Dining out: Spotted Dog (2017)

A revisit of my 2012 visits to The Spotted Dog in Carrboro, NC. They've updated their menu, as my usual dining companion and I found out. (She was craving their food from her college days.) The only negative is they've changed the thickness of the tempeh on their Reuben to a somewhat pitiful filling, so maybe skip that choice. Otherwise, their food is still delicious.


Fried pickles with vegan ranch

Vegan cheese plate of blue corn tortilla chips and vegan pimento cheese, as well as a smoky cashew cheese with pepper jelly and pita triangles. There were quick pickled cucumbers that were mostly sweet and slightly tangy. I actually liked the pickles, despite my usual dislike of sweet pickles.

The trick here is to take a slice of the smoky cheese wedge, schmear it across the pita and then drizzle with the pepper jelly. Trés bien!


Vegan pork BBQ plate with slaw, beer-battered fries, and hushpuppies. One of those classic Southern "meat and three sides" meals.

The slaw is vinegar-based, but inadequately marinated to be tasty. The fries and hushpuppies are fried perfectly as only commercial fryers can do. However, the interior of the hushpuppies would benefit from a greater ratio of cornmeal relative to flour--it's a little gummy. At any rate, the vegan BBQ is quite juicy and I'd eat it a bajillion times over.

Dining Out: Bean Vegan Cuisine (Charlotte, NC)

Bean Vegan Cuisine in Charlotte: It's dark and dim and filled with vegan versions of otherwise artery-clogging truck stop dishes. My low class, hillbilly ass rejoices!

Side note: Their interior design as based around geek culture things, particularly comic books. That's all fine and well if you're in to that sort of thing, but I liked the little table display that touted the ecological benefits of eating lower on the trophic levels. Good job, Bean!

Above, the Cowboy Burger topped with seitan bacon, daiya cheddar, onion rings, and pickles--flavored with both ranch dressing and BBQ sauce. It was SO goddamn delicious. If I lived anywhere near Charlotte, I'd be one chubby porker for eating there all the time.

The burger is served with one side; I chose tater tot casserole, but kind of regretted it. I was expecting deep-fried, crispy tots with some diaya melted on top and some veg thrown in for color. Instead, it was mushy and gray. Should've gone with the fried pickles. Ah well, more incentive to go back and try any of the other delectable diner foods they offer!


Also of note: Bean is not only 100% vegan comfort food but also a grocer. The store was closed when I stopped in for lunch, which was terribly disappointing bc they are the one store in NC that carries "Vegan Magic" (formerly known as Vegan Bacon Grease). Very much wanting to try that product, I went ahead and ordered it online from Vegan Essentials.

I'll be back, Bean! And I will look at your gloriously large room of vegan groceries!! #ShutUpAndTakeMyMoney

Smiling Hara Hempeh

I'm not one for brands, but I am a proponent of interesting flavor combos. So while I was at the 2017 Triangle VegFest, I could not resist spending my hard-earned money on a vegan protein marinating in raspberry habanero BBQ sauce!

Before you even pierce the plastic packaging, you can smell the smoky goodness of the habaneros. Then, once you sneak a taste of the raspberry habanero BBQ sauce the tempeh been sealed in, you cut open the plastic wrap so you can lick it clean. This is what vegan food needs: good flavor profiles.

Side note: I consider this is a luxury good in terms of fat content--at 41g of fat per 4oz (aka half the block), it would be a good treat for vegans who eat a lot of whole foods and thus a lean diet. Otherwise, it's rather decadent for someone who already consumes a high-fat diet. (I am fueled by peanut butter, if you must know.)

What it looks like when cut open -- tightly packed interior

Upon the suggestion of the salesperson, I used the "Hempeh Tacos with Peach-Jalapeno Relish" from the Fork to Summit intsagram account. I adored the peach-jalapeno relish, but skipped the pickled peach skin as well as the red cabbage. Thus, my soft taco looks rather plain compared to what it could be.

It was still one of the most delicious taco fillings I've ever had, and thus will add in a gratuitous second picture. Raspberry-habanero forever!

The interior of the marinated pieces = toothsome hunks

Triangle VegFest (Durham 2017)

Still filled with throngs of people in the middle of the afternoon, several hours after starting.

Goodie Bag

As with most VegFests, the first x number of attendees is incentivized to show up on time with a goodie bag. The Triangle VegFest bag had the usual offerings of coupons and a few cosmetic samples, but then there was the sampler pack of Dandies marshmallows and the sustainable latex condom.

Receiving a condom in a food festival gift bag is one of the funniest things I've ever had happen to me.

That gift bag is like a vegan date starter kit: use the cosmetics to get ready, the coupon as an excuse to extend your date activities, the marshmallows to innocently invite the person in for hot cocoa, and the condom if things really go well (and you confirmed they don't have a latex allergy).

Baozi Food Truck

The Baozi Food Truck offered three options; I went for the "Kung Pao Soy Vegan BBQ Bao."

