Living Kitchen (Raleigh)

Raw vegan perplexes me. It's like someone read about probiotics and then took it way too far. Conversely, it also amazes me what raw vegan cooks come up with, especially when dehydrators are involved. I'm open to eating in this style, just not living it.


Enter into my awareness via the holiday gift of a coworker: Living Kitchen, who opened their first location in Raleigh in the dreadful year of 2016. (I wasn't in NC.) Most of their lunch/dinner menu is sandwich and salad-y. There are a lot of beverages, caffeinated and not. There is no subtext in the menu: they are a fan of nut milks.

They also do weird "health food" shit like elixirs and other juicing things. You know, pseudo-scientific tripe to get you to down shots of turmeric pulse-mixed with fruit juice. You know, weird "I get my nutrition info from the internet" shit that is too culturally refined in its emphasis on unrefined foods for my low-class hillbilly ass. But whatever, they didn't invent that, and they make vegan pie and cheesecake, so I'll shut up.

Anyways, it's a good place to go for something light, yet something that has undergone more preparation and care than your standard "chopped veg salad bar in a go box" type place. It's light, healthy fare that isn't too, too high priced and actually puts effort into making an interesting meal out of mostly raw ingredients. The food I ate was flavorful and the rest of the menu piques my curiosity about how they handle the textures of the ingredients listed. Bottomline: I'd eat there again.


"BBQ SLIDERS - locally sourced oyster mushrooms roasted in a smoky BBQ sauce on two classic slider buns spread with cashew mayo, served with bib lettuce and topped with pear, green cabbage and jalapeño cole slaw"

Had a decent ratio of mushroom meat to bread. I liked the slaw, but I didn't taste jalapeno. The BBQ sauce was western NC style, which isn't my childhood fav, but is good now and again for diversity's sake. (I don't even think mushrooms could stand up to eastern NC vinegar BBQ sauce, honestly.)


"SWEET POTATO SUSHI ROLL - avocado, red bell peppers, cucumbers, arugula and sweet potato cashew rice wrapped in nori. served with a lightly spiced Thai chili sauce"

Silly me forgot what I ordered and by the time it go to the table I thought the orange bits were carrots, but then I remembered the restaurant was largely raw and that it must be chipped sweet potato. The veg inside the nori is of course unseasoned, so you need the dipping sauce to make the seaweed-wrapped salad pleasant to eat. The spice level is well-rounded for something termed 'Thai', I think, but those who find black pepper spicy probably shouldn't eat it.

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.

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.

NYC Dining: The Cinnamon Snail

While visiting NYC for a few days, I had to go to The Cinnamon Snail at The Pennsy (mid-town Manhattan, next to Madison Square Garden).

Beastmode Burger Deluxe - "Ancho chili seitan burger grilled in maple boubon bbq sauce with jalapeno mac n cheese, arugula, smoked chili coconut bacon, and chipotle mayo on a grilled pretzel bun"

Several elements of umami. Textural contrasts. Thick, robust, and bustin' out the bun. THIS is how you do a vegan burger!!

I briefly considered eating the paper it came wrapped in, but then I regained a fraction of dignity.



Thai Basil Coconut donut -- I loved that glaze and was obligated to lick it from my fingers in publilc.

Delectable donut interior

I would have tried more of their donuts, but I'm not wealthy enough to stay in NYC for long periods. Their display during May 2016 is below.

NYC Dining: Beyond Sushi

Beyond Sushi - Too bad I don't live remotely close to NYC, as I could eat this style of light, fresh lunch every single day. The ambience was also great--very much the "tidy minimalist" in terms of decor and with classic rock playing in the background (I heard Black Sabbath, Metallica, AD/DC).



"Fun Guy" Dumplings - "Braised porcini, shiitake, portabella, baked tofu, and spinach topped with micro arugula and chili panko. Sauce: Spicy bean and shiitake truffle"

'Twas just the right amount of spicy. I wanted a whole tray of these, but eating them in small sessions is probably best for not over-doing it and making myself sick with dumpling glory.


"Mighty Mushroom" Roll - "Six-grain rice, enoki mushrooms, baked tofu, braised shiitake, and micro arugula. Sauce: Shiitake truffle"

"Chic pea" Roll - "Black rice, roasted eggplant, artichoke, and English cucumber topped with saffron chickpea pureé and parsley. Sauce: Tahini"

Up-close look at that craftsmanship.

Dining Out: Veg*n Shawarma (West Jerusalem)

Grad school is a time suck. Due to time and budget constraints, you don't get to cook truly interesting things and are mostly relegated to keeping inexpensive recipes in heavy rotation. You sure as hell don't have the money to eat out. Sometimes, though, you get to mix pain and pleasure, and go on a research practicum to Israel/Palestine that includes meals. Initially, you think that finding food to eat will be easy, and you love falafel, so why obsessively plan on how to find specifically veg*n restaurants?

