The Wynn creates a vegan oasis in the desert

Tofu and Eggplant

It's an old cliche - a billionaire creates an epic hotel, hires some of the world's finest chefs, goes vegan and then makes all the world famous chefs create vegan menus.

Well, it's not a cliche at all, but it should be.

Tracy and I sat down together to see if there were any good reasons to get out of town for the weekend. The idea of Vegas came up. It was probably a joke at first, but the idea became a real possibility when we remembered some old vegan news clippings that fell through our google news filters about an eccentric rich guy, Steve Wynn, who was doing something crazy: veganizing his restaurants. ( read about his veganism )

Tip Top: Vegan Soy Beef is No More

I'm sorry to report that Tip Top has changed their soy beef provider to Morningstar, which as many of you know, is not vegan.

They still have their soy cheese that is vegan (for now) and a pretty killer veggie wrap.

COLUMBUS VEGAN WEEK! WHAT?!

In an effort to help protect animals and the planet (and be super awesome), seven local eateries have collaborated with the Ohio-founded animal advocacy organization, Mercy For Animals, to offer exciting, new vegan options in celebration of World Go Vegan Week in October. I know. It's nuts.

Louie's Fusion Grill - Now in Upper Arlington

Louie's Fusion Grill used to only have one location in Hilliard... which I never go to, so this spot slipped under my radar. Now that they opened a second location in Upper Arlington, I can tell you they have the most delicious veggie tacos!

Andrew enjoying the Louie's ambiance

I didn't expect much from this place, but Andrew likes to go into places and harass them about vegan options. Well, not so much harass, as politely ask. But I still get slightly uneasy when he does. Half the time people don't know what you're talking about, or they think you're joking. It's sort of a degrading experience.

Starbucks Soy Frapp Official

READ: Soy Caramel frappuccino, no caramel sauce, no whip

It's official, guys. I've had one a day since Tuesday. You can, once again, enjoy caramel, mocha, green tea, or any other flavor frappuccinos with soy milk at every starbucks in the city. Confirmed locations include: Kingsdale, Fifth Ave./Grandview, Lane Ave., the Goasis in Ashland, and probably all the rest. I thought I might miss the caramel sauce/whipped cream part, but they're plenty sweet and amazingly delicious. I went in on Tuesday to the Fifth Ave. location just to confirm that they exist. They were concerned that it might be too sweet, so they asked my opinion. And while it is sweet, I sort of recognize that as the point of a frappuccino. The soy milk is sweetened, so you may want to do half the pumps of syrup. But I really enjoy the sugar overload. Check them out!

A City in Food: Chicago

So, months ago, in the tail end of winter, Andrew and I went to Chicago. And for whatever reason, I never posted about it. But we went to Cleveland this last weekend [[for Andrew's second Sanshou fight]], and now I feel like I'm backed up on vacation talk. So here's Chicago.

Karyn's Cooked

Karyn's Cooked is a beautiful restaurant located in downtown Chicago, moderately priced with an extensive menu [[click map for more info]]. And it's all pretty much vegan. There are few items labeled with honey, and an appetizer pizza [[dedicated to her husband]] that has cheese on it. Andrew got the jerk tofu sandwich with slaw and potatoes. I got the "cheese" flautas with black beans and guacamole. We also got the pizza appetizer with "cheese" and seitan. And for dessert, the tiramisu cake. Everything was delicious, the wait staff was tremendously helpful. We had a great time.

If you're visiting Chicago, I'd recommend hitting up the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and then walking a few blocks over to Karyn's Cooked.

Chicago Diner

Chicago Diner... what can I say. If we lived in Chicago, we'd move across the street from it, eat there every day, and gain about a zillion pounds. EVERYthing on that menu is delicious. We ate there 3 times while we visited Chicago. Unfortunately, all those times I didn't bring a decent camera. So, you get shitty iPhone pictures. What you see on the left is me on our last day before hitting the road back to Columbus with 3 breakfasts. I got their biscuits and gravy, tofu scramble plate, and pancakes. ALL amazing. Andrew got their gyro sandwich-- absolutely amazing. They'll tell you their Reuben is their signature item, but I think their gyro is even better. And in the right picture he's eating their peanut butter cookie dough shake, which I would eat every day if I could. I also tried their sweet potato quesadilla, their twice baked potatoes, and their seitan hot wings w/ ranch. I can't really say anything bad about this place, except get in there early for Sunday brunch. But that's how it is at most brunch places, anyway. The servers were really cool and super helpful with lots of a suggestions. It has a nice, casual atmosphere-- like a hip diner.

