Restaurant Review: Thanksgiving 2012 (Native Foods Cafe and Shojin)

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Unfortunately I couldn't cook this year because I was so busy with school but I went to some fabulous vegan Thanksgiving gatherings at two restaurants:  Native Foods Cafe and Shojin!  I was very fortunate to have my Dad visit me from Guam during this time :)  Here's my review:

Native Foods Cafe (Westwood Location)

Native Foods Cafe is the perfect place for a Thanksgiving luncheon.   You get to try their famous Native Wellington, and how often do you get to have an all vegan Thanksgiving buffet?  ;)

Native foods holds a "Thanksgiving Dinner Buffet" every year with their famous Native Wellington as their main attraction.  Seating reservations are in two hour sections starting at 11:30am.  My Dad and I took the 11:30 seating which was perfect because it was not overly crowded.  You pay $24.95/person and can head back to the buffet as many times as you like within your 2 hour seating period.  The menu looked very appetizing and my favorite part was that it had Thanksgiving classics like cornbread, green bean casserole and stuffing.  They had two buffet stations, one downstairs the other upstairs so you didn't have to go up or down the stairs at the Westwood location.

Native Wellington

At the beginning of the buffet was the Native Wellington carving station.  The Native Wellington is a puff pastry filled with savory Native Seitan, stuffing, orange-glazed sweet potatoes, kale, and herbed mushrooms, served with mushroom shallot gravy.  This was may favorite part of the meal.  Reminded me of a pot pie!  Definitely a must try!  They even sell the Wellington itself during the holiday season.   I believe there's a way for you to order it online as well.  Makes a great addition to your Thanksgiving table.  Native Foods is going to serve this for X-mas as well ;)

Cornbread

Next up were standard buffet stations like mash potatoes, stuffing, and the green casserole.  Another great reason to come early, everyone is so neat and you get first scoop.  At the end of the station are two salad bowls to make sure you get some more greens in your meal.  To top it all off you can grab some delicious Native Foods cornbread which is the same cornbread you get from their Soul Bowl entree.  It's one of the best vegan cornbreads you'll ever have.  Just the right texture with a little kick in it.  What made it even more delicious was that they just toasted it so it was nice and golden brown near the bottom and very warm.         

Dessert table 

Finally, to top off our great Thanksgiving luncheon was a fantastic dessert buffet with vegan brownies, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cheesecake.  Right when you walk into the door you see the dessert station so you're just tempted to start with dessert.  Hey, who's stopping you?   It's Thanksgiving!  ;)

Fun and happy atmosphere

 Overall, Native Foods Cafe was amazing.  My Dad (who's only vegan when he visits me lol) thoroughly enjoyed the food and specifically loved the green bean casserole.  I thought the highlight was the Wellington because it was so different and really brought the feeling of Thanksgiving to the whole meal.  As for dessert I thought the winner was the brownie, my Dad thought it was the pumpkin pie.  The staff was so friendly (look at the worker smiling in the picture!) and the atmosphere felt like you were having a meal amongst family.  Truly the air was filled with vegan love :D



 Shojin Restaurant

Main Entree:  Tempura Maitake, potato steak, mashed potato with Quinoa soy butter sauce.

Shojin Thanksgiving Menu

Next stop for dinner...Shojin!  This place is famous for having special holiday set courses.  I went here for Valentines Day once with my sister, so I definitely had high expectations from the start.  One thing that I was not so excited about was how much nightshades were going to be used in the meals (macrobiotics does not value nightshades).  As you see from the menu there's a lot of potatoes and some eggplant so I was definitely curious with how I was going to feel at the end of the night.  But hey I avoid nightshades all the time so what better occasion to indulge in some nightshades other than  Thanksgiving so lets have some fun ;)  

Detox Elixir

I started off with a Cranberry Detox/Green Tea Detox drink which was so refreshing.  It has ginger and cayenne with cranberry and green tea to help clear your sinuses, and detox your kidney and liver.  My Dad ordered one too but he found it to be too strong.  I compared it to a Kombucha drink and found it delicious but it may definitely be too strong for those who are not use to detox elixirs.

Beautiful!

Our first course was a pumpkin souop with a "Kuri" chestnut wrapped in "reckon" lotus roots.  Your first served with a big bowl with nothing but a ball in the middle (the kuri) and a lotus root on top.  You're left wondering, where is the soup?  But then out comes the waitress with a bowl of steaming golden pumpkin broth to serve fresh.  It's quite the presentation :)  The soup was creamy and delicious.  The chestnut ball complimented the flavors nicely and added great texture.

