Restaurants

Dining Locally: American Flatbread

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Our pizza from the last post was actually inspired by a visit to American Flatbread a few weeks ago where we sipped the best beer and ate the most delicious pizza. This is one of our go to restaurants because they have amazing flatbread that is made from local and/or organic ingredients.  Plus they keep it simple- their menu has a salad (which is amazing) and a number of flatbread creations as well as an option to create your own flatbread.  THAT IS IT. They don’t need to put anything more on that menu because it is perfect keeping it simple.  They also have a special salad, vegetarian pizza and omnivore pizza each night as well as dessert specials.

On top of having a great salad and flatbreads they easily accommodate vegans and they brew their own beer. Now their dining menu maybe short and sweet but the beer list is extensive and filled with a great selection of microbrews as well as their house made which are all really good.

Veganized Special- white pizza with delicata squash, apples, garlic and maple glazed hazelnuts

Dining Locally: The Farmhouse Tap & Grill

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The Farmhouse Tap and Grill opened just the past spring and has been packed every night since.  It quickly has become one of the most popular restaurants in Burlington.  This gastropub is all about featuring and supporting local farms and it has a tap room as well.  In the summers you can sit and have a brew in the outdoor beer garden while you wait for table.  Although the menu is heavy on the meat and dairy side the vegan options do not disappoint. Shortly after the restaurant opened I emailed inquiring about the vegan options and this is what I was told are vegan:

  • Heirloom tomato salad (sans feta cheese)
  • House soy burger (sans cheese and bun) we suggest over some wilted kale in place of bun
  • French fries!
  • Nitty Gritty Corn Cakes (sans buttermilk vinaigrette)
  • Kale & arugula salad (sans blue cheese, with lemon vinaigrette instead of the buttermilk vinaigrette
  • Marinated olives, spiced pecans from the snacks menu
  • Roasted Beets (sans goat cheese)
  • Phil’s Vegan Delight – not on the menu, but we make it often.  Some braised greens, mushrooms, and veggies over grilled Red Hen Bakery bread

We have enjoyed the french fries which are crispy and delicious, the corn cakes with the lemon vinaigrette which is just to die for, the marinated olives- plump juicy and so good and of course the vegan delight.  The thing I love about the vegan delight is that the basis is the same every time greens, mushrooms and veggies over bread however the combination is different each time I order it because it is based around what veggies they have that day.  It is always amazing and the Hubz and I have been known to frequent here more often then any other restaurant around.

The beer selection is really outstanding which is why we keep going back for more.  There is also a small wine menu that features some nice wines, however if you are looking for liquor you won’t find it here.  The atmosphere is loud with low lights and is always packed and full of energy.  Unfortunately due to the lighting inside I didn’t get great photos but I do have some from the beer garden.  I have to say that if you are a beer and food lover this is the place to visit in Burlington.

Dining Locally: Magnolia Bistro

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This is the first of my “Dining Locally” posts which will be a series of post about Vermont eateries.  Today’s post features Magnolia Bistro which is a certified green restaurant in Burlington Vermont that features a variety of breakfast and lunch options.  The Hubz and I visit here pretty often to enjoy there great food, atmosphere and of course the vegan bloody mary’s.

Magnolia Bistro’s menu is a vegans paradise.  Everything is labeled with a “v” if it is vegan and if you are gluten free you will be delighted to know gluten free dishes are marked with a “g”.  This make the dining experience relaxing, easy and enjoyable.

Sesame Tofu Scramble

Plate O'Sides- black beans, kale, home fries and toast with Earth Balance

The Hubz and I would recommend:

  • Garbanzo Burger
  • The Incredible Mr. Limpett
  • Sesame Scram w/avocado
  • French Toast
  • Bloody Mary

However, we have never had a dish we didn’t love!

Magnolia Bistro, One Lawson Lane, Burlington, VT

Visiting Saratoga Springs

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After our visit to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary we were feeling great but hungry so we snacked on our leftovers

and a few of these:

and one of these for our drive to Saratoga Springs:

After about an hour of driving we made it to our hotel for night which was a HUGE improvement over our Friday night hotel.  I used Hotwire my go to resource for great inexpensive rooms and we got the Hyatt Place in Malta NY just outside of Saratoga Springs.  Unfortunately my camera battery died during our visit to the animal sanctuary so I didn’t get a good shot of the room, however, the picture on the website is exactly what our room looked like so take a look:

After relaxing for a bit on the couch we finally headed out to see the town and get some dinner.  Our first stop was the Olde Saratoga Brewery which has a tasting room and the best part you can taste what you want and the only cost to you is what you want to tip- great right? Well we stopped in and tried 2 brews each before heading to dinner.

