Restaurants

Back from Boston

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I am back from Boston 🙁 . It was a great time and there is so much to tell.

We started our trip out at Grasshopper in Allston. I had the Vegie Beef and Broccoli with Brown Rice and Neil had the Gluten Ginger Stir Fry with fried rice. We started with the friend dumplings. Mine was okay the broccoli was fresh which was nice but it was kind of unimpressive and the vegie beef was kind of rubbery. Neil’s dish was awful I took a few bites and just wasn’t liking it at all. There was too much ginger and it was slimmy; he didn’t care for it either but his dislike was nothing like mine. The fried dumplings we started with were fine it’s hard to mess up fried food. Overall I was not impressed with Grasshopper at all and probably wouldn’t go back unless I wanted a cheap lunch. It is great if you want an all vegan dining spot however beyond that I’d look elsewhere.

(grasshopper photos to come)

After our lunch at Grasshopper we jumped next door to TJ Scallywaggles and picked up a giant carrot cake cupcake that was really good.

(pic of cupcake)

For dinner on Friday we went to Lowell to Life Alive. It is located in the historic arts district and is this great vegetarian cafe that uses mostly whole foods and is all organic. We had this great salad called the Mystic Mountain and it had roasted garlic lemon parsley hummus along with granny apple slices and cashews along with other veggies. Neil had a large version of this and I had a small one with a cup of curried squash and apple soup. Everything was fresh and yummy and their menu is mostly vegan with a few exceptions that can be made vegan except for the one with eggs. To end my meal and please my sweet tooth I had a Coconut Alive Smoothie made withTherapeutic Coconut Oil, Banana, Vanilla Rice Dream, & Rice Milk; Immune Boosting, Fat Reducing, Heart Protecting…and DELICIOUS!

(photos for Live Alive)

Saturday morning we headed to the Veg Fest. When we got there we were told to head upstairs first and we tried a few samples and then filtered down the hall to a classroom where we were lucky enough to hear Sarah Kramer talk about her books and vegan travel. She was great and had a lot of spunk. After this we headed downstairs where the craziness began. There were tons of people and lots of booths go view. Below are a number of the free samples we got (besides the ones we ate) and a few things such as the non-cheese crackers, marshmellows and teese that we bought there.

After Veg Fest we headed to our hotel to relax for a bit and then to Harvard Sqaure. We were a little hungry and feeling unsatisfied from our ridiculous snacking on samples that were mostly sweets so we decided to stop at b.good and share a veggie burger and sweet potato fries. This place was great and everything is baked not fried and so yummy.

Later that evening we wondered over to Chinatown in search of Supper 88 however to our dissapointment the one on Essex St. was closed for renovation. However we jumped over a street and to our surprise Buddha’s Delight no longer exist it has been replaced with My Thai Vegan Cafe (which is also located in Brookline). Excited to see that a vegan restaurant had replaced Buddha’s we decided to try it and we are glad we did it was incredible. This place had great food and really out shinned Grasshopper by 100%. We started with some fresh rolls that were really good and had this increible peanutty dipping sauce. I had the yellow curry noodles with vegie chicken which was so yummy and Neil had yellow noodles with vegie chicken (they had sort of a brown sauce on them) those were the yummiest things. We were pleasntly surprised and impressed by My Thai and can’t wait to go back.

(my thai photos)

Sunday morning before heading home we decided to go to our favorite breakfast spot – Espresso Royale/Bagel Rising on Newbury st where we got our soy chai lattes and the yummiest whole wheat everything bagels one with veggie tofu spread and the other with sundried tomato tofu spread (we shared).

After this we stopped at Tradder Joe’s on Boylston and then headed out to Allston to the Super 88 and then to Whole Foods in Boston. We picked up a number of goodies (pictures below).


Now I am tired and don’t want to head to work but I must. Enjoy and I will update with more pictures this evening.

p.s. the tofu loaf picture is now up

Outline of Plans for the Weekend

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Friday:
Stop in Concord to try something sweet at Cafe Indigo

Then it is off to Allston where we will dine at Grasshopper

Saturday:
It’s all about the Veg Fest

Then dinner somewhere maybe TJ Scallywaggles (tentative)

Sunday:

Of course we have to hit up our favorite spot for sum yummy bagels and tofu Spread- Bagel Rising

then who knows but it sure will be a yummy vegan weekend.

Veganmofo- Rhapsody- Montpelier

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I just got back from a nice (but too quick) lunch with my hubby down at Rhapsody on Main St. in Montpelier. I really wanted to see my husband and have a lunch date, but needed some place quick and easy to go to so I wouldn’t go over my allotted lunch time. Lets just say that I won’t be doing many more lunches here. It was just kind of meh, which I already had come to the conclusion of months ago but decided to give it another try.

I had:
whipped ginger sweet potatoes– these were actually pretty good a little too gingery but good
brown rice– very over cooked
tofu stew- now this was really good their stews usually are
tempeh nugget– this was not good it was deep fried tempeh is some sort of black sesame seed crust and it was dry and boring
vegetable Indian lentils- these were okay the flavor was decent but they were super gummy they either needed to be less gummy or more soupy
chickpea curry- this was pretty good
salad with tofu dill dressing- I have to say I love this dressing
Artichoke heart salad- this is really good and creamy
Marinated Mushrooms- these were pretty good

for dessert we split:
a carob almond cup- kinda like a PB cup ….not made on site
a cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookie- this was alright it was kinda crunchy, I like my oatmeal raisin cookies chewy

Overall: 3.7/5
Service: counter service
Food Quality:2.5/5
Atmosphere:4/5
Vegan Options:4.7 (there is sushi)

Times Visited: 5

From the sounds of it you’d think I’d like it more…but it is just nothing special and super pricey.

