Smells Like Green Spirit

With free wireless, Scrabble Sundays, fair trade coffees and teas, special doggy treats, paninis and salads, why would you not stop by Swim Cafe?? 

I like that the smoothies are healthy, made with just fruits and juices and no extra sweeteners. The two salads I’ve had were fresh and delicious. The Brie Salad came with mixed greens, chickpeas, dill and brie, and the Summer Salad overflowed with mixed greens, avocado, red onion, hearts of palm, and sunflower seeds.

Some vegetarian paninis on the menu include a Caprese, a Tri-Color Veggie (with spinach, roasted red peppers, and feta with lemon hummus), and the Omelette panini.

Swim Cafe has revolving art exhibits on its walls (some of which I’ve really liked), a variety of baked goods, and fresh, seasonal soups of the day.

My only complaint is that they don’t stay open later.
Their hours are weekdays 6 am - 8 pm and weekends 6 am - 6 pm.

1357 W Chicago Ave
312-492-8600
www.swimcafe.com

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I recently passed through Ashville with some friends on my way to Atlanta. I had heard so many glowing reports about Ashville: that it has a bustling community of artists, that it’s so cute and quaint, that several musicians have retired there at the end of their careers like the fellas from Reigning Sound…and I must say the town is cute. With its adorable architecture, and its stunning mountainous backdrop, aesthetically the town was delightful. I did find it to be quite overrun with neo-hippies, but maybe some jam band was in town.

Anyways, one thing my friend Melissa recommended I check out while there was Tupelo Honey Cafe, which claims to offer “old southern favorites with creative twists” in an interior described by the New York Times as an “old fashioned tea room.”

Since it was about 100 degrees out on the patio (this was last summer), we sat inside, where the room was an environment of rich, dark wood and white table clothes, which contributed to a feeling of a semi-formal, finer dining establishment. The walls were lined with black and white photographs, glimpses of Asheville and its residents of yore.

The vegetarian and vegan fare were extensive and amazing, and they offer a day menu as well as an evening menu. Appetizers include homemade pimento cheese with chips, pesto grit cakes, and tupelo tofu wings. Entrees include hearty salads and sandwiches like the vegetarian Sloppy Jaime, but I had the pleasure of ordering the vegetable plate with cheesy mashed cauliflower, Bubba’s brussel sprouts, sauteed greens and sweet potato fries.

I wish I lived in Asheville so I could eat here more often! Go here at once if you ever find yourself there.

Sunshot Organic Farm

Another interesting tidbit about Tupelo Honey is the organic farm that executive chef Brian T. Sonoskus and owner Sharon Schott established called Sunshot Organics where they grow quite a bit of their food! Neat, huh?

Contact Info

828-255-4404
12 College St
www.tupelohoneycafe.com

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I dragged my friend Amanda to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see the special exhibit of the outsider artist Martin Ramirez, a Mexican artist who was arguably wrongly locked up for schizophrenia for life in California where he went on to create a huge collection of amazing drawings. Upon leaving the museum, I got us thoroughly lost. After an hour of driving, we finally stumbled, starving and freezing, into Mimma’s Cafe on Brady Street in Milwaukee. Nestled inside a clapboard building from the late 1800’s, Mimma’s was warm, cozy, and fancy enough that I wondered if we were out of place in our sweatshirts and Converse. The restaurant is family owned and run by Italian born Mimma Megna.

The Menu

With over 50 delicious items from all over Italy, meat eaters and vegetarians alike are sure to find something satisfying and authentically Italian here. Vegetarian antipasti options include a bruschetta, a mozerella marinara, and a fried eggplant that sounds super yummy. They have several delicious sounding vegetarian friendly salads, but instead of being healthy and ordering one, I went for the creamy and rich ravioli called the molisani, which was filled with artichoke, mushrooms and peas in a creamy vodka sauce. It was divine, but heavy, so I ended up taking half of it home. My friend ordered the ravioli filled with lobster, and even though she was so full she was in pain, she ended up eating the entire bowl.

Our service was excellent, and I ended my meal with a wonderful cappuccino. I would highly recommend Mimma’s to anyone looking for amazing Italian in Milwaukee.

Website www.mimmas.com
Phone 414-271-7337
Address 1307 E Brady St in Milwaukee
Hours Open daily for lunch and dinner

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I want to start this restaurant review off with this: often times, I do not like vegan food. When I’ve bought vegan cheese at the supermarket, it tasted like feet and death. When I eat fake meats, unless it’s Smart Bacon, it just feels wrong on some level, and tastes either mediocre or bad.

