A Vegetarian Traveller

Koume Japanese restaurant - Plantation, FL

2010-03-23T19:02:00.001-04:00

Interesting Japanese food

I used to be embarrassed by noisy welcomes at restaurants: some places ring bells, some cheer, and some call out to you. Here, the waitress greets you and then the sushi chefs (with work tables facing the entrance) call out to you in chorus – surprisingly, this actually made me feel welcome. I guess am more American now! (I say that because I learnt the art of exchanging pleasantries with strangers only after moving here).

We went in with a friend, a fellow vegetarian and a regular. He encouraged us to skip appetizers and go with Tofu teriyaki, an entree. An interesting dish - pan seared Tofu served on a bed of sprouts atop a sizzling cast iron platter (reminiscent of sizzlers back in India, I have been hard pressed to find them elsewhere). Once the waitress arrived, I prepped her with the basics - we are vegetarians, so, no meat, no chicken broth, and no fish sauce (special request at Japanese and Chinese joints). To my friend's disappointment, the teriyaki sauce at this restaurant happened to have chicken broth. However, the friendly waitress agreed to substitute it with a ginger soy sauce. In the end the dish turned out to really yummy.

We also ordered vegetable yaki sobe. Yaki sobe literally means 'fried noodles' (reminiscent of Mumbai street side Indo-Chinese Hakka noodles). The vegetables and noodles were served in a sizzling platter and were fried just enough to bring out the burnt flavor but not the taste. They fry their vegetables (ginger, cabbage, onions, and carrot) in butter which took the dish up a notch or two.

Things to try:

Tofu Teriyaki (with ginger soy sauce)

Vegetable yaki sobe

Link to their Plantation location

Laspada's Original Hoagies - Davie, FL

2010-03-20T12:22:00.001-04:00

"Best damn hoagies in town"

It was Friday lunch time: Was reluctant to drive twenty minutes one way, only to get food back to work, because the place was too small to seat all of us. But, I knew guys from my workplace who religiously flock to this place. So, this time I decided to tag along.
We were greeted by a long line, over a dozen people, and the sweet smells of a well-functioning kitchen. Detected the "veggie" hoagie on the menu and took my place in the line.
It was more than a half hour before I could bite into the hoagie made to my specifications. It was delicious. I ordered a small (8"), having been warned in advance to not go for the 12" unless I wanted to save it for dinner. I chose an assortment of vegetables and cheese with spicy mustard, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano (a standard with all their hoagies) on a wheat Italian roll. All their breads are freshly baked at a local Italian bakery.
Simple ingredients like the marinated sweet peppers, sliced dill pickles, and the sliced hot cherry peppers stood out. Even the tomatoes tasted better – they use only vine ripened tomatoes (definitely makes a difference). I liked that the cheese slices were wrapped around the vegetables to hold them in place; made for easier eating.
Having lived in Philadelphia, I know a good hoagie (although vegetarian) when I eat one. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal - will definitely sign up for the ride again!

Link to their menu

Miss Yip Chinese cafe - South Beach, FL

2010-03-18T23:12:00.001-04:00

A classy Chinese restaurant

I have walked by the glass walls lined with huge glass jars (filled with interesting knick knacks like sauce bottles, chopsticks etc...) several times in the past few years; made it inside a few weeks back. I am talking about Miss Yip at South Beach, one of the best places for vegetarian Chinese food. I have already been back there since my first visit.

The place was immaculately decorated - tufted red leather seats against gorgeous red printed wall paper, dark wood tables contrasting the patterned white mosaic-like tile flooring, Chinese checkers boards instead of paintings adorning the walls. The place seemed a bit incongruous in South Beach, had a more New York vibe to it. Was already won over; had not eaten anything yet!!

Over my two trips to Miss Yip I have tasted most of the vegetarian items on the menu; have listed a few of my favorites here:

Dim sum - dumplings:
We ordered both the vegetable dumpling and the tofu and vegetable dumpling – the fillings are completely different. What makes these so special is the thick (yet non-gooey) outer rice shell that is steamed to perfection.

Singapore curry mei fun:
Really thin rice noodles sautéed with julienne vegetables and seasoned with curry powder (very similar to the Madras curry powder most Indians are familiar with).

