Monday, May 29, 2017

Veg Places

If you have been following my blog or Instagram account, then you already know I am an omnivore. I am truly an omnivore in the most literal sense; I love things like fish eyeballs, raw oysters, snails, beef tongue, tripe, duck feet, veal kidneys, and lamb pancreas. Really. Love. Eating. All. That. 

When a talented chef is at the helm, I even love sea urchin in pasta, grazie Sal for showing me the light:) The flip side of all the animal I eat is that I also eat and enjoy many vegan and vegetarian dishes. The key for me is the talent of the chef. One of my favorite vegan dishes of all time was the Jerk Salad at Native Foods before it was taken off the menu. I have a few vegetarian and vegan friends, so finding places that serve foods they will eat and that I like is a rare and wonderful experience. 

By Chloe is an New York transplant which now has one location here in CA. It is a 100 % vegan cafe, but in light of recent news, the founder has left the brand (or was fired), so we shall see how this all plays out. For now, I can say that I loved everything, from the clean aesthetic and the environmentally thoughtful utensils, to the flavors in every bowl.

The $10.95 Kale Caesar with shitake bacon, avocado, tomatoes, almond parm, maple wheat croutons, and caesar dressing was probably my favorite of all the salads we ordered. The shitake bacon was addictive!
The $11.95 spicy Thai salad with apricot sriracha glazed tempeh, almonds, quinoa, edamame, scallion, and crispy wontons with peanut dressing, had a nice balance of textures.
The $11.95 Quinoa Taco salad with spicy seitan chorizo, black beans, sweet corn, avocado, tomato, tortilla strips, crema, and an agave lime vinaigrette, was filling and fresh.
 They have burgers and fries, and of course vegan condiments for both.
It's a vegan place so animals are welcome, and they sell doggie treats, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Humane Society :)
 Desserts galore, including a few gluten free options.
True Food Kitchen opened in Santa Monica a few years ago (see my previous blog post), and they have been expanding both their menu and locations ever since then. The kale salad was my favorite back then and is still delicious, now offered with protein additions, so I ordered it with shrimp for a total of $14.50
The Seasonal Ingredient Salad was a hearty mix of seasonal vegetables for $14.50 that was so umami rich, that my friends could have easily eaten twice the small serving.
I didn't expect the brussel sprout pizza with mushrooms to be very good, but I was pleasantly surprised by the yeasty crust and the unusual topping. I am a pizza snob after eating at Bonci, so being pleasantly surprised by anything called pizza here in the US is a rare compliment :)
Hmmm now that I've eaten such clean vibrant plant based food, I think I want some steak tartare :)

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