My fella would never have knowingly (I don’t think) set foot in a vegan restaurant, so luckily I didn’t know that’s what this was when I suggested we go there today. A glance at the window, which read, “Karyn’s Concious Comfort Food,” led me to mistakenly believe it was an organic restaurant or something, and it wasn’t until we sat down that we realized what we’d gotten ourselves into. But I’m really glad we did!

The Menu

Nothing on Karyn’s menu has any meat, fish, chicken, dairy, or refined sugars, and they swear “you won’t even miss it!” Appetizers include several pizzas, some hummus and some guacamole, and we ordered the grande taco salad. They have several salads including a wilted spinach salad, several soups including a potato soup, and decadent sounding baskets of deep fried veggies. Entrees include the slab of ribs, the “Southern Comfort” (beans, rice, greens and cornbread), a raw plate and grilled polenta, hot sandwiches like the jerk or steak sandwich, and wraps like the grilled veggie.

The Grande Taco Salad was awesome. I hope heaven has at least one river that flows with whatever they made the soy cheese sauce with, and the guac was pretty killer too. The soy “taco meat” didn’t really imitate real meat, but combined with the chipotle sauce and a jalepeno, I forgave it.

I ordered the spaghetti and meat balls, and though it was good, the meatballs tasted very healthy. I don’t exactly mean that as a compliment, but it’s not exactly a knock either. The “buttered” garlic bread was thick and rich. If it wasn’t clogging my arteries, it had the nice flavor of something that was. I wouldn’t order the meatballs again. They were just okay. they should call them something else: spaghetti and greenballs, spaghetti and healthnuggets. Then I would not have been so saddened by the tempting ruse that I might be chewing on a meatball like substance, when really it was only meatball shaped.

My fella ordered the meatloaf. Again, the “meat”loaf tasted very healthy. It was good, but not the best vegan meatloaf I’ve ever had. The mashed potatoes, however, I wanted poured over my head from a chalice made of gold every evening: they were scrumptious and so good they felt naughty.

From the display of desserts, we chose the carrot cake. It was very very sweet, and very very good. Yum. And yum again.

The Service

Our host, and the gentlemen filling our water glasses were very nice, and very professional. My fella thought our waitress was bad/weird, but I think maybe she hadn’t slept the night before and was just very hungover, and didn’t really care if some people came, sat and waited for a long time and then left, which some people did. I think she was having a bad/weird day. It happens to all of us.

Pros
*C’mon! It’s gourmet, comfort vegan food!! Get in there!!
*Nice location next to art galleries in River North.

(Sort of) Cons
*Although parts of my review might seem harsh, I shouldn’t have expected fake meats to taste real. They didn’t taste real. And that’s not a bad thing.
*I’m hesitant to let one experience decide what the service at Karyn’s is like. I’m going to give the place another shot, because it’s gourmet, comfort vegan food! (Did I mention that yet??)

Contact Info
738 N Wells St
312-587-1050
Website: www.karynraw.com

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My mom treated me to lunch at Empire Cafe while I was visiting her in Houston. My mom lives in Friendswood, which is a town about forty five minutes south of Houston, an area where many of the astronauts live. Mom says some days she’ll find an excuse to come to Houston just so she can eat at Empire Cafe, located in the heart of the Montrose area.

The restaurant is open and sunny, (what Empire calls a “European atomosphere”) with plenty of outdoor seating…although personally I don’t know why anyone would go out of their way to sit outside on an oppressively humid summer day in Houston! Several walls are home to a group of fabulous, large vintage looking paintings of pin up and burlesque ladies, (none of which are risque or unfamily friendly, in case you were wondering), and one wall in the back is lined with polaroids of their “customer of the week.”

Menu

Empire has all the fancy type coffee drinks you’d expect from a European style joint. Their vegetarian friendly breakfast options include things like Italian polenta, Irish oatmeal, a long list of egg specialties such as the ”Hunters Style” (on foccacia bread with crimini mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, served with cheddar hash browns and fruit) and omeletes and a ”Spinaci Fritatta”. Vegetarian lunch options include an eggplant panini, pizzas on white or whole wheat crust, pastas, and a vegetable griglia.

