Kitsch and Kool

'in the Central Valley where the motto is "Eat fresh, feel fresh" Where am I?' I sent this little message a few weeks ago from my Twitter account (annahaight) right from this restaurant. I was drawn to stop at a Taste of India in the town of Buttonwillow as I was hurtling as fast as I dared home on I5 from Long Beach. A few miles out I noticed a very rustic sign indicating that there was vegan food ahead. Vegan this far out?? I had to check it out. There was another one or two signs after that that I believe also included their tag line, Eat Fresh and Feel Fresh, which I liked.

Yes, the interior cannot be describes as other than kitsch. There was an attempt to lighten up the space by painting walls a saffron color, and also filling the space with colorful silk flowers. I asked to be seated near window, so the waiter allowed me to sit in an unused section (so I overlooked the white board that was sitting in front of me since I was not expected to be there).

I started with a soothing and delicious lassi which set the meal off in a positive direction. It seems that Taste of India must be stop for buses as every table had a number, and there are quite few tables in the large place.

I was astonished at the size of the bowl of Malai Kofta which arrived. I was very impressed. The soft balls in the sauce were obviously made freshly, and these were extraordinary.

Here are some of the malai kofta balls with the rice dish I ordered.

The rice dish is Egg and Onion Biryani. This was tasty with bits of fried egg and soft onions in the rice, and made a perfect foil for the Malai Kofta. I enjoyed my meal and the portions were quite generous especially for the reasonable prices. Luckily, I had a cooler with ice in it so I took the leftovers home to enjoy at a later time. If you can get over the ambiance, the food is good, particularly considering the fast food alternatives nearby.

And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Music to a vegan mouth

One day I noticed Zoomie of Zoomie Station had put a note up about a enjoyable lunch with a friend on her Facebook status. I quickly commented back that I'd like to be on her luncheon list, and just that simply we organized a lunch together. She suggested Symphonie in Pt. Richmond, and I quickly agreed as I'm always up to try a new vegan/vegetarian place.

We instantly had lots to talk about and didn't look at the menu until the waiter came back a second time. It was an expansive menu with lots of intriguing choices! As soon as we'd ordered, a little Cabbage Slaw with an Asian dressing came by. I'd previously met Zoomie at a Food Bloggers Picnic she'd organized at her home and reached out to me as a nearby food blogger to attend. Of course there were lots of people there then, so this was a lovely opportunity to get to know Zoomie better.

As we enjoyed our Lentil Soup, we found out that we had many things in common, not the least of which was that we'd both lived in both Japan and France as students. The soup was good, but the company was proving to be even better. Ever notice how food tastes better with a great connection and conversation?

And along came our Spring Rolls, and I have to admit, these were a little bland, especially compared to our conversation of adventures in France!

Zoomie ordered the "BBQ Pork" Fried rice, and I'll have to say it looked tasty. Zoomie and I decided to post this week around the same time, and she beat me to it! You'll have to take a look at her take on the meal, she is local so she also has some interesting things to say about the history of the place as well.

I had the "Beef" Vermicelli, which consisted of strips of tasty seitan which had been infused with spices such that it had a very nice flavor, and the texture worked as well. If compared to real beef, the texture would be a little tough, but after lots of meals of silken tofu, I wasn't about to complain!

It was a lovely lunch and Zoomie and I agreed that we'd like to plan more together in the future!

I found that Contra Cost County also has an online Food Inspection site.

Restaurant Inspection Results
Last Inspected: 3/11/2009

Healthy Food

I stopped in to Cafe del Soul in Mill Valley the other day for lunch. I was wondering how it was faring as I hadn't been there for awhile. It appeared to be doing very well, and looked like a local yoga class had just gotten out and everyone was hungry!

I decided to try the "Chipotle Sun Goddess" rice dish. The last time I visited the rice dishes were in shallow bowls, and now were looking good in a flat dish. I went for the 'add' spinach and almonds for $1 more. It was worth it, adding depth and interest to the dish. The basis for this delicious dish is organic brown rice, onions, avocado, tomato, cheddar all tossed in chipotle dressing. And you have a choice of chicken or tofu. I chose the tofu. This was delicious, interesting and filling! It was great to see continued success here!

Restaurant Inspection Results
Critical: 0
Noncritical: 2
Last inspected: 4/10/2009

Previously reviewed:
December 8, 2006

Find address/phone number/directions on Anna's Map.

Affirmations Abound

I went to CodeCon to enjoy fresh new ideas, minds, and especially to listen to a couple friends' talks at the conference. One of my friends, Simon, also likes veggie fare so we convinced our other friend Daniel to enjoy lunch two days in a row at the nearby Cafe Gratitude in the SOMA area of San Francisco. It is a raw foods restaurant. We were greeted and sat more quickly on the second day than the first, and it was fine. I was assured the first day that we were eating at the 'mother ship' so to speak when the waitress found that Simon & I had each eaten at Berkeley and San Rafael Cafe Gratitude's respectively.

I had a "I Am Present" a mushroom bruschetta. The Sourdough buckwheat flatbread topped with creamy cashew mozzarella, marinated mushroom confit, and fresh herbs was excellent.