Ma po tofu:
Spicy food naturally appeals to me, so most of my favorite Chinese dishes are from the Sichuan province. Ma po tofu is a staple in most Chinese restaurants and I have had my fair share - this was by far the best version. The bean and chili sauce was sprinkled with jalapeño pepper slices adding just a little more oomph to the dish.

Moo shu wrap:
The menu describes it as fresh steamed crepes served with a wok-fry of minced carrot, onions, bell pepper, bamboo shoot, celery, Chinese cabbage and mushroom with hoisin sauce.
Made an interesting appetizer.

Link to their menu

Food Inc. - Documentary (2008)

2010-03-07T13:42:00.001-05:00

Where does your food come from?

I recently watched Food Inc., a documentary by Eric Schlosser. I heard about it during a visit to Chipotle (one of my favorite fast food places) - they sponsored a few free screenings of the film when it released. Chipotle is a great example of how a company can be both profitable and responsible; ironically, McDonalds, which is not known more for profitability and less for responsibility, had a stake in Chipotle till a few years back.

If you have read Fast Food Nation or Omnivore's dilemma, or are conscious of what/where you eat, then most of what you will see is what you already know. Despite that, I enjoyed viewing it.

The film reiterates how important the food choices you make are. I was lucky to grow up vegetarian, and staying away from meat comes very easily to me. That is just one half of the battle, I still spend hours reading labels at grocery stores – and then spend more time googling (real word - made it to the dictionary some time back) the ingredients. I wondered if other people just knew what xanthum gum and the other unpronounceable ingredients meant! Turns out that most of them were different versions of corn.

No matter how many times you hear it, it is astonishing that tracing the source of random items from the grocery store, leads you to corn fields in Iowa. Government subsidized, fertilizer rich, genetically modified, pesticide resistant soy and corn are in everything!! Welcome to CORNucopia!

Link to the documentary's official website

Talavera (Mexican restaurant) - Coral Gables, Florida

2010-02-25T13:28:00.002-05:00

Talavera - Cocina Mexicana

Stopped by for an extremely late lunch at Talavera (the name refers to Talavera Mexican pottery), a Mexican restaurant in Coral Gables with bright orange walls, blue and white pottery, and wooden tables.....

Yeah, the place has all the elements of a typical Mexican joint. It even has an entire wall covered with blue and white murals. I never imagined that you could go all out Mexican (theme) and come out looking so tasteful and classy . You have to visit the place to believe it, not just for the décor, but also for the food.

The friendly wait-staff place a carafe of water (carbon filtered and UV filtered) for free with a note saying they don't believe in serving bottled water and stating a few statistics on how much waste plastic bottles generate.

They start you off with the usual chips and salsa, the difference being that the blue and white corn chips are baked. Emptied (guilt-free) three baskets before the food arrived.

We opted for a dish straight from the lunch menu, twelve bucks each, not too pricey for a Gables restaurant.

We had Vegetarian Huaraches.
Huaraches literally means sandals. A thick piece of corn dough (masa) about the shape and size of a sandal, fried and topped with grilled zucchini, guacamole, salsa, beans, and cheese.
Almost like a flattened Mofongo (Puerto Rican plantain based dish - also vegetarian friendly).

The portion was just right and the flavors perfect. The dish looked very good on the blue and white Talavera plates.

Link to Talavera, Coral Gables, FL

Coffee Shops (shishas) & Sweet shops - Manama, Bahrain

2010-02-15T21:19:00.001-05:00

Hookah/Shisha

The image in my mind of sheikhs smoking shishas (better known to us as hookahs) in street corners is real - Bahrain lives up to it. Streets are dotted with coffee shops serving shishas in innumerable flavors, coffee, tea and snacks. Strangely, smoking the shisha seems to be a private activity. You do see groups of men smoking it, but more often than not you see a lone man with his shisha and a pot of mint tea.

Definitely stop by Al Bindaira, perhaps the hippest coffee shop in Bahrain and grab a shisha and a pot of mint tea

Link to their Adliya location

Arabic coffee and Halwa

One of the many guide books we referred to led us to believe that these shisha shops serve Arabic coffee (a special way to brew coffee with cardamom and saffron). We walked in and out of at least a dozen coffee shops in search for Arabic coffee with no luck. The traditional Arabic coffee has now been replaced by the French and Italian versions; cafe au lait, cappuccino etc... You also find a lot of Turkish coffee in Bahrain.

