Archr Coffee - Vegan Options

We didn't come across Archr Coffee (that's right...no e) in the usual way. I didn't find it on Google or read about its upcoming opening on some food blog. My wife needed to see her physiotherapist about some back discomfort and he was working out of a new location a couple of days a week. The location is a wellness clinic in the Xchange at 20161 86 Avenue in Langley. I came with her a couple of times and decided to grab a coffee at Archr in the same complex. In addition to pretty good coffee, they turned out to have a few vegan treats.

After my first visit, I went back a couple of more times as they were always out of the goal to which I was aspiring, their breakfast sandwich. Admittedly, I was usually showing up in the afternoon.

Their baked goods all come from Too Live For Bakery so we have been saved a trip to Vancouver at the very least. This Chocolate Cookie is a work of art and delicious.

Also from To Live For, the Lemon Loaf is definitely worth your time. It has those little crystalized sugar bits which separates it from your run-of-the-mill lemon loaf. This is not meant to be a review of TLF but it is nice to know you can get something sweet to go with your very good coffee.

Not sure who actually makes the breakfast sandwich at Archr but it is damn good. Not cheap at $12 but with vegan egg, sausage, cheese, tomato, mayo and hot sauce on a toasted English Muffin, it was substantial. In addition to the breakfast sandwich, they offer a vegan lunch sub which looked pretty good but I didn't actually try it. 

So while Starbucks doesn't seem that interested in vegans, there are local places (local if you live in Langley) that have something to offer. Archr has been busy each of the times I have been by but it's a comfortable and pleasant room.

Plant-based milk doesn't seem to be a problem either. I drink my coffee black but on one occasion, I enjoyed an oat milk flat white. Very nice! I just wanted you to know about this option for the hungry vegan in Langley.

Food                     3 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options      3 out of 5

Comfort                 4 1/2 out of 5

Service                  4 out of 5

Value                     3 1/2 out of 5

Afghan Kitchen - Vegan Options

When I tried to search for our AK blog post from our previous visit, I couldn't find it. This means that we have not been to Afghan Kitchen in more than 6 years and posted our review on Zomato which is now completely blown up. This is far too long but as I often say, "So many restaurants, so little time". It also means that we visited during my PV (pre-vegan) era so this visit looks at their vegan options.

AK has not moved and is still at 24th and 160th. Lots of parking in the mall that it is part of.

We were there as part of a birthday party for my sister-in-law although I won't say how many years. Is that still a thing? When I was young you never talked about a lady's age! The Bolani was delicious stuffed with potato and I'm not sure what else. Bread is almost always at the heart of a culture's cuising and this is no exception.

The Plant-Base Platter for Two is only $50 which is a smoking deal. It starts with Aushuk, I think  (the online menu is confusing AF and this is another restaurant where they are ambiguous as to what is vegan and what is not vegan - Our server was our savior as she knew the difference). These are plant based dumplings stuffed with cabbage, onions and carrots and topped with split peas in a tomato sauce, that are savoury and wonderful.

My photos are the victims of profoundly harsh lighting (big high window at approaching sunset) for which I apologize. All the corrective stuff on Google Photos, could not save me. Even though it could look prettier, it still was delicious. Rice is the cornerstone here and Afghan Rice is served with raisons, carrots and almonds. Elsewhere on the platter is eggplant, spinach, chick peas and potato.

Turkish Coffee is always a treat. I'm not 100% clear on how it differs from say, expresso (they are bot typically quite strong) bit I do enjoy it and it is always served with flourish.

We actually sat on the floor with the birthday party of about 20 at one end of the restaurant made for that. Low tables and comfortable cushions accommodate this more traditional dining arrangement. The rest of the dining room has tables and chairs for those whose knees and backs are feeling their age. AK now has a sister restaurant in Vancouver called, Zarak. I notice that they have a few vegan options as well.

