Restaurants

Teany Brunch

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On Saturday morning after a rocky start at the hotel we finally got to the train in Stamford and headed into the city for the day. We debated over just getting bagels for breakfast but then decided that we wanted to find a nice place to sit down and enjoy the morning together. We headed to the Lower East Side and decided to give Teany a try since they have a weekend brunch. We arrived and headed into the restaurant which was surprisingly “teany” but luckily there was only one other group there so it wasn’t so crowded. We took a look over the brunch menu and I was disappointed that the vegan options were really limited; I guess I assumed that since Moby is vegan and one of the owners that there would be a number of vegan options- but there weren’t compared to the vegetarian. I also was surprised that there was no real kitchen but rather just a small counter and a microwave and toaster.
Although apprehensive we decided to just enjoy ourselves and the nice window seat that we had acquired. We started with morning cocktails, hey it’s brunch! as well as a small pot of tea each (both included in the brunch). For our meals I ordered the Vegan BLT and Neil got the Tofu Scramble and “steak” both with greens.
Overall I thought that the meal was meh, just okay. I mean it was Fakin’ Bacon on really good bread with tomato and vegan mayo and Neil’s was warm tofu with heated up packaged seitan steak. I thought that although a nice spot I couldn’t imagine trying to go there when it was busy, you would basically be sitting on top of other people. As for the cost you are basically paying for nice tea and a drink with the brunch, the meal was pretty lame but at least it tasted fine. Needless to say we won’t return except for maybe a quick tea to go.

I’ve Died and Gone to Sushi Heaven

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The Hubz and I started our weekend with a trip to Miya’s Sushi in New Haven CT. I just happened to find out on Friday morning that my friend Lisa is 105 Academy right now with Bun the owner of Miya’s. Well she must have put in a good word because when we arrived at the restaurant later that evening for dinner they rolled out the red carpet.  We were spoiled rotten with amazing food and drinks all night.  I honestly can’t tell you everything we ate because there was so much that I forget.  However I did photograph it all so you can see all the beautiful amazing food we ate.  One of the items that was our favorite that you can see in the first row of photos is the vegan Toyko Fro- it’s these yummy fried potatoes with a creamy sauce on top – it was to die for.  Also yummy was the pumpkin miso soup; I had never experienced anything like it and if I was able to I’d eat it everyday.

As for the sushi, we were treated to a number of small samples of different rolls and they were all absolutely amazing and unfortunately I can’t remember all the names.  I do however know that I was in love with all of the ones with roasted garlic it was a yummy surprise in every bite. You really can’t go wrong ordering any of the vegan sushi at Miya’s because it is all delicious and super inventive.  Now that I know Bun is at raw school at 105 Degrees I will be curious to see if he adds any raw vegan dishes/sushi to his menu.

If you haven’t already figured it out Miya’s is the best sushi I have ever had and I would gladly move to New Haven just to eat there everyday. I encourage anyone visiting, passing through or if you just live within a 5 hour radius to jump in their car and go there now and get yourself some amazing sushi.

A Big Steamy Bowl Of Pho

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Last night the Hubz and I decided that after we got our laundry under control that since we have no food in the house we’d go to a new place Pho Pasteur in Winooski, VT.  I had contacted them a few weeks ago asking about their vegan options and although they are limited they sounded delicious and so we decided to try it.

To start we decided to try the unsweetened iced tea; we were expecting your standard iced tea but this was way better.  It reminded me of the tea used in Thai iced tea’s except with out the sweetened condensed milk- it was delicious.

The Hubz and I were pretty hungry so we decided to start with the vegetarian fresh rolls which were served with a peanut sauce and they were delicious.  The perfect balance of herbs, tofu and noodles all wrapped up into a little bundle.

For the entrees you have 3 options- the vegetarian pho, the lemongrass tofu with vermicelli or the tofu fried rice (no egg). Since i am a huge fan of asian noodle soup and more specifically pho I went with the pho and the Hubz the lemongrass tofu.

Vegetarian Pho

Lemongrass Tofu with Vermicelli

Saucy Sides

Overall we loved out meals; the food was super tasty, the service was great and the cost was well cheap.  We will be back here again for sure!

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Fiery Vegan Valentines!

Long Waits for Good Food

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Good Morning! I hope you all enjoyed my late night Vlog which gave any of you curious readers a chance to hear what I sound like. Now I’m up early ready for oats and coffee (which I hope the husband will be making soon, ahem) but first I thought I might take a minute before I jump into my busy day to blog about our yummy dinner last night.

The Hubz and I haven’t had Friday night Date Night in a really long time and we were itching to get out and have really good food, drinks and conversation. After a little thought we decided there is nothing wrong with doing the same ol’ thing- head to The Farmhouse Tap & Grill for delicious beer and food. We tend to go here most Date Nights because we love the atmosphere, the food and the beer; nothing wrong with enjoying a good thing.

Last night was incredibly busy and we waited over an hour for a table and then we had to wait awhile longer than usual for our food, however we were in no rush so we grabbed a beer at the bar and enjoyed each others company.

Once we finally were seated we had no problem ordering since there are generally only three things we ever get:

  1. The tofu burger with no bun (not vegan), no cheese (obviously not vegan) and sub sauteed kale for the bun and we either have it with their amazing fries or greens
  2. The nitty gritty corn cakes which come with sauteed greens and mushrooms with the cider or lemon vinaigrette instead of the buttermilk
  3. The vegan plate- this is not officially on the menu but you can just ask and they will make you a great plate with fresh local veggies that have been sauteed and served  with grilled local crusty bread

We also occasionally get the olive starter  as well but it’s a huge bowl so we only get it when we go with others.

