Vegan - The Hungry Nomad

Gourmand, Japanese, Organic, Vegan, Vegetarian

Sushi-heaven at Shizen Ya (Vancouver, Canada)

April 15, 2014 1 Comment

Shizen Ya is one of the best sushi spots in Vancouver with two convenient locations. One on Hornby street directly across from the courthouse making it a great lunch destination. If you are a health-conscious eater searching for vegetarian, organic and vegan eateries then you will absolutely fall head over heels for Shizen Ya. The quality of the food is quite possibly one of the highest I have tasted and is definitely above many other downtown sushi locations. There is no doubt that all ingredients down to the brown rice and wasabi are organic. Given that it is all organic it tends to be a little pricier than other sushi spots but then again you are paying a bit extra for the quality. Each plate of food that was brought to our table reinforced the passion and dedication that goes into their ingredients and preparation making Shizen Ya one of my favorite sushi spots in town. Definitely a tiny gem downtown that should be visited by all (if you can find room in the tiny eater).

We started off with the organic wild rice and tofu salad with quinoa. I have never tasting anything so fresh and flavorful as this salad.

An order of salmon sashimi.

and brown rice shrimp tempura and avocado roll.

Farm-to-table, Food, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Blogs, USA, Vegan, Vegetarian

Dinner at FARMiCiA (Philadelphia, USA)

September 29, 2013 2 Comments

It seems as though new diners to FARMiCiA fall into one of two categories: they either love this Old City restaurant and want to come back every week, or they hate it and don’t understand what the buzz is about. I happen to fall into the former category, and I’m thrilled that my most recent Thurs-date happened here.

When we first arrived, we were immediately seated by one of the front windows, which gave us an opportunity to spend some of our time people-watching. It’s a good thing we had this view because our waiter was a bit too hands-off, and we quickly learned that we wouldn’t be seeing much of him throughout the evening. Since we weren’t impressed with our waiter, I thought we’d be falling into the category of people that didn’t like FARMiCiA, but I was proved wrong by the time our first courses came out.

My vegan friend started with the Capellini and Sauteed Tofu. Her appetizer was a hearty plate that came with roasted tomatoes, mint, pine nuts, and red chili. While she said it was incredibly spicy, she loved it and mentioned that it was some of the best vegan food she’s ever had.

I opted for the French Lentils and they were also delicious, although my favorite part of the dish was definitely the huge serving of baked goat cheese that came on top. The salad was one of the most filling ones I’ve had due to the cheese and the amount of lentils that came over the lettuce, but it was so nice and savory that I finished every last bite. I didn’t know how I was going to eat the rest of my dinner, however, I felt like I could try and power through.

After our appetizers, our entrees came out pretty quickly. I ordered the Duck Breast and my love for FARMiCiA was further cemented by my first bite of this. The duck had a nice crispy skin to it and was cooked perfectly. The sweet sun-dried cherry glaze that came with it was a perfect accompaniment to the tender meat. The simplicity of it all was something that I definitely appreciated.

The sugar snap peas on the plate were also really satisfying. In fact, throughout the whole meal, the only thing I could critique was my wild rice. As a Persian girl, I probably judge rice much more harshly than any other aspect of a meal, and this rice was just not up to par. While it wasn’t great, I was so full from all of the other things on the plate, that I hardly even cared that the rice missed the mark.

The other main course we tried was the Fresh Corn Risotto Croquettes. These two croquettes were large and were tough for my friend to finish because her first course was also filling, but she had only fantastic things to say about it. She couldn’t stop raving about the sweet potato crisps that adorned the plate and said that it was the her favorite part.

For dessert, I got the Orchard Fruit Crisp that came with apples and pears. It was a delicious, warm way to kick off the Fall season and end our meal. While FARMiCiA could use a little face lift in the waitstaff, the food outweighs the bumps they have in serving. I’m already anticipating coming back and can’t wait to try out some of the other phenomenal, farm fresh food they have on their menu.

Bar, Beer, Food, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Blogs, pub food, USA, Vegan

Dinner at Khyber Pass Pub (Philadelphia, PA)

September 15, 2013 No Comments

Since I am still relatively new to being of legal drinking age in the U.S. and most of my friends are broke college students, we usually go out to eat at bars in the city. One of my good friends and I have decided to implement Thurs-dates for the foreseeable future in order to try out some new places.

