9 Days of Valentine's: Restaurant Edition...

No Chicago is not snow-free this winter
I forgot to take a picture of the front yesterday so this is
a picture I took during the summer

Are you wondering what the surprise I talked about yesterday is? Well, it’s that my husband and I found out that for this entire week one of our favorite restaurants The Chicago Diner is having a special Valentine’s Day Menu. Now, despite having already picked out 9 Romantic dishes to cook for our little celebration, once we caught sight of the menu we really couldn’t pass it up.

In our relationships I’m the one that does the cooking, I cook everyday regardless of how busy I am, how tired I am or how sick I am. - I typically need to be either very sick or very tired, not to cook. Each evening I cook dinner, many other days of the week - though not necessarily every day - I also make a breakfast or lunch depending on what our schedules are, and how hungry we are. So on average I make two meals per day. My husband doesn’t cook at all, and that’s alright with me. He can make a killer pot of pasta, and an amazing jambalaya and occasionally he surprises me with these, but usually when he wants to ‘give me the gift of food’ it involves taking me out for dinner. Which is just as good in my opinion since we don’t often go out to eat.

Of course going out on actual Valentine’s Day would be a nightmare. We usually avoid going out on actual holidays, opting instead to celebrate early to avoid crowds, so we decided to hit up The Chicago Diner yesterday, in the late afternoon when we figured the ‘holiday’ crowd would be at it’s thinnest. We were right. We had The Diner virtually to ourselves and we enjoyed a nice leisurely meal, of laughs and love and damn good food. The Valentine’s Menu was limited to 1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 3 dessert options. Which was nice. Don’t get me wrong, I love having options, but there is such a thing as having too many options you know?

For drinks we ordered milkshakes, because hello, it’s THE CHICAGO DINER! Milkshakes are a must! My opinion was that we could have wine anytime, but you can only have milkshakes every now and then. I got my usual Peanut Butter Cookie Dough shake which is out of this world, my husband got his usual mocha which is also very good.

We got the appetizer which was Dates stuffed with Jalapeno’s wrapped in Vegan bacon. Oh my god were these delicious! Seriously, one of the best appetizers I’ve ever had. These were sweet, salty, savory, with just a touch of spice and they were served with a sweet tart sauce that tasted like Tamarind. So amazing, I wish we’d had more.

Since the Diner’s appetizers are so good, and my husband is a hungry man we decided to order a second appetizer off of their regular menu. The Thai Chili Wings. These are incredible, I think I’ve mentioned them before but I’ll do it again. They’re seitan wings, drenched in a sweet spicy Thai chili sauce, served with a squeeze of lime and Sriracha Ranch for dipping. Fan-freaking-tastic. Though we had a hard time decided between this and the Poutine, such a difficult choice always.

Our entree was a braised Portobello Mushroom cap served on a bed of creamed leeks, with a Potato-Daikon Cake, and asparagus. Man, this was good too! That mushroom was so chewy and delicious, the asparagus was cooked to perfection! The leeks were perfect, sweet and savory and buttery, and the potato cake, oh boy, well that was my favorite part. Like eating a German Potato Pancake - almost.

For dessert I went with the Strawberry Rose tart, which was a chocolate crust, a strawberry coulis in the middle, with rose essence and rose petals, topped with some whip cream. This was amazing! It wasn’t too sweet, and the contrast between chocolate, strawberry and rose were all wonderful. I loved that the rose flavor was very prominent but not overwhelming.

My husband chose the Chocolate Whoopie Pie with Lavender filling. He gave me a bite and this was just as good! Subtle lavender cream in the middle of two big, soft, moist chocolate cakes in the shape of hearts. Also served with a delicate whipped cream. Amazing!

Interestingly despite all that food we left The Diner feeling pretty good. Honestly most of the time we leave the diner my husband and I either feel like we’re going to throw up or die. And I have to say that isn’t any fault of the Diner, it’s all on us. We always order WAY too much food, and we always eat it all! This time around I don’t think we necessarily ordered less food, but it was the kind of food we ordered. It was mostly vegetable based, when normally at the Diner we stuff ourselves with seitan, tempeh, poutine, bread, burgers and all the bad, decadent stuff. Yesterday we ate relatively ‘light’ by comparison and left feeling perfectly satisfied and happy. The Diner always makes us happy, and this was a lovely way to celebrate an Early Valentine’s Day.