Tonight I went with the nitty gritty corn cakes

and the Hubz the burger with fries

and we both topped it them with their yummy ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauces.

Martini, Scrabble & Tofu

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Last night I broke our “no eating out” for the rest of the month rule and convinced the Hubz that we needed a night out on the town. He agreed that we have been cooped up in our apartment for the past week only leaving for work and groceries. It was time for a date night out. We started our date night at Drink in hopes that the special drink of the day would be something we wanted but it end up being raspberry vanilla infused vodka, um gross. So instead we decided to go with martinis, olives for me and a twist for him. We decided that we would take our time and draw the night out as long as possible so we sipped our martinis and played a round of scrabble. We had fun and let a few not so “legal” words pass. Once our glasses were empty and our game complete we headed just a few doors down to one of our favorite restaurants Pacific Rim. The first thing we saw though was a sad sign saying that they would not be renewing their lease and therefore would be closing at the end of the month. So with that being said we went in and made sure to order our favorite dish one last time. Unfortunately this is when the photos get a little less than clear, I realized after I had already left home that I had forgotten my camera on the counter, FAIL. 

I decided that I would stick with another martini with dinner but unfortunately this one just wasn’t as good and the olives were teeny tiny; I really hate when you don’t get good olives in a martini.

After ordering our drinks we started with the vegetable dumplings which weren’t really that good, they were greasy and had little flavor. I was hungry though so I topped them with sriracha and dipped them in soy sauce. 

For our entrees the Hubz and I both got our favorite dish the Grilled Spicy Tofu which is marinated tofu that is grilled and then topped with a spicy red sauce and served with brown rice, steamed veggies and kimchi.  It was just as good as I remembered it and I ate the whole thing. I am sad to say this will probably be the last time I ever eat it….hmmm maybe I will try to recreate it.

I know these photos are awful! The Hubz said “those don’t even look like food”

Dining Locally: New Moon

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At least once a week you can find me at New Moon Cafe blogging, working on school or enjoying a cup of coffee with the Hubz or friends. There are many coffee shops in Downtown Burlington but New Moon is by far the best for getting something healthy to eat, finding a table to work on and has the best free Wi-Fi.

New Moon Cafe

The menu at New Moon includes sandwiches, salads, breakfast items, soups, quiche and baked goods. I really love their roasted veggie paninis but lately my favorite has been the create your own salad. My favorite combination is greens, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, carrots, chickpeas, cucumber and lemon dressing. There are three sizes of salad; the small is massive and they don’t skimp on the artichokes which are my favorite.

Yummy Salad Beast

When it comes to beverages they have the best cold pressed iced coffee, wonderfully sweet and spicy chai lattes and their drip coffee is really delicious as well.

Delicious Coffee

My only complaint about New Moon is that it isn’t open on Saturdays.

A Night of Indulgence

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Over the last nine months I have finally found a method of eating that works for me. It is all about the  90/10 Rule (sometimes 80/20); what this means is that 90% of the time I try to eat really well and then 10% of the time I will indulge GUILT FREE.  I think for too many years I have been overly concerned with that I am eating and making myself feel bad for indulging even just a little.  Now that I have stopped being so hard on myself I find that it is so much easier to follow a 90/10 or 85/15 or some weeks 80/20 diet.  I know that I have control over what I eat and that if I can do really well 90% of the time than for me that is great.  I don’t need to be eating really well 100% of the time to feel healthy and happy.

Last night I let myself have that 10% GUILT FREE. After work Neil and I had 2.5 hours before our dinner plans so we decided to take advantage of the time and headed first to The Farmhouse for a beer, snack and round or three of darts. This is where our night of indulgence starts; we both enjoyed a nice beer but since I hadn’t had lunch we decided to get an order of their fries (they are to die for).

After beer, fries and darts we took a little walk around downtown Burlington before meeting Laura for dinner at A Single Pebble this really delicious family style Chinese Restaurant.  We had a gift certificate and were excited to use it since that meant we could order all the yummy dishes we wanted without worrying about spending too much (this place is a little pricy). So for dinner we had (please note all dishes were requested vegan- there are some dishes that appear to be vegan on their menu however are not so ask your server before ordering):

Double Garlic Broccoli

Mock Eel- Fun Fact: This was Alton Brown's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate with Chopsticks" (Foodnetwork)

Tan Tan Noodles

Mock Prawns

Dry Fried Greens Beans (my favorite dish)

We ordered way too much food and ended up leaving with a bunch for leftovers. We really enjoyed everything but the favorite dishes of the night were the Dry Fried Green Beans, Double Garlic Broccoli and Tan Tan Noodles.  The one thing that we really were not impressed with however was the service.  We had arguably the worst table in the house and then our service was awful; our sever only came over to our table 4 times in the 1.5 hours that we were there. We also ended up sitting for nearly 30 minutes being completely done eating before anyone stopped by the talk to us, fill our water glasses or ask if we needed anything else.  Normally we have a really good dining experience and come here frequently for special nights out but tonight was just an off night.

Do you indulge guilt free once in awhile? What are your favorite indulgences?