I would recommend hitting up Chicago Diner for dinner, and then walking a few blocks over to see the Blue Man Group.

Bodega Cafe Sucks @$$: Calling All Vegans

Yes that's cheese one my side salad. They fudged up my order and brought me a new one.

So, Bodega used to rock for one super awesome reason-- their tempeh salad sandwich. It was the best faux-chicken salad I've had, and my favorite one to get. For some stupid, crazy reason -- they got rid of it!! I don't know if you've ever had it or even been to Bodega, but if you're vegan and in Columbus, please call them requesting it, demanding that they bring it back. Or you can do what we did. We ordered it, they said they no longer carried that item, so Andrew screamed in the background "well fuck you then!" and I said, "well we're not ordering then". Just so they know how much we miss it. Hopefully the message will get relayed, and they'll bring it back.

Here is their info (address, phone number, hours, and twitter):

Bodega, 1044 N. High Street
Columbus, Ohio
614-299-9399
11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Mon-Wed,
11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thurs-Sat,
11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sun
TWITTER: @ColumbusBodega

Write them letters. Call them. Walk in and leave in a huff. If not for the salad, then for vegan options everywhere. Too often they get removed from a menu, because restaurant owners think there's no demand for them. So demand it!!

Friday Night at the Rad Dog Opening

The hub master fresh and I went out Friday to Hal & Al's for Rad Dog's opening. The bar is way the hell in BFE, at least for us, but it was worth the trip. They had their usual menu plus macaroni, fried vegetables, and some others. Andrew got the Bi Bin Bop, which is a tempura fried dog with kimchee and Korean red pepper sauce. He also got the mac n cheeze. I got the less adventurous but still delicious, Rad Dog -- beer brat, spicy mustard, sauerkraut, and grilled onions and peppers.

It was really packed when we first got there, so we were sort of awkwardly standing at the bar until some seats opened up. When we finally did get some seats, I noticed a couple of old men eating the mac n cheeze and asked if it was good. I guess they were really drunk, because one of the guys kept going on and on about how awesome the food was as he shoved a fork full in my face. I tried to decline as politely as possible making some comment about swine flu. Then the other guy offered me some of the "regular" bar food and I said I couldn't eat it. And he said What? Well Why the hell not? So I tried to explain I'm vegan, there's probably egg in that pretzel. And he shouts in a loud, old man bar voice You're a WHAT? A pagan? I tried to tell him louder VEGAN. And then Andew pipes in That mac n cheeze your eating has no cheese in it. And the one eating it said Well I don't care, it's good. That's when we realized that a silly amount of people didn't even realize that they were getting vegan food. A little later a couple came in, and Andrew asked if they were vegan. They weren't. I think it actually pissed them off that the menu was vegan, because they really wanted some hot dogs. I didn't see them get food.


Our orders took a long time to get out. I think that's just a product of street vendor gone kitchen runner. It was hard to see the little numbers people were given after they ordered. We saw Todd running around frantically trying to find whatever number order he had at the time. I imagine things like this will improve, though.

The food was awesome. They had an old school Nintendo you could play and a REALLY terrible DJ. I hate to pass judgment on peoples' musical choices, because I think that's snobby and arrogant, so I won't. He was bad because he basically sat there and let his iTunes go on autopilot while he text messaged people.


By about midnight, the bar was emptying out, and Andrew and I had had our fill. So we left. It was a cool little place. Some strange people, but really good food. Check it out!!

Vacation Part 2: NYC

I had bigger expectations for NYC. I'm not sure what exactly I expected, but it was something more. Like those movies where you see people step out of a cab with all their luggage and look around like a crazy person and say "ahh" like they've made it or something? I guess I was hoping I'd feel like I made it. Instantly.

The reality is less sexy. Driving is like being at a roller derby. It smells like ass half the time. Summers are not designed for al fresco dining. Times Square is mostly foreign tourists and d-bag business people. Subways are the closest to hell you'll ever get. Carrie Bradshaw was on crack: Brooklyn is not the new Manhattan -- unless you think young, depressed-looking hipsters living in the near-ghetto is your scene. Hotel rooms are glorified closets. Cafe food costs the same as fine dining.