Veganmofo- Foo Kin Chinese

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This weekend my husband and I went to Cooperstown, NY. I had done some research prior to our trip and was feeling pretty disappointed because it seemed that there were no vegan options in this town except for your standard veggie sandwiches, salads and veggie burgers. However, to our surpirse we found a great Chinese restaurant that had a number of vegan options.

Foo Kin Chinese is located right around the corner from the Baseball Hall of Fame and is small and kinda sketchy looking but amazing. It is all family run, the dad cooks the kids seat and serve and the mom helps out as well.

We had:
(Steamed or) Fried Vegetable Dumplings (6) 3.95- These were amazing they were filled with mushrooms and cabbage and were just so good and the sauce that came with them was amazing as well.
then we split:
GENERAL TSO’s BEAN CURD 8.25
Fried bean curd w. sautéed broccoli
with hot & spicy sauce.
This was good too the tofu was all crispy and yummy the sauce was good not the best general tso’s I’ve ever had but it was satisfying.
Their other vegan options include:
  • Vegetables
    (w. Rice)
    Per Order
    Bean Curd w. Garlic Sauce 7.25
    Bean Curd w. Szechuan Sauce 7.25
    Bean Curd w. Mixed Vegetables 7.25
    Kung Po Bean Curd 7.25
    Bean Curd w. Broccoli 7.25
    Broccoli w. Black Bean Sauce 6.25
    Mixed Chinese Vegetables 6.25
    Sautéed Broccoli 6.25
    Broccoli w. Garlic Sauce 6.25
    Stir Fried Snow Peas 7.25
    Buddhist Delight 7.25
  • Diet Dishes Special
    (w. Rice & Ginger Sauce)
    Per Order
    Mixed Vegetables or Plain Broccoli 6.00
    Steamed Snow Peas 6.95
    Bean Curd w. Mixed Vegetables 6.95
  • Sesame Cold Noodles 3.95

Overall we enjoyed it and were glad that we found something vegan in Cooperstown that wasn’t just a veggie burger.

Overall- 3.375/5

Service -4/5

Food Quality – 3.5/5

Atmosphere – 2/5

Vegan Options 4/5

Location: 48 – 50 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, NY
Hours:
Mon. – Thurs.: 11:00am – 10:30pm
Fri. & Sat.: 1100:am – 11:30pm
Sunday: 12:00 noon – 10:00pm

Times Visited: 1

Hemingway's Restaurant

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Hemingway’s Restaurant
4988 US ROUTE 4 • KILLINGTON, VT • (802) 422-3886

Four Course Vegetable Menu
Three tasting portions of vegetable or dairy items plus dessert: $55 per person.
An all vegan menu may be had with advance notice.
Following are sample menu items:Vegetable Strudel with Pine Nuts
Asparagus Flan
Risotto of Local Exotic Mushrooms
Crown Romanesco with Autumn Root Vegetables
Timbale of Zucchini with Fresh Herbs and Couscous

We have a four course vegetarian menu available each evening, which can
be made Vegan.

Ted Fondulas
Chef Owner

Veganmofo- Pastabilities

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Pastabilities is located at 4735 Williston Road in Williston, Vermont (West of the Industrial Ave and Williston Road intersection. Right next to Mr. G’s.)
802-598-5513
Open Daily 11am-7pm, Closed Sunday

Response from my inquiry about vegan options:
Hi,

All our stock pastas contain eggs at this point in time. However, the pizza crust and sauce is egg/animal free. You could do a vegan pizza if you opt to go without any cheese. We also make our own pita bread for sandwiches, so there are vegan options there. We’ve tested some vegan pastas, but haven’t produced any yet. If you were interested in a special order, we could arrange to make a batch of fettuccini or spaghetti. Unfortunately there isn’t much demand for Vegan though, so I’d have to ask you to purchase at least half the batch, which would be 10 lbs. I’d try to sell the other half here. Shelf life is almost indefinite if kept frozen.
Thanks,Dan

Veganmofo- Daily Planet

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I e-mailed the Daily Planet http://www.dailyplanet15.com/ to inquire about the vegan options that they offer.
The Daily Planet
15 Center St.
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 862-9647

This is what they said:

Hi Lindsay

These are our vegan options:

Field Greens – Mixed baby greens dressed with your choice of balsamic vinaigrette 5.00

Thai Peanut Noodles – Fresh garden vegetables and linguini tossed in a spicy peanut sauce 7.00

Marinated Portabella Sandwich – Served on sundried tomato focaccia with basil pesto and fresh mozzarella. Accompanied by a spinach-roasted red pepper salad, in a balsamic vinaigrette 8.00(w/out the cheese)

Citrus Caponata Eggplant, red plums, blood oranges, figs and walnuts. Over a savory, rosemary-cracked pepper waffle 18.00 (without the waffle)

Thank you for your interest
Kristi
The Daily Planet