Food                       4 out of 5

Vegan Options       3 out of 5

Comfort                  3 1/2 out of 5

Service                   4 1/2 out of 5

Value                      4 out of 5

Virtous Pie - Vegan Pizza and more

VP might have been our first vegan restaurant review ever. It was before I was all in but was participating in World Vegan Month in November of 2018 at the time. We don't often go back to a place that I have reviewed (not because I fear repercussions) because I am convinced that getting the word out on every other place with plant-based options is important. Anyway, our pre Canucks game brunch idea fell through and there did not seem to be any other viable options within walking distance of Rogers that were open on Sunday morning. Lo and behold, Virtuous Pie has started serving weekend brunch and is now open at 10:30 am. (this valuable info is missing from their Google Maps listing).

So somehow we ended up on Main near Keefer for our second visit only 4 1/2 years after our first visit. There are now locations in Victoria and Portland so the formula is proving successful. We have lost some vegan eateries in the last year but we have lost a lot of non vegan eateries as well due to the economy (just in case you heard someone say that veganism is a fad that is passing away).

We shared one of the best Mac n Cheese Skillets that we have had in forever. This was creamy and cheesy and makes me absolutely not regret my decision to stop eating the dairy based version. This was not off the brunch menu so you can enjoy it any time.

Next up was, The Sandwich! This was delivered on a vegan brioche bun which is a site better than the gluten-free buns that we are occasionally subjected to. This sandwich came with a slightly spicy sausage patty and a very good tofu scramble. I think what really made this such good eats were the multiple creamy elements, melty cheese, cashew Hollandaise and garlic aioli. Nice tots on the side too!

This is a nice room with communal tables. The brunch menu offers a lot of interesting items including a breakfast pizza and really, pizza is the key to their success here. It's a small detail but I loved that when you grab your own water, you have a choice of still or sparkling! The folks here are very friendly also...maybe we find everyone friendly because we are friendly. Someone let me know if when you walk into one of the places we review and act all grouchy, that makes a difference. In the meantime, iIt won't be 4 1/2 years before we get back here.

Food                         4 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options          5 out of 5

Comfort                     4 out of 5

Service                      4 1/2 out of 5

Value                         4 out of 5

Hard Bean Brunch Company - Vegan Options

Willoughby in Langley has popped up as a huge residential area seemingly overnight. The neighborhood is complete with a whole retail business section to serve the residents including a plethora of eateries some of which even feature vegan options!

The Hard Bean Brunch Company is one of those eateries and is located at the corner of 208th and 78B. Parking is not brilliant in the area but your legs aren't broken so expect to walk a bit, unless you get lucky. We arrived at "brunch time" on Saturday, not because we are gluttons for punishment but because that's just the way it worked out. Fortunately, a couple of seats where available at the bar and the lighting is better for photos there anyway. The online menu lists all the vegan dishes available but in the restaurant, the vegan items are on a separate menu that you need to ask for.

We started with a Watermelon Salad. Tell me that doesn't sound amazing! When it arrived, it was served with a hardboiled eggs cut into 4 wedges! I was amazed and exclaimed that they had this vegan egg work of art. However, one of the servers said," Oh, wait! That's not vegan." and he whisked the egg away! Thank you for being on the ball random server who just happened to be helping deliver plates. Anyway, that is why the salad looks a little sparse. There was supposed to be some scrambled just egg in the vegan version of the salad. It was refreshing anyway. BTW, vegan cheese.

The Farm Field Omelette was up next and this was quite impressive. Served with a nice side of fruit, this was indistinguishable from a regular egg omelette as far as flavour and texture (and anything else).

Busted open, is was creamy and full of cheese and veggies. It was only $1.50 more than the regular concoction, without the sausages but with the fruit, so we can justify the price and it was quite tasty.

Given a choice of two burgers on the plant-based menu, we chose the Cauliflower burger with the chick pea and cauliflower patty. They score points here for creativity (anyone can serve an impossible burger, mind you, anyone can serve a beef patty) and taste. We loved the pretzel bun which is far superior to the gluten free nightmare thing they will serve you at White Spot. The hash browns were great also and not of the frozen variety.

Finally, we had the Strawberry French Toast and pretended it was desert. They came with fresh strawberries which was a treat, aquafaba custard and coconut whip (tell me that is not dessert!). Also, it is made with rye bread which is brilliant and I would never have thought of it.