But I don't think any of that is the point.

I won't bore you with details, but during my stay there, I was presented with the rare opportunity to work in Candle 79's kitchen. It's still surreal to me. Most restaurants want people with years of experience or culinary degrees of some sort, and as a vegan, that's almost impossible. I could have been food-neanderthal for all they know. But they let me cut things. They asked me if I thought things tasted right. They let me make nori rolls! And those are hard!

Me and Andrew eating breakfast at 7 am in Times Square before my first day of work. The most peaceful it looked the whole trip. Don't mind the hat -- it was part of the uniform.

It was an amazing experience and probably one I'll carry with me for life. And it seems I may have the opportunity to carry on this experience. The head chef told me to call him if we move out there. For now, I'm still Columbus Vegan. But, perhaps New York Vegan . . .

Either way, I understand. You don't go to NYC because it's a great place to live. You go there for the opportunity. And you won't step out of a cab in some amazing movie scene and feel the opportunity overwhelm you. You'll pay your cabby. Get out of the cab as fast as you can to avoid getting honked at. Walk the couple blocks to your dream. And work.

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[[Cafe Blossom]]
All organic, vegan, kosher... etc. It's awesome. Visit their website.

Our first day here, we just wanted to grab dinner and go to bed-- I know, we're party people. But it was Sunday night, and that's when we watch HBO.

Cafe Blossom was great. They had a lot of options and convinced Andy and I that olives aren't that bad. Their menu was all vegan with a few raw options. It was pretty reasonably priced, too, considering how fancy looking it was in there. Their waiters were very attentive and our waiter knew a lot about raw food. He was very helpful. We also got a really good carrot cake for dessert that is not depicted here. We brought it back to the hotel and devoured it before I had the chance to photograph it. Sorry!

We bought a bottle of wine. I believe it was a shiraz. Or it could have been a pinot noir. It was tasty. And got me pretty tipsy. I don't drink much. heh.

The bruschetta. We were so hungry, we ate the pesto one before I could take a picture, but if you look closely there's a drop of it on the plate. Now just imagine that drop on a big piece of crusty bread -- and that's what it looked like. My favorite was the hummus with the olives on it. And I hate olives. Or at least I thought I did. The standard bruschetta was great, too.

Andrew's raw pasta. Before his stunt and during it, we're switching him to a raw diet. So, for this reason, he tried out some raw pasta! It was zucchini cut into noodle shapes with a pesto. Very tasty!

A cashew-based fettuccine alfredo with breaded "chicken" and vegetables. Not raw, but vegan and amazing.

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[[Pukk]]
CHEAP, tasty, and vegan/vegetarian. Visit their website.

This was Andrew's second spicy throw-down. After that amazing Thai curry from Philly, we decided to go to Pukk and see if their curry was any good. They were by far the cheapest restaurant we'd been to in NYC, and I think we were near a campus. But I can't be sure. The area was slightly younger looking.

Pukk was neat. The bathroom was almost too modern to use. The sink was a giant boulder and the water would drain from the sides of it. Very strange. In a review someone said the restaurant looked like a giant bathroom, and I think it's because [[and you can see a little in my pictures]] the tables and chairs were made of little tile. Like a bathroom.

The service was great, as was the food. I officially love Thai curry.

We had some sort of Thai pancake appetizer. It was a curry with little pieces of fake meat and spinach. Does anyone know what that Thai flat, delicious bread is?? It's amazing!

Thai red curry with "duck", bamboo, and pineapple. It's like nothing I'd ever make, but I really enjoyed it.

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[[Lula's Sweet Apothacary]]
Ice cream! All vegan. Some gluten free. All delicious. Website.

This place was SO cute. It was like an old time ice cream shop. They had old ads up from the 50's [[you can see them behind me]], and a little bar where you can eat sundaes in non-disposable cups. The people were super nice, and after trying about a dozen flavors, I got the cookies n cream. I wan't feeling daring, I suppose. Andrew got soft serve cake batter flavored ice cream. His was melting, so we had to get a cup.




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The next day, we had to take the long drive back home. We didn't get to see many sites, but we tried some of the best vegan food I've ever had. We did try to get on Fallon, but we missed the cut off by one person. It didn't matter -- for my 21st birthday, I got to cook in a vegan kitchen. I can always remember that much.

