Vegan Sandwich Day

No it's not a national holiday but it definitely should be. One of my weekend relaxation pastimes is cooking and while a lot of that is essentially meal prep for the week, I also take the time to try some stuff I may have seen on Insta or recipes from the new Rainbow Plant Life cookbook called Big Vegan Flavour (more on that another time). One of the recent statutory holiday Mondays became vegan sandwich day!

The day started with a classic grilled cheese. We had found some decent sourdough and used vegan butter. The key is not being in too much of a hurry, using medium heat to ensure meltiness. You can use a cover to encourage the cheese to melt but not too much that the bread gets soggy. BTW, we used some Daiya Smoked Gruyere slices which were amazing!
Next, I saw a post on Instagram featuring tofu skins and pickled mustard. The recipe was on @tifflovestofu. I marinated the tofu skin and pan-fried it. Meanwhile, we found pickled mustard in an Asian grocery store, and it was in a small enough quantity that it didn't inhabit our fridge for long after the sandwiches. I topped it with some roasted peanuts, and it was great!
I've noticed that grating and baking tofu has become popular. I got the idea from @scratchkitchen, where a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika are added to grated firm tofu and baked in the oven. The result is crispy and tasty. Some good bread, a tasty slaw, and some tomatoes, and we were in business!
Thanks to @prettybrownvegan, we completed our sandwich tour with a walnut meat burger. It has walnuts, mushrooms, onion, spices, and other stuff. The cheese is the cauliflower and tapioca starch thing that I've been making quite often lately and which is wonderfully melty. Good buns and some decent condiments are another key. I don't miss the meat burgers at all.
These vegan brats are from @plantbasedbrandon. They were a little on the dry side (probably my fault) but I would slice them in half lengthways and saute them before making a sandwich. 
Honestly, Instagram recipe ideas have become one of my favourite hobbies. Since leaving the omnivore world behind, a whole world of new flavours has been opened up. I know some of this looks like meat but most of it tastes like compassion and whatever you want it to taste like (spices and so on).
We are certainly not limited by our imaginations like we were as omnivores.







Do Chay - Vegan (Vegetarian) Restaurant

We have been to Do Chay before but a long time ago. We were at this location in January of 2020 and the now-closed Yaletown location in July of the same year. While Vietnamese seems to be the most common and best cuisine for plant-based eats, it may just be that Do Chay is the most creative of all these locally and is certainly one of our favourites. Once again, we arrived here with our This is Plant Curious offer in tow!

Located at the corner of Kingsway and Knight, someone called this Little Saigon. The menu is completely new to us this time around which means some creative minds are running the show here. The reason that I mention Vegetarian instead of just a vegan restaurant is that one item on the menu has egg in it. I'll admit that confuses me.

We started with Uncle Hings Wings which of all the deep-fried oyster mushroom dishes that we have had is almost certainly the best. The wings remained crispy despite a generous quantity of sweet and spicy sauce. This is something not to be missed!
Southern Style Dry Noodles were the first of our two entrees. This included a very nice mix of vegan deep fried shrimp, shrimp, ground meat, veggies and vegan crackling. All this served over the noodles underneath. The soup on the side, which was a very mild concoction, could be poured over the noodles or serve as a separate soup. We tried a little each way but did find that the broth on the noodles tended to bring it all together. Very nice!
The Sweet and Spicy Filets were another spectacular dish. We never did quite figure out how they made the filets but the were small slices made from soy that were both chewy and soaked up the delicious sauce. We've never quite had anything like it. They added in some tofu, broccoli and a side of rice to make a complete impressive vegan meal.
Dessert is always a treat as non vegan restaurants almost never have vegan options even if they have vegan main courses. This is Fried Banana Sticky Rice and it was very enjoyable. The banana was wrapped in the sticky rice. It was served over coconut tapioca and topped with peanuts.
The room is comfortable and chic with very friendly staff. We assume the plexiglass dividers are a remnant of the pandemic but still not a bad idea. If you are new to vegan this might be a good place to start or even if you are an avowed omnivore. It you are a food and restaurant blogger, maybe it is time to expand your reviews from the meat-centric places and bring some purpose to your writing. Give the animals and the planet a break and try this....and don't order the dish with egg!

Food                              5 out of 5
Vegan Options              4.9 out of 5 (still confused by the egg)
Comfort                         4 1/2 out of 5 (it was a little chilly)
Service                          5 out of 5
Value                             5 out of 5




Cartems Donuts - Vegan Options

As we are now happy slaves of This Is Plant Curious, sometimes we just go for donuts since we have a coupon for them! Actually, Cartems Donuts is on Main Street at 6th and since we were in the neighbourhood we decided to fortify our blood sugar readings.

