The Healthy Irishman Vegucating Robin Quivers: Pesto

I love pesto and pine nuts! Mmmm. Now I am craving pasta. Gavan's pesto recipes are on his website, there's also a vegan cilantro lime pesto listed not shown on this video. And they show you how to make it into Spaghetti Squash with Pesto.

Recipe Round-up: Columbian Food

My dinner trip to Colombia was not enough for me. I want more Colombian food. Mmmmm. So I was surfing the net for more recipes and thought I would share them with you.

My Colombian Recipes shares a LOT of Colombian recipes. Erica, the blogger is from Colombia and living in America with her newly vegetarian husband. So many of her recipes are vegetarian and vegan friendly. I picked out a few of her traditional Colombian ones that are already vegan, and the ones that just need easy subs like non-dairy milk and vegan margarine or egg replacer, etc. If you get stuck on substitution ideas, let me know.

Now, on to the recipes of My Colombian Recipes: Empanadas with Peanuts and Potatoes, Colada de Maizena, Colombian Hot Sauce, Hot Chocolate in Coconut Milk, Hojuelas Colombianas, Sweet Arepas with Anise, Cassava Balls with Melado, Canelazo, Rice with Coconut and Lentils, Paletas de Salpicon (Fruit Popsicles), Vegetarian Lentil and Rice Soup, Rice with Coconut and Raisins, Avena Drink, and Plantains with Brown Sugar Syrup.

SHIFT Vegan has a couple of Columbian dishes: Vegan Colombian Cazuela Soup and Columbian Arepas.

Jugo del Lulo and Chocolate Caliente, both beverages, from Considering Columbia, a (now-closed) blog about a vegan living in South America. Of course with this first recipe, you gotta find some lulo fruit- maybe Lee Lee's?

Cooking Diva's Cocada con Almendra

IVU's (aka International Vegetarian Union) collected recipes from and inspired by Colombia: Simple Colombian Beans, Pumpkin Salad, Patacones, Don Emilio's Salsa, Colombian Aji Sauce, and Colombian Potato Salad.

And, man, I would love to veganize these, Colombian-Style Stuffed Potatoes (aka Papas Rellenas Colombianas) and Plantain Cake (aka Torta de Platano Maduro)! Looks doable.

Buen provecho!

Columbian Dinner, "La Bandeja Paisa"

clockwise from top left: Plantains, Harina PAN, Mangoes, Guava Paste, Frijoles Rojos (Columbian Red Beans), Piloncillo (aka Panela or Papelón)

Recently, I hosted a Columbian dinner in a friend's honor. Inspired by her, as well as Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan, I made a mini vegan version of Bandeja Paisa. All of the special ingredients I found at Lee Lee's Oriental Supermarket (pictured above), although it is certainly possible to find some of them elswhere too. But, man, I love that place.

The Menu:
~Arepas
~Latin Shredded Seitan
~Tofu Chicharrones
~Fried Sweet Plantains
~Rice
~Avocado
~Columbian-style Red Beans
~Cabbage/Tomato Salad w/ Cilantro Citrus Vinaigrette
~Fresh Mango Guava Bread Pudin
~Agua de Papelón

clockwise from top left: Cabbage/Tomato Salad with Cilantro Citrus Vinaigrette, Tofu Chicharrones, Shredded Seitan, Arepa, Avocadoes, Rice, Fried Sweet Plantains, Columbian-style Red Beans, with Agua de Papelon (beverage)

This dinner was very delicious. I especially know this because I even loved the leftovers, which I can have trouble with sometimes. I think my favorites were the Tofu Chicarrones and the Columbian-style Red Beans. Wait, I loved the oh so simple Fried Sweet Plantains too. Well, it was all very tasty and the each item was just so complementary to the others. I was also pleasantly surprised by the Agua de Papelón. When my guests tasted it and said it was like a cross between apple juice and limeade, I thought they were crazy. How could it possibly taste like apple juice and how could those two flavors be good together...but, you know, it did and it was!

