Tasty Travels: Pulse Vegan

I'm so excited to be in Austin, Texas again. It is a wonderful city full of great music and delicious food! Upon arriving in Austin, we headed out to grab some lunch. (Gotta love the food truck spots... Multiple foods for any taste bud all in one place.)

I chose to grab a BBQ Seitan salad and rosemary fries from the Conscious Cravings food truck. The BBQ sauce was AWESOME! Sweetened with agave there was also a great tang and the kind of heat that doesn't necessarily burn... But it makes ya sweat! (My favorite!). The rosemary fries were so tasty! Imagine roasted potatoes with rosemary but as fried finger food. YUM!

Today, my mom, sister and I walked in and out of a bunch of shops, restaurants, and bakeries before we decided on the South First Food Court for lunch.  

We found Pulse Vegan, an all vegan food truck owned and operated by Colin Sheffield.  Relatively new to the Austin food truck scene, Pulse Vegan opened the truck's window just 5 months ago on May 29th, 2014.

 

I ordered "The Philly" and the "Sides Trio" (a sampler of the 3 sides the truck offers). According to Colin, The Philly is one of the most popular menu items, and I could definitely taste why!  The peppers and onions were cooked to the point that they were soft but still had an impactful crunch.  The tempeh (local, from The Hearty Vegan) was cooked on a flat top, making it crispy on the outside, and topped with Daiya Chedder-style "cheese".  What really made the sandwich for me was the homemade Cajun mayo.  I even got extra on the side because I wanted it on everything! The sandwich was served on a ciabatta roll which added a really great chew to the sandwich.

The "Sides Trio" was just as delicious and the perfect option to try multiple things on the menu without TOTALLY pigging out! 

The savory greens were AWESOME! They were perfectly cooked so that they were tender but yet still crisp, and... as you can see in the picture they are still actually green! They aren't that swampy mud color that comes from overcooking the greens. The did not have a greasy/slimey feel to them and the taste...?  Well, "fresh", "clean", and "savory" were the words out of my mom's and sister's mouths! It was true! Colin cooks the greens in a savory broth that contains allspice and thyme, which created a warmth but still maintained a lightness to the side dish.  (I can't believe I'm going to say this but... I may have sipped on the broth after I finished my lunch... DON'T JUDGE!!! IT WAS THAT GOOD!)  

Next up was "The Mac". Colin told me that he was very proud of his mac, and he very well should be.  It was a delightful combination of a nutritional yeast sauce and Daiya "cheddar cheese". This was also Gluten Free (all of the sides were naturally GF and everything on the menu could be made GF) What I really loved about this was that it was similar to my Mac-No-Cheese--the kid version as I call it... because it's reminiscent of the blue box Mac N Cheese kids like to eat... It had the delectable CRUNCH of the crust you get when you bake mac n cheese. It added an extra dimension that made it even more irresistible! (My non-vegan sister had ordered that for her meal but then we got the trio instead... I was only allowed 2 bites and she chowed down on the rest!) 

Last but certainly not least, the "Dill Home Fries". OH. MY. LANTA! First of all if you've read my blog you are probably aware that I LOVE POTATOES! (How appropriate that this post was written on National Potato Day! Check Twitter and Facebook for some TUBER-ler recipes! haha See what I did there?) These potatoes definitely claimed a spot in my Top Ten Homefries! Dill, garlic, salt and pepper were all that went on these pan-fried spuds... I couldn't believe they were pan-fried, by the way.  The crunch seemed too good for a pan.  I thought they had been double deep fried (French-fry style but in cube form). I even attempted to save them for last and the crunch survived the lapsed time. (HA yeah right, who am I kidding!? You know these were totally scarfed down...) Colin gave us ketchup for dipping which was delicious but I loved dipping them in the Cajun mayo too!

More about the menu:  Colin told me that he is most proud of "The Mac".  His favorite sandwiches on his menu are "The Buff Boy" and "The Frenchy".  He told me that he loves the flavor combination that exists in "The Buff Boy" and he recognizes that both are pretty unique flavors for the vegan community.  I mean YEAH! Buffalo "wings" and a "French Dip" w/ au jus?! Those are not typically foods that people would think could ever be vegan.  