This is a cool old space and it would be great just to stop for a coffee and a single donut but my wife had other ideas. We ended up walking out with a half dozen in a long red box that looked like it was made for roses. I feared for my safety carrying them on Skytrain. Surprisingly, no one even commented.
To our amazement, everything available that afternoon was vegan. I wonder if that's all they made or if folks just snapped up the donuts full of eggs and dairy and opted out of the plant-based options. Either way, it was all the better for us. I can't remember what was what here other than the obvious (chocolate, apple fritter), but they were all wonderful. 
I think these are the cake donuts versus the yeast donuts. I am not an expert but they were also wonderfully rich and sweet.
Again, this is a great space. I'm not sure how the wifi is but this would be a great place to have a coffee and donut and work on a blog post. The staff were very friendly also. For a vegan with a sweet tooth, Cartems is the place to be.

Food                         4 1/2 out of 5
Vegan Options         4 1/2 out of 5
Comfort                    4 1/2 out of 5
Service                     4 1/2 out of 5
Value                        4 1/2 out of 5




Mucho Burrito - Vegan Options

I know most of you think that Aldergrove is in a different time zone but we are actually still a part of the Translink area. I admit we are the last stop of Translink but nevertheless...I also think that per capita, we may be not doing too badly under the heading of "vegan eats available per capita", with the addition of Mucho Burrito in the last few weeks.

Located at the corner of 264th and Fraser Hwy, in the former home of StrEats which had no vegan options (maybe fries?) Mucho Burrito is at the healthy end of fast food. So we got lunch to go one weekend.
I had messaged them on Instagram to find out exactly what would be available that was plant-based as there doesn't seem to be a nutrition or allergen chart on the website.I was happy to learn that their beans don't see any lard and that they have plant-based cheese and plant-based ground meat. So it was easy to have 3 vegan tacos. For the most part, it was easiest to leave it to the servers to assemble what seemed good. We were happy with the outcome.
The burrito was the same with a variety of beans and veggies and always the cheese and meat (do they call it crumble?) just assembled in different order. We like that they grilled the burrito.
Lastly came the bowl with all the same stuff but without the shell. They have a choice of white or brown rice and they even have a habanero salsa which packs a medium punch.
So I know its just fast food but vegans need fast food too and this is pretty good! The fact that they have plant-based cheese and ground meat means there is some variety even though fast food Mexican style is always just the same ingredients in different arrangements. The staff have all been really friendly and seemed to know what was plant-based. Our new local stop when we are too lazy to cook? 

Food                             3 1/2 out of 5
Vegan Options             3 1/2 out of 5
Comfort                        3 out of 5
Service                         4 out of 5
Value                            4 out of 5

 






R & B Ale and Pizza House - Vegan Options

I don't know how I came across this place and its vegan options but I am glad I did. I was excited more than anything by the Vegan Big Mac Pizza on the menu but that was not the only thing. So we made the trek to R & B Ale and Pizza House located at 4th and Quebec.
We arrived sort of mid-afternoon so finding a place to sit was not an issue. There is a lot of room outside but the weather was right on the border of sunny but not too warm so we opted for inside.
When I think of a Waldorf salad, I cannot help but think of Fawlty Towers. When I think of Fawlty Towers, my wife has to tolerate a long summary of my favourite moments, but she is very patient with me. Fortunately, it is rare to see a Waldorf on a menu and even rarer for it to be vegan, so we ordered it. It could have been a more impressive presentation, but it was tasty enough. Also, a traditional Waldorf is served on a bed of lettuce rather than comprised of a bed of lettuce. There could have been a bit more dressing, there were no grapes, and at $16, it seemed a little pricey considering the volume of lettuce. Still, I wasn't grumpy about it at the time as we were hungry and there were walnuts and dried cranberries. And some very impressive eats were on their way!
R&B has made some solid choices that make their vegan menu items impressive, namely Violife Cheese and Impossible Meat. The Vegan Burger was messy and delicious! Lots of sauce, lots of cheese, and a perfectly cooked Impossible patty made this one of the best burgers that we have had and we have had some good ones lately! Also, they make a lot in-house that you wouldn't expect. Both the ketchup on this plate and the bottle of hot sauce come from their own kitchen! Nice! Good tots also.
We loved the burger but the Vegan Big Mac Pizza was amazing and our favourite. Pretty impressive crust with just enough char here and there. Their own vegan Bic Mac sauce was just enough to conjure up McD but the Impossible kept it from venturing into cruelty. The Violife again proved itself a perfect choice as it was melty and warm. Add some lettuce and a vegan mayo drizzle and we were so impressed!
Since most people probably come for the ale (and there is an extensive menu of beverages), we did not expect to be so impressed by the food but the kitchen kicks ass. There are a few more vegan options including ice cream for dessert. We love the atmosphere and book collection (I spent some time perusing a book about Kurt Cobain's 50 favourite albums while we waited) and expect this place could be jumping during peak hours. The service was great and very friendly. One of our favourite new finds in a while when we least expected it!