Mom and I stopped by around breakfast time, and I ordered a “Verdi” where my two eggs came on a spinach nest of garlic and olive oil, and came with the sides of cheddar hash browns and fresh fruit. It was great. I’m not always a huge fan of hash browns (I know, I know, I’m maybe the only person on earth who’s not a big fan of potatoes), but I loved the cheddar hash browns. The food was delicious and elegantly presented. The cinnamon pastry my mom started off with was huge and decadent.

I would not have any complaints about stopping by Empire again the next time I’m in Houston.

Pros

I’m a sucker for the art on the walls

Plenty of vegetarian and omnivoric (is that a word?) options and coffee drinks.

Lots of outdoor seating.

Cons

Not a great selection of vegan options.

Contact Info

www.empirecafe.com

1732 Westheimer Rd

713-528-5282

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Eppy’s Deli cracked me up.

There was a handmade sign on the door depicting two men. The first was dead and had a Subway sandwich in his hand. The second man was surrounded by babes, and had one hand full of cash, and an Eppy’s sandwich in the other.

There was a handwritten timeline behind the register that went something like (I might be getting these dates wrong):

1956 - Epstein made fun of for using Kosher salt

1960 - Kicked off sports team. Joins accounting team

1976 - Ate at Subway for the first time. Got pissed off.

1986 - Ate at Subway for the second time. Got even more pissed off.

1995 - Saw Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. Got inspired.

And then, in 2004, self-described “old Jewish guy” opened his Kosher deli.

MENU 

As you might have guessed, their specialties include the corned beef, the pastrami, and the reubens, but I ate a made to order salad piled high with beets, artichokes, chick peas, broccoli, carrots, cucumber and a mountain of field greens. The ingredients were fresh, the balsamic vinagrette was nice and tangy, and the price was right. Other vegetarian options include the portabella mushroom sandwich, the egg salad sandwich and some of the rotating soups.

I will definitely head back to Eppy’s for a salad, and of course to appreciate Epstein’s lovely handiwork.

Note: Since writing this original review, I went back to Eppy’s to try the portabella sandwich. With each sandwich, you get to choose from 5 different breads, 5 different cheeses, any vegetable from the salad creation station, and 2 of any of the 5 sides which include cole slaw, fruit salad, and potato chips. The portabella sandwich was ok, but not stellar. I definitely liked the salad better.

PROS

Good, fresh salads

Cheap prices

They offer 10% student discounts, and 10% off if you work in the area

CONS

Not a whole lot of vegetarian options

LOCATION 

224 E Ontario St

312-943-7797

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I have never heard more hype for any restaurant in all of my life, and as the first certified organic restaurant in the Midwest, and the fourth one in the entire country, the buzz is well deserved. The mastermind behind the organic pizzaria, located on 2056 W Division Street, is Michael Altenberg, the mind behind Campagnola in Evanston and Bistro Campagne in Lincoln Square (neither of which I’ve been to yet).

I’ve dined at Crust three times, and the waitstaff there is so nice, Altenberg either pays them in Prozac,  or they love their job. As popular as the restaurant is, I’ve never had to wait for a table, though all three times I’ve visited around lunch time. The decor is a little unimpressive, a little bare, a little boring, but it is open and bright, and there is plenty of outdoor seating.

Though I’ve yet to try anything alcoholic there, organic mint juleps, martinis and beers might just tempt me back one of these days.

MENU

Vegetarians can get their fill of greens on several salads including the Sun Salad (rainbow seaweed, carrots, cucumber, miso-plum vinagrette)  and the Sweet Basil Salad (fresh-pulled mozerella, tomato, red onion, basil). The sandwich menu has two vegetarian options: the Grilled Cheese (kalona cooperative cheddar, brioche bread, tomato basil soup) and the Californian (fire-roasted green chiles, muenster, tomato, avocado, artichoke, poilane bread and mayo).

Finally, we come to Crust’s specialty, its wood oven cooked flatbread pizza, the blackened bottoms of which always leave my fingers a little…well…blackened, and more than satisfied. Vegetarian pizzas include the Wild Herb and Cheese, the Shroom (roasted shrooms, goat cheese, tossed baby spinach), the Basilico (melted tomatoes, bechamel, fresh mozerella, and basil), and the El Greco (feta, artichoke, kalamata olive, red onion, roasted tomato).