So if this all sounds good to you, and you live in the Chicagoland area be sure to drop by The Chicago Diner sometime this week. I think Saturday is your last chance for the Valentine’s Day menu so get there fast! And check back tomorrow for Part 4 of our celebration.

The Chicago Diner - 

Halsted Location 
3411 N Halsted St
Phone: 773-935-6696
.
Logan Square Location 
2333 N. Milwaukee Ave
Phone: 773-252-3211

Restaurant Review: Sativa Studio Café in Banos, Ecuador...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful, and safe holiday this year. Since Thanksgiving is my favorite of all holidays I’m cooking a big dinner per usual, but I’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Right now I want to tell y’all about an amazing restaurant my husband and I ate at while in Banos, Ecuador.

It’s called Sativa Studio Café, and it is the hidden jem of hidden jems, let me tell you. Not only was this the best place we ate in Banos, it was the best place we ate in all of Ecuador, in fact the best place we ate on the entire trip. The food menu is small, limited to three dinner options each of which come with homemade chips or salad, and one breakfast option - but their drinks menu is extensive. They offer coffees, fresh juices, Health Elixirs and Tonics, and Kombucha. Not only is the food fantastic - carefully and lovingly prepared by the owners, but the atmosphere is chilled out and relaxed. The food takes time to prepare, because it’s fresh as can be, but you won’t mind the wait as you sit back in recycled and repurposed furniture, grooving to the reggae vibes.

We ate here twice during our stay in Banos and tried a pretty good selection of the menu. We also talked quite a lot with Jessie - who owns the café together with his wife - and he was kind enough to show us the organic garden they have in back where most of the vegetables they use come from. The garden was brilliant, and I was completely amazed at how much they were able to grow in such a small space. He also told us a little about how the restaurant came to be, and how it was decorated. Friends and local artists painted murals on the inside walls, and virtually everything inside is recycled or rescued from ending up in the trash. There are a nice collection of colorful tile topped tables, some brightly colored couches and arm chairs from the 1950's, much of the flooring comes from when the church was renovated and put in a new floor. Some amazing, heavy wooden lounge type chairs were rescued from the side of the road. This is a couple that doesn’t like to add to consumerist culture, and doesn’t like waste - I can fully appreciate that, and the minute you step foot into the café you’ll appreciate it too, because it really adds to the nature of the place. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a cooler café in my life.

But, enough about all that, what about the food you ask? Well, on our first trip I decided to go with the Patacones and Salad. Patacones are smashed fried plantains that have a garlic lime marinade. These were simply delicious. I’ll take any excuse to eat some plantains but these were probably among the best I had all trip. The salad was delicious as well, not that there was any doubt it would be considering their phenomenal garden. This was not your average side salad either, it was full of mixed greens, chopped bell pepper, onions, sprouts, apple, pumpkin seeds, edible flowers and even more that I can’t remember. The dressing was simple and minimal, so a not to outshine the freshness of the vegetables. Seriously this was the perfect meal. With it I ordered a kombucha which was probably one of the best kombucha’s I’ve ever had anywhere! So flavorful, and not too vinegary like some I’ve had.

Patacones with Salad

Kombucha! 

For his meal my husband went with the Tamale which I believe contained a mixture of black beans, Swiss Chard and some other vegetables. This thing comes steamed in a banana leaf rather then a corn husk and it’s probably the most moist and flavorful tamale I’ve ever had. I only had a tiny bite but it was enough to taste the full-on flavor. My husband loved it, and devoured it in minutes along with an equally amazing side salad. For his drink he ordered the Seven Spice Coffee which was hands down the best coffee I’ve ever drunk anywhere, and it became the inspiration for my Epic Coffee . I will never drink another normal cup of coffee again!

Tamale and Salad

Check out that bomb-ass salad! 

A somewhat inside shot of the tamale

On our second visit my husband went with the Patacones and a salad while I decided to try the Veggie Burger with yet another Salad. The veggie burger was AMAZING! Probably one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had, full of lentils, grains and vegetables. It came topped with lettuce, tomato, sliced beets and a few other things. So much flavor and it really hit the spot after we’d had such a long day.

Veggie Burger and Salad 

For drinks that night we went a little overboard. We both ordered a Seven Spice Coffee, then my husband ordered a Fresh Passion fruit Juice - which is perhaps the best thing I’ve ever tasted and Jessie makes it in a magic bullet! I decided to go with the coconut pineapple juice which was like no juice I’ve ever had, and the most amazing thing is that the juices were sweet, but there was no added sugar. We also tried some of the elixirs only I wish I could remember what they were called or what was in them. One of them was one of the more popular sellers and for good reason, all of them were good but some were stronger then others. Jessie even gave us a free shot of another popular elixir they make, which was really good, and super nice of him.