The meal was worth the effort, but I have to say it was quite hard getting everything to finish at about the same time. I ended up recruiting my guests to help me finish as a one chef meal this ain't. I was using all 4 of my stove top burners, plus a rice cooker. If I could find the griddle plug, I would have made the arepas on the griddle like pancakes and that would have made my life so much easier. But it all came together in the end.

Fresh Mango and Guava Bread Pudin with Vanilla So Delicious Soy Ice Cream



Viva Vegan!



For dessert, I tried to be open-minded and went for the more traditional Bread Pudding. Now, normally, I am not a big fan of bread puddings. Who want's soggy bread? But this is more of a fruitcake type dessert. The raisins hovered in the gelled cake middle, and the guava and mango topped it off. I was quite surprised at how decent this was, considering it would not be my dessert of choice normally. I ate the leftovers quite willingly for several days. The mango and guava are super awesome touches to the dish.

I've recommended it before, but I have to tell you, the Viva Vegan cookbook by Terry Hope Romero is a must buy. I cannot wait for her World Cookbook. I'm tempted to create mini passports to give to my friends so when I host a new dinner inspired by a new and different country, they can get stamps in their passports. Oh if I had the time, energy, and money for all that! haha.

Vegan Corn Dogs

Vegan Corndogs with Catsup and Mustard

My sister made homemade corndogs for my mom's birthday. My mom's a fan. And she also made me a vegan version. They were pretty good. I've never been a huge hot dog fan, but I always did rather like corn dogs.

Vegan Corn Dogs

INGREDIENTS
6 vegan hot dogs
6 skewers (chopsticks work well)
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
egg replacer for 1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon shortening, melted


DIRECTIONS
Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, mustard, baking powder and salt. Mix well.


Add soy milk, egg replacer, and shortening, mix until very smooth.

Pour mixture into tall glass. Skewer Smart Dogs on sticks and dip in cornmeal batter to coat evenly.

Deep fry in oil heated to 350 degrees until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Palmiers

Palmiers



 My sister also made these for my mom's birthday. Such a simple taste, puff pastry and sugar, and yet so good. They seem fairly easy to make though the recipe might read as more complicated. I believe Ina Garten demonstrates this recipe on one of her tv shows on Food Network, and that's where my sister found them.

Palmiers
(from Ina Garten)

INGREDIENTS
2 cups granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sheets vegan puff pastry, defrosted

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the sugar and kosher salt. Pour 1 cup of the sugar/salt mixture on a flat surface such as wooden board or marble. Unfold each sheet of puff pastry onto the sugar and pour 1/2 cup of the sugar mixture on top, spreading it evenly on the puff pastry. This is not about sprinkling, it's about an even covering of sugar. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until it's 13 by 13-inches square and the sugar is pressed into the puff pastry on top and bottom.

Fold the sides of the square towards the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold 1 half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have 6 layers. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Place the second sheet of pastry on the sugared board, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar mixture, and continue as above. (There will be quite a bit of sugar left over on the board.) Slice and arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment.

Bake the cookies for 6 minutes until caramelized and brown on the bottom, then turn with a spatula and bake another 3 to 5 minutes, until caramelized on the other side. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

That's a Wrap!, Phoenix, AZ

That's A Wrap! (Look for the big orange sign)

That's A Wrap! is not fancy, and even with its move to the new location this summer, it's still not very spacious. But it does offer good food, it's cozy, and the service is friendly. When Damon Brasch owned the restaurant, he said anything on the menu could be made vegan. The new owner still maintains a vegetarian-friendly environment where you can ask for grilled tofu substitutions in anything. Although, there have been a few menu changes and tweaks, and some of the wraps don't look particularly veganizable, even with the tofu option.

The biggest disappointment with the move is they no longer have the Chocolate Almond Butter smoothie. I loved those so much! When I worked near the old location, well, I confess I had a bit of an addiction for them. I hope they will show up at Damon's Green one of these days.

