are heading to sxsw next month. check it:

Curry Bun: Made of flour dough outside and filled with onions, tofu, vegetable cooked in curry sauce. $2.50

After eating and drinking my weight in vegan tacos, enchiladas and tequila, for my last meal in Austin, I decided to switch things up a bit.

My friend and I spent the day in the UT campus area and after consulting the Compassion Over Killing Austin dining guide, opted to check out Veggie Heaven…

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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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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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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 field report time! this one comes to us again from kris of veganscraps. she’s done us the favor of reviewing yet another awesome NYC vegan find, v-note. enjoy!

So, today I made my way over to 1st avenue on the Upper East Side to try a new vegan restaurant called “V-Note“, which is partly owned by the same owner as the Blossom restaurants (Cafe Blossom UWS/Blossom Chelsea). I love the Blossom restaurants so I had to try this one and review it.

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it’s that time again…for a vegan field report! this is the third one to come to us from kris of veganscraps, and she blogs about an entirely vegan bakery called sweet freedom located in the uncharted (by quarrygirl) territory of philadelphia. damn, it looks good! i have added this to my list of places to hit up when i finally make it to philly for an epic weekend of eating and drinking with vegan brew. check it:

Alas, I got to visit a bakery I’ve been wanting to for a while now! Sweet Freedom Bakery is located in the artsy city of Philadelphia and it is the city’s first bakery to bring a vegan healthy take on our favorite goodies! The items they offer are 100% Vegan as well as Gluten, Corn, Wheat, Peanut, and Soy free as well, while never using any Unrefined Sugars. Naturally I had to check it out while in Philly (it was my first stop from the train station!)…

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field report time! kris from veganscraps sent us another guest post, and this time she checked out chef brooke’s natural cafe in fort myer’s, florida. brittany has  covered chef brooke’s on this blog in the past, and this review is definitely making me wanna go there even more. from what i hear, florida’s vegan options aren’t as numerous as they are here in los angeles…so it’s great to know when good quality food is available.

Tempeh Reuben: Fresh Marinated Tempeh Served on Health Bread with a Reuben Sauce, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Sprouts, and Cucumbers. Served with Potato Salad and Coleslaw. $8.99

Normally when someone mentions Florida you begin to think of palm trees, the beach and the warm weather (which are all accurate descriptions)… but when I think of going to FL (specifically Fort Myers), one thing comes to mind “Chef Brooke’s Natural Cafe“. This Cafe is my favorite healthy cafe on the planet! The owner and chef, Brooke is extremely talented at cooking food as well as presenting it beautifully! Chef Brooke’s Natural Cafe offers a HUGE menu (not 100% vegan, but most items are or can be made vegan) with smoothies, baked goods, daily specials, raw and gluten free food, burritos, veggie burgers, hummus platters, soups, and a small grocery area to pick up little extras!

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hey everyone! time for a reader review from right here in los angeles. this one comes to us from VeganHeartDoc as she gives us the rundown on vegan factory in tarzana. while i’m not the biggest fan of LA vegan thai myself, it’s nice to know what our options are, and which places stand out above the rest. here ya go:

While some may suggest that vegan Thai food is overdone in Los Angeles, Vegan Factory does it incredibly well.

Located in a strip mall on Ventura Boulevard west of Vanalden in Tarzana, Vegan Factory features soups, salads, curries, and noodle dishes.

The dishes range from relatively healthy to downright decadent. Since I’m a cardiologist, I usually roll with at least a few healthful offerings, but my family, who I was bringing takeout dinner to, like some of the more sinful options.

Slim Gym (Salad Kak): Soy chicken, romaine lettuces, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and alfalfa sprouts. Served with peanut dressing. $7.50

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time for another quick and no-nonsense reader review from D (our correspondent who wrote about the RFD thanksgiving meal last month). this time he writes about one of the best places in los angeles to get a fancy (and i mean FANCY) vegan experience, XIV restaurant. we have reviewed their vegan tasting courses a couple times on this blog, and we’re sad to report that while they still have plenty of vegan options, the default meatless tasting menu is now vegetarian instead of vegan. 🙁 D checked out the new menu recently with some friend, and here are his thoughts…

Last year we went once or twice to XIV for some of our “special occasions” because they had an entirely separate vegan tasting / a-la-carte menu (with a wine pairing option to boot!). And it was a hip fancy Hollywood spot, so it felt like we were hip or cool or some bullshit like that.
We were invited there last week with some carnist peeps. Here’s my 2 cents…

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hey everyone! today’s field report comes to us from nyc where kris from veganscraps has reviewed one of the city’s best kept secrets, jivamuktea cafe. the all vegan spot looks like a haven for tasty yet healthy eats, and i can’t wait to hit it up. great find!

marinated beet salad: a blend of spring mix, marinated beets, walnuts (I subbed for cranberries), carrots, cucumbers and sliced granny smith apples. $12 plus rosemary seitan/spicy tempeh. $5

After discovering JivamukTea Cafe a couple of months ago, I find myself going in to eat at least 3 times a week! This cafe is one of the hidden gems of NYC. JivamukTea Cafe is part of the JivamukTea Yoga Studio in Union Square. You would have no way of knowing this fantastic cafe existed unless someone told you (this is me telling you!).

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