The Happy Herd Farm Santuary - Dinner With The Animals

This fundraising event at the Happy Herd Farm in Aldergrove raised money to feed, house and care for a small 'herd' of beings who have been rescued from suffering and certain death at the hands of factory farms and situations where they had been mistreated. We enjoyed dinner, music, good conversation, entertainment, met some new friends and listened to some inspiring people talk about their work protecting those who can not protect themselves.

Chili was one of the stars of the evening. Born with kness fused, she gets around more like a kangaroo than a goat. Sheer determination (and some physiotherapy) has her moving and socializing with the rest.

As our hosts Dianne and Stephen addressed us towards the end of the evening, Chili had found her way to a take-out container of food (hidden behind her) with intentions.

Its not just about goats here, but Noodles gets a lot of attention also. Born with motor skill impairment, he also gets around in his own way but likes to have a wall beside him for stability.

Dinner for the evening was provided by Veg Out, who happen to be among our favs.

We are always content with a Buffalo Chick'n Burger and fries, although the milkshakes seemed to be suffering from the heat like the rest of us.

I think dessert might have been baked in-house, but also possibly came from one of the many impressive vegan bakeries in the area.  I never really asked but I am always a sucker for a chocolate chip cookie.

Entertainment was provided by David Ibister and friend (I am so sorry but I never did get the name of the guitar player who was quite excellent). Additionally, David chaired the even and provided entertaining patter including many terrible Dad jokes (by his own ambition). In addition to being a talented singer, David is a longtime vegan and world travelling Youtuber along with his partner, Natalia. We had a conversation with them especially as my wife won 2 hours of tattooing as a door prize. Check out @veganeverywheretravel.

Not sure how many people were here...60 to 80? I guess I should pay more attention but really, we came for the animals.

See you next year!

Udupi Adda - Vegan Options

So I know that I suffer gravely from recency bias. Whatever and wherever I have just eaten is my favourite of all time. This time, though, it may be more true than usual. Udupi Adda is a destination stop for vegans (and you other people should go also).

Located on Douglas Crescent between 204th and 206th in Langley, it came to my attention in the usual way by sniffing around on Google Maps. UA serves South Indian food centered around the cuisine of the city of Udupi. It is vegetarian but specifies which items on the menu are (or can be) gluten free, vegan and even Jain. You'll have to look up Jain for yourselves but they are a people that practice ahimsa (look that up too) to the ultimate degree.

On this visit (and of yes, there will be more visits) we tried some of our favourites to sort of set a base line. The Sambar Vada may be the best we have ever had. They were crispy and light. Served with sambar, coconut and tomato chutneys as they always are (and as all the dishes were), what's not to love?

Uttapam is something we have had less often but were familiar in advance and had our expectations. A type of dosa, it is a little thicker than the crepe type dosa (coming up next). This one was topped with gunpowder, a spice mix usually made of roasted lentils, chilis and curry leaves. It was slightly warming and a little crunchy and we loved it.

Finally, we ordered the Paper Masala Dosa which came rolled as a cone. The presentation was spectacular if a little difficult to photograph.

On the inside was a tasty potato masala mixture that we enjoyed with crispy but still pliable enough for scooping, dosa pieces. Amazing!

We ordered a couple of dishes to go for later including the Idli Manchurian. I was not aware that combining the Idli with the Manchurian sauce was a thing but it worked for us! The rice pillowy dumplings soaked up the rich sauce like champions!

Finally, we ordered the Kara Bath, mostly because I didn't even know what it was. This was semolina cooked with veggies and spices and made a comforting side dish. 

There is a lot here that we need to come back and try including a vegan dessert! The staff were very friendly and kept track of us. This is the first restaurant that we know of serving Udupi cuisine and we recommend it highly! If I was still doing the ratings, they would get 5s across the board!

 

 

Cardamom The Indian Kitchen - Vegan Options

Before I start this, I would like to ask you: Do you read this thing? Maybe occasionally? Just look at the pictures? I have been posting since January of 2018, and I really do it for myself. I neither make money nor does it cost me money. Over the last 3 years, I have posted completely about our vegan adventures and consider it a form of activism, if only by making known that there are tasty vegan options out there. That being said, if no one reads what I write, then maybe my interest has run its course. Please let me know. Message me on Insta if you like. Thanks

Aldergrove has another new Indian restaurant, and this one has items marked 'vegan' on its menu. That's my favourite kind of menu. A lot of Indians are vegetarians, and so vegetarian items are not rare, but they often don't recognize or prepare items without dairy. That is what makes the 'vegan' label special!

Cardamom is located in the Freshco Mall. Aldergrove is small enough that that is all the description that you need. There was a Chinese restaurant here for years. Anyway, we ordered food for takeout but they do have a decent-sized dining room here.