Daniel was 'Plenty Great' with live granola and fresh fruit topped with almond milk. It looked beautiful and he said it was good. He just wished it was less expensive.

Simon's Yo Soy Mucho looked pretty nice and he loved the drink "I Am Grace" made with young coconut milk, almond butter, dates & vanilla. The Yo Soy Mucho was made with quinoa, and shredded kale, topped with salsa fresca and sprouts. He enjoyed that as well.

The next day, Daniel enjoyed "I Am Bright Eyed", which had almond milk substituted for the coconut milk in the daily porridge special. It also included nuts, fruit, vanilla and cinnamon.

Simon also had a breakfast dish, the "Yo Soy Bonita" with added black beans. It also included steamed Bhutanese red rice with avocado, salsa, cilantro and pepitas with lime slices on the side. It smelled great! And Simon said it tasted good as well.

I went for a small "I Am Festive" salad. It was really a raw-style taco salad consisting of shredded romaine lettuce with crumbled walnut-seed taco filling, guacamole, salsa and cashew nacho cheese, topped with flax chips. It was very refreshing, and very filling. I really enjoy the unique alternatives that Cafe Gratitude, in all its locations, offer.

I had really great time at CodeCon this year. Of course it's always nice to celebrate the successes of your friends, and watch them give their presentations. Daniel and Simon gave two presentations this year, and another presentation was based on some of their earlier work. CodeCon 2009 was held in CELLSpace, in the SOMA area of San Francisco this year from this last Friday ending yesterday evening. I had some fun twittering updates from the conference as well. Although my 'reporting' was as complete, it was fun to think I was getting my notes in 'live', before Le Monde or the other major rags wrote up a complete story.

CodeCon is very unique in that the focus is all on the actual achievement of a concept/code that works, and that you can demonstrate live on stage. Also this year there was a DIYbio track that was lots of fun -- hack your own genome! It was a great weekend all around!

Simple, elegant and raw

Paul dropped into the Bay area last weekend, and we got together for lunch one day in San Francisco at Alive!, a restaurant I've been drooling over every time I pass it on Lombard. It was small, quiet and quite elegant. And the specialty is RAW food, beautifully presented.

I adored my bowl of sunshine, or otherwise known as Pumpkin Shitake soup. This was my favorite dish there. It was full of flavor and warm.

Paul love shitake, so he was immediately drawn to the Shitake Burger on the menu. Paul liked it so much he said he'd come again just for it. The 'bun' was formed quinoa to the best we could tell.

I had a hummus wrap, which was wrapped in what I believe was a slightly vinegared kale leaf. It was a fresh and crisp - smooth taste with hummus surrounding carrots and avocado and other seasonal vegetables.

We had to have dessert when we saw the inventive dessert menu, and of course we felt so 'good' having the light vegan fare that we felt justified. I was astonished to see "Candy Cap Mushrooms" on the menu as an ingredient in a cheesecake, so that's what I ordered. And as a vegan 'cheesecake' it was made with cashew butter. Oh, it was so good, and the taste of the candy caps minced and distributed inside reminded me of the flavor of the ones I picked in the forest one year with a friend. I would recommend this dessert highly.

Paul chose the tangerine cake. It looked like quinoa mixed with cashew cream topped with the ripe perfection of tangerine slices. We shared bites of each, and his was amazing as well. Alive! was welcoming, comfortable and their food was a treat for the eye as well as the taste buds.

Chinese Heaven

I returned after a someone long absence to visit Shangri-la Vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco, with friend and fellow Marin food blogger, Catherine of Albion Cooks. Shangri-la is not only a mostly vegan restaurant, it is also certified kosher.

Catherine and I immersed ourselves in the extensive menu, and looked up to decide that we'd just have to order a feast there were so many things we'd like to try, and take home leftovers. The first dish to come out was Mongolian "Beef", with a taste and texture startlingly close to the real thing. It was one of our favorites of the evening.

I pointed out the rather medicinal sounding group on the first page, which had letter/number combination rather than dish names. B4 is supposed to provide 'mental clarity' among other things. I liked it better than Catherine who thought it tasted rather floral.

We had some brown/red rice to accompany the dishes.

The Lemon "Chicken" came out next. The 'chicken' meat was softer that the others in this dish.

Although the menu said Lotus "Fruit", I belive the main ingredient in this dish is Lotus Root. The lotus root was mixed with carrots and snow peas and tasted delightful.

The Vegetable Chow Mein was the other standout dish of the evening. The savory noodles were mixed with a variety of vegetables in a nice proportion. Catherine and I enjoyed ourselves throughly and I'm not going to wait so long until the next visit.

Good news

Look what I spied! A new vegetarian restaurant coming to San Rafael's West End (of 4th Street). Radiance looks like a unique and exciting addition to the Marin dining scene. Looking at its website, it appears to have some interesting aspects to its business model as well, for example, providing goods in exchange for dining credit. And local, organic, seasonal ingredients are at the top of the list. I can't wait to try this in February 2009.