Anyway! The Alotta Fajita is now called the Fajita's On, though I am pretty sure it is the same wrap recipe or very similar. And it is my favorite. I just ask for tofu and skip the cheese. So good. I haven't had the Prince of Thai since before the changes, but it is another favorite. And because of my love for those two, well, I haven't tried anything else on the menu!

Fajita's On Wrap with a side of Fruit

That's A Wrap!
Ranking: ****


***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's A Wrap!
800 E. Camelback
Phoenix, AZ 85014
(602)252-5051
http://www.eatatthewrap.com/

Hours
Monday - Thursday 10:30am - 9pm
Friday - Saturday 10:30am - 10pm

Mushroom Crostini

Red Pepper Crostini (left), Mushroom Crostini (right)


I'm only talking about the Mushroom Crostini today. My sister made these crostini as an appetizer for my mom's birthday. I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms, so I stuck to the roasted pepper one after trying both, but I can tell you that if you like mushrooms, you will love this tapenade. The other diners really loved it. Which is why I am sharing it with you today.

Mushroom Crostini
(adapted from Williams Sonoma)

INGREDIENTS

For the crostini:

24 thin slices baguette or other crusty bread
Olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, halved

For the mushroom spread:

3-4 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 lb. mushrooms, any combination, roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp. coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste


DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. To make the crostini, place baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Lightly brush each slice of bread with olive oil. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden and crisp. Once the bread slices have cooled enough to handle, rub each crostini with the cut side of a garlic clove. Set aside.

To make the mushroom spread, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and almost all of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Mix in the garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary and salt, cooking 1-2 more minutes, until fragrant.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor with the feed tube open to vent steam. Process until finely ground. With the processor running, add the remaining 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, until the mixture is smooth and spreadable. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread each piece of bread with a thin layer of the mushroom mixture, transfer to a platter and serve.

I Dream in Tangerine

I love tangerines. Love. So I was mega-excited when I saw the big tangerine display at Whole Foods showcasing several different varieties of tangerines. I decided I needed to taste-test every kind they had in stock. I got the Page, Gold Nugget, Honey (sometimes called a Kinnow or a Murcott), TDE (Minneola), Yosemite Gold, and Satsuma. Unfortunately, they didn't have any Fairchilds or Clementines, both of which I think are earlier in the season.

Bio specifics about the varieties.

Page. A clementine-minneola tangelo cross, or tangor. Dark orange, round, intensely flavored. Harder to peel; quarter for easy eating. Mainly seedless, but not always.

Gold Nugget Mandarin. A variety of mandarins. Deliciously sweet with a bright orange, seedless interior. Bright and slightly bumpy rind. Easy to peel and separate into segments.

Honey Mandarin. Previously marketed as Kinnow mandarins. Rich, aromatic, and distinctive flavor. They peel and segment easily, and are extremely juicy. The fruit is thin skinned, slightly flattened with no neck and are smooth, almost glossy, in texture.

Minneola Tangelo. Easily identified by the knob-like formation at the stem end. Cross between a Duncan grapefruit and a Dancy tangerine. Grows large in size and will display a deep red-orange exterior color, with a slightly pebbled texture. Delicious tart-sweet flavor. Peel very easily, and have few if any seeds.

Yosemite Gold. Newer variety. Big; bright orange, seedless, easy to peel. The exterior peel has small pimply bumps. Sweet and juicy.

Satsuma Mandarin. Peels and segments easily. The exterior is light orange color and perhaps a tinge of green, but the interior will be a bright orange. Pebbly in texture and varies in shape from flat to necked.

[And more details on several other varieties here.]

Tangerine Slices

Eating Experience+

Key
***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.



Page *****
 These were my favorite of the varieties. Great flavor, zero seeds. Easy to de-rind and peel apart. Perfect.

Gold Nugget ****
I think these were my second favorite, maybe tied with the Satsuma. Good flavor, but slightly chewier than the Page.