Gol Gappe is one of those dishes that come to order regularly when dining on Indian food. Rather than trying to assemble it and take a picture, here you can see the components. Break a little hole in the crispy ball, fill it with spicy potatoes and top with the tangy water, and you have a tasty bite. If you have never had this, you need to.

Vegetable ke karare pakore was next. I'm not sure what all that means, but we love pakora. Not sure if the tamarind dip was for this or something else, but it definitely worked!

We ordered a couple of dishes that came with rice on the side (on top was us). This was the Amritsari Chole, and I could eat this all day, every day. Chick peas are kind of a theme in our lives, and put them in a rich sauce, and we are set!

Also very good was Double Tadka Daal Fry. Not sure what the long name means. We often order Dal Tadka, but this one was very good, and maybe it has to do with the 'double' and the 'fry. I will ask one day.

Finally, we loved the Veg Manchurian. This is one of our Indo-Chinese favourites, and they do a good version here. There are a few more things to try here, and we will definitely be back.

There is a decent-sized dining room (I might have mentioned that, but there is just no way to check) and room for you and a few friends. Our server was very friendly, and the chef (I assume owner) also came out to greet us, and we liked his attitude! There is vegan Indian food available in Aldergrove at a few places, and we like them all, but we're keen on Cardamom, The Indian Kitchen!

Vancouver Ice Cream Festival - Vegan Options

No fun, Vancouver? I beg to differ! What could be more fun in the summer than the Vancouver Ice Cream Festival? Even more fun is the fact that more vendors are offering vegan options than in the past. We only touched a few this year, having visited others last year.

Just south of Robson on Homer is the interesting little place, Le Parfait. This is a Lebanese Creperie serving Lebanese dishes, waffles, crepes and other sweets. Worth a visit and offering vegan options for the VICF!

This was the Trio Fruity Cup, 3 scoops of different fruit-flavoured ice creams with a cotton candy topping. Loved the cotton candy! Well, loved the ice cream too, but we rarely get cotton candy!

This is not like a vegan paradise or anything, but at least there are a few vegan ice cream flavours.

On Water Street just west of Carrall, we checked out Chocolat Favoris. We became literally kids in a candy store here. This is not just an ice cream place (they have vegan soft serve) but they have all kinds of sweet treats for now or later.

We enjoyed our treat outside on this sunny at one of the little tables set up by CF.

This was an Ice Cream Float, and we chose Mango and Pink Lemonade Sorbet. It was a perfect cool treat. We had to slurp slowly to avoid brain freeze.

We've reported on Level V Bakery/Whisk Matcha Cafe before, but not in the  Ice Cream Festival sense of the word. Located in the vegan triangle on Kingsway near 8th, it is one short bus ride from Main Street Station. This place is a vegan paradise in the truest sense.

Their first featured item was the Matcha Matsuri Set. This is housemade matcha banana bread creme brulee toast with a side of ube soft serve. More than a little tasty and an impressive presentation, especially with the splash of gold leaf.

The second featured item was the Softi Floatie. This was an iced latte with more ube soft serve. We could have had it with matcha soft serve. This was all very delicious, but keep in mind that if you are eating purple food, you should probably wear a bib. I'm just saying.

They are not just about ice cream and lattes here. There are enough savoury and sweet baked selections at this all-vegan establishment that even the pickiest eater can be satisfied. We also scarfed down a Crunchie Sandwich, which featured avocado and soy floss. The soy floss is a unique ingredient similar to pork floss that is often used in Chinese dishes (but no one gets murdered). Delicious, and we have to figure out where to buy it.

The only thing that they really need here is more space and tables. The staff are pretty efficient at handling the lineup up but at peak times, they can get backed up. Great place.

Please let me know if you read this blog.

I am feeling like my blogging days have run their course. I have never made money off of it, but I feel like now that I have become vegancentric, it serves as my weak form of activism. Still, if no one reads it, there is no point in my getting stressed out.

Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar - Vegan Options

Well, we've walked through Waterfront Station a million times and noticed Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar, but one day I decided to check out their menu. Sure enough, they had a few vegan options and therefore made my list!

Finally, we got there before catching Much Ado About Nothing at Bard on the Beach, which by the way was very enjoyable! We got there right at 11 (opening time) in order to order eat and transit to Bard. No problem as we had our choice of tables in this quite beautiful restaurant.

We started with some Dumplings. Veggie gyoza with passionfruit ponzu and Korean beet vegan aioli. These were pretty good!

The Tofu Bao were also pretty tasty. The tofu was crisp and served with Char Siu sauce. There were mushrooms, pickled carrots, pea shoots and a Kimchi aioli on the side. Nicely assembled on a vegan bao. Well done!