Crispy Rice Role Appetizer

Once again the appetizer was a beautiful presentation that reminded of an artist's paint palette.  However the best part of the dish was the brussels sprouts.  The crispy rice roll with konnyaku and agetofu was interesting but I didn't care for the crispy rice on the outside.  I found it to be somewhat odd and the textures seemed to clash with the smoosh of the rice paper inside of it.  If anything, this was the worst part of the set meals.

Tempura mushroom and potatoe

We finally got to the main entree which had tempura mushrooms, potato steak, and mashed potatoes.  The assembly was very formal and the waitress came out to pour the warm quinoa soy butter sauce.  The meal was filling and tasty but it had way too much potatoes for my taste.  Also I tended to avoid the sauce because I found it to be too oily.  Probably the best part was the tempura mushroom and the tempura shiso leaf on the side.  After eating the potatoes I could already feel my body react.  Felt a little heavy and somewhat tired :P

Fried Apple and sweet potato pie

Out came our dessert which was a fried apple and sweet potato pie with cranberry sauce and vanilla ice cream (which I believe is kindkreme).  Once again the waitress came out to pour the warm cranberry sauce, making the night extra special.  The dessert was satisfying.  Although I was a little afraid of the dessert being fried since I already felt that the nightshades was grounding me way too much, the dessert was surprisingly light.

Shojin is a great place to have a nice fancy meal.  It's hard to find a full vegan set menu so it's a great way to share a special night.  But unfortunately I left feeling really tired, probably from all the nightshades.  Another thing that was a slight disappointment was the absence of the Thanksgiving feel.  I loved the Japanese influence but felt that more classic Thanksgiving recipes could have been incorporated more thoroughly.  But you can't beat the ambience they serve up here, and what's really nice is that they take your picture and give it to you in a very nice handmade card with a free Shojin calendar :)

Thanksgiving this year was a lot of fun and I was so grateful to be able to share compassionate meals with my Dad.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone and I can't wait to share what I cook for Christmas this year!  

Restaurant Review: M Cafe de Chaya

M Cafe Meal with Black Beans is the must go to dish.

M Cafe de Chaya is a modern day macrobiotic restaurant that serves both vegan food and fish.  It's hip and fast and very popular in the L.A. area.  You'll see celebrities walk in and order a juice to go and unfortunately sometimes you'll have to waif for an open seat.  But if you need simple macrobiotic fast food on the weekdays [they even have curbside pick-up] then this is the place to go.

Favorite dish to order is the M Cafe Meal with black beans.  It's a balanced macro plate with beans, brown rice, veggies, pickles and seaweed.  But what makes the plate good is the carrot ginger sauce that you pour over the veggies and brown rice.  It's so good.  However, don't expect this to be anything like the Inaka plate at Inaka Restaurant.  It takes literally 5-10mins for them to make it so go figure.  The taste is somewhat bland and on most occasions it comes out cold.  But it's satisfying and leaves you with the same balanced macro feel.  Be sure you get the sauce!

Probably the most popular thing at M Cafe is the Peanut Kale Deli Salad.  It is the best kale salad you'll ever eat.  It's healthy, rich, and tastes great with a side order of brown rice and miso soup if you want to make it a complete meal.  If I'm really craving it I'll order a side of it with my macro meal.

Another side to order that's really good is the Sweet Potato M Fries.  It's seasoned with chili, sea salt, and lime and comes with a spicy yuzu mayo which is amazing.  Order this with one of their sandwiches or burgers or of course with the macro meal if you feel like you need more of a root veggie to ground yourself.  

   



They have two locations: Melrose and Beverly Hills.  I personally like the Melrose location better because there's more seating, daily lunch and dinner specials, later open hours, and their service is better.  However big downside to this place is parking.  You may get lucky and find a parking right in front of their cafe but there's only 5-6 spots and it's a weird parking situation where you have to drive up onto the sidewalk and park [but you get the hang of it after a while].  If not then their parking in the back is only valet, which is 1 hour but I hate putting time restrictions when I eat.  The Beverly Hills location is much closer to where I live but it has less seating and seems to be a lot more crowded than Melrose.  Also the service is somewhat lacking [food comes out cold, noticed things missing in my dish like the sauce or the pickles] and parking in Beverly Hills is hard, especially during lunchtime [meter on the street, or parking structure around the block which is always full during lunch].  However, I've gone here for dinner on the weekdays and it's been pleasant and curbside is fast and easy.

Oh and one more advice, ask to buy their tote bag.  If you use it every time you order take out then you get $1.00 off!  I'm not sure how I got my tote bag, I feel like it was given to me free that one week I kept on ordering out from Melrose but I don't know how you go about purchasing one.  It's definitely worth the $1.00 off though.  

