Hello all! It's been awhile- mostly because I have been completely bogged down with work and work and more work, but I have been on a roller coaster ride for the past few weeks trying to piece my life together in more ways than you can imagine.
I am launching my own site in the coming weeks and will be starting a whole new vegolution with my site. I am building my life around Italian vegan cuisine so get ready. I will now be known as La Vegetariana and will only answer to that- just kidding! But really, I will have my site and I will be posting show broadcasts of me cooking and teaching everyone who is interested how to make great traditional (and not so traditional) Italian dishes only for vegetarians and vegans! How great right? Well, I am working tirelessly to gather recipes and be creative with it and I am having a blast. I am still working in the restaurant and though it has taken a toll on me physically, mentally and emotionally, I am hanging on strong to build a shell. I need to toughen up and face the bullshit life carries so I will be prepared for a lot worse if it comes (which I hope it doesnt!)
So wish me luck as I work on LaVegetariana.com and you can check it out as time goes on to see what's new
P.S. Since the last post I have eaten at a few new restaurants and have loved them all...Square 1682 in Center City, Divan in South Philadelphia and Radice in Blue Bell- from eco-friendly chic to Turkish fare to all around modern Italian these restaurants were fabulous and each brought a different taste to my palate that drove my taste buds wild! I was so happy to have been able to try such great food at three different locations with three very different styles of cuisine. That's what I call foodxploring.
Go out and explore and check out my site www.lavegetariana.com. Everything will be posted soon and I will be able to officially welcome you into my world as the Italian veg...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
AMADA-licious
It was late Monday night and my boyfriend surprised me with
a dinner at AMADA in Olde City.We sat in the swanky, yet simple restaurant surrounded by other couples and parties enjoying the exquisite tapas that were listed on the menu. Sure there weren't a lot of vegan options on the menu, but we made it work. With the support of my boyfriend and the knowledge of what was in each of the dishes, we made sure to order mostly vegan options except for the chicken dish that he ordered :) (which still looked awesome!)
Dishes that came to our table for either one of us to eat included "escalivada" which is a dish with roasted peppers and eggplant, cipollini onions & confit tomatoes; "patatas bravas," which were spicy potatoes and the chicken dish that my boyfriend chose was called the "madre e hijo," which was chicken breast with fried egg, mojama & truffles. Of course I stayed far away from it, but the vegetables that came to the table were delicious and if you are a vegan at AMADA, you have to make sure to ask which sauces and dips you can or can't eat. The "escalivada" was a tiny portion and I was in no way stuffed after eating it, but it was a delicious explosion of flavors in my mouth. It was light and we used the cool two prong fork that was at our seat to stab at the veggies. None of the dishes are typical or like any that I've seen. AMADA is a great place to have a unique dining experience, but it is also a challenge that you have to be ready to embrace.
As a part of the Garces Restaurant Group, AMADA "wows" customers with an extensive and very different menu that may not be the most convenient and easiest for vegans, but is well worth the time.
a dinner at AMADA in Olde City.We sat in the swanky, yet simple restaurant surrounded by other couples and parties enjoying the exquisite tapas that were listed on the menu. Sure there weren't a lot of vegan options on the menu, but we made it work. With the support of my boyfriend and the knowledge of what was in each of the dishes, we made sure to order mostly vegan options except for the chicken dish that he ordered :) (which still looked awesome!)Dishes that came to our table for either one of us to eat included "escalivada" which is a dish with roasted peppers and eggplant, cipollini onions & confit tomatoes; "patatas bravas," which were spicy potatoes and the chicken dish that my boyfriend chose was called the "madre e hijo," which was chicken breast with fried egg, mojama & truffles. Of course I stayed far away from it, but the vegetables that came to the table were delicious and if you are a vegan at AMADA, you have to make sure to ask which sauces and dips you can or can't eat. The "escalivada" was a tiny portion and I was in no way stuffed after eating it, but it was a delicious explosion of flavors in my mouth. It was light and we used the cool two prong fork that was at our seat to stab at the veggies. None of the dishes are typical or like any that I've seen. AMADA is a great place to have a unique dining experience, but it is also a challenge that you have to be ready to embrace.
As a part of the Garces Restaurant Group, AMADA "wows" customers with an extensive and very different menu that may not be the most convenient and easiest for vegans, but is well worth the time.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Burb Grub
It was time for a trip outside of the city and into the burbs. I had a girls lunch at Blue Sage Vegetarian Grille in Southampton. I have been there many times before and every time I go I try to order something new, however the last time I went I ordered the EL FINO wrap and I really enjoyed it so I wanted a repeat. The EL FINO wrap is a griddled spinach wrap with grilled pears, maple pecans, grilled onions, baby greens & dairy free carmelized onion mayo. It's served with a spring mix in pear-walnut vinaigrette, oranges, roasted baby yellow beets & sundried cranberries. The first time I had it it was incredible and the carmelized onion mayo was so rich and creamy and not one part of the ingredients overpowered another, however this time I ate it and there were way too many pear slices. I wish I could have tasted the maple pecans and mayo more and though I was a bit disappointed, I couldn't have been more satisfied after eating both halves of the wrap along with the spring mix salad on the side.
For the table we ordered the sampler and the warm pita slices were gone in less than 10 minutes. We dipped the pita in a smoked red pepper hummus, baba ghanoush, israeli farmers salad of black lentils, tomato and cucumber with feta and falafel topped with Moroccan glazed carrots with pepitas. Everything was delicious and completely fresh and we all agreed that the food was satisfying but not overly stuffing. We enjoyed our appetizer and main dish and had some great conversations about life and girly things of course! The atmosphere is relaxing and nice for lunch meetings with friends, family and coworkers. It can get a bit loud in the room because it's quite small, so be prepared to speak loudly when necessary!
Overall this place is great for people willing to try vegetarian dishes in a crazy cool restaurant with amazingly tasty combos on their menu. Don't be surprised if you spend 20 minutes just trying to figure out what you want because the options all sound delicious!
For the table we ordered the sampler and the warm pita slices were gone in less than 10 minutes. We dipped the pita in a smoked red pepper hummus, baba ghanoush, israeli farmers salad of black lentils, tomato and cucumber with feta and falafel topped with Moroccan glazed carrots with pepitas. Everything was delicious and completely fresh and we all agreed that the food was satisfying but not overly stuffing. We enjoyed our appetizer and main dish and had some great conversations about life and girly things of course! The atmosphere is relaxing and nice for lunch meetings with friends, family and coworkers. It can get a bit loud in the room because it's quite small, so be prepared to speak loudly when necessary!
Overall this place is great for people willing to try vegetarian dishes in a crazy cool restaurant with amazingly tasty combos on their menu. Don't be surprised if you spend 20 minutes just trying to figure out what you want because the options all sound delicious!
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