Honey **1/2
These have great flavor. It's unfortunate that the skin is so tough and there are so many rind bits and several huge seeds to get around. These I think would be perfect for juicing, because they are not much fun to eat. And in fact, that is what I did, shoved them into the juicer.

TDE (Minneola) **
Ok, first of all, these were labled as TDE hybrids on the sign but their stickers all said Minneolas, and well, they sure look like Minneola tangelos to me. So I am betting that is what they are. Unfortunately the flavor was a bit watered down. Perhaps the paleness of the fruit in the photo above is an indicator of that. Anyway, after my sample slice, I also added these to the juice

Yosemite Gold ***
These tangerines have the weirdest peel, covered in pimply dots. Too bad you can't tell from the photo. Not all of the Yosemite Golds had such pronounced pimples, but mine did. This one was ok, a little tart. Much better flavor than the Minneola, but not as good as the Page and Gold Nugget. I added this one into my juice.

Satsuma ****
Probably 3rd place, or tied for 2nd. These were pretty good.  Good flavor, easy to peel. No annoying issues with rind or seed. I believe the Satsumas are usually the ones you find canned as mandarin oranges, which I do love adding to salads.


OVERALL
I highly recommend the Page, and also the Satsuma and Gold Nugget. I'd be interested to see how the Fairchilds and Clementines compare. I know that the Minneola tangelos can be super awesome, and I might have just had a less than perfect specimen. I usually pick tangelos over any kind of orange if they have both at the market. Of course, I tend to choose other kinds of tangerines over tangelos though too.

Even if you get a less than stellar batch of tangerines, all is not lost. Salvage the juice for some fresh-squeezed goodness. I mixed the juice of the Minneola, Honey, and Yosemite Gold and it was downright amazing. Of course, tangerines are small, so I really only got one glass out of my samples and a couple of extra Honey tangerines.

