So sorry, all, for the long hiatus. The last few months of holidays, school, work, and all my non-profit activities have kept my Google calendar slammed beyond all recognition. Not that any of you care about this, you just want to read about awesome vegan food!! So, of late, I have been attempting to embrace a more raw and whole foods diet. That doesn't mean that you won't still see Gardein recipes on here --- you will!!! --- but it will be less frequent. What you will get to see are the new and exciting adventures in raw yummo-ness. Stay tuned for more posts on raw business. However, this here entry is going to be about my whirlwind vegan tour of Seattle this weekend. I took my darling younger (carnivorous) sister around Seattle and forced her to eat some of the best vegan food this city has to offer. She was a real trouper and was pleasantly surprised at how awesome vegan food tastes. So, on to the food!
Saturday Night - SutraFor those of you who don't already know this, Sutra, in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, is truly the only gourmet vegan food in this city. You will not get a listing of a bunch of dishes to choose from, but you will get a four-course, well-planned, vegan, organic, seasonal, and gluten-free (upon request) menu that will blow your damn mind.
Colin is a classically-French-trained chef who incorporates complex flavors with flawless technique and beautiful plating. He and his wife, Amber, put their hearts and souls into this beautiful space (and the yoga center next door) and you can most certainly taste it in the food and feel it in the ambiance.
Sunday Morning - Plum Bistro
Easily the best vegan brunch in this city (and the next best vegan dinner to Sutra). Plum serves up delicious and hearty upscale food in an open and beautiful space on Capitol Hill. Everything we ate was delectable. I insist that you order the sweet potato fries, topped with aioli and diced chiles and that you devour the biscuits and gravy with chorizo "sausage" with fresh corn and cilantro. You won't want to skip this dish. The tacos were yummy, but nothing too special and the nachos were flat out the best nachos I've ever had and my sister agreed.
Sunday Night - Azuma Sushi (West Seattle)
Certainly not the best sushi you'll find in the city, but it is definitely passable. I usually get the Special Vegetarian Roll (with avocado and asparagus) and I can NEVER resist their veggie curry udon soup...make sure to ask for it with tofu and veggie broth.
Monday Morning - Blue Star Cafe (Wallingford)
If you are looking for the best tofu scramble in the city and maybe even the world, you will want to hit up Blue Star Cafe. This otherwise not-so-terribly-vegan-friendly restaurant serves up the best tofu scramble you'll probably ever have. They assure me that the veggie sausage is vegan and it comes with a heavenly side of fried potatoes and onions that I like to drown in ketchup and Tabasco sauce. This is great hangover food, people.
Monday Lunch - Thai Ginger (Downtown, Pacific Place Shopping Center)
Eh. This was the biggest disappointment of the weekend. I've eaten here before and had decent food, but I wanted a light lunch and opted for the veggie rice noodle soup. The tofu was way too large and soft, the broth was completely boring (needed lime, spice, and cilantro or lemongrass to kick it up a notch). The "rice" noodles turned out to be egg noodles so I had to eat around that. Be sure to specify that you want veggie broth. Do NOT eat the adorable little bowl of tofu and carrot soup that they bring you when you first sit down because it is made with **sigh** chicken broth (why, oh, why????). Just not a good dish at all and overpriced as well.
Monday Dinner - Saffron (Northgate)
Oh, Saffron how I love thee. Let me count the ways. Saffron has a fantastic happy hour that goes from 4pm - 7pm. So we mowed down some pakoras, samosas, and hummus plates. Saffron has lots of other delicious vegan options, you just need to ask the server to be sure. Please, though, for the love of all that is vegan, do not ever eat the tabouleh. Ever.
Easily the best vegan brunch in this city (and the next best vegan dinner to Sutra). Plum serves up delicious and hearty upscale food in an open and beautiful space on Capitol Hill. Everything we ate was delectable. I insist that you order the sweet potato fries, topped with aioli and diced chiles and that you devour the biscuits and gravy with chorizo "sausage" with fresh corn and cilantro. You won't want to skip this dish. The tacos were yummy, but nothing too special and the nachos were flat out the best nachos I've ever had and my sister agreed.
Sunday Night - Azuma Sushi (West Seattle)
Certainly not the best sushi you'll find in the city, but it is definitely passable. I usually get the Special Vegetarian Roll (with avocado and asparagus) and I can NEVER resist their veggie curry udon soup...make sure to ask for it with tofu and veggie broth.
Monday Morning - Blue Star Cafe (Wallingford)
If you are looking for the best tofu scramble in the city and maybe even the world, you will want to hit up Blue Star Cafe. This otherwise not-so-terribly-vegan-friendly restaurant serves up the best tofu scramble you'll probably ever have. They assure me that the veggie sausage is vegan and it comes with a heavenly side of fried potatoes and onions that I like to drown in ketchup and Tabasco sauce. This is great hangover food, people.
Monday Lunch - Thai Ginger (Downtown, Pacific Place Shopping Center)
Eh. This was the biggest disappointment of the weekend. I've eaten here before and had decent food, but I wanted a light lunch and opted for the veggie rice noodle soup. The tofu was way too large and soft, the broth was completely boring (needed lime, spice, and cilantro or lemongrass to kick it up a notch). The "rice" noodles turned out to be egg noodles so I had to eat around that. Be sure to specify that you want veggie broth. Do NOT eat the adorable little bowl of tofu and carrot soup that they bring you when you first sit down because it is made with **sigh** chicken broth (why, oh, why????). Just not a good dish at all and overpriced as well.
Monday Dinner - Saffron (Northgate)
Oh, Saffron how I love thee. Let me count the ways. Saffron has a fantastic happy hour that goes from 4pm - 7pm. So we mowed down some pakoras, samosas, and hummus plates. Saffron has lots of other delicious vegan options, you just need to ask the server to be sure. Please, though, for the love of all that is vegan, do not ever eat the tabouleh. Ever.