Vacation Part 1: Philadelphia

Pennsylvania is laden with tolls and shitty government-run bathroom/gas stops that I dubbed "Roy Rogers stops". Once we actually got into Philly, it was under construction. So, our last 10 minutes of driving took about an hour and a half. In the actual city, they have strangely narrow streets that are pretty uncomfortable to drive on. Not to mention the obstacle course we had to park in. People also park in the center divides of the street? What is that?!

It's a very cute city, though. Every other building had giant murals, and their capital building is a gorgeous piece of architecture. Their streets are a little strange and confusing, but it seemed the farther east we went, the more complicated everything was. I'd go back there.

We were only there a day and a half with the sole purpose of seeing UFC 101, so we hit a couple vegan spots to pass the time. UFC 101 was amazing by the way -- the Wachovia Center was awesome. Our far away cheap seats ended up being great seats and we sat next to two very large [[in size, not dedication]] BJ Penn fans waving a Hawaiian flag. Those guys could eat . . .

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[[Govinda's-- Gourmet To Go]]
Govinda's is vegan and vegetarian. They also have vegan ice cream and cakes. During the day they have a to-go counter. At night, it's a fancier restaurant.

waiting around with our starbucks

The first restaurant we went to was a bit of a disappointment. Happy cow reviewers seemed to love the food and detest the service, while we didn't mind the service and sort of detested the food. Andrew got a seafood wrap with entirely too much vegenaise for one sitting. I got a very average philly cheese steak. We also got a side of fried chicken nuggets. I think I'm getting sick of gummy fake meat products.

The cheese steak. Truth be told I was starving and this was really delicious at first. Got old fast though.

The seafood wrap. It tasted like seafood. A gallon of vegenaise. If Andrew was a stickler, we would have sent this back.

The gummy nuggets.

That's all I really have to say about this place. Cheap food, cheap quality.


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[[Mi Lah]]
Mi Lah is an all vegan restaurant.

I can only say amazing things about Mi Lah's. Before we went to the UFC event, we popped into Mi Lah's for a quick dinner. After Govinda's, we weren't expecting much. This place was amazing, though. We liked it so much, we got brunch there the next day.

Andrew had one of his spicy throw downs. Any time we go to an Asian restaurant, he'll ask the waiter to make it spicy -- but not white people spicy, really spicy. And he'll actually say that. And the waiter will look at him like are you sure you can handle our shit? Then, Andrew will ask them to bring it. I'm sure I'm making this sound much cheesier than it actually is, but you catch my drift. He asked them to bring it... and they did.

As we walked out we saw the chef hanging out at the hostess stand. He's not much older than us and he was wearing a baseball cap with hipster, black glasses and a button up flannel [[I thought that was hilarious]]. Andrew shook his hand and told him it was the best Thai curry he ever had. I think that made his day, because when we came in for brunch the next day, he remembered us.

The regular menu was kind of pricey, about 17 dollars per plate. Our brunch was a flat 20 dollars per person. They gave you a muffin and fruit plate and some amazing house made juices to start. And then you can choose from several menu items. Andrew and I are seriously considering moving to Philly just to be near this restaurant. The service was fast and good, and the food was excellent. If you ever find yourself in Philly, go here!

The amazing Thai yellow curry. Not too much heat either, even though Andrew threw down.

Potato Gratin with brussels sprouts and mangos and a cashew cheese. Really tasty!

Cheesecake! It was good. . . not as good as mine. ;)

My brunch! An amazing vegan omelet. SO good.With a pancake, toast, home fries, and tempeh bacon. I started eating before I took the picture. Sorry!

Andrew's brunch. An English muffin topped with sausage, guacamole, and gravy. Some coconut crusted mushrooms and sweet potato fries.

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Anyway, that's a mini-vegan tour of Philly. It's a blip in my mind really. I'm actually excited to tell you all about NYC . . . . . . .

Happy Birthday to Me (I need your advice!)

To the left, compliments of a crappy camera phone, is my birthday cake from Pattycake, Columbus' own all vegan bakery. We frequently pick up their whole wheat peanut butter cookies or whole wheat oatmeal from Cup O Joe's, but this is our first experience with their cakes. It was excellent, moist, and well received by all. We even convinced a couple of the relatives to get in on the soy ice cream-- my dad wasn't fooled, though.