Here's a recipe for the kale salad.  To make it more macro simply replace the peanut butter with tahini and chopped peanuts for garnish with sesame seeds]  ENJOY! :D

Kale Salad

Ingredients
• 1 large bunch kale 
• ¼ cup peanuts, chopped for garnish [for more macro version use sesame seeds]
• ¼ red onion, halved and sliced for garnish 

Spicy Peanut Dressing*
• ½ cup peanut butter [for more macro version use tahini instead]
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 2 T brown rice vinegar 
• ½ tsp. garlic, minced
• ½ tsp. ginger, minced 
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper 
• 1/8 tsp. salt 
• 1 ½ oz hot water

DIRECTIONS
1. Remove the kale from the stems. Add a pinch of Salt to a pot of boiling water, then blanch the Kale for 3 min. Remove the Kale from the boiling water and shock it in a container of ice water. Finally, squeeze the excess water out of the cooled Kale.
2. To make Spicy Peanut Dressing: Place all dressing ingredients into a blender. Blend until mixture turns into a smooth consistency.
3. Drizzle the dressing on top of the Kale and mix the kale and dressing together until kale is evenly coated. Garnish with sliced red onions and chopped peanuts [for more macro version use sesame seeds].

M Cafe de Chaya

Melrose Avenue Location
7119 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90046

323-525-0588
Hours: M-Sa [9am-10pm]; Su [9am-9pm]

Beverly Hills Location
9433 Brighton Way
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

310-858-8459
Hours: M-Sa [9am-8pm]; Su [10am-7pm]

Restaurant Review: Le Pain Quotidien (Claremont, CA) - Organic French Lentil Salad

Organic French Lentil Salad - french lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, red radish, cucumbers, carrots, and avocado on top of arugula sprinkled with flaxseeds.  

Sticking to lighter salads for summertime, I visited Le Pain Quotidien in Claremont, CA and ordered their Organic French Lentil Salad.  This salad was amazing and a great summer treat.  I think it may be a summer special and is only served at some Le Pain Quotidiens so it may not be available near you.  However here's a recipe that you can try to replicate it at home.  I have yet to try it but sounds like it would come out pretty darn close to tasting like the one they serve.  I added some ingredients to it to make it a little more macro friendly ;)

Macro French Lentil Salad

Eden makes a great raw unpasteurized one.

1. Cook 1/4-1/2 cup of green lentils a sprig of thyme and some diced onions.  To make it more macro be sure to cook it with 1 inch piece of kombu.  Stir in some presoaked hijiki towards the end of cooking.  Be sure to not overcook the lentils, it should be easily separable not mushy.  If you like you can add 1/4 cup of cooked chickpeas to your salad as well.
2. Slice 1/4 cup each of carrots, radish, and cucumber.  Mix on top of a bed of arugula.  Scoop cooked on lentils and top with 1/2 sliced avocado.
3. For the vinaigrette, mix red wine vinegar, with lemon juice, dijon mustard, olive oil, minced shallots, pepper, chopped parsley, and pesto.  Add a dash of shoyu and ume vinegar for more macro dressing.  Pour on top of salad and enjoy :)

Restaurant Review: Lemonade L.A. (Pasadena, CA)

Their summer seasonal lemonade flavor is peach ginger lemonade.

What screams summer more than fresh squeezed lemonade!  I did a review on Lemonade L.A. at their USC location, but had a chance over summer to go to their Pasadena location multiple times.  If you're unfamiliar with how lemonade works, first thing you should know is that this place is not all vegan, they do serve meat, fish, and a lot of dairy desserts.  However their deli salad marketplace area is vegan heaven.  Just ask them which of their marketplace items are vegan and they'll point it out for you.  They usually have at least 5 items that are vegan.  You can order up to 3 full portions and you can have the portions split.  So then your 3 different marketplace choices turns into 6 different half size choices.  They rotate their menu with seasonal specials and the main hit for summer is their farro special with lima beans, chickpeas, and kalamata olives.  I absolutely love farro and this was the first time I actually tried it cold as a deli salad.  The olives gives it a nice kick and the lima beans gives the farro a very light almost creamy consistency.  I split the 2 portion option and got the farro special with 1) kale, mushroom, kumquat vinaigrette, 2) cauliflower, golden raisins, almonds, curry, and 3) snap peas, edamame, sesame.  So I urge you to head on down to the closest Lemonade L.A.!  Oh and don't forget to grab a lemonade.  They always have an unsweetened flavor which would be the most macro.  If you're in the need for an immediate cool down then try these macrobiotic summer drink refreshers!

Raspberry Lemonade

Just a few drops of lemon juice is a natural energy booster.  Mixed with antioxidant powers found raspberries, this drink protects against cancer and muscular degeneration.

