Tag: vegetarian
a vegetarian meal
at tasty Udupi Palace
ROAM
Russet & Sweet Potato fries 
- House-Made Organic w/ Aged White Cheddar, BBQ Sauce, Caramelized Onions, Jalapeño Relish, Oil & Vinegar Slaw
South Indian Cuisine
at DOSA
Q. Favorite city for eating in the United States?
Anthony Bourdain answers:
A. Anyone who doesn’t have a great time in San Francisco is pretty much dead to me. You go there as a snarky New Yorker thinking it’s politically correct, it’s crunchy granola, it’s vegetarian, and it surprises you every time. It’s a two-fisted drinking town, a carnivorous meat-eating town, it’s dirty and nasty and wonderful.
mushroom mayhem
Being a vegetarian, your BBQ and sandwich options often get omitted or dumbed down to a portobello mushroom. Don’t get me wrong. i LOVE mushrooms. All kinds of shrooms in fact. It’s just that after the bland, original garden burger paved the way, portobellos were the successors as the go-to bun-filler option for veggies. But now there are so many amazing meat-free patty creations out there {see my Ode to Roam post} that a portobello in between a bun hardly excites my tastebuds. However, I recently came across two incredibly flavorful mushroom burger/sandwiches that knocked my socks off!! Diverse in texture, rich in creativity and overall mouthwatering. The first was at WaterCourse Foods in Denver. A po boy of all things:
A crispy polenta encrusted portobello mushroom cap on a home-made bun topped with chipotle and coleslaw. With a side of sweet potatoes and washed down with a local microbrew. BOOM!! Shroom Sandwichgasm numero UNO!
The next mushroom sandwich breakthrough comes from San Francisco star, The Sentinel. A small outpost in SOMA serving up a quite an array of continuously changing sandwiches, salads and lemonades. There’s always a line down the street and you know that means it’s GOOD! Yesterday I gorged on the BBQ mushroom sandwich with mustard coleslaw and goat cheese. It was SO SO SOOOO GOOD. So good that I didn’t want to wash my hands afterwards in order to get whiffs of the sweet and tangy BBQ sauce throughout the afternoon. I know, it’s sick. ANYWAYS, unfortunately the pics I have are pretty terrible, and definitely do not do it justice, but here they are:
And there we have it! Shroom Sandwichgasm numero DOS!
I didn’t really taste any goat cheese, maybe that’s for the best. And it didn’t come with a side dish or beer to wash it down (even though I definitely could have slammed a Blue Moon) it’s just an incredibly creative and satisfying sandwich! I believe it’s on the menu all summer long, which means I will most definitely be coming back for more. Maybe I can get a side of that BBQ sauce to soak my hands in…
Meals like these truly attest my herbivore beliefs that there are SO many delicious things in the world to eat. Meat does not have to be one of them!
*sidenote: Not to be overlooked, a good bun, relative to the contents inside can also make or break a good sandwich/burger.
another amazing meal
an ode to ROAM
I am a pescatarian which limits, not eliminates, my burger consumption. i do love my veggie burgers in all shapes and sizes and ive been able to find some scrumptious ones in my day. no doubt about that!
the Jiffy Burger from The Bear {with creamy peanut butter & jack cheese}; the Bistro House Made Garden Burger from Bistro 33 {made of Mushrooms, Oats, Almonds, Tofu, and White Cheddar} & the Plant Burger from The Plant Cafe Organic {from lentils, mushrooms, beets, cashews, bulgur wheat} are a few of my favorites.
BUT the veggie burgers from ROAM are my new #1. today i got the veggie BBQ burger {with Aged White Cheddar, BBQ Sauce, Caramelized Onions, Jalapeño Relish, Oil & Vinegar Slaw}. and ohhh sweet jeeesusss its like a veggie sloppy joe…but better!! the sauce is tangy. the bun fluffy. the onions sweet. and the relish and slaw are crunchy and add the perfect zing. it all comes together like a medley of flavors full of nostalgic & juicy layers and overall incredibly satisfying.
its AMAZING!!
wash it down with a House-made Agave Sweetened Blood Orange Soda & some sweet potato fries for pure ecstasy!
heres a peak at the last ROAM veggie burger i had. the Sunny Side {with Organic Free-Range Egg, Aged White Cheddar, Caramelized Onions, Greens, Tomato, and Sweet Chili Sauce}.
buns buns buns!
growing up in the Bay Area, a trip to San Francisco was always a celebrated event. i remember being a little pipsqueak in the streets of Chinatown & trying my first {and last} steamed pork bun.
it was spongey. dense. meaty. …different.
since then, and since becoming a pescatarian, i never thought twice about this bun or baozi in general again…… until today, that is.
i went to Out The Door for lunch with my buddy Courtney and ordered the vegetarian curry special…. and swayed by Court’s order (imperial rolls + one steamed chicken bun) i decided to go crazy and throw in one steamed vegetarian bun for shits & giggles.
it was deeeeeeeeeelish! way better than the curry. way better than i remembered/expected. and a perfect little bulbous package of hot mushrooms, noodles + greens for only $3!
throw in some soy sauce and sriracha (in packet-form!!!)
and i’ve found myself my new favorite Ferry Building lunch!
huzzah!
a stuffed piiiizza piiiie tiiime
sooooo….you may have seen my pics from my first ever trip to Chicago in October. what you may not know is that my initial reason for even making the trek out to Chitown was to experience Rick Bayless’ Topolobampo for myself. Having incredibly thoughtful and welcoming, quasi-family from South Africa currently living out there was another huge perk of the trip. but, deep down i also had another mission at hand: to devour my first true stuffed Chicago-style pizza!
Chicago-style pizza is described as: a deep-dish pizza style developed in Chicago.
Chicago-style pizza has a buttery crust up to three inches tall at the edge,
slightly higher than the large amounts of cheese and chunky tomato sauce, acting as a
large bowl. The term also refers to “stuffed” pizza, another Chicago style.
So on our very last day in town, after a trip to the Sears Tower, it all went down at Giordano’s in the Loop.
one STUFFED VEGGIE PIZZA coming riiight up!
*with mushrooms, green peppers & onions
it was everything and more than i could have hoped for. it was served piping hot. the Mozarella was laid down THICK! there were enough veggies in there to give it some real BITE and crunch. and the sweet, satisfying sauce + flaky, pastry-like crust really made it something special!!
by nature i am a thin-crust pizza eater, probably always will be. the thinner the better, really. but ever since my visit to Chicaaaaago, there will always be a special place in my heart for a slice like this:
the pizza was GREAT. the trip was FANTASTIC! …besides having acquired a new deep hatred for the O’Hare aiport {it took me ~22hours to get home to SFO. dont ask, that’s a whole ‘nother blog post of its own} there is something just so appealing to me about that city. amazing architecture, abundant & playful public art, the lively restaurant & bar scene & of course Rick Bayless ….or maybe just because its sooo opposite-ly flat compared to my current lover San Francisco.
all in all: i approve!! Chicago, you’re IN!
*disclaimer: theres no way in hell i’d ever live or even like to visit in the winter time though.
For more on Chicago pizza, Check out what slice has to say
KaylanS Blog 