My birthday isn't actually until Thursday. The big 2-1! But since Andrew's parents are going out of town over my birthday, we celebrated it early. They finally got to meet my dad, too!

Sorry about the infrequent posting as of late. It's a once in a lifetime thing that my dad comes into Ohio. We usually go out to California to visit everyone. We've been eating out and stuff so there hasn't been too many opportunities to cook and take photos and all that. This Friday we're leaving for Philadelphia and NYC. We're checking out UFC 101 in Philly and then just kicking around in NYC. I hope I'll have some time to post, but it's not likely.

For now, I'm just curious if anyone has any recommendations. NYC has so many vegan places, it'd be impossible to hit them all in the short time we're there. We're definitely visiting Candle Cafe, but beyond that. . . And I have no clue what kind of restaurants you can find in Philly. Anyone have any favorites?

Dirty Frank's: A Review of Vegan Options

Lessner's new bar/restaurant opened last Wednesday in downtown Columbus. Inspired by hot dog stands [[and Ronald McDonald, it seemed]], the restaurant is meant to be a place where you sit and drink and order specialty dogs. The layout is very family, a collage of framed images -- Frank's featuring a small wall of cop photos as well as local artists' paintings [[including a saddening image of MJ]].

While the name of the restaurant is less than appetizing, Dirty Frank's menu as a vegetarian or meat eater is enticing and imaginative-- from sriracha cream cheeses to chutney dogs to taziki Greek dogs. The best part? She has 3, completely vegan, hot dogs to choose from: a polish sausage, a brat, and a dog. In spite of efforts to create a vegan accesible menu, you'll find that most of the items labeled "can be made vegan" are really just vegan because you remove all the toppings. For instance, the "Classy Lady" is topped with cheesy sauce and potato chips. Make it vegan, it's just a dog with potato chips on top. Or, the "True Love Always" is topped with cream cheese and olives. Make it vegan, it's just olives.

There are a couple other options that seem veggie geared like the "Chicago" or "Ohioana" loaded with veggies and great vegan flavors [[jalapenos, mustard, celery salt]]. But while you're eating your veggie loaded dog, you'll sit longing for the cream cheesy goodness.

Be careful, too, and double check stuff that sound vegan. The sriracha slaw has mayo in it. Also, the "Bollywood" dog, when we went on Friday, was labeled "can be made vegan" however there was fish oil in the sauce. Thanks to our awesome waitress who double checked, we ended up not trying that one. [[Although, Lessner has confirmed that they have since removed the fish oil.]]

I will say that the polish dog is out of this world. And I very much enjoyed the "Beano" with no cheese. I wish they were more inspired with the buns -- they only offer an all white poppyseed bun that doesn't seem to match all the flavors on the menu.

I ultimately left there inspired to make my own dogs. I don't think Dirty Frank's is anything to drive 25 minutes out of my way for, but if I'm down there, and looking for cheap drunchies [[3$ a dog!]], I'd go. And even though the vegan options are uninspired, Frank's is lucky to be in a world where they are seldom available.

Columbus Vegan Meet Up

This Saturday, Andrew and I finally went to our first Columbus vegan meet up. We always mentioned it but somehow never made it over to one. One of the organizers, Doug, sent me a message on my restaurant guide list, so I thought -- what the heck? I had been emailing Morgan [[of Morgan Avocado]] and decided to invite her -- the more vegans I kind of know there, the less awkward I'd be. I'm more of a "behind a computer" kind of gal. I'm not ashamed to say it. :)

Anyway, Saturday rolls around, and the meet up was awesome and not awkward at all. A great mix of age groups and people; of vegan newbies and veterans to talk to-- it's nice to be able to impart advice to people and get some advice. I've been on a quest to make amazing Aloo Chana and all my attempts have been mediocre. It was sweet to be able to talk to people who liked the same food as me and were able to share some wisdom.

The tofu wrap from Benevolence -- picture taken by group organizer, Debra.
Check out more photos of this event!

Beyond that, I FINALLY got to try Benevolence Cafe. I'm pretty sure the owner is the coolest chick on the planet, and her baked tofu wrap is out of this world. I could eat 8 of them. Simultaneously. Every day. Until the day I died. It's got crispy romaine, a creamy tahini sauce, and a baked tofu that I suspect is battered with some nutritional yeast based batter all in a whole wheat tortilla. I can't wait until they are done with renovations.