After hunting around for almost ten days we finally found Arabic coffee at a sweet shop and it was an experience well worth the wait. The traditional way of drinking it is having a sip of the beverage and then biting into a date. The coffee itself does not contain any sugar. The sugar-filled date makes up for it.

The sweet shop however served us coffee with Halwa. We had sips of Arabic coffee and followed it up with spoons of Halwa.

Now, Halwas are a delicacy worth trying. The name of sweet shop you should look for is Showaiter - a family that has been in the sweet business for the past hundred and fifty years. Every store had three colors of halwa - green, red, and orange. They were dotted with several cashew nuts. Within these colors there are two varieties; oil based and ghee (butter) based, definitely opt for the butter. The Halwa with its jello like consistency invites you to eat more of it again and again...

Link to the ubiquitous Showaiter sweet shops

Baklava

You find Baklavas at several sweetshops all around Bahrain but nothing compares to the ones at Saadeddein pastry. They have about twenty varieties: different shapes and sizes of filo like pastries filled with almonds and pistachios. You can try one of each or more (if you know the store keeper) before buying a few to take back home. They stay fresh without refrigeration for about three weeks.

Link to their Manama location

Stiles Farmers Market - Pembroke Pines , Florida

2010-02-01T21:26:00.001-05:00

stiles farmers market

I have been to the Stiles farmers market at Oakland Park, Lauderhill a few times before, but today I shopped at the one in Pembroke Pines. This one is a bit smaller but cleaner, brighter, newer, and nicer - I hope it stays this way. I am thrilled that it is located just a few minutes from my house. I will no longer have to stock up my refrigerator from visits to Costco (where you can only buy a thousand items at a time) and pray that I cook them before they expire. Publix is not bad, but has fewer choices and is definitely much more expensive.
To the giddy me, the variety seemed limitless and the prices unbelievably low. This family owned store keeps the prices low by stocking up on locally grown produce; most of the products are from Miami, Homestead, West Palm etc..
I don't think the produce is completely organic but I take some heart in the fact that the vegetables and fruits are normally sized and colored and not obscenely huge and perfectly shaped.
Just to give you an idea of the variety of produce they carry; today I picked up some broccoli, celery, parsley, cilantro, ginger, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, grapes, both Bosc and Anjou pear, Red delicious apples, green onions, spinach, sundried tomatoes, roasted pickled red peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, jalapeno peppers - enough vegetables/fruits to last me a week and it cost me just 23 dollars!
Here is a list of all the produce they carry:
http://www.stilesfarmersmarket.com/vegetables.html

Link the location of the Stiles Farmers Market at Pembroke Pines

Burgers in Bahrain (An Island country in the Arabian Sea) - Manama, Bahrain

2010-01-17T22:11:00.001-05:00

And the winner is The Boardwalk at the Wahoo water park.......
Have always been a fan of the sandwiches and burgers; assorted foods between slices of bread have always appealed to me.
Have envied people biting into their juicy burgers in America (right from the days when the America in Archie comics was the only America I knew). I could not eat the real deal, but the burger/sandwich chains did come up with different vegetarian versions: flavorless, tasteless, soy based slabs of dehydrated vegetarian patty. Did not cut it for me.
The burgers in Bahrain are different; they have, not the soy, not the marginally better bean, but the potato and mixed vegetable patty (Aloo tikky-like). I tried vegetarian burgers at two joints: The Boardwalk at Wahoo Water park and Jasmis (a local burger chain, with a red and yellow logo bearing an uncanny resemblance to that of Mcdonald's)

The Boardwalk at Wahoo water park

We spent a good portion of the morning enjoying the rides at the Water park. We did work up quite an appetite, walking up several sets of stairs leading to the different appropriately named rides (black hole, master blaster, splish and splash etc..). Soaking wet, we walked into The Boardwalk, bang at the centre of the Water park.
Delighted to find vegetarian burgers, ordered a few with cups of coffee and tea. The patty had the perfect golden outer crust (breaded and all) with a soft, very well seasoned, potato mix at the center. The warm burgers with ketchup and sips of cardamom tea was the perfect snack to get us geared up for another session of water rides.