The Amazing Seven Spice Coffee!

All and All this was the best dining experience I could have hoped to have, and I highly, highly recommend you check out Sativa Studio Café if you’re ever in Banos. Seriously, you won’t be disappointed. Heck, if you’re even considering planning a trip to Ecuador - which you should! - You need to take the time to visit Banos, not only for the amazing food but for the beautiful scenery too!

Sativa Studio Café
Calle Luis A Martinez y Eloy Alfaro Street, Correo Central
Banos, Ecuador
097-235-598
Open Mon-Sat 11am-11pm
CASH ONLY!

Restaurant Review: Sophie Sucree in Montreal....

I’m a bit behind in my Restaurant reviews and so I thought I’d post one today. Last year when my husband and I were in Montreal we ate like kings. Seriously, you might not think it but Montreal is a vegan mecca! So many wonderful vegan restaurants, and so many great options all around, but one of our most favorite places was a little vegan bakery called Sophie Sucree we loved it so much in fact that we ate there twice.

Before we even left for the trip I already had Sophie Sucree on my radar, but on the first day that we ended up eating there it was kind of by accident. You see, we’d been planning to hit up another vegan restaurant on Rue St Denis - but when we got there the place was closed, not to reopen until 5pm! It was about 3pm, and we were starving considering we hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast and we were pretty tired since we’d walked all the way up from the St Lawrence River. But what can you do? We decided to come back later for dinner and head somewhere else for lunch, only the second place we went to ended up closing at 3pm! And then the third place we went to apparently didn’t exist or else the address on HappyCow was completely wrong. As it happens Sophie Sucree was just a block or two away from the ghost restaurant and as it had started to rain, and we were very hungry, very tired, and very frustrated - not to mention damp - it became our salvation.

The little bakery/café is small but warm and inviting. The owner is super friendly and very sweet - we had a long chat with her, mostly about how she’d started her business after being inspired by the vegan cuisine on a trip she took to Vancouver. Talking to her was so nice, and I felt really inspired by her story. Since nobody else was there when we were there we had our choice of tables. We took a seat near the window and ordered two iced coffees with almond milk and man were they good! Being able to order coffee with almond milk or any non-dairy milk is always such an amazing luxury for us when on vacation.

After browsing the display case I have to say we went a bit crazy. Everything just looked so good, and the presentations were so cute. I had read online that their cinnamon buns were ‘to die for’ so of course we ordered one each. Then we split a Carrot Cake with Cashew Cream, and the most heavenly fruit tart I’ve ever had! Sophie Sucree also sometimes has a few meal options, and that day they were offering a vegetable pesto Panini sandwich which we also decided to split - hey, we were ravenous!

Everything was amazing, and the service was fast and super friendly, and the price was very reasonable. It was so nice to lounge in a French Canadian Café and watch the rain drizzle down. After we had finished eating we thanked the staff told them how much we loved everything and appreciated it, and promised to come back once more before we left the city.

So, on our last day in Montreal, actually our very last moments - we’d already checked out of our hostel and were headed to New York - we swung by Sophie Sucree and ordered some pastry to enjoy before we hit the road. Once again we got iced coffees with almond milk - although I neglected to photograph them. Then we tore into some delicious doughnuts - I wish I could remember what kind they were but it was too long ago and I can’t exactly tell from the picture. In any case they were amazing, they were super light, fluffy, moist and delicious, probably some of the best vegan doughnuts I’ve ever had - not dense and chewy like some vegan doughnuts. Because we couldn’t help ourselves we also ordered a chocolate brownie which was rich, moist and delicious. So damn tasty! And then we ordered two cupcakes, I can’t remember exactly what flavor they were not, but I believe they were both chocolate with different kinds of frosting. One with a blood orange frosting and one with a rose frosting maybe? I wish I could remember, but what I do remember is they were damn good. Again they were light and fluffy, and the frosting was creamy, airy, and sweet without being too sweet. In fact, none of the baked goods at Sophie Sucree were overwhelmingly sweet, which was perfect.