There are plenty of meat and seafood options for any omnivores including the Brown Derby salad (chicken, bacon, egg, cheddar, avocado, tomato, russian dressing), sandwiches like the Pulled Pork and the Tall Grass Beef, and flatbreads like the Flammkuchen (caramelized onion, bechamel, caraway seed, slab bacon) and the Mexicali Blues (wood-fired shrimp, chihuahua cheese, pico de gallo, cilantro).

This visit, I split a large Caesar salad with my fella, and ordered the Wild Herb and Cheese flatbread. The Caesar salad is amazing.  I could eat the shaved Spanish manchego cheese all day long, and the “poilane crouton” was like the refined, elegant cousin of melba toast.

I’ve had several of the non vegetarian pizzas here in the past — including the Flamkuchen and the Mexicali Blues — and I didn’t love the Wild Herb and Cheese pizza I ordered this time quite as much. It was still very good, and I am eagerly awaiting my next visit, where I’ll try either the El Greco or the Basilico.

For dessert, we split the vegan chocolate cake, which was nice, but probably not as good as it would have been had we ordered it a la mode. Next time!

PROS

C’mon! It’s certified organic!

Nice staff

Locally grown ingredients

Consistently good food

Vegetarian and meat options

Reasonabley priced

CONS

I’m happy to report there are none to speak of

WEBSITE

www.crusteatreal.org

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Passing through St. Louis, my friend Jaime led us to an adorable looking diner located in the park of St. Louis called Cherokee Street Antique Row that she’d found online. Antique Row was (surprise, surprise) littered with antique stores, vintage shops, an art gallery that at the time was housing an opening for the School of Visual Arts in NYC’s MFA show, and several restaurants including Shangri-La.

Shangri-La is located at 2201 Cherokee Street, and walking in felt like walking into a B-52’s song, or an instant transport into the 1960’s. Beaded curtains hung from the ceiling along with psychadelic looking decorations, and the chairs were covered with all sorts of vintage looking fabrics: paisleys and other wild prints. Though none of the patterns or decorations matched, per se, everything had a congruent color theme that led to a fun, retro atmosphere that made me want to redecorate my entire apartment.

The waitstaff that day consisted of several young people, maybe college or high school students (Sorry if i guessed wrong! I’m really bad at guessing ages), who all seemed to be taking obvious delight in working at Shangri-La.

The menu begins with an endearing message, a “foodosophy” from the restaurant’s creator…

“What Iʼve tried to create here is a place where I always wanted to go and eat but one that I could never find. I donʼt want it to feel “trendy,” just fun. The food is not New American, Neo-Ethnic, Fusion or anything else. Itʼs simply what I like to fix for myself at home; my version of home-cooked food. I do not think of myself as a chef nor do I want to be considered one—thatʼs too complicated…”

…as well as a list of awards the restaurant has received over the years including “Best Vegetarian Restaurant in St. Louis.”

Menu:
Their menu choices included items such as the Best Veggie Burger In Town, the Decadent Grilled Cheese, salads like the C.A.M.P. Cobb and the Celestial, an African Spinach Stew, burritos, and an all day breakfast menu including Creme Brulee French Toast and the Veggie Quiche of the Day (also apparently named the best in town).

Omnivores might find solace in several pescatarian options including the Salmon burger, the Van Dyke salad which includes a salmon patty, and the breakfast egg dish called Patrice’s Slammin’ Salmon plate.

I ordered the veggie meatloaf. Not always being a fan of meat imitators, I was a little wary, but real meatloaf is one of my favorite foods, so I thought I’d give it a go. Worse scenario, I’d eat dessert afterwards if the meatloaf was gross. However, I was happy with my choice! The veggie loaf came next to a pile of mashed potatoes and green beans. I really liked my choice, and left stuffed, although just to be super picky, the potatoes and loaf could have used a tiny bit more flavoring. I still loved it though, and would definitely order it again.

Jaime ordered the Vegan Pulled Pork Sandwich with the corn on the cobb and oven baked fries sides. I tried this, even though vegan bbq sauce sounded suspicous to a lover of real bbq, I found it to be very good.

All in all, I would go back again in a heartbeat, and the next time I’m in St. Louis, I’m going to do just that.

Pros:
Fun atmosphere
Good music (I think it was all great 60s tunes while we were there)
Sweet, happy waitstaff
Healthy, award winning food
Located in a cool part of town (Just down the street, we hit an art opening, and saw a rockabilly/swing band called Hudson and the Hoo Doo Cats perform in the back of a vintage shop where we also got free beers!)