Last night my birthday was celebrated with Linda, Yalda and Olivia having a pizza party and a beautiful cake that Linda and Olivia baked together. Olivia has now graduated to shepherd in the annual Christmas pageant and serenaded us with Christmas tunes after dinner.

An old favorite dish

On yesterday's dreary day in Marin, with the all day cloud cover and mist, I longed for an old favorite. And I'd just had a wonderful time talking over coffee with a good friend around the corner at Barnes & Noble's in-store Starbucks. And the coffee was free. Not far down the way is La Maison de la Reine.

I had to have the Vegetarian Imperial Roll and Fried Tofu Vermicelli. This is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. The thin rice noodles are mixed with cut up fresh vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce and carrots, while topped with a number of goodies. I had the vegetarian version. You can read more about the versatile bun here. The staff was pleasant yet unobtrusive throughout, making it remain a great place to enjoy Vietnamese food in both atmosphere and taste.

Previously reviewed:
January 18, 2008
May 31, 2007
March 20, 2007

A dinner that makes me want to dance!

It was a beautiful evening yesterday, and after being reminded again of the precious moments of life by the death of a good friend's mother this weekend, I thought I should take Dad out somewhere special. A lot of times going out for somewhere special equates with heavy and indulgent, but I wanted the indulgent without the heavy, so we headed towards Greens in San Francisco.

Lingering for the view while the cool breezes blew was the first indulgence.

After we were seated comfortably inside, we started with a cup of the lentil soup with a roasted mustard seed garnish, which warmed us up and was heavenly. Lentil soup usually isn't thought of as 'light', but this was light and full of fresh flavors, including a touch of tamarind. It had some mild red peppers and what looked like quinoa in it among other things.

Dad kept commenting how the enchiladas were 'just right'! And he loved all the bright vegetables enclosed. Stuffed into the corn tortillas were butternut squash, sweet potatoes, grilled onions, poblano chilies, cheddar and salsa roja. On the side was tomatillo salsa, creme fraiche, Rancho Gordo beans and rainbow chard. No wonder he felt so good after finishing every last speck on his plate.

And I could hardly resist indulging in what was described as Mascarpone and Spring Onion Risotto Cake with griled asparagus, roasted carrots, turnips, meyer lemon cream and grana padano. This was beautiful to look at, and absolutely divine on the tongue. Tender vegetables gently immersed in the cream sauce almost had me begging for a spoon to enjoy every last drop (but I did resist that).

We continued on reading through the dessert menu with our sparkling fresh mint iced tea, and Dad chose an Apple Tarte Tatin with Buttermilk Ice Cream. I just had to try a bite of the ice cream since it seemed so novel. It was smooth and did have a slightly sour sweetness which would have contrasted nicely with the sweet apple tarte.

I chose the Walnut and Honey Torte with Lavender Ice Cream. I was afraid the nut and honey combination may be too sweet, like some pecan pies are, but it was perfectly balanced and the hint of lavender in the ice cream went very well. And after all this, I still felt so light I could have gone dancing! This place is highly recommendable if you would like to have a special dinner that includes a rainbow of colors and flavors.

Unusual green. A visit to the Farmer's Market in San Rafael last Thursday had me doing a double take when I saw this unusual vegetable, a tatsoi. One of the women behind the table said, "It tastes good sauteed with garlic and olive oil.". That was enough to seal the deal and a head of it popped in the bag with the shungiku (chrysanthemum leaves).

So how would I use these? I made up my own dish, Tatsoi sauteed with mushrooms and garlic over homemade zaru tofu.

First, I made tofu to the curdle stage from scratch, starting with soaking the dried soybeans overnight. I have a detailed post on making tofu from earlier this year. To make this dish, I cut the recipe for tofu in half. I also didn't let it curdle all the way before draining until about 1/2 was drained, using cheese cloth as a liner I then picked it up and squeezed it a bit to get this very homemade, still warm and soft tofu rounded ball. It's hard to describe just how amazingly good tofu is right out of the mold, made very naturally without preservatives. But it was even better with the topping!

You could definitely use some store bought soft tofu warmed and cubed underneath the following topping if you would like to try this dish. To make the topping, saute 8 oz of sliced white mushrooms with slivers of a clove of garlic in a generous amount of sesame oil until the mushrooms have significantly reduced in size. When satisfied with the appearance of the mushrooms, add the head of tatsoi separated into its individual spoon-like leaves, and saute until the tatsoi is wilted to your taste. When it is done, pour over the tofu, starting with the liqueur from the saute in the pan because it is what flavors the blandish warm tofu underneath. And there it is, ready to serve! Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.

This is also my last entry for 2007 in Weekend Herb Blogging and also my last post for 2007! This week, starting with the last day of the year and going into 2008, the event is being hosted by the event's originator, Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen. Be sure to visit her blog this upcoming Sunday to see fabulous posts on herbs and other things that grow, dreamed up by cooks spanning the globe.

Tatsoi is a kind of Asian mustard green which is also related and tastes similar to bok choy. There is not a lot of information on the web about it, but I found a nice article at the San Francisco Chronicle that has some good things to say about this hearty green that can even be harvested from underneath snow!

Happy New Year's Eve!