Colin has a mission very similar to my own: Being vegan doesn't have to mean you're missing out! Just TASTE IT before you dismiss vegan food because of the opinion formed in your head that. Vegan food is just as delicious, filling, and nutritious as "regular" food if not more so! **More from Colin to come when TastyKaiti's reaches 20,000 pageviews.  So stick around to watch a clip of the interview when that happens! 

"Thank you Colin for an excellent lunch! And thank you for letting me interview you about yourself and the food truck! It is absolutely my pleasure to endorse your truck on my blog." ~Kaiti

Let Colin know you read about him here as we love to hear from our readers/eaters!

A Note to my Non-vegan friends: 

The great thing about food truck lots in Austin is there is something for everyone! (Vegan or Not)  And while they are certainly not afraid of vegan food anymore, my mom and sister were in the mood for a Breakfast Burrito and found a great one at Gravy, a truck that blends Mexican flavors with an old southern favorite of biscuits and gravy. We talked with the owner/operator Scott who told us that they are BRAND NEW!  Just opened THREE WEEKS ago! While he informed me that he didn't have vegan options, I did want to share with my non-vegan readers that he does have Vegetarian options on his menu.  His biscuits do not contain lard and the burrito my mom and sister split contained all vegetarian ingredients (with the exception of the bacon gravy).  So check him out at South First Food Court! Tell him I sent ya!

DC Veg Fest 2014

DC Veg Fest.

@busboysandpoets @amsterdamdc @barefootbucha @therandyradish @stickyfingersdc and more!

One of the greatest days I've had in a while! I had so much fun talking with the different companies, organizations, and restaurants! I tried a bunch of products and sooo many yummy goodies! This post is a little more on the side of reviews because I want everyone to know about the Veggie goodness that the DC-metro area has to offer! 

Please check out the photos from my day.  I will post a few here but I took WAY more than a few pictures :-) 

A couple of my favorite places were at DC Veg Fest: Sticky Fingers Sweets and Eats and Busboys and Poets for example.  Sticky Fingers (which I've previously reviewed) was there with plenty of sweet treats and owner, Doron Petersan was even there giving a presentation in the Kids Tent.  She talked to the group about how to get kids to eat new things and she had the most adorable assistant helping her with her demonstration!  She suggests having kids try something 3 times before they can say that they do not like it.  And as many suggest, GET YOUR KIDS IN THE KITCHEN! Helping you make the food they are going to eat will encourage them to eat what they make!

Loved seeing all kids who love their Veggies!

  Busboys and Poets (which I haven't reviewed yet) is absolutely one of my favorite restaurants in the area.  Why, you ask? It is a restaurant that caters to EVERYONE!!!  I made a bunch of my friends come out to Busboys and Poets for my birthday back in April and everyone LOVED IT!  There is something on the menu for everything! BUT... What's even better... THEY HAVE VEGAN BRUNCH FOODS!!!! Breakfast and Brunch are seriously hard meals to dine out for, but not at Busboys!  With 4 locations in the DMV, you're food needs will definitely be met.  Check out their menu, and their NEW fall Vegan menu items (below)! I can't wait to try more of their menue and do a full review! French Toast PLEASE!!! 



So, next to the Sticky Fingers booth was Barefoot Bucha.  Hands down, THE BEST GINGER KOMBUCHA I'VE EVER HAD! No. Seriously.  You know how many kombuchas have that funny taste because the flavor aspect doesn't last?  Well this one DOES! If you love ginger, you would love this ginger Kombucha.  They have other flavors too: Cherry Root, CranGinger, Elderflower, Hint of Mint, Plumblossom, Kombuchai, and Classic.  (Ginger was the best choice for me today because A- I love ginger and B-...I was about to eat a ton of food and I needed something to help soothe my digestive system :-) 


With distributors in the DMV, here are a few places where you can find Barefoot Bucha!  I even got this sweet reusable cup! 

