Great American Meatout 2012

From the Meatout.org Website:

"Meatout is the world's largest grassroots diet education campaign. On (or around) March 20, thousands of caring people in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries encourage their friends, families, and communities to "kick the meat habit” and explore a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The 2012 goal of Meatout is to distribute free vegan food samples to 30,000 people!"

Are you participating?


Highlights from the 2011 Meatout Campaign.

The Sexy Vegan Cookbook & Show

"Brian Patton, aka The Sexy Vegan, is the executive chef for Los Angeles-based vegan food-delivery service, Vegin’ Out. He also hosts an instructional cooking video show on YouTube where he plays ukulele and shows off his goofy side." from Laughing Squid.


The dude's got the funniest book trailer I have ever seen. And I usually hate book trailers. haha.


The Sexy Vegan Cookbook Official Trailer





An episode from his instructional online show: New England Blam Chowder.

Charity Vegan Bakesale- Coming Soon!

VEGAN BAKE SALE
Saturday, April 14th       11am-6pm

Baked Goods ** Raffles **  Handmade Vegan Soaps

This is going to be pure sweet tooth satisfaction! Local artists, bakersm and individuals are donating their time and goodies to make this one amazing bake sale! Help us help the planet, feel free to bring your own take home container.

RAIN OR SHINE
All proceeds go to Autism Speaks

Please Bring Cash!
Location: Strawberry Hedgehog Headquarters
526 W. Mariposa St.
Phoenix, AZ 85013
http://strawberryhedgehog.com

On the Road: MitAsie 3, Huntington Beach, CA

clockwise from top: Take Out- Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauce & Greens, Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour "Chicken"

MitAsie³ is the third incarnation of the restaurant that focuses on healthy Vietnamese food. It first started out with an omnivore menu, then a few years ago it shut down for a short time, revamped all of its menu items and reopened as a vegetarian place. And now, I am happy to report that MitAsie³ is a completely vegan restaurant.

When I am in southern California, I visit Huntington Beach (HB) quite a lot. Bella Terra is a big shopping center in the area, and this little food gem is tucked into a strip mall by Michael's (the big arts and crafts store chain), directly across the street. I am very chagrined to say I didn't even know it existed until my most recent visit to California.

But, boy, am I glad I found it! I can't wait to go back and try more of the menu.

MitAsie3

The entire building complex was under construction when I was there, and so the photo of their front facade is not particularly great. But I am sure it will look nice when they are done. The dining room is not very stylish, with its eclectic whatever-we-have-on-hand decor, and it's rather small with just a few tables, but the food is really good.

I ordered take out; Sweet and Sour "Chicken", Fried Rice, and Spring Rolls. However, I don't even know the proper names of what I ordered. I neglected to write them down, and MitAsie³ doesn't have a website. Sadly all of the menus online for them are the very old omnivore ones, and very outdated. So, we'll have to make do without the official names, but I am sure you can figure out what I ordered.



MitAsie3 Dining Area

The Sweet and Sour "Chicken" was soooooo good! So good. My mom and grandmother were sitting with me while I was eating it. I think they were jealous of all the contented noises I was making. When I was growing up, Sweet and Sour was my absolute favorite Chinese food dish, and while I realise this was primarily a Vietnamese restaurant, I swear this reminded me of what I grew up with.

The Fried Rice was quite a surprise with its various mock meat bits. I think it had three different kinds. I am used to just little bits of fried tofu, but this one definitely had mock pork chunks and another kind that I wasn't sure about. Perhaps a little too greasy for some, I was very impressed and thought this was excellent.

The Spring Rolls were the only item I was a little bit disappointed with. And the fault lies directly with the crunchy rice paper casing. At least I think it was some kind of fried puffed rice shell. I was not a big fan of the taste or texture of it. The innards were just fine and the dipping sauce was nice and spicy. This had been a back up appetizer, as I had really wanted to order the one that seemed to be like a bahn mi sandwich, but they were out of some of the ingredients. Next time!


MitAsie3 Dining Area, Fish Tank, & Cooler

I highly recommend MitAsie³, and I hope you get a chance to visit.

MitAsie³
Ranking: ****1/2

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

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MitAsie³
7636 Edinger Ave
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
(714) 847-5262
No website but you can check out their Yelp page.

Hours

Monday - Saturday   11am to 9pm

Sunday   11am to 8pm

On the Road: Seabirds Truck, Orange County, CA

Seabirds Truck

Seabirds Truck! Infamous from their run on season 2 of the Food Network's Great American Food Truck Race, the Seabirds have returned to their normal routine of serving food, gourmet truck-style in Orange County. I had been to California a few times recently but was unable to track them down. They move around a lot and if you don't have a certain time frame free, they can be  tricky to get to. The menu changes weekly too, but  a couple of the usual suspects tend to be on it, like the Sweet Potato Fries and the Beer Battered Avocado Tacos. Just follow their menu and schedule online. If you can manage it, the trip is worth it.