1/4 cup fresh raspberry puree

lemon juice to taste

1 cup water

Apple juice to taste (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a blender till mixed well.

Refreshing Grapefruit Spritzer

 Grapefruit is a rich antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of heart disease and prostate cancer.  Perfect for a summer night!

1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice  

1 cup sparkling water

Add ingredients into a glass and stir.   Try additional flavors with ginger, apple, lime, lemon, cinnamon, cranberry, pomegranate, and cherry.

Iced Barley Tea

This is a good summer drink and helps reduce fever, cooling the body.

Roast barley in a skillet, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until a fragrant aroma is detected. To 1 portion barley, add 10 times the amount of water . Bring to a boil, reduce flame, and simmer 10 minutes.


Lemonade L.A. (PASADENA LOCATION)
146 S. Lake Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101
626-304-7700
Open Daily 11am-9pm




*Street parking is available.  Seating is cafeteria style so it can be quite a challenge to find a seat when it is busy.

SF Trip Saved the Best for Last: Gracias Madre (Mission District)

Ladies and gentlemen I have saved the best for last!  Gracias Madre is my #1 choice for vegans to eat in SF.  This all vegan organic Mexican restaurant is a branch of Cafe Gratitude located in the Mission District.  I've heard so many great things about Gracias Madre and could not wait to try it out.  Yes, you can pretty much get Mexican cuisine in SoCal everywhere, but here you don't have to worry about the lard in the beans or resort to stale tortilla wraps with no cheese.  Because of these extra precautions I have not had Mexican food in forever!  Boy was I ready to indulge :)

I found the most macro selection on the menu to be the "Platillo de Legumbres," which comes with a choice of two season vegetables, arroz (local brown rice seasoned with cilantro and lemon), beans, and tortillas.  You could choose from the following seasonal veggies: Brocoli (seared broccoli w/chili and garlic), Nabos (roasted turnips w/garlic), Hongos (sautéed mushrooms w/garlic), Greens (seasonal greens sautéed with fresh garlic and chiles), Calabaza (roasted acorn squash), Rajas (sautéed poblano chiles w/onions), and Platanos (grilled plantains).  I chose the Greens, which was kale with garlic, chile, and pumpkin seeds, and the Brocoli.  Although I was a little bummed that I could not sub an extra side of rice for the tortillas, the dish was filling and I actually didn't eat the tortillas.  Quite frankly I don't think it needs it.  Everything on the plate was amazing!  The kale was tasty, the broccoli seared to perfection with a kick of spice, and the beans were smooth and very filling.  The rice cilantro and lemon brown rice was very different too, great for the summer weather.  Was the best meal!

  

I also needed a something pickled in there so I ordered a side of "Escabeche"- spicy pickled veggies.  This was sooooo good!  I recommend you order this on the side no matter what.  It was just the right amount of spice and really helped balance my dish.

Karly got the "Tacos" which although I did not get to try sounded amazing.  You can get a choice of three sides to fill the tacos with.  It’s a little funny being that I think it’s pretty similar to my dish since mine comes with tortillas and you can pretty much wrap up the same sides in that.  But I guess this saves you the time and there’s the added cashew cheez.  

Out came the "Mexican Wedding Cookies" and I was able to sneak a bite of both the cookie and their homemade dulce de leche ice cream.  Both were divine!  The cookie was nice and soft topped with powdered sugar.  I was afraid that it would just be overly crumbly but it wasn’t at all.  The ice cream was smooth and a great addition to the cookies.  I really think both together made it so special.  The other choice was coconut ice cream and that would have been delicious as well and would have totally changed the taste of the wedding cookies.  

So there you have it folks!  Gracias Madre is a definite MUST GO for your SF trip.  The best Mexican food I’ve tasted.  Bring your nonveg friends here and I’m sure they’d agree.  Location is a little off in a somewhat sketch neighborhood, with parking being quite a hassle.  Seating is communal style with a few long tables so it makes talking with your party kind of difficult sitting across a stranger.  But the service is fast and the workers friendly.  The atmosphere is fun and light and a great experience.

Here is the recipe for their amazing wedding cookies!

Mexican Wedding Cookies

8 oz of coconut oil

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbl vanilla

1 cup pecans

2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

Beat together the oil and sugar until well combined.  Add the pecans, flour, salt, and vanilla and mix until fluffy and well mixed.

Scoop out the dough and flatten them to about 1/2 inch thick.  Place in the fridge for about 10 minutes then bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  Rotate them and then bake another 10 minutes.

Gracias Madre

2211 Mission St.

San Francisco, CA 94110

Open Daily 11am-11pm

415-683-1346