After walking around, continuing to sip on my tasty Barefoot Bucha, and taking lots of pictures, I set my eyes on my first food adventure! Amsterdam Falafelshop!  I love falafel, I haven't posted any recipes for falafel because I have yet to master it like the chefs at Amsterdam Falafelshop.  Their falafel was fried to perfection.  Crispy on the outside but soft AND MOIST on the inside.  Think about it, how often have you had falafel that is dry and leaves you reaching for any and every liquid beverage in sight?!  Not here! And their condiments (in store they have 21 toppings!!) I topped mine with Baba Ganoush, Pickled Beets, Cucumbers and Onions,  and Tahini sauce. Simple and DELICIOUS!

 After walking around and talking to a couple of people at some booths, I decided I needed to pose for a little photo op, before heading to the next spot to eat again! (Don't judge me, I specifically didn't eat before attending Veg Fest so that I could eat lots of yummy veg foods!) Anyway, here I am at the nasoya booth. What do you think? D.C.'s Top Chef? ;-) 

For my next food snack, came from the booth set up by Vegetable Garden from Silver Spring, MD.  If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know, I cannot resist Chinese food! And that is exactly what they have to offer! They had veggie sushi rolls, General Tso's mock-chicken, and Sesame mock-Beef with Yams on the menu for Veg Fest.  I went with the sesame mock-beef with yams (mostly because I eat veggie sushi all the time and they were out of General Tso's).  It was very tasty! It came with steamed broccoli and brown rice.  I loved the addition of the yam! But, I will say that it reminded me more of like, an orange chicken.  It was sweeter than I typically like because I love spicy Chinese food best. Definitely will eat at their restaurant again... (Especially upon finding out that they are located in "Leisure World", not to far from the ballet studio that I grew up in.  I won't tell you what my mom and I used to call that area... It's hilarious but because my mom used to a comedian, some of the jokes aren't quite PC. And I don't want to offend any of my readers!) Even after chowing down of this though, my Chinese food craving wasn't satisfied.  What's a Asian style meal without a spring roll of some sort!?  Off to my next booth! 

The Loving Hut booth was my next stop! One of the closest vegan restaurants to where I live, and I'd never been!? They had a bunch of great choices but all I wanted (and could stomach... have you been keeping track of how much I've eaten so far??) was one of their "golden rolls".  Crispy and deep fried-- can it get any better than deep fried?? Filled with carrots, cabbage, taro, mushrooms, onions and bean thread noodles, it was just what I needed to cap off my Asian meal!

The sauce was yummy too. Pineapple-y and sweet.  But I was missing the tang/heat of spicy mustard or sriracha.  I'll definitely get another when I get out to the restaurant to try some more of the yummy looking things on their full menu! I really want to try their vegan Bahn Mi and their Fried Wontons... and their Sesame Eggplant Tofu! 

One of my favorite parts about Veg Fest was seeing all of the animal welfare leagues that were out in full force, and even brought some sweet canines that were available for adoption! I have to take a minute away from my food adventure to give a little plug for THE BEST WELFARE LEAGUE IN NOVA!  The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is where my family got our beloved Raleigh.  While he was with there, they called him Scott.  While that was the name of my most recent ex, we decided it needed to be changed once they approved us to take him. It was a long process, they wanted to see everyone in the family interact with the dog so that they knew he was going to a great home.  Sadly, after 12 long years of a great life, we had to put Raleigh down at the end of August.  As you can see by his picture, he was an old man.  He was the sweetest dog in the world and everyone knew him as Raleigh, the wonder dog.  We miss ya bud, but at least you're up where you're free of pain and where Benji and Rudy can't annoy you anymore! :-)


Okay, sorry... back to the food! Next up... I needed something. Something that I haven't had in a long time... Sweet... creamy... HELLOOOOOO Charm School Chocolate!! (sorry I couldn't get pics of the actual chocolate, their booth was pretty full!) 

  
Their vegan milk chocolate was soooo dreamy! They use coconut milk which adds to the texture but didn't change the flavor of the chocolate. While they don't currently sell in Virginia... They do sell their chocolates and sweets online and at the Roots Market near my grandparents! It may be time to pay them a visit, and pick up some Charm School Chocolate on my way! <3 <3 Those Toffee Almond Bites look right up my alley! 