I’m so sad I don’t live in Montreal, because if I did I’d be in here all the time eating stuff. I’ve eaten a lot of vegan baked goods in my time and I honestly think Sophie Sucree makes the best, the only viable rival they have is Edible Flours in Vancouver but I think Sucree might have even them beat. Absolutely perfect desserts that simply cannot be missed if you’re planning a trip to Montreal. Another cool thing about them is that they cater to various food allergies and so they offer Gluten-free baked goods as well, so make sure you hit them up if you’re ever in Montreal, I promise you will not be sorry!

PS: They also make cakes to order, such as birthday cakes, wedding cakes and so on, which is something really cool to keep in mind because finding a vegan wedding cake or a vegan birthday cake in any city is usually a hard ask.

Sophie Sucree
167 Ave des Pins (St Laurent)
Montreal, Quebec
Phone # 514-823-5865
Hours - Monday - Closed
Tue-Wed and Sun 11am-6pm,
Thur-Fri 11am-9pm
Sat 11am-8pm

Restaurant Review: Handlebar in Chicago...

As I said in my previous post for my birthday dinner we decided to go to Handlebar. My husband and I actually ate dinner at Handlebar on my birthday last year, and we loved it so much that we’ve been dying to go back. Since we had some omnivores tagging along - my mom, and step-dad along with my husband’s family - I thought this would be a good choice, since Handlebar is mostly vegetarian, with a few omni-friendly fish dishes.  If you live in Chicagoland and you’ve never heard of Handlebar you should defiantly give this pescetarian pub a try. It looks like a whole in the wall from the outside but inside it’s got all you could ask for in the way of atmosphere. Simple, down-home pub food, loud music, and great drinks, with that fantastic rustic look and cool local art. My only real complaint about the place is that they don’t exactly cater to large groups, we were a party of seven and that was almost too much for them, so if you go, keep it to six or fewer people, and keep in mind that they don’t take reservations! This is important to remember because the pub fills up fast!

Fried Pickles 

Anyway, since it was a celebration we went a bit crazy on the appetizers. My husband and I decided to get the Chorizo and Black Bean Nachos which comes with seitan chorizo, pico, and guac. If you get it vegetarian you also get sour cream and cheese. My mother-in-law ordered the fired pickles which we’ve had before, and despite what you might think about a fried pickle, these are actually really good.  They come with a house-made vegan ranch. She also ordered Guacamole and Chips to share around, you just can’t have too much guac in your life! Am I right?

Chorizo Black Bean Nachos 

Chips and Guacamole 

For my main meal I decided to go with something simple, the Chicago Style Tofu. I was still kind of full from lunch and so I wanted to go easy on my stomach. I thought this would be a small sandwich but boy was I wrong. This was a massive honkin’ thing that I could only eat half of. The sandwich consists of pesto tofu, giardiniera, roasted garlic aioli, Dijon, arugula, and tomato on foccaccia bread. I got it with a side of fries.

Chicago Style Tofu Sandwich 

For his entree my husband got the Fried Avocado Tacos which are amazing. This is what I got last time and I absolutely loved it. It consists of corn and cabbage slaw, refried beans, house made ranch, flour tortillas, rice, and deep fried wedges of avocado. So delicious. My mom and Mother-in-law also got the Fried Avocado Tacos and I was fortunate enough to score my mom’s taco leftovers a couple of days later. They tasted just as good cold as I remember them being warm.

My husband's Avocado Tacos 

A Pic of my Avo Tacos from last year

The last time we were at Handlebar my Husband also got the Buffalo Chicken Wrap which consists of Fried Chicken Seitan, wing sauce, romaine, onion, tomato, and house made ranch on a flour tortilla. He ordered a side of fries with it and it was really, really fantastic, just the perfect mix of heat, and the seitan chicken was great!

Buffalo Chicken Wrap 

During my birthday celebration dinner my mother-in-law also ordered the smoked Gouda Mac which she liked, My father-in-law had the blackened catfish which he liked, my step-dad had the grilled fish tacos which he liked, and my brother-in-law had the grilled cheese which he liked. I didn’t try any of these as none of them are vegan, but it goes to show that Handlebar is a great place for Vegans, Vegetarians and Omnivores alike.

Just a neat pic I saw outside 

We also had a round of drinks only I forget what my drink was called, it was hibiscus tea, orange juice, and vodka. My husband had a great drink too that was coconut water, lime and rum. I think this is definitely going to be one of our ‘go-to’ places. I already can’t wait to eat there again. So if you live in the Chicagoland area and are looking for a cool little pub with lots of delicious vegan fare, this is the place for you. Check it out!

Handlebar
2311 W North Ave, Chicago, IL
Phone:(773) 384-9546