So we had great food and a couple of very good coffees (one was decaf). This is a high ceilinged and quite beautiful place. It is boisterous and busy. The servers are great even though one almost served us an egg but the other one saved us. The one thing that confused me was out actually spending $100 for brunch. Admittedly, we always order too much (can't write a decent blog post without doing so) but we never order alcohol and we are usually just water drinking people (so add $10 for coffees). The food is definitely above average when it comes to quality and presentation so I expect to pay a little more and there is the vegan tax which is actually quite low here. Once you add tax and tip, I see how we got there. So, I guess it is just not that surprising but (and I know this is not apples to apples) we did pay $65 at Feast and Fallow for brunch a month ago (including coffees). I'm just saying.

Food                              4 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options               4 1/2 out of 5

Comfort                         4 out of 5

Service                          4 out of 5

Value                             3 1/2 out of 5

Machete Ancestral Mexican Food - Vegan Options

So I had assumed that a machete was a long blade suitable for cutting sugar cane and the like or a film series featuring Danny Trejo that Rotten Tomatoes describes as messy, violent, shallow and tasteless (but I'm a huge fan of Danny Trejo) but it turns out to be food also! 

Located across the street from and almost midway between The American and The Ivanhoe on Main Street, Machete Ancestral Mexican Food is not in a prime real estate location but with the new hospital also going up across the road, it probably will be soon. It is a short walk from Main Street Station.

We felt ourselves surrounded by authenticity from the moment we entered (of course, we wouldn't know) including everything from the water glasses to the art on the walls. The fact that our hostess and owner hails from Jalisco and was dressed in her culturally appropriate attire also contributed. 

Naturally, they have tacos here. How could they not? What set them apart from the tacos that we are used to was the blue corn tortillas made in-house from masa ground with stones and lime! We ordered these two tacos with nopales in one and cremini mushrooms and cilantro in the other. Wonderful!

A trio of salsas accompanied our lunch one was of the fresh variety, one with dried smokey chillies and the third was tomatillo leaning. All were delicious and added some spice and complexity.

A Huarache is not something you see on every Mexican restaurant menu but they are not unheard of either. We ordered this one with Rojas Poblanos (trying to work our way through as many of the vegan fillings as possible) which was pleasantly spicy and smokey. Again the tortilla which in this case is a little more oval and longer than the taco, and served flat, was definitely a highlight. The vegan cheese was quite good also.

And finally, we tried the restaurant's namesake, the Machete. Notice that it is similar in shape to the weapon/tool of the same name! Now you know! With the tortillas here being more than spectacular, there is nothing wrong with more!

We ordered one half with pumpkin blossoms (above is the best photo I have of that).

The other half was with huitlacoche. If you are not familiar with it, Google it! Also known as Mexican truffle, it is a fungus that grows with corn and is a bit of a delicacy. Oh, and it tastes nothing like a truffle.  Along with more of the decent melty vegan cheese and some greenery, this was quite a treat.

Everything about this place is warm, welcoming and authentic feeling. Apparently, they started in a commercial kitchen during the pandemic doing take-out and some of their customers insisted that they needed to open a restaurant. And so here they are. Doing miss this place whether you are vegan or other!

Food                          5 out of 5

Vegan Options          4 out of 5

Comfort                     4 1/2 out of 5

Service                      5 out of 5

Value                         5 out of 5

Nam Dae Moon Rice Cake - Vegan Options

Nam Dae Moon opened their second location not long ago and it was well covered on social media. I initially assumed that the little treats they produced would be completely full of dairy products and eggs and not vegan-appropriate. That is why you should ask questions and not make assumptions! It turns out that they do have vegan items and they officially publish an allergen chart (which every food purveyor should have) which I can not find online anywhere (and I didn't take a picture of it) but instore it helped us make some selections.

This newest outlet of NDM is just a couple of blocks from Royal Oak Station at Royal Oak and Imperial in Burnaby. They serve savoury items out of this kitchen (it is Lorou Fan Tasty which could be a totally separate business as near as I can tell) as well but there is noting for a hungry vegan on that menu (maybe steamed rice).