Next month there's a pot luck. If you live in Columbus, you should come!

Betty's Columbus: a Review

Betty's is a hip a little bar and restaurant in the Short North complete with classic pin-up girl photos galore and some diner-inspired, sparkle-y menus. Last night we took the crew out -- including me, Andrew, and our camera guy, Adrian -- and had a little meeting to make plans for future magic shoots and locations for his stunt [[watch our first video]].

As far as vegan selections go, they offer little heart shape symbols to show when an item can be made vegan* [[thanks to Andrew's suggestion]]. It's great to be able to go to a place and just say, "Make it vegan," and the cook knows. The only item that was regiment approved was the veggie melt. Don't the let the title deceive you. The veggie melt made vegan is simply roasted vegetables on whole wheat bread-- the hardiest, most delicious whole wheal bread ever might I add. If you get it, request black bean hummus on it-- you'll need some moisture sans the cheese and pesto mayo and it's pretty delicious, too.

Other vegan options include some veggie/olive oil pastas, a burrito, other sandwiches, some soups [[that sounded amazing]], and many salads. Sorry I don't have any pictures, the lighting was terrible and not really a tripod set-up situation. Definitely check it out.


*The online menu seems to not be as accurate, but I assure you the one inside the restaurant has vegan notations.

Bay Area Vegan -- Tacos, Sandwiches, & Cookies!

Andrew and I took a day trip to the bay area to visit my former home, Berkeley, and to hit up the SF MOMA. We went to our old spot, Herbivore, and got an old favorite-- the grilled "chicken" sandwich, with some healthier alterations. We used to do it with a side of macaroni salad and with the sandwich on focaccia bread. But this time we got a side of seasoned potatoes [[to avoid the white flour in the noodles]] and on whole wheat bread. Then, as an appetizer we got their TVP tacos with guacamole and sour cream. All extremely delicious.


It was sort of surreal to hang out in the town I used to live in while I went to UC Berkeley. We sat in the same seat where we had our first official date, too.

After we ate, we took the BART over to San Francisco and saw some amazing art at the SF MOMA. The whole time I was in Berkeley, I never managed to get over there and check it out. I was glad we finally did. Then, we went to Peet's Coffee. I think it's only in the west coast, because I've never seen it outside Cali, but they often have vegan pastries [[It was founded in Berkeley, too!]]. So, we got a couple vegan oatmeal cookies [[definitely not regiment approved, but like Andrew's mom likes to say, "It's vacation!"]] and a big ass glass of soy milk.


I love the bay area for the art and vegan food. The weather is generally awesome, and the people are laid back. Going back there after living in Ohio, though, makes see how hard everyone tries. Everyone tries really hard to be fashionable, and they all probably struggle to make ends meet in one of the most expensive places to live in the world. Our shitty two bedroom was over $1,700 a month when we lived there. And the people who can afford to live there are wealthy snobs in my opinion. They add no culture. In spite of it all, at the end of the day, I love it there.

Chili Dogs From Grassroots

Here are the pictures of the chili dogs from Grassroots I promised. It was a daily special so I'm not sure if they'll still have them, but if you ever go, these were really delicious. They put vegenaise on it, which was strange for a hot dog I thought? But it worked. And unfortunately, again, their hot dog buns were white. Here are the pictures:

Grassroots and the Holiday Inn Express

We went to Grassroots last night. If you've read any of the reviews on happycow, they're completely accurate.

It's hidden in this pretty sketch neighborhood that looks abandoned. It's pretty nice inside though-- almost too nice. Sort of stuffy and quiet with spa-like water fountains and easy listening playing. However, regardless of how nice it looked, they lost MAJOR points on service. I was prepared for it after reading the reviews on happycow, but man, that waiter was bad. I asked if their pasta was whole wheat and he became frazzled and said "uhh yeah I think it's wheat or something". He seemed so stressed out by the question, I didn't proceed further like I normally would. Andrew wanted to get the raw spaghetti and treat balls, but they were out of treat balls. So we both just got the parmesan. That wouldn't have been a big deal, but last time Andrew went there, they were out of a bunch of stuff. The parmesan was really good, except the pasta WAS white pasta, in spite of his frazzled assurance that it was whole wheat. It set us back in the regiment a bit, but we weren't going to waste food. We also got some appetizers, sprout wraps, that came out AFTER our dinner. It was just a bunch of veggies and live sprouts stuffed into rice papers with this sesame dipping sauce. Nothing to write home about.

