Showing posts with label vegan restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegan restaurants. Show all posts

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Vegan Restaurant Review: Pomegranate Cafe

My friend Miranda recently told me about Pomegranate Cafe in Ahwatukee. I didn't know that all their menu items are vegan---how cool is that? All the baked goods and menu items are vegan, but they do offer eggs (instead of tofu for breakfast/brunch items) and dairy cheese (instead of vegan Diaya cheese) to appeal to vegetarians. 

We went for a late afternoon lunch today and ordered pomegranate iced green tea, roasted red pepper hummus platter, and tempeh BLT sandwiches. The tea was tart and naturally sweet; very refreshing. The hummus was tasty and served with vegetables and warm bread slices. The BLT was simply awesome. I have to learn how to get my tempeh to taste like theirs! The baked goods looked way too good to pass up. So, against my waistlines wishes, we got 2 slices of vegan cake (lemon with strawberry frosting), raw vegan donut holes and coconut macaroons to take home. I wish I could have tried everything on the menu...I just have to make plans to visit often. The berry pepita french toast sounds absolutely divine...for next time.


Pomegranate Cafe

Tues-Sun 8 am - 4:30 pm
Closed Mondays

Red pepper hummus platter
Vegan tempeh BLT sandwich....super yummy bread
You can't leave without some dessert to go!
Matt picked out some macaroons and some raw doughnut holes

Thursday, October 28, 2010

How I survived 3 busy months being vegan...the catch-up post!

It's been a busy 3 months since I last blogged. How hard is it to take 10 minutes a day to post about the day? Well, harder than it sounds. Time flies by when you are busy. I have been taking back my time and working on taking better care of myself. I've been eating healthy meals, but have slacked on making my own meals from scratch.

I survived busy nights by eating a lot of the following:

Eatwell vegetarian chili from Fresh And Easy with a little Diaya cheddar Cheese


Vegan tacos. I tell everyone I know that it is the year of the vegan taco. Yums!





Gardein 7 grain crispy tender sandwiches with balsamic drizzle (1/2 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/2 tbsp raw sugar), fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes on a bun or ciabatta bread. 






Blood orange sorbet from La Piccola Cucina

Parfait with warm apples, soy yogurt, pumpkin and cranberry granola, apple-cooked quinoa (cooked with apple juice instead of water), topped with soy whipped cream



I've discovered many new restaurants in my quest for continued veganism. My favorite find over the last 3 months has been La Piccola Cucina. Their roasted eggplant sandwich, ratatouille and blood orange sorbet are what dreams are made of. Andy, the owner, is awesome. You need to go here, vegan or not. It is located in the Coronado Historic district in a cute house. Address is 2241 N. 7th Street Phoenix, AZ 85006. I gave it 5 stars on yelp. I'm serious.
I've found yummy vegan dishes at RnR, Picazzo's, Culinary Dropout and Eddie's House, all in Scottsdale.
At RnR, vegans can rejoice in a old town Scottsdale restaurant with options for vegans. Their veggie burger is to die for (I asked and was told there were no eggs or dairy in the burger), their fries are super tasty and their veggie tacos are unique with a jicama "tortilla". I really liked their apple gorgonzola salad minus the cheese, with prickly pear vinaigrette.
At Picazzo's, vegan cheese isn't even on the menu ANYWHERE. So strange, as they have a whole section of the menu with vegetarian options! Luckily, I asked if they had a vegan cheese option and they did! I ordered the Margharita pizza with medium crust and vegan cheese. I wanted to eat it for days.



At Culinary Dropout, The waitress did not know of anything vegan on their menu. I asked for a custom salad with romaine lettuce, apples, pistachios and ginger vinaigrette. I wish they had more vegan options on their menu. It's so cute there.
I was so worried about eating at Eddie's House, after looking at the online menu. Luckily, we contacted them in advance to ensure they would be able to accommodate me. They made me a special vegan pesto dip and an entree with a salad, grilled vegetables and hummus with pita chips. I can't wait to go back. My meal was amazing!

I look forward to sharing more of my vegan finds in the near future.