My last stop for food was at The Randy Radish food truck.  I've seen this food truck driving around the area but was always heading in the opposite direction.  FINALLY I got to see what they are all about! The wait was a little long but it was the end of the day and I was fine with a little break to sit down and rest my hot and tired feet! The menu was full of yummy looking treats. But with summer coming to an end, and being out side at what reminded me of a summer block party, I had to go with the Jackfruit BBQ.  MAN AM I GLAD I DID!!! The spicy BBQ sauce was just the kick I'd been looking for all day! And their slaw was crisp and cool, I only wish I had more of it! 









While I love food trucks, I am excited to announce that The Randy Radish will be opening a STOREFRONT NEXT WEEK!!! In Sterling, VA!  I hope this means more of their menu choices will be available daily.  I can't wait to review more of their menu! I really want to try their Crabby Cake, Mediterranean Picnic Sandwich, Tofu Reuban, Rainbow Pad Thai and their Autumn Quinoa Salad! I will definitely keep y'all posted when the storefront is up and running. Be sure to like and follow me on Facebook and twitter to stay informed :-)

Like I said, I loved seeing all the dogs out and about at Veg Fest, but the best one I saw was Guinness, the face of Craft Kombucha! 

Guinness was the reason that I stopped to get a drink from Craft Kombucha. He was the perfect combination of my boxer, Rudy, and my sister's brindle pit-lab, Benji.  (Shout out to the two guys I met in line! Hope y'all had a great time!) I had their spicy pineapple kombucha. It was deliciously refreshing though not as spicy as I was hoping for. Wish I had had enough money to buy more flavors! I really wanted to try the grapefruit and the (I think it was..) cherry-apple cider? mmm sounded so yummyyy! Can't wait to try them again!

I was also given some Dr. Bronner's Coconut Oil to test out and write a review! I can't wait to do it! (I already made stovetop croutons and stovetop popcorn with it last night and I LOVE IT so far! I will do a separate post for that as it will include some recipes as well as the review!) Yummm

One last booth I have to talk about holds a special place in my heart.  The Natural Epicurean Academy for the Culinary Arts came to Veg Fest!! I have been absolutely obsessed with Natural Epicurean since I first found out about the school a few years ago.  I even applied and got accepted (but couldn't afford to go... still want to though!) 

I loved seeing the booth at Veg Fest and totally helped the representative tell people about the school! So naturally I have to share a few things about the school before I end this blog post!  The Natural Epicurean is a one-of-a-kind culinary school based in Austin, Texas.  This school is one-of-a-kind because it is THE ONLY ALL PLANT BASED CULINARY SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY! That's right!! All vegan/vegetarian culinary school that also teaches raw, macrobiotic, and ayurvedic techniques.  How awesome is that!?  They have a NEW distance learning program so you can take classes online if Austin is too far away.  Check them out! <3 <3 


That's all for now!!! 

Tasty Travels- Sticky Fingers Sweets and Eats

If you follow my Facebook (if you don't... why not?!) you may have seen that I started a new photo album of all of the foods I've eaten when I travel.  I decided this was a good way to share not only my pictures but also to let you know of vegan places all around.  

Classic TLT

Peanut Butter Pie (mini and out of this world!)

For example, one place I frequent here in the DC area is Sticky Fingers.  They are a vegan bakery and cafe in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of DC (Literally like a block from the Columbia Heights metro on the green line) and they are the only place I have found in this area that does VEGAN DONUTS! Yup, Tuesdays and Thursdays their bakery produces a TON of donuts.  Everything from your standard Cinnamon Sugar and Vanilla Glazed to flavors like ESPRESSO GLAZED w/ chocolate (Hands down my favorite) and PB filled with Jelly and even cranberry ginger!  On top of donuts, they are also knockin out some great milkshakes, sandwiches, soups, and more! 

Here's their address in case you're in the DC area and want to visit them! 