Well, I personally found the falafel in Israel to be lacking--little spice and no herbs. Putting fries in the pita was a welcomed texture change and the local style of pickles were interesting (although not salty enough to suit me). I also became sick to death of eating meze in a kebab-centric culture, as well as tired of only being able to get fire roasted veggies without any seasoning, salt, or general complexity to the "dish." (Simple meals are nice, but I consider a plate of veggies to be a plate of ingredients that need further preparation.)

The Israeli Vegan Diet Guide makes it clear that there are a number of options in Israel, but I was busy with my research project, and didn't have the time to check anything out. Again, grad school = time suck. At the end of the stint there, I did have a day "off" (part of which was supposed to be spent typing up my notes) that a teammate suggested we use to visit a veg*n restaurant in West Jerusalem.

Thus I visited Vegetarian Shawarma for a much needed change of pace. They have a website, but it's only in Hebrew, so I made sure to take a picture of the English menu:

Vegan Schnitzel on Baguette -- The patty was nicely firm, but obviously something you get frozen. (This is technically a fast food restaurant, after all.) The only thing it needed was a bit more sauce, and there was mustard on the table, the taste of which I hadn't had in ages. Gobbled down the whole sandwich.

"Nuggets" -- As my dining companion remarked, it's a very interesting concept of nugget. The thinner pieces were like eating the fried crust off of a morsel of food--and I'm not even remotely complaining about that, since I miss doing so. The thicker pieces were more meat-like and the crust had a good herbed/peppered flavor to it.

Dining Out: New Orleans

NOLA is a great city; lots of character, just as everyone says. But, no, I didn't eat beignets or go to Bourbon Street. I went there to do what the hell I wanted to do (i.e. look at museums and visit the cities of the dead). I still see NOLA as a tourist place to chow down, though.
 

Breakfast

Surrey's Cafe & Juice Bar (1418 Magazine St. location): tofu breakfast platter

Served over rice, the tofu is firm, has been pressed, and seasoned with what tasted like soy sauce. In other words, it was actually treated properly so as not to be squishy meh-I'm-eating-this-for-gleaning-protein nonsense. Also, the tomato, mushroom, poblano pepper veggie medley on top is lovely! I added a little hot sauce to a few bites, just for something different while eating. This, happily, sits on your stomach for a while; thus making it good fuel in the tank for wearing out the soles of your shoes and keeping your patience when tripping on the city's uneven pavement.



Slim Goodies - Garden Slammer, sans cheese: Hash browns, vegetarian chili, tofu scramble, and smokey tempeh. (It's not crispy enough to call it tempeh bacon.) 

As is the tradition of greasy spoon Americana, everything was piled high into a mound on the plate and you're offered hot sauce and ketchup to tack on some additional excess calories. The hash browns were very good, the chili was there in the savory background (but didn't knock you over with flavor), the tempeh was pretty good, and the tofu scramble was lackluster. It sort of tasted like there was only turmeric in the scramble, which is terribly insufficient (as this article can attest). I'm not sure what kind of oil was used to cook all of this, so there might be some fake butter in there somewhere with its traces of dairy and whatnot. Note, also, that it's a true greasy spoon place, so it might not actually be suitable for veg*ns.

Lunch

My trip to New Orleans was cut short by weather issues, and while I was there my giant breakfasts didn't render me hungry until late afternoon. However, the reader can always consider happycow.net. I intended to go to Slice (a pizzeria owned by the same folks who opened up Juan's Flying Burrito that also has vegan options), the menu of which says: "Sicilian marinara: vegan friendly with spicy Marinara, grilled eggplant, kalamatas, capers, arugula." ...Sounds really good; damn that 2014 polar vortex!

Additionally, I really wanted to go to Sneaky Pickle, but I was too exhausted to make the trek and not actually hungry at lunch time. (The latter is quite shocking.) If I had gone, I would've gotten the vegan version of the Patty Melt--"your choice of kaiser roll or sourdough bread, multigrain lentil patty, smoked onions, vegan beer cheese, citrus-kale salad, pickles, and fermented chili veganaise." All that sounds absolutely stellar, so I recommend others going to NOLA visit this newly opened restaurant and support it. 

Dinner

Lola - A Taste of Spain starter:  "Ajoblanco -traditional Andalusia almond soup, served cold."

Before I departed my coworker was teasing me about the almond soup turning out to be almond milk. I laughingly replied that I was going to be a little pissed if this was the case. Of course, no, the soup is actually a thick, delectable concoction that I need to learn to make in order to combat the Dog Days of summer where I live. The little bits suspended in the soup are red grape halves, which add freshness and textual contrast.

The very kind server suggested the housemade garlic spread to go with the $0.25 pistolette, and I loved it because I like the flavor of raw garlic. Although, I admit that it might be too strong for some palettes. As the Lonely Planet guide says about this restaurant: "Vampires need not apply."


Entree: "Pisto - Portabella mushroom stuffed with a vegetarian Castilian dish served w/ black beans, rice & asparagus"

Believe it or not, a Portobello mushroom is under that mound of veggie medley/peccadillo, which was well-seasoned. The black beans were mildly spicy and the asparagus tasted pan-seared or grilled. I saved some of the garlic spread and used it for dressing the salad on the side. (You could also mix it with the beans & rice, if you wanted.) All of this was sheer heaven. 

