Sauce on Hampton Venice

After our weekly Farmers Market run, we're headed to Venice to grab some lunch from the Green Truck. Alas, the truck was nowhere to be seen so we asked our friends at Tortoise for recommendations on restaurants that have vegan options in the area. They and one of the customers, who overheard our questions and was a local, recommended Axe and Sauce on Hampton. Based on their descriptions of the food and the vibe of the restaurant, we decided to try Sauce on Hampton.

The place was packed when we got there but fortunately a table on the sidewalk opened up less than 5 minutes later.  There were not a lot of options for vegan so I decided pretty quickly what to order (which was unusual). They had only one item that didn't need to be veganized; Pan-Seared Flaxseed Tempeh Crunch that had sauteed mushrooms, avocado, diced Persian cucumber, Roma tomato, and lemon juice and came with roasted yellow sweet potatoes . My non-vegan hubby ordered a Turkey Burger with light red cabbage slaw. My tempe wrap was delicious and so was the turkey burger - according to my hubby of course as I didn't try it.  The bill came with homemade  chocolate chip cookies which looked really good - unfortunately it was not vegan. 


Sauce on Hampton
259B Hampton Dr.
Venice, CA 90291
Ph. 310-399-5400

Cafe Gratitude - Los Angeles

We finally made our way to Cafe Gratitude today and were happy with the experience; good food, nice ambience and delicious dessert! 

And importantly, my non-vegan hubby liked the food. Yeah! 

I AM ELATED - that's what I had. Raw version of enchilada, made of live spinach tortilla with sprouted seed filling, spicy mole and cashew sour cream, served with creamy chipotle  coleslaw and greens. 

I AM GRACEFUL - Hubby loved his quinoa bowl with kale, tomato, black beans, sprouts and pesto sauce. 

For dessert, the waiter arrived at the table and said, you are adoring. Yes, that what I ordered :-)  "I AM ADORING", aka tiramisu. I was still full from my main when it arrived, but couldn't resist myself from eating it. I ended up having most of it to go.

Hubby and I enjoyed "I AM BLISS" - chocolate hazelnut cream torte. Both desserts were insanely good and they both were raw. No picture of "I AM BLISS" - it was gone in a flush. 

- I AM HOOKED - :-) and will return soon.

When we were eating, we spotted Julie Stiles come in for to-go order.

Cafe Gratitude

639 Larchmont Boulevard, 

Los Angeles, CA 90004

(323) 580-6383

  

Better Life Cuisine - Santa Monica

Selesai belanja mingguan di Farmer's Market, urusan belanja diteruskan ke Old Town Santa Monica.  Tujuan utama adalah ke toko perabot/tempat pijat/dan restoran vegan Thailand. Bukan mau pijat atau beli perabot atau makan siang, tapi cuma mau beli mangga! Soalnya cuma mangga disini yang cocok dengan lidah saya yang sudah terbiasa menikmati kelezatan berbagai jenis mangga Indonesia. Walaupun harganya $2 sebiji pun diusahain dah.

Biasanya setiap mampir ketoko ini kami selalu beli air kelapa muda. Tapi hari ini air kelapa mudanya ditunda dulu karena sudah kelaparan dan pingin nyobain makan siang di Better Life Cuisine. Restoran ini seperti halnya restoran vegan atau raw vegan yang lain, sangat simpel tanpa dekorasi yang neko-neko. Daftar menunya cuma satu berupa papan tulis besar yang tergantung di belakang dekat dapur. 

Suami tidak terlalu lapar karena sudah makan kurma yang diisi goat cheese, sirloin sliders dan grilled shrimp cocktail tapas style dari Shangrila hotel yang pagi tadi buka stand di Farmers Market. Selain itu tentu saja fresh oyster yang tidak pernah ketinggalan dia coba setiap ke FM. Jadinya dia cuma pesan strawberry smoothie.

Sukar sekali menentukan pilihan makanan. Setelah hampir 15 menit bingung memilih, ahirnya saya pilih lasagna yang dibuat dari irisan zucchini mentah,  dengan saus marinara, bawang bombay, jamur, keju riccota, parmesan, mozzarella, tomat dan daun basil. Semua keju dibuat dari kacang mete. Sebelum menjadi vegan, saya tidak suka lasagna. Tapi lasagna yang saya coab hari ini, OMG lezatnya gak kira-kira. Rasa keju-kejuan ini tidak ada bedanya dengan rasa keju yang asli. Bedanya cuma tidak perlu khawatir untuk menghabiskan semua keju ini. Thai soup yang disajikan duluan rasanya pun tidak kalah lezatnya. Sup yang berbasis santan kelapa ini terasa ringan dan smooth di tenggorakan.


We'll be back very soon!


Better Life Cuisine, Raw Organic Vegan
717 Broadway Ave,
Ph.: 301 458-7620
Santa Monica

Acai Bowls from Backyard Bowl

On our way up to San Luis Obispo yesterday, we made a quick stop at Backyard Bowl in Santa Barbara for delicious acai bowls. Both my hubby and I had the Berry Bowl which was a mixture of the pulp of acai berry blended together with banana, strawberries and apple juice, then toped with granola, strawberries, blueberries, banana and goji berries. Hubby had his with fresh organic non-fat Straus Creamery yogurt.  

Not only did the dish look pretty, but it tasted really good.