An interesting thing we noticed is their salt and pepper is actually salt and a hot chili powder. It's not labeled and no one told us this. I couldn't help but think that some poor shlub was going to burn his mouth in the worst way. The only reason I noticed was because it looked funny so I dared Andrew to try it on his salad. I also noticed they charged for tap water. Wtf?

We ordered four chili dogs for the next day since we were going to be on a 9 hours flight where I'm sure we'd have nothing to eat. Those were pretty delicious if you like mayo on your chili dogs. That was a bit strange for us. Delicious nonetheless. I have some pictures of those I'll have to upload once we land in California. And alas, those were on white buns, and not their standard sprouted wheat buns. At least it was all organic, right?

We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express last night so we wouldn't be rushed for our flight today. I was stoked to find out they had treadmills so Andrew and I got a run in last night. One of them was broken, so we had to take turns. That kind of sucked. And of course, the complimentary breakfast offered us nothing but maybe a crappy cup of coffee and some juice. The only fruit they had was partially opened bananas. Didn't touch those though-- we just had our standard clif bars.

I'll be posting the chili dog pictures when we land.

Ever been to Bodega Cafe?

If you're sick of the uppity vibe of On The Fly and just want a good salad or sandwich with a micro-brewed beer in a casual hipster scene, you should go to Bodega Cafe. As a hybrid restaurant, their waiters and waitresses are pretty in touch with what's vegan-- ours knew to mention that whey was in one of the breads, a far cry from most waiters. Although, I recommend you be specific about your veganism. They'll put butter on your side bread, or cheese on your salad if you're not too careful. Andrew had a spinach salad WITHOUT feta and with mandarins, shallots, red onions, Roma tomatoes, and a cilantro-lime vinaigrette. Their multi-grain bread seems to be their only vegan option from what we gathered, but you can ask if you go in. I had a tempeh salad sandwich, slabbed with lots of vegenaise [[which is awesome??]] and a side salad with romaine, red onions, and Roma tomatoes and a delicious vinaigrette. You can also get chips and pickle as a side. They had a few other vegan menu items, like a hummus sandwich that could be made vegan, or a roasted vegetable sandwich, and some other salads.


Andrew's spinach salad


My tempeh salad sandwich

The wait was long. It was a nice day in Columbus, and all the restaurants were packed in the Short North. I'm sure it was the sudden surge in business that they weren't ready for. But even so, it was a long wait. The bread was also a bit dry, but not enough to sabotage the sandwich completely.

I know I said we weren't going to eat out any more. But we were over there on business, and all Andrew had was a spinach salad. What could be unhealthy about that?

Valentine's Day at the Fly

Last night, Andrew and I went to Dragonfly for their Aphrodisiac Night. Unfortunately, the dim lighting and general ambiance of the place makes it hard to take pictures of the food, so I have nothing to show of my night. I can, however, tell you about the amazing four courses we had along with their accompanying wines.

The amuse-bouche was, in simple terms that won't really do the chef justice, a yogurt with goji berries and ambrosia. It had a nutty after-taste, that I still can't figure out. Maybe it was the goji berries. I've never had them before, so who knows. Ambrosia is sort of an aphrodisiac in that the greek goddess Aphrodite once used it to assist her seducing someone.

The first course was a tomatoe bisque with hot oil, accompanied by a red wine. I don't know much about wines, but it was delicious and a great combination. Tomatoes, however, are not aphrodisiacs. This misunderstanding was brought about by lanuage barriers that created the french name pomme d'amour, or "love apple". Later, they brought out bread and some purple spread that tasted like garlic. I really have no idea what is was-- but it was tasty and garlic IS an aphrodisiac.

The second course was a sliced pear with micro greens on top with a side of chopped beets. The microgreens looked like three leaf clovers. Also on the plate, was a bite-sized, deep-fried piece of zuccini in a white sauce that tasted like garlic aioli. I didn't like this plate. The combination of a fatty, greasy bite with a refreshing plate of fruit and greens made no sense. This plate was also paired with a red wine. Peaches are considered to be an aphrodisiac as well-- so fortified with vitamins that it improves your sexual performance. The shape also nods a hat to a womanly shape.