The biggest problem with our plan is that she’s a vegan, but thankfully Philly has a fairly large vegan population, so we haven’t had too much trouble finding places that both of us like. This past Thursday, we kicked off our dates at the Khyber Pass Pub, a bar with an emphasis on beer and New Orleans-style food that seems to fit right in with the Old City atmosphere that surrounds it.

For drinks, we had a large draft list to choose from, but since it was still happy hour and they had $5 Mint Juleps, my friend and I wanted to try that. Unfortunately, I should have done my research beforehand. Here I was expecting some minty, sweet cocktail, and instead, a couple of shots of whiskey on the rocks came out. The only minty part of my Mint Julep was the one mint leaf in my drink. Luckily, my friend is a whiskey girl, so she finished off mine, and I quickly switched to a much more appetizing, refreshing pint of Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale.

Although I failed a bit on my first drink choice, I was excited to try my dinner. I opted for the Fried Green Tomato BLT, and I was really happy with my choice. The fried green tomatoes on this sandwich were fantastic as the breading on the tomatoes was just enough to make it crispy without being soggy or overpowering the tomato.

However, my favorite part of the sandwich was the tabasco peppers remoulade that it came with. This remoulade was full of flavor and packed a hot punch. It took the classic BLT to another, more complex level. I just wish they bottled the stuff so I could go back and buy some to add to my own sandwiches.

My friend enjoyed her Vegan BBQ Pulled Pork as well, but she wasn’t as impressed with her sandwich as I was with mine. Even though some of the finer points of veganism are lost on me, I’m pretty sure this didn’t include any pork. It did, however, come topped with a big spoonful of creamy coleslaw to balance out the smokey BBQ flavors of the sandwich. While she claimed that the sandwich wasn’t bad, she did feel that some other bars in Philly offer better vegan options.

Overall, we weren’t disappointed with the Khyber Pass Pub, although we did agree that we like it’s sister bar, Royal Tavern, better. That being said, if we’re in Old City and looking for a quick, reliable bite, I’m sure we’ll end up at this bar and we won’t be leaving disappointed. This spot is definitely not to be missed by those who enjoy bar food, especially if they are beer enthusiasts since there is a wide-range of beers on tap to choose from. I’m glad that our first Thurs-date took place here, and I hope that they will only get better as they go on!

Philadelphia, Vegan, Vegetarian

Hip City Veg-Rittenhouse Square (Philadelphia, USA)

August 28, 2012 1 Comment

You all know by now that I’m far from a vegetarian. But that is not to say that I don’t enjoy a healthy veggie meal here and there. So on one particular day last week while feeling like a vegetable-friendly meal, a friend and I made our way over to HipCityVeg.

It is located a short distance from Rittenhouse Square on 18th Street. The place was small and packed. We managed to make it during their lunch rush so had to wait in line to order. As we were waiting two elderly ladies leaving recommended the Curry Tofu Wrap. Everything looked equally delicious but after the recommendation I had to go with the wrap. My friend ordered the Bistro Bella.

To the left there was a green smoothie machine and I was told that I must try it. So it was added on to our order. A few minutes later our food was ready. It was a beautiful sunny day so we decided to have a small picnic in the park.

The Smoothie officially named the ‘groothie’ was made with spinach, apples, pineapples and bananas. It was very thick filled with a whole day’s worth of fruits and veggies. Who needs vitamin pills when you can get your hands on this?

The cookies and cupcakes were also tempting but I stopped myself at the groothie. Next time, I’ll make sure to try a cookie.

Owner Nicole Marquis had a vision for fast-food vegan: vegan Burgers, Fries, Salads, Wraps, healthy drinks and snacks. She worked with chef Rich Landau to come up with the innovative menu and the result: Fast-food vegan! From the Chik’n Burger to their buffalo bella- everything on their menu is meat free.

Doesn’t it look pretty?

My friend’s burger looked like a traditional burger just healthier. It was served on a soft whole wheat bun stuffed with herb glazed sliced portobella, dijon, olive tapenade, tomato, artichoke and arugula. Sounds good right? It was! The mixture of flavors was a first for me. Olive tapenade with portobella mushroom? Amazing!

My curry tofu wrap was so good, I’ve been dreaming of it since. It was wet, filled with difference sauces , flavors and soooo juicy.

It seemed the wrap had everything in it: sprouts, spinach, tomato, cilantro-white bean puree and cucumber yogurt dip on the side. I think the photo below shows what a delicious mess it was. Hands oozing with curry juice I had every last bite.

It was so good even the finches (and pigeon) wanted a bite.