Whatever variety you do get...**Beware of puffy tangerines.** Everything I read about them suggested that puffy tangerines means they were picked past their prime and will likely not give you a good taste experience. Good luck! And happy tangerine dreams to you.


~~~~

+Keep in mind that each single fruit is a completely different experience which also depends on where we are in the season. In other words, my results may be different from yours based on fruit condition, ripeness, etc.

On The Road: Coffee Importers, Dana Point, CA

The Coffee Importers Menu



I failed in the photographic part of this blog post. No pics of the sandwich I ordered, no pics of the buildings...just a blurry shot of the menu. Sigh. I was in a hurry. But I shall make up for it with photos of wildlife.

Anyway, I felt it was important to share this place with you. When I was in California for the holidays, I went whale watching in Dana Point. We didn't see any whales, sadly, but we did see a mega pod of dolphins and some sun bathing sea lions on a buoy. The point is, it was lunchtime around our depature and I hadn't planned well, so I was hungry. This place came to my rescue.



Common Dolphins



The Coffee Importers is located in Dana Point Harbor's Mariners Village and it looks to have a lot of vegan-friendly options. I mean, they have veggie cream cheese on their menu! Many bagel places make vegan bagels, as long as you stay away from the obvious ones like the egg, cheese, and everything bagels. But make sure you confirm that, dairy can sneak into anything. They also have Gardenburgers on their menu in several different sandwich options, plus a veggie panini, a veggie wrap, and several vegetarian salads you can modify to vegan. They also have quite a few breakfast options, bagels plus oatmeal, granola, and cereal...you'd just need to make sure they have some soymilk. I can't imagine them not, since they serve fancy coffees.

The only thing I confirmed here was my Veggie Sandwich. I ordered it with no sauce, just bread and bunch of veggies with a side of fruit. And it was really good. So if you are touristing in the area, it may just be the place to go. I don't drink coffee, but they seem to have a good rep for that too.

This place was packed, so beware of that. I mean, I have never been to a bagel/coffee place where you get a pager to pick up your order. But considering that, the line moved fast and it didn't take long for my order. The seating is all outside on the patio right near the water, because the restaurant is right there harborside. This is a place you come to just so you can enjoy your meal or coffee outside and shoo away the seagulls. And despite the amount of tourists they must get (although the locals seem to like the place too), the prices were not outrageous tourist prices; they seemed to be on par with other California joints though a little steeper than a comparable Arizona locale. Overall, a nice place.



The Coffee Importers

Ranking: ***

***** awesome! Highly recommended.

**** hey, this is pretty dang good.

*** not bad at all.

** eh.

* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Coffee Importers
Dana Point Harbor- Mariner's Village
34531 Golden Lantern
Dana Point, CA 92629
(949) 493-7773
http://www.coffeeimporters.com/


Hours
Open 7 days a week at 7am

Monday - Saturday 7am - 9pm



California Sea Lions



On the Road: Native Foods, Costa Mesa, CA

If you'll remember from the last post, over the holidays I was in Southern California, and because I did not want to cook, I ordered holiday to-go dinners from two vegetarian/vegan restaurants, Avanti Cafe and Native Foods. The last post was about Avanti and this post will be about Native Foods' holiday dinner.

Native Foods and I are old friends. Whether or not it is accurate, I remember them as the first vegan restaurant I have ever been to, and I usually manage a visit there every time I am visiting my grandparents. Here is a look at my Christmas lunch plate.

clockwise from top center: Wheatberry Waldorf Salad, Cranberries (homemade), My Grandmother's Fruit Salad (homemade), The Native Wellington with Mushroom Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Coconut Mashed Yams.

The Holiday Menu:

~The Native Wellington

~Mushroom Gravy

~Coconut Mashed Yams

~Fresh Green Bean Casserole

~Wheatberry Waldorf Salad

~Gingerbread Cheesecake

As with Avanti, the restaurant was closed on Christmas Day, and I picked up the meal on Christmas Eve morning. Most everything was premade and just needed reheating. With this meal, I had the time to heat the yams, gravy, and casserole on the stove top before making my way to my cousin's house. I also cooked the Wellington in the hotel suite's oven (it comes frozen). As a vegan, I highly recommend booking suites with kitchenettes. You get an oven, a stovetop, and a giant refrigerator. This kitchenette saved my life. There is no way I could have ordered these meals and stored and prepared them, while staying at my grandmothers house (overcrowded) or in a regular hotel room. My work was minimal, but the use of that kitchen was integral.

Anyway, some of my omnivore family dipped into the Wheatberry Waldrof and the Wellington because they looked so good and they got rave reviews. I really liked them both as well. The Wheatberry Waldorf was especially tasty. Everyone kept asking what the wheatberries were. So good. I really liked the Green Bean Casserole too. Green beans are my favorite vegetable (even if they are really unripe fruit). The yams were fine; I've never been a huge fan of yams or sweet potatoes, I much prefer regular potatoes.

My cousin made the cranberries on my plate, and my grandmother made her mom's fruit salad. I adore that fruit salad. I love having it for breakfast the next day, it's really the best.