Other

The Saturday before I departed for my short trip to NOLA was when I learned that Wandering Buddha--an establishment tucked in the Hi Ho Lounge that served vegan Korean food (including  much fabled kimchi)--had closed in 2013. I wailed for perhaps thirty minutes before gaining my composure and searching for other options that could possibly fill that void in my meal schedule. That's when I found this article which mentions two: Bhava and Sneaky Pickle. Bhava was so good and a completely vegan restaurant that I had to give it its own post.

Eating Out: Fiction Kitchen (Raleigh, NC)

When I eat out, I like to pay someone to make things that I am too lazy to make (with any frequency) at home. Thus enters Fiction Kitchen of Raleigh--formerly Sunday Vegan Brunch at the Pinhook in Durham. I dare you to go there and not become
a devotee.

Side note: For some reason, the Andre 3000 bottle often seems to wind up on the table I am seated at, despite that I've been seated at different parts of the restaurant. It's a weird coincidence, but I don't mind too much since I like Outkast. (I suppose he's part of the décor because he's vegan.)

Musical accompaniment: "Hot like Sauce" by Pretty Lights

APPETIZERS

Seasonal vegetable fritters: "NC onions and cornmeal, spices, and agave "butter." 

They may be called fritters, but they are hushpuppies as far as I am concerned. I'm not complaining, though. It's a pain in the @$$ to make fried bread at home, so these squelched a long-standing craving of mine.

July 2014: Vegan cornbread and pimento 'cheese' spread with some chilled caramelized onions. The cornbread was good, but the pimento cheese tasted more like a red (bell) pepper hummus. It was tasty, but not a remotely a convincing replication of traditional pimento cheese. (FYI: pimento cheese tastes like sharp hoop cheese and mayo, and completely engulfs the mild flavor offered by the diced cherry pepper.)

ENTREES

The farmers' plate in late September 2013: a veggie burger of beet and shiitakes on a vegan bun with an aioli my friend said was amazing. On the side, tomato and banana pepper salad in a (dill?) cream sauce. There was dill in there somewhere, and a third component to the burger, possibly beans of some sort. The point is that my friend really enjoyed her meal. 

Vegan chicken and waffles: amazing. Simply amazing. My waffles were billowy and had the perfect amount of agave. The chicken is actually herby like the menu says—they don't skimp out—and toothsome like real chicken. And don't worry: the arugula isn't awkward next to the waffle, although that was my initial thought. Slap some hot sauce on the peppery arugula atop your chicken and nom down.

Savory and sweet. Crunchy and fluffy. Delicious and gobbled down. 

Bonus: When I asked for hot sauce, the guy behind the bar handed me two bottles, one of which he said makes himself and that they were looking to bottle and sell in the coming year or so. All he would tell me about it was that he uses seven kinds of peppers (habs and jalapenos were in the abbreviated list). I report to you that it's not a "burn the tongue out of your skull" kind of hot sauce, but rather, a pleasant, subtle spice that leans towards laying savory compliments on its hosting food. A welcomed change of pace for someone who thinks suicide sauce is one of the many reasons to keep on living.

Pulled "pork" plate. When I first became a vegetarian, I used to have INSANE—insane, as in my teeth itched—cravings for eastern NC-style BBQ pulled pork. (My need for vinegary things is a story for another day.) I've tried several recipes and products in an attempt to recapture my beloved, but none of them made the mark. Point blank: Fiction Kitchen's BBQ got me there.

At first bite I was even struck with the illogical fear that my plate had been confused with a meat one…in a completely veg*n restaurant. 

The only complaint to be had was that there was a tad too much black pepper in a few of my bites. But, hey, maybe the pepper's kick is there to keep it from being too spicy. After all, not everyone likes their BBQ sauce with extra chili flakes, such as I do.

Side note: It is also the case that you can eat the plate's portion without having the "pork" sit in your stomach like a brick for several hours after eating, as is the case with traditional BBQ. This, in combination with having little to possibly no saturated fat, could perhaps help our Stroke Belt.

If this stuff freezes well, they should sell it by the pound in tubs just like regular meat-serving BBQ pits. I’d stock my freezer and have a BBQ sandwich every week, just like I did in my childhood.

  
BRUNCH option: Fried "chicken" biscuit with NC blackberry jam. Served with either a side of grits or root vegetable hash. I got hash because I'd already had grits that day.

SWEETS

Vegan chocolate mousse pie with salted caramel sauce. Rich dark chocolate. Excellent sauce. 

Two scoops of avocado and lemongrass ice cream with a rosemary cookie. The cookie was yummy and the complimentary complexity of the ice cream's flavor was fascinating. 

 Peanut butter vegan cheesecake with very good whipped topping and a delightfully crunchy nut crust.

 July 2014: Blueberry sorbet with a lemon sugar cookie. I relished this greatly.