I won't comment on the environmentally unfriendly packaging except to say it is very attractive and practical for transporting the goods (you are unlikely to eat a lot of this at a sitting as it is very rich) and you could certainly reuse the paper bag. It's certainly no worse than Apple packaging so I guess we are not too concerned about that generally.

I'll be honest and admit that I can't remember and didn't write down what most of the things we ordered were but this is the Soybean Glutinous Rice Cake and turned out to be our favourite. The crumble on top tastes a lot like peanuts and added to the sticky rice cake made for a surprisingly pleasant experience. This is not an something that you can rush. When searching for a little information about these, I kept coming across warnings to not eat too quickly and choke! So consider that my PSA.

Red Glutinous Rice Cake treat was next and this one featured sweet potato but beyond this one I definitely am resorting to guess work. As you can probably guess this one was moist and less dense than the soybean cake. Incorporating the layers seems to lighten up the taste and chew.

I am pretty sure that this is Chestnut and Date Glutinous Rice Cake. The thing is, it would be easy and sensible for me to make a few notes on my phone. This was tasty also and in fact everything was decent. I don't think it really matters what you order. The experience is more in the sticky sweet chewiness and less in the actual flavours.

I'm going to say that this is Purple Sweet Potato Mochi. I went as far as texting this picture to an employee at NDM but they couldn't identify it either. They sent me photos of the menus that are already all over Google so that didn't help. I say, if they don't know what it is, it is not surprising that I don't know. Again, very tasty. I recall that we enjoyed everything. Don't worry that we wolfed it all down in one sitting. It is actually still enjoyable even after a couple of days and they can give you instructions on steaming the cake later!

This is a pleasant little cafe and the staff were also very personable and helpful. I would stay that glutinous rice cakes are not really an acquired taste as they are not hard to enjoy at the first bite. They are however , unique as far as sweets are concerned and may not be everybody's cup of tea. I admit that I will not in the future go far out of my way but for sure Nam Dae Moon is good at what they do for those who are fans.

Food                          3 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options           3 out of 5

Comfort                     4 out of 5

Service                      4 1/2 out of 5

Value                         3 1/2 out of 5

Sushi Kaido -Sort of Vegan Options

Another eatery in what I have been calling the 'vegan triangle' (Kingsway, Main, Broadway) was on our subsistence plan this past weekend. Sushi Kaido is at the corner of Main and Broadway and they have that little green leaf thing on their menu in many locations but without a definition. I had decided that it meant "vegan".

It did not. It means vegetarian but our server was astute enough to help us order some vegan food anyway. It seems that the tempura batter that they use at SK contains milk or egg powder. I had always been under the impression that tempura vegetables were always a safe vegan port in a storm but such is not the case...live and learn and don't feel guilty about past mistakes.

We started with Agedashi Tofu. It was crisp, hot and delicate.  It can't be taken for granted that the dipping sauce is vegan as it is often made with dashi but we trusted our server as she understood our plan.

Next up was the Vegetable Gyoza. This was pretty good with a nice vegetable filling. Hot and freshly browned on the outside, another safe vegan standby. 

Finally, we tried the Kimono Roll and the Green Hornet Roll. Here is where the expertise of our server came to the fore. Both these rolls feature a tempura vegetable centre namely pumpkin and purple sweet potato. To make the rolls vegan, she asked the kitchen to steam the vegetables rather than deep fry them in tempura batter. Of course, the nice little crunch of tempura would have been nice but it was still tasty.

It would have been nice to be able to order directly off the menu without horsing around. That is what we are aiming for in our dining out adventures these days. There are enough restaurants that are aware of the difference between vegan and vegetarian and that are willing to go all the way and create vegan options. They may also be aware that the dairy and egg industries cause as much if not more suffering than the meat industry. Our sever knew what she was doing but that might not be the case with all the staff.

Food                          3 1/2 out of 5

Vegan Options           2 1/2 out of 5

Comfort                     4 out of 5

Service                      5 out of 5

Value                         3 1/2 out of 5