• 1370 Park Rd NW

• Washington, District of Columbia 20010

Soup de Jour: Sweet Potato and an Asian Wrap

(I just realized I raved about the donuts and DO-NUT have any pictures of them... haha see what I did there.. I'm a dork.  Oh well just another excuse to go back and get more!)

** UPDATE I FOUND A PIC!!!**

Tiramisu Filled Donut: Chocolate filling, espresso glaze YUM!

Gardein Product Reviews

Becoming vegan, vegetarian, or even just cutting out meat once a week for "Meatless Mondays" can be tough if you don't know what to eat or where to start.  Think about it, there's a meat for every meal! How can you get away from it when it's all you used to?  Tofu is not the only answer, though if you ask any unknowing person, that's the only thing that vegetarians/vegans eat..that and salad!  WRONG!!! (see the recipes on this blog, I eat way more than that!)  There are some great products on the market that are easier to cook with, have better textures, and even better tastes than tofu! 

I first became aware of gardein products when I saw them featured on The Ellen DeGeneres show back in December.  The show featured gardein's Chick'n Scallopini, which by definition, scallopini (n) sauteed cutlets (usually veal or poultry) that have been pounded thin and coated with flour.  But gardein (garden + protein) has created their products to resemble meat while being made from soy, wheat, and pea proteins, grains, and vegetables.  Their scallopini is great for everything, from being coated in flour and sauteed (as stated in the definition) to an addition to pot pie, and even dredged in spices and cooked for a delicious chick'n fajita!

They've truly created endless possibilities for people who don't eat meat!  But they don't only have a chicken substitute...  Miss having a burger or even BBQ sandwiches during the summer?  They've got you covered with an AMAZING burger (you won't believe it's vegan!) and BBQ Pulled Shreds that blew me away when I first tasted them.  But it doesn't stop there!  They have a such wide variety of fresh and frozen products (see the fresh products here and the frozen products here) that even restaurants and famous food labels are starting to use them! (Some places include zPizza, Jenny Craig, and select Chipotle restaurants!)  There's even a rumor going around that Lean Cuisine has started using some of the gardein products in their "VeggieCuisine" line (which is not mentioned on their website, but was discovered in some Walmarts/Supercenters.  These meals, however, are not vegan.  Just vegetarian.)

So, why do I love my gardein?  It's so incredibly versatile not to mention CARNIVORE FRIENDLY!!   It's fun for me too because I switched to a vegan diet because my body just had issues digesting meat.  So while my tastebuds miss some of my favorite meals (though, my stomach doesn't), I don't have to anymore because I just sub in gardein for the meat!  I've done pot pies, chick'n soup, beef-less tips stew, General Tso's chick'n, Black Pepper Chick'n/Beef, tacos, fajitas, even "meat" sauce for my spaghetti!  

While I've tried a lot of the products from gardein, there are a few that I have not tried because I couldn't find them in my store (though now I think Whole Foods should be carrying the ENTIRE line WOOOHOOO!), I do have 2 new products in my kitchen.  Last night we tried the Herb Dijon Breasts for the first time.  Delish! Not to mention EASY!  In one box comes 2 individually wrapped portions (brilliant), a "chick'n breast" and the sauce.  Simply heat the chick'n, then cover with the sauce and simmer for a few seconds and you're set to eat!  I mean does it get any easier!?  

The fun part for me is taking what they've made and making it my own or creating something with it, though I do like to try the product how they recommend first so I know what I'm working with.  (creating something tonight...)

With as much as I rave about gardein, I should probably note that I am not being paid by the company to write about them... Though if anyone at gardein is reading this, I wouldn't mind it!! :-) 

So what do I recommend you try first?  Well that depends on you... But the products that I've always got on hand are the Scallopini, Beefless Tips, Beefless Burger, and Crispy Tenders.  (I may be 23 and living on my own but until I became vegan, I always ordered chicken tenders/nuggets/fingers--whatever they were called-- when I went out to eat.  I'm a kid at heart!)

I hope you try gardein whether you are carnivore, vegetarian, pescetarian (shout out to my twitter friend @ThatSkyeIAm who also loves gardein like I do), vegan-ish, or vegan, I'm sure you will love them!