Gingerbread Cheesecake

Ok, lastly, the dessert from Native was the Gingerbread Cheesecake as seen above. I am not a huge fan of gingerbread, though it is starting to grow on me more and more. This was decent, and I think gingerbread fans would have really liked it.

Overall, the meal was great. Even better, everything was so easy to prepare, which was basically just reheating things and popping the Wellington in the oven to cook for a bit. I would do this meal again in a heartbeat. It was reasonably priced and the food was tasty... I mean, it looked so good other people wanted some and they really liked it. That really says a lot when omnivores are eating their favorite non-vegan holiday foods, and might not have room for more than that, and yet they make room for the vegan food.

Native Foods (Costa Mesa)
Ranking: ****1/2


***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Native Foods (Costa Mesa)
The CAMP
2937 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714)751-2151
http://www.nativefoods.com/

Hours
Monday-Sunday 11AM-10PM

Vegan Tailgating Appetizer

In this video, Kim competes on the local show, Valley Dish, with a vegan tailgating appetizer. Way to go, Kim! I bet that was the first time those judges ever tried nutritional yeast, haha!

On the Road: Avanti Cafe, Costa Mesa, CA

Over Christmas I was in California visiting family. I had two family holiday celebrations to attend, and even though we stayed in a hotel suite with a kitchenette, I had no intention of making my own meals. It was the perfect chance to try out the local vegan restaurants and their holiday menus.

I bought two holiday to-go meals from two different restaurants, Avanti Cafe and Native Foods, and took them to share with my family. Today I will tell you all about Avanti's meal.

I knew almost nothing about Avanti Cafe as this was my first visit to the vegetarian restaurant. I had read that the OC Weekly selected them for the 2010's Best Cupcakes award and that was about it. The restaurant is in a little strip mall in Costa Mesa and it is pretty 'tiny' but upgraded to 'small' with its patio seating. But it didn't matter to me as I was just picking up my goods for the next day.

Here's what my dinner plate looked like:

l to r, from top center: Golden Garlic Greens, Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce, Holiday Galette, Smashed Spuds with Miso and Hazelnuts, Avanti Corn Bread Sage Stuffing topped with Red Miso & Oregano Gravy 

The Holiday Menu:

~Holiday Galette: Cippolini Onion & Roasted Cumin Tomato w/ Parsley
~Roasted Whole Kabocha Pumpkin: Pistachio Chive Stuffed with Harvest Vegetables (not pictured)
~Smashed Spuds w/ Miso and Hazelnuts
~Golden Garlic Greens
~Avanti Corn Bread Sage Stuffing
~Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce
~Red Miso & Oregano Gravy
~Olive Hearth Bread (not pictured)
~Roasted Apple Cinnamon Cream Tart (not pictured)


As the restaurant was closed on Christmas Day, I picked up the meal on Christmas Eve morning. Most everything was premade and just needed reheating. I did have to cook the galette for about 15-20 minutes in my hotel suite's oven before leaving for the party, but it was a breeze to do and it was still warm and tasty when I got there. I microwaved everything else seen on the plate rather than reheating it all on the stove to save time. Plus, I just didn't have the space and equipment to do it. It was a bit chaotic and crowded at my aunt's house and I even forgot to take a photo of the tart dessert!

The mashed potatoes were good but a little too liquidy. The stuffing was ok, but I had just had this awesome quinoa stuffing from Whole Foods the day before that pretty much kicked its ass into an 'ok' rating. The cranberries were a bit tart for me, and the greens were greens...I am just not a fan of cooked greens by themselves, I like them in things or I prefer them raw. The galette was good. And the dessert tart was ok.

I ended up skipping the bread and the stuffed pumpkin for Christmas dinner because I already had plenty of food and the pumpkin needed to be heated in the oven for too long a time frame. I left them in the hotel fridge, and I ate the bread and wild rice and vegetables stuffed in the pumpkin a few days later with the leftovers. The pumpkin didn't heat very well, which could have been my grandmother's oven, and I ended up microwaving the stuff from inside it. Sadly, while it looked so very pretty, I thought it tasted a bit bland.

Overall, the meal was ok, but too much trouble for what it was worth. Also, I only had two purchase options; buy a couple of things a la carte or buy a holiday dinner for 6 people. They ended up being about the same price, so I went with the bigger dinner even though I didn't need that much. I would have much preferred a dinner for 4 people as an option or cheaper a la carte prices.

In the end, I would probably try them out again on a future visit as a lunch place or to try their award-winning cupcakes. But I wouldn't get the holiday dinner there again. Part of this decision is based on my comparison with what Native Foods offered me, which I will talk about in the next post. And honestly, there are quite a few vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Southern California, and nothing there impressed me so much that I would jump Avanti to the top of my list of places to dine.


Avanti Cafe
Ranking: ***

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Avanti Cafe
259 E.17th St
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 548-2224
http://www.avantinatural.com/

Hours
Monday - Friday  11AM - 10PM
Saturdays 10:30AM - 10PM
Sundays 10:30AM - 8PM