The third course went off the deep end. It was delicious, but I have no idea how it came together with the other courses. We had three sharing plates of macaroni and cheese, some soupy rice, and a ratatouille. Then came a grilled tofu topped with poached french trumpets in a cherry sauce that was not sweet like we expected. This was paired with a white wine. Cherries are an aphrodisiac and, much like peaches, improve sexual performance.

We finished with a "devil dawg" -- chocoate, hand-held cakes reminiscent of a susie-q -- a chocolate fondue, and a passion fruit sorbet. All delicious and very chocolate-y. Maybe too much chocolate. I think fresh fruit with a chocolate fondue would have followed the other courses more cohesively. It was delicious still.

The usual dragonfly service really failed last night. Their awkward hostess was unable to clearly direct the swarm of 8 o'clock reservations that were deterred because earlier reservations were still eating. We waited a good 30 minutes. She never took anyone's name down and relied on her memory to seat us all in order of arrival. She failed to remember, and Andy and I were seated a lot earlier than we were supposed to, I'm sure. Our second interaction with the staff was a guy who gave us water and who felt the need to assure us that he was an engineer helping out some friends. Our server never told us about the menu, like the usual dragonfly protocol. So, we weren't really sure what we were eating. Our wine either came 10 minutes before a course or 10 minutes late. We never got napkins. It was all a bit of a disappointment.

I'm pretty sure these were all issues of a relatively young restaurant, struggling to handle full capacity for the first time. And although the food was good, a lot was lost with the poor service. It just wasn't the same.

Spanish Rice

So, with only two left over enchiladas, I needed to make a side-- and sort of pick up the pieces and try again, since my Spanish rice was an abysmal failure last time. I'm pretty sure it would have worked out last time had I used minute rice and boiled that in vegetable stock -- but I work 8 hours a day, and come home at 5:30. If a dish fails, I just have to dump it out and try next time I get time. I can only cook a couple times a week-- it's exhausting living the dream and working full time. :)

This is my rendition of a Spanish Rice. I don't know what the difference between a Spanish Rice and a Mexican Rice is-- so I'm just going to call it a Spanish Rice.

The first time I tried this, it wouldn't cook. Traditionally with a Spanish Rice, you fry it in oil, boil it in stock, and add a little tomato paste and seasoning. It just wouldn't cook though. No matter how much stock I added, it would just boil out and the rice would stay hard. I decided to work around that this time.

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[[Spanish Rice Recipe]]

This recipe is pretty kick ass. It's flavorful and healthy, which are my two favorite things... kind of. I don't measure things, so these are a rough guess. I under guess, so you may need to add more. Use your best judgment.

* One cup uncooked brown rice [[not that minute rice]]
* water
* 1 cup no-chicken broth
* 2 Tbs. Tuscan Tomato Paste [[or whatever]]
* 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
* 2 tsp. minced garlic [[I use jarred garlic, because I work and who has time to mince gloves of garlic?-- I think it's like 4 cloves]]
* Spices to taste: lots of cumin, like 2 tsp.
* Some oregano
* Lots of cayenne, again, like 2 tsp.
* Some salt and pepper
* Fresh chopped cilantro
* 2-3 chopped jalapenos, seeded

*Go ahead and cook the rice as the instructions tell with water. My bag cooks for an hour. I pulled it out a few minutes before I thought it was ready, and drained it. Then, I heated some EVO, and sauteed the onions, garlic, and jalapenos [[I seeded the jalapenos, scraped out all the white stuff, and chopped them with gloves on]] for a minute. Then, I added the cooked rice, and fried it a little. I added the no-chicken broth, tomato paste, and seasonings, and I cooked it about 10 more minutes. Once the rice was fully cooked through, I chopped some fresh cilantro and stirred it in.

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It's a really good, simple dish. Not cooked traditionally, and much healthier with the brown rice instead of the traditional white rice. I hope you have enough time in your day to try it.

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On an awesome note, our co-worker Courtney is trying out On The Fly tonight with her friend Drew thanks to the helpful guidance of the ever-persistent Andy and I. She's vegetarian and I believe her friend isn't. So, hopefully she loves it. Yay vegan restaurants!