Jasmis

Encouraged by our positive experience, we tried the burgers at Jasmis located in the food court at the Bahrain city center mall. The same potato filling, similar looking patty, but the smell and the taste were totally off. We suspect the oil; will not eat there again.
Both Burger King and Mcdonald's have their versions of vegetarian burgers. Will try them on my next trip to Bahrain.

Drinks at NOLA - New Orleans, LA

2009-12-15T22:11:00.001-05:00

In the French quarter, one can walk on the streets with alcohol as long as the container is plastic. Most people were roaming around with hand grenades, a green globular structure filled with alcohol

It is rumored that the first ever cocktail originated in NOLA, also home of several other originals.

Hurricane

Named after the hurricane lamp-like glass it is served in, made with Pat O Brian's hurricane mix - A big favorite there, not a big fan, but we tried a couple just to give it a fair chance. Very sweet. Here is how you make it....

In a 26 oz. Hurricane glass, mix
4 oz. of Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Rum or a good Dark Rum
4 oz. of Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix
Fill with crushed ice

Brandy Milk Punch

My personal favorite, a perfect brunch drink. Wonder why it is not as mainstream as the Mimosa, may be everyone does not like milk in the morning. I grew up drinking mine and my sister's share of milk for the first twenty years of my life, so the milk and brandy mixture seemed just right. For the bartenders at home, this is how it is done....

1 1/2 ounces brandy
1 ounce simple syrup
½ bar spoon high quality vanilla extract
A couple ounces of Half-and-half
Cubed ice
Grated nutmeg

Sazerac

Created by a pharmacist, arguably the first cocktail ever created, definitely tasted like medicine. This is what he mixed together...

1/2 teaspoon absinthe, or Herbsaint (a New Orleans brand of anise liqueur)
1 teaspoon of simple syrup (or 1 sugar cube or 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar)
4 dashes Peychaud's (the inventor's name) bitters
2 ounces rye whiskey
Strip of lemon peel

Gin Fizz

A slight variation of the gin and tonic, very refreshing. This is the version we tried:
Sloe Gin Fizz - contains sloe gin, lemon juice, superfine sugar, and club soda (with no egg white).
Definitely try out the original 'The Ramos Gin Fizz'

Not uniquely New Orleanean, but my first experiences:

Jello shots from syringes

Cheesy and juvenile but so much more fun when you are no longer in college.

Irish car bomb

Served in a special cup (a small shot glass is built into a cup), very functional. The shot glass holds the Irish cream and the cup holds the Guinness and whiskey mixture. The flavors blend perfectly when you gulp it down.
Don’t have to be a meat eater to enjoy any of these.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries - Pembroke Pines, FL

2009-12-07T21:58:00.001-05:00

BURGERS WITH GRILLED VEGETABLES FOR 2 BUCKS

They post the lineage of potatoes used on the white board just above the cash register. Today's were form Shelley, Idaho. Did not try them yet, but definitely going back for the Cajun fries on a day I feel thinner(recovering from the NOLA trip damage); they have opened up a store just around the corner.

The store is lined with bags of potatoes and boxes of roasted peanuts; my husband, a huge fan, was delighted and popped in a few. Ashamed to accept, but my initial reaction was to look around and make sure nobody saw him eat, later realised they were there for our enjoyment.

Finally somebody is pricing their vegetartian sandwiches right! Just 2 bucks. Two of my favorite ingredients, onions and peppers are grilled - to a vegetarian the difference between grilled and raw vegetables is huge. I opted for the hot sauce with all their toppings and it really hit the spot. A cool Corona light would go perfectly well with this meal.
My sandwich had Mayo, Relish, Onions, Lettuce, Pickles, Tomatoes, Grilled Onions, Grilled Mushrooms, Ketchup, Mustard, Jalapeno Peppers, Green Peppers, and Hot Sauce.