We had the Vegan Beet Burger, not listed on the plant-based menu but on the burger menu...Glad we found it just the same. The house-made beet aioli is what gave it the name, and it was pretty good. A decent vegan patty and an overall good burger. Excellent fries on the side.

This is a beautiful restaurant, and we even had a street view, which is entertaining if not pastoral or anything. Our server was great, and I'm sorry but I've forgotten his name. We haven't tried everything vegan on the menu. This is a good place for vegans travelling with a herd of omnivores.

Moody Foody - Vegan Take Out

Last weekend, Mharie and I went and visited Historic Hammond, BC! Of course, we didn't actually know that Historic Hammond was a thing until we got there!

Hammond is part of Maple Ridge, close to the north end of the Allouette Bridge, and we went there to pick up food from The Moody Foody. Just so we're clear....I already knew about MF (maybe I shouldn't abbreviate it like that) and had it on my list, but we were motivated by a deal that popped up on This Is Plant Curious.

So we placed an order (I actually phoned, but they have online ordering, obviously) and Google Maps brought us to Historic Hammond! There is not much here other than TMF, a liquor store, a hairdresser and a biker supply store (that I initially thought was a biker club). I phoned because there is nothing that actually indicates that their food is fully vegan, and some menu items are marked 'vegan' and some are not. They also don't answer their emails, so...sigh...I phoned. We found at the kitchen 2 very friendly and enthusiastic women, the chef and her right-hand person! We picked up our food and brought it home.

There is a quite a variety of comfort food items at TMF. We tried the BBQ Veggie Sandwich, which was alright. King oyster mushrooms and their house-made barbeque sauce.

We ordered a couple of soups. The Harvest Lentil Soup and the Garden Potato Soup. Both were quite tasty and would fill a void nicely on a cool day. 

The main that we tried was the Pure Plant Kebab Platter. The kebabs were lentil-based with lots of healthy ingredients and was quite Falafel-like. They was a bit on the dry side by themselves, but came with a tzatziki-type sauce, which helped. Decent slaw and rice on the side completed the picture.

Our favourite was the Potato Green Bean side dish with a peanut sauce. Very nice.

Finally, we had the Nostalgic Rice Pudding. It was a little plain like rice pudding is supposed to be, and comforting. A sprinkle of cinnamon made it a tasty dessert. 

There is a lot more that we would like to try, from several salads, more sandwiches, and you can also line up tiffin service with them! It would be a little like having two moms in the kitchen! They also have frozen dishes and other items ready-made for take-out.

Keep in mind that the online order menu and the website menu do not match, so you may find yourself phoning in your order depending on what you want to try. I assume those issues will get sorted at some point.

Obviously, this is not tweezer food, just well-prepared and healthy vegan comfort eats.

Meet in Gastown - A Vegan Eatery

I fooled a friend, for his own good. I told him we were going to have lunch at Meet, but I didn't spell it for him. I'm just kidding. He knew we were going to a vegan place, but his closed minded friends wouldn't come with us (they prefer their lunch to include some animal suffering and dying). I suggested that we should have told them that we were going to 'Meet' without providing the spelling (again for their own good). 

Located in an interesting square off Water Street near Carral, they have some outside tables that are protected nicely from the street.

We started with the Oyster Mushroom Kalamari. I had this before and knew it would go a long way towards selling my friend on vegan eats. It was nicely crispy and salty; even the pickled onions were a hit. Perfect with the vegan Tzatziki served on the side.

My friend selected the Meet Burger as many omnivores would do when visiting a vegan eatery. In fact, my wife ordered this the first time that we came here. I'm not sure what the patty is (and didn't taste it this time) but it must have been ok as Rob enjoyed it greatly! The onion ring, mushrooms, and chipotle mayo are nice toppers that make the burger an impressive thing. The salad on the side (healthier than fries, maybe?) wasn't bad either!

I selected the special of the day (week? month?) which was a Picatta. I think it was their 'chikkin' which according to our server is a new brand that I had not seen before. It was tasty enough to impress me but it is always the sauce that I love. Frankly, I would approve putting capers on everything. Served with charred Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and some tomatoes, this was a supreme comfort meal. It should definitely be more than a weekly special!

One of the great vegan eats places with 3 locations in Vancouver, Meet is amazing. I love this institution and I would gladly eat here weekly. The fact that Rob was so impressed means you can bring your omnivore friends as the first step in their conversion to being better people! 

I am done with the rating system. A friend talked me into it and since I went all vegan all the time, I don't think he even reads the blog anymore.

Just be assured that Meet is one of my favourites.