There was a good helping of the vegan BBQ nestled in the fluffy bao bun--they didn't skimp out. The toppings were obviously pretty: enoki mushrooms, red peppers (supposedly roasted, but their flavor didn't jump out at you), and shredded cabbage off to the side, keeping the fried rice company.

In being a Carolina native constantly lusting after a veg version of Eastern NC-style pulled pork, I though the BBQ--which I assume was TVP--was a little dry and could have used a dash of marinade or vinegar to offset the sweet sauce. But, as I've said before, not everyone can handle my preference levels for vinegar, so I understand why the food truck would cook to please as many palates as possible.

Overall: delicious and I wish I could eat these fluffy buns more often.

Souly Vegan Cafe

Their sampler plate of a main and three sides in addition to rice.

As you can see, my plate was greens, mac, and gluten-free cornbread alongside the BBQ chick'n.
I rather liked the BBQ sauce over the little bite-sized pieces of toothsome chick'n. The cornbread was a little too sweet for my tastes, but everyone knows Southerners only find perfection in cornbread they style themselves. The mac was the "soupy pasta" variety not the "heart attack casserole" kind I love best, but was still seasoned well. The greens were tender, but not very smoky and needed chili flakes plus vinegar (that's a theme with my country ass).

I really want to go to their brick and mortar location to further explore their menu and keep their business alive, since it's so damn hard to find good vegan soul/Southern food I don't have to cook myself.

Revolution Gelato

A blurry photo of a scoop of their coconut/cashew-based gelato in the espresso flavor. It was so thick and creamy! You'd never guess it was dairy free or had coconut in it, because they did not skip out on the espresso flavor. Gotta watch yourself around this brand or you'll make yourself into a piglet!

Scrambled - Southern Diner (Greensboro)

Scrambled is a popular brunch place about a mile from the UNCG campus.



This is what their "Forester" scramble plate looks like when you asked for no brie and no eggs. I wished I'd had my wits about me and asked for them to replace the omitted ingredients for extra mushrooms or tofu, because removing the animal products takes away half the dish while you still have to pay full price. Then, when I had my first piece of tofu, I was kind of glad I didn't ask for a replacement portion, as the tofu was squishy and horribly bland. Luckily there was hot sauce on the table to make it bearable.

I will say the hash browns were good; crispy but not too greasy. The biscuit was also good, but I failed to ask if it was vegan (pretty sure it was a butter recipe).

Scrambled also has a vegan chili or a mushroom gravy and biscuits. Wish I'd gone with my instinct and gotten the gravy and biscuits.

All in all, it's one of those places where your carnivorous family members invite you to go because there are some veg options, but it's mostly a greasy-spoon joint that you feel iffy about for several reasons.

Ho hum. There's perhaps never going to be a robust enough market to sustain a totally vegan Americana diner. ...Then again, we're going to have to fight climate change with diet change if we intend not to die.

Sassool (Raleigh)

Sassool's is a Mediterranean deli with locations in Raleigh and Cary. I'm a big fan of their menu, and as a picky Med. food enthusiast, that's saying something. Their Raleigh location also has a corner of the store set up like a market & bakery. There are the usual date cookies and boxed falafel mixes, but also harder to find Middle Eastern items like sumac and rose water.

Pictured, their lunchbox special: half a falafel pita with choice of two sides and a piece of baklava (you can give it away to a non-vegan friend). My two sides were rice-stuffed grape leaves (request replacement of yogurt sauce with hummus) and the black bean salad.

Look at the gorgeous interior of their falafel—herby as fuck! The way it should be!

I've sampled many of their other sides, and these are all good so far. Sassool doesn't over-salt, but lets the herbs and olive oil do the talking. I would personally like more salt, but I know other people are practically salt-phobic (my parents). My mom, a devout carnivore who now likes Med. food since I've become veg, has now really taken to eating lentils—and all because of Sassool's delicious lentils with caramelized onions.

Above, my plate on another occasion I went: their quinoa tabouli (again, needed more salt, but still so herby and good) and more of the black bean/chickpea salad.

On this occasion I noticed they have vegan versions of their stuffed dates. I have no idea what it was stuffed with, but the filling was a thick kind of creamy (like cake frosting) and perhaps a little too sweet to eat right after enjoy delicious acidic Med food. Still, it's nice they keep the vegans in mind with regards to their pastry counter.

Dining Out: Irregardless Cafe (Raleigh)

Recently had the alignment of the stars to splurge and treat myself to the renown Irregardless Café.
Seitan Tofu Reuben - "Grilled seitan (tofu mixed with wheat gluten and formed into cutlets) served on grilled rye bread with sweet & sour braised red cabbage and a tofu 1000 island dressing."

The Reuben’s contents were robust and “meaty.” I liked the red cabbage kraut and the tofu 1000 Island sauce well enough, but the sandwich was sparse on the sauce and thus slightly dry, plus the kraut juices there had more of a sweet flavor than the tangy pickledness I crave. Meanwhile, those side potatoes were delicious—well seasoned with salt and had an excellent and very well-developed crunchy crust.