Link to their menu: Five Guys

Breakfast at the French Quarter: Brennan's - New Orleans, LA

2009-12-04T02:34:00.001-05:00

BRENNAN'S - A ROYAL TREAT

I am a vegetarian and I eat eggs. That could open up a whole array of dishes I can enjoy, but I am also one of those finicky vegetarians who complains when omelets, pancakes or crepes (dishes made with eggs) smell or taste like eggs.

The description on the menu at Brennan's was so tempting (also coupled with the fact that there were no other options besides desserts) that I went for Eggs Portuguese. The exact words were flaky pastry shells filled with freshly chopped tomatoes sautéed in butter with parsley and shallots. Topped with poached eggs and covered with Hollandaise sauce. A description so appealing that you want to get to know it, see it and then consume it. The eggs were perfect, like a piece of semi-solid heaven. They seemed to have miraculously gotten rid of the more unfavorable characteristics and retained only the likable ones.

Simple items like Strawberries and double cream (very English) and southern baked apples with double cream tasted delicious. We also tried a whole array of desserts: Bananas Foster - Brennan's original recipe , strawberry filled crepe and chocolate cake.

We actually had a butler (shared amongst a few tables); but totally ignored his performance at the stove while he made our deserts. When the food is this good who can blame us for missing the show, but then again how often do you have a semi-personal butler? Never had one.

The restaurant is housed in Edgar Degas's (French Impressionist painter) grandparent's house; there is a lot of history, character, and some level of formality associated with the place.We had reservations here; the place was recommended to us by a friend, an expensive meal but definitely lived up to the hype.

Link to their menu: Brennan's, New Orleans,LA

The Gumbo Shop - French Quarter, New Orleans, LA

2009-12-03T01:50:00.001-05:00

This was a jackpot - I was attracted to the place because of one menu item that said 'a vegetarian dish with rice, beans and creole seasonings'. Lo and Behold we could eat all of the items below:
Gumbo z ' herbes or green gumbo
Meatless macque choux corn
Garlic mashed potatoes
Beans and rice with Creole seasoning
Stir fried asparagus
Bread pudding with whiskey sauce (a traditional southern dessert, too sweet for some folks but perfect for my sweet tooth)
New Orleans may seem like a meat lovers paradise which it very well may be, but it definitely takes care of vegetarians. I have heard the words southern, comfort, homely used to describe these foods time and again and now I completely understand why. The high ceilings, and walls with murals were a contrast to the low key but extremely tasty food. Our slightly portly, sweet and sour waitress (very motherly, with a strict-for-your-own-good attitude) definitely made us feel at home.
A must visit for any vegetarian wandering around the French Quarter.

Link to their menu: Gumbo shop, New Orleans, LA

Cafe Du Monde - French Quarter, New Orleans, LA

2009-12-02T23:10:00.002-05:00

Coffee and Beignets at Cafe Du Monde

Here is a place that serves only coffee, orange juice, and Beignets (French Donuts). You would imagine this to be a small coffee shop with a few loyal followers but, No! this is a humongous establishment, that easily holds two hundred odd people, and there is always a line to get in.

The waiters need special maneuvering skills and are tiny enough to navigate their way through the innumerable tables, balancing several cups of coffee and beignets doused with mountains of powdered sugar. They have to delicately balance between moving fast enough ( and serve 100's of customers) but not so fast that they leave a trail of grey haired (sugar sprinkled) coffee drinkers along their way.

Mounds of powered sugar on these deliciously soft, seemingly harmful but extremely fattening delicacies accompanied with a cup of cafe au lait seems to be the perfect meal/snack for anytime of the day. We found ourselves going back there at odd times, and dutifully standing in line on our four day trip to New Orleans.

Now coming to the star of the experience, the coffee - half espresso, half milk was the way coffee was always meant to be consumed. The coffee powder had a good proportion of chicory. It was served at the right temperature. I am so used to getting extremely hot coffee and having to wait for it to cool down, loosing track of time, ending up with a lukewarm beverage, and just gulping it down - coffee at the right temperature is such a treat. I grew up drinking Madras coffee, the coffee powder was always bought at one particular store and was always prepared with fresh boiled milk with the right proportion of the decoction, milk and sugar. This is the most I have enjoyed coffee since then.
Added bonus: Everything on the menu is vegetarian

A link to their website: Cafe Du Monde, French Quarter, NOLA