Cons:
I thought a few things tasted a tiny bit plain, but this is seriously me just finding something to complain about, as everything was very, very good, very good for you, and very filling.

Website:
www.theshangriladiner.com

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Cafe Lulu is a hip, delighful place to grab some drinks along with some great, filling food, located on 2265 S. Howell Avenue.

photo borrowed from www.onmilwaukee.com

Expanded from its once tiny locale, the main dining room add-on now has a huge, lofty feel, with a small stage in the back for its selections of bands (which mostly seemed to be appearing on Saturday nights), and with walls that were lined with huge, fun Rauchenberg-esque paintings.

Sit at the bar, lit by the stained glass abstract-meets-art-deco style lamps if all you want is something off their extensive drink menu of foreign beers and fancy martinis (I ordered a fresh, crisp Lulu summer style beer), or grab a table to stay for dinner.

My friend and I split two similar vegetarian sandwiches. One was the Florentine Melt, which came covered in fresh mozerella, garlic sauteed spinach, and portabella mushrooms, along side a veritable mountain of an Asian Slaw - made of peanuts, cabbage, Ramen noodles, and sesame oil among other things. The other sandwich we split was the ‘Bella Grill, where the portabella mushrooms were smothered in the guiltily good boursin cheese, roasted red peppers, and fresh spring greens. It was hard to decide which sandwich was better, although I definitely preferred my side of Asian Slaw to my friends house made potato chips.

Other vegetarian friendly options included a Pizza Margherita, a Greek Pizza, the Roasted Vegetable or Calabrese Salad, or the Mideast Falafel Pita among other things.

Omnivores can easily find happiness in a Pizza Arribiata, the Half Pound Heart Attack burger, the East Indian Chicken Pita, or the soup of the day, which happened to then be Clam Chowder.

Our waiter was plenty attentive, but not overwhelming, and even though we visited around 8 o’clock on a Friday night, we were seated right away.

I would highly recommend the funky, adorable Cafe Lulu, and hope to go back soon, if not just for drinks and some more food, than to catch some music there too!

Pros:
Variety of good food
Good, consistent service
Extensive drink menu
Vegetarian and omnivore friendly

Cons:
None to speak of at this time!

Website:
www.lulubayview.com

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I went up to Milwaukee last weekend with some friends to see some bands at the Cactus Club — White Savage, Magas, and The Mistreaters — and on our way back to Chicago the next day, hungover and starving, my friends and I stopped to get some food at Beans and Barley.

The cafe and market is located on 1901 E. North Avenue, and on that Saturday, there appeared to be something like a farmer’s market out front, although since there was an unlistenable, Sheryl Crow jam going on, we didn’t investigate the outdoor activities further.

The cafe side of Beans and Barley was open and very sunny, with the walls covered in pleasant, colorful landscapes and paintings of vegetables. Although there was a fifteen minute wait for a table, it was definitely worth it.

The menu was full of amazing sounding, and amazingly affordable vegetarian options like an artichoke parmesean dip, a vegetable stir fry, a walnut burger made of walnuts and cheese, and a tofu scrambler, just to name a few. Meat lovers of the world need not be afraid though, as there were plenty of other options like the baked turkey sandwich, the cajun chicken sandwich, and the option to add shrimp, salmon or a grilled chicken breast to any salad.

I ordered the tempeh reuben, which was a delectable medley of tempeh strips, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing. As a huge fan of corned beef or turkey reubens, I was skeptical that I’d find satisfaction with a vegetarian version of one of my favorite sandwiches, but satisfied I was. The sandwich also came with a tasty side that appeared to be made of lentils, risotto, feta and tomatoes.

Two of my friends ordered the black bean quesodillas, which I must admit I was slightly disappointed by, although the tahini sauce they got for dipping their chips was delicious.

The place was packed, and we’d gotten so much food that we didn’t mind that our waitress forgot to deliver the blueberry smoothie we’d ordered, as the coffee cake served with jelly and butter did magic for our sweet tooths. Sweet tooths? Sweet teeth? Whatever.

All in all, I’d highly recommend Beans and Barley to anyone looking for cheap, delicous, and fresh vegetarian fare!

Pros:
Vegetarian/Vegan/Omnivore friendly
Affordable
Fresh
Good quality food
Nice staff
Has a market and deli under the same roof as the restaurant

Cons:
Got really, really busy on a Saturday afternoon, service declined a little as waitresses got overwhelmed

Website:
http://beansandbarley.com

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