After brews we headed to downtown Saratoga Springs for dinner at Karavalli an Indian restaurant that I read about online and was drawn to their vegan menu options.  We started off with the Bhel Poori which was really interesting; it was like a savory rice crispy treat.  We then shared the CHETTINADU VEGETABLE: A Tamilnadu Specialty:Vegetables in authentic spicy black pepper and roasted coconut sauce and the KUNDAPUR VEGETABLES: A Karnataka Specialty:Vegetables cooked with coconut milk and dry red chilies, tempered with curry leaves and mustard seeds.

The food was amazing and there was so much of it that we had to take some with us for lunch on Sunday.  Although our meal was huge and we were pretty full we had a little room left (after a long walk around downtown) for one of these bad boys:

An Amazing vegan chocolate chip pumpkin seed macaroon.

Running Away Part 2

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After a restless night at our less than desirable accommodations we were in need of a wonderful breakfast to start what we knew would be an amazing day. We headed to Woodstock, New York to eat breakfast at the Garden Cafe On The Green.

The completely vegan menu was filled with delicious sounding breakfast dishes that I wanted to order all of them from the Oatmeal “Crème Brule” to the scrambles and of course the French Toast.  However the Hubz and I finally made a decision and picked two amazing dishes, a side and coffee.

I had the Breakfast Burrito which was massive so I only ended up eating half and saved the other half for lunch.

It was really delicious.

Breakfast Burrito: black beans, tofu scramble, vegan cheddar, salsa and guacamole served with roasted potatoes

The Hubz had the Italian Scramble which was delicious as well and also a ton of food.  He took some of his with us as well and we shared our leftovers for lunch later in the day.

Italian Scramble: spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs, served with grilled baguette & roasted potatoes

Oh yeah and we had some vegan sausages- had we known that the meals were going to be so huge we probably wouldn’t have ordered them but they sure were delicious!

After breakfast we wondered around town and visited the local flea market where I found a few pieces of costume jewelry and some beautiful figs.

I am sure that you have figured out our final destination by now however you will still have to wait until the next post to see all the fun.

Creamy, Cold & Vegan

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The Hubz and I headed downtown after dinner to relax and enjoy the nice weather.  We talked about going to Stogo for vegan ice cream, but got a little lost,  so we decided to try Lula’s Sweet Apothecary .  I really wanted a sundae but didn’t think I could eat one on my own and the Hubz just didn’t feel it. I asked one of the staff members which flavor was her favorite and she said she really liked the lemon and chocolate fudge brownie, but her favorite was the soft-serve twist (cake batter & chocolate).  After tasting a few of the hand-packed ice creams, I decided to go with the soft serve twist and the Hubz went with butterscotch.

Both of our choices were really good, but honestly, I enjoy Stogo’s ice cream more.  However, Lula’s was a fun little place that had soft serve which made me happy as I have been wanting some for years.

Post Ball Game Antics

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After the game we were all feeling a little hungry and loopy but no one as much as Ma….

So after  a million a few last minute photos were taken we made our way to Candle Cafe for an early dinner.

I have always wanted to go to Candle Cafe, ever since years ago when my mom bought me the cookbook for kitchen. I have made many of the recipes myself but was ready to get the full experience. We all would have liked to visit Candle 79 but considering we had been at a ball game all day and weren’t staying the the city where we could head back to our hotel and shower and change, we decided casual would be better. However, after this visit to Candle Cafe we will for sure be heading to Candle 79 next visit.

After reviewing the menu about 30 times we all finally made decisions, since we couldn’t justify ordering one of everything we all got different things so we could get a little taste of a variety of items.

Mine: INDIAN PLATE tofu spinach saag, black-eyed pea masala, yellow basmati rice, date-raisin chutney, cabbage salad and parata bread.

Hubz: CAJUN SEITAN SANDWICH Pan-seared seitan, steamed greens, caramelized onions and avocado. Served on toasted focaccia with an ancho chili aioli and coleslaw.

Ma: GRILLED SEITAN BURGER Seitan burger on a seeded bun with fried potatoes, lettuce, tomato, onion, coleslaw and pickles.

PA: TUSCAN SEITAN PARMESAN SANDWICH Breaded seitan cutlet with melted tapioca cheese and roasted garlic tomato sauce on a potato onion roll. Served with a mesclun salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette and fried potatoes.

Everything was delicious however here is a run down of everyones favorites:

  • Ma: Seitan Burger
  • Pa: Seitan Burger
  • Hubz: Cajun Seitan and Tuscan Parm
  • Me: Cajun Seitan, Tuscan Seitan Parm or the date-chutney

I loved everything and now I am ready to go home and make some more recipes from my cookbook and hope that they taste as good.