Food                           4 1/2 out of 5
Vegan Options            4 out of 5
Comfort                      4 out of 5
Service                       4 out of 5
Value                         4 1/2 out of 5





Nuba - Vegan Options

Have we never been to Nuba? I couldn't find a blog post and even if I had written a Zomato post (remember that thing? I was quite enthusiastic about it.) it would have been pre-vegan. So we decided to go to one of the four locations, namely Gastown. It is located downstairs in one of Vancouver's most recognizable and historic buildings, the Dominion Building, at the corner of East Hastings and Cambie.

Nuba is a Lebanese restaurant and as such many of the items on its menu are naturally vegan but they are also clearly marked as such.
We decided to order the Mezze Sampler because it gave us a taste of many of their menu items. The platter is for 2 as a minimum and is priced at $21 each. That may seem expensive as this platter and the accompanying pita came to $42 altogether but there is a lot of food on it! The Mjadra (stewed lentils and brown rice with jalapeno) and Falafel provided the tasty proteins and were accompanied by Crispy Cauliflower seasoned with lemon, excellent roasted potatoes and tomato, some tasty garnishes and finally a couple of dips, one of which packed a nice spicy kick! A beautiful cross section of most of the vegan dishes available here.
As we had arrived during brunch hours, we tried the Socca omelet. As near as I can tell, Socca flatbread is sort of a Provençal thing made with chickpea flour. It has become pretty popular among the Instagram vegan posts but so far I have not personally tried to make it. This version was very good and was filled with a delicious eggplant mixture and sauced with an herbed tahini sauce. The green salad accompanying was astounding with so many varieties of greens. Very Impressive!
The dining room has some character being downstairs in the aforementioned Dominion Building. The staff were very helpful and friendly and took our vegan concerns to heart. BTW, we ended up taking quite a bit of food home with us. There are still a few more items on the menu to try. Nuba has now been 20 years in Vancouver and a solid choice for vegan eats.

Food                                    4 1/2 out of 5
Vegan Options                     4 out of 5
Comfort                               4 out of 5
Service                                 4 1/2 out of 5
Value                                    4 out of 5


 






Wegmans Grocery Store, Maryland - Vegan Options

Who blogs about a grocery store? Actually, I do...not to mention blogging about specific food products like vegan cheese, but I posted about Persia Foods in North Vancouver at some point in the past. What can I say, I love groceries! Anyway, I had heard of Wegman's thanks to listening to The Geologic Podcast (which you should definitely check out! It is not about geology but more about critical thinking) before we went to DC but didn't think of it as a place that a vegan would find to be such a paradise! We were only there 2 or 3 times during our week in the DMV but I miss it already!

So Wegman's reminds me of Whole Foods but my impression is that it is nowhere near as expensive. It also reminds me a bit of Trader Joe's but it is much bigger and frankly has much more to offer the hungry vegan.
The initial revelation came as soon as we walked in the door and through the prepared food section. All the items on the "Vegetarian Bar" were marked vegan. I knew I was in love! We never did buy anything from this food bar as on our first visit we were looking for snack food for our hotel room...you know, healthy stuff! 
As we moseyed, we realized that there were entire aisles dedicated to plant-based foods and not just strategically hidden products here and there.
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of a better selection of plant-based cheese than I had ever seen which included Miyoko's brand and Follow Your Heart. We noticed that Wegman's has their own brand of plant-based cheese.
The Follow Your Heart became a key part of a pretty decent plate of hotel room nachos. It is wonderfully melty and a brand that is not available in Canada! 
Those cooler cases were full of much more than cheese. There was a whole range of tofu, tempeh, faux meat products and everything else a vegan could want.
The "dairy case" had a huge selection of milks which is not something that we don't have here in Vancouver but there was a lot of it!
I almost went crazy when we found the ice cream! They have Ben and Jerry's which we have here but there are many more vegan flavours. Also, Wegmans has its own brand of plant-based ice cream which we tried and gave full marks for!
Even the in-house bakery has some impressive-looking products (we tried some cookies). 
So what is happening here? Is this the future and out here in Vancouver, we just have to wait patiently? I am often impressed with the number of plant-based products that the Real Canadian Superstore has but aside from a sort of health food aisle, you usually just have to look for the green label to find them.
In the meantime, it's not like we have nothing to eat. As I have written previously, I could live on my homemade curried lentils and brown rice. All of these bonus products are just for treat time.
Please come to the west coast, Wegmans!










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Are you guys eating again? At some point Marie and I became the kind of people who take pictures of everything we eat, whether in a restaura...