Sweet Potato Fries with Dipping Sauce

Before my visit to Seabirds, I had declared The Veggie Grill's Sweetheart Fries the best sweet potato fries I had ever eaten. And then I tried the ones from Seabirds. Oooooh. Even better! Lightly dusted with cinnamon with a delicious cilantro/jalapeno dipping sauce. Hello. Sounds like the flavors would conflict but not so. Really good. And it's your lucky day, because I just found a copy of the super tasty Seabirds Dipping Sauce recipe online. I can't help you with the fries though, unless the recipe is in the Seabirds Truck ecookbook.

Tempeh Biryani

I also ordered the Biryani because I had to try everything. While it was respectable, it was only okay. I am not a huge fan of Indian food to begin with (I wish I was-I keep trying), and I don't really like curry spice. Sadly, I think its biggest downfall for me was there were too many different ingredients mixed in. Eh. I wouldn't order it again.

Jackfruit Asada Taco

Next up I tried the Jackfruit Asada Taco served with salsa verde, chopped onions, and  cilantro. I was super intrigued by the jackfruit tacos and had heard many good reports. This version is the most popular, I believe, but they also use jackfruit in other menu items like the Island Jack Tacos and Jack Shwarma Tacos. Plus, jackfruit...what the hell was jackfruit anyway and why did it resemble pulled pork? The Jackfruit Asada Taco was spicy, sweet, and tangy. Pretty good.

Beer Battered Avocado Taco

But holy insane tastebuds, the Beer Battered Avocado Tacos were a.maz.ing. Served with the Seabirds Dipping Sauce, red onion, and cabbage slaw, these things are little slices of fried HEAVEN. I can't wait to go back for more of these and the fries. Mmmm.

Couple more things, Seabirds usually has about half their menu as Gluten-Free. And they used to do Raw Wednesdays, but I'm not sure if they do that anymore since I think Chef Raya is doing her own thing now, like giving raw food demos at Whole Foods Huntington Beach.

Seabirds Truck with Customers

Seabirds Truck
Ranking: ****1/2

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

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Seabirds Truck
Location/Hours: Varies
Check the schedule on their website or follow their stops on Twitter.
http://seabirdstruck.com

Special bonus interview with Stephanie Morgan, Owner/Creator of Seabirds Truck

On the Road: zpizza, Huntington Beach, CA



zpizza, Huntington Beach

zpizza, Surf City HB

zpizza is a pretty big chain in California, with 49 restaurants. In fact, Huntington Beach has not one, but two locations. In comparison the Phoenix metro area has a paltry five zpizzas. I've been to the Downtown and Midtown Phoenix locales, but I've really only reviewed the Downtown location.


Anyway, I visited the Beachmont Plaza HB zpizza one fine evening and picked up a Berkeley Vegan. I *needed* pizza. I've reviewed the Berkeley Vegan before, but shall I refresh your memory? The pizza is topped with Gardein veggie burger crumbles, which is like a mock spicy sausage. Plus, marinara, zucchini, red onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and the Daiya mozzarella shreds.

Berkeley Vegan

I wasn't blown away by the pizza this time around, but it was still quite tasty. I don't know if I've had better vegan pizzas since the last time I ate at a zpizza, or what the deal was. Regardless of the quibble, zpizza is definitely a good place for a pie.

What I love about Huntington Beach restaurants is they often have surf art, historic photos, and/or paraphenilia on the walls, and the Beachmont HB zpizza was no exception. We'll have to make do with the subpar photos from my phone for sharing the experience.

zpizza, Huntington Beach Historic Photos and Surfboard

zpizza - Huntington Beach (Beachmont Plaza)
Ranking: ****

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

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zpizza - Huntington Beach (Beachmont Plaza)
10035 Adams Ave
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
(714) 968-8844
http://www.zpizza.com

Hours
Not sure. Not listed on the website.

On the Road: Loving Hut, Huntington Beach, CA

Loving Hut, Huntington Beach, Ca

I adore the two Loving Huts we have here in the Phoenix area. I do notice a slight difference in taste for the items that are served at both locations. Sometimes they have different entree names on the menu, which might be differences in ingredients and preparation, but the images and look of the dishes are still quite similar and seem to be the same base recipe.


My recent trip to southern California only heightened my sense that each Loving Hut kinda does its own thing while still serving the basic menu. All three locations have a variation of this delicious crispy soy protein with lemongrass and red chile flakes; the Golden Beauty (Glendale), Sage Lemongrass (Central Phoenix), and the Lemongrass Beauty (HB). This is my favorite dish and so I had to order it.

While it was quite tasty, my taste buds rebelled a little at the differences. The Lemongrass Beauty was served in something of a light sauce, whereas I'm used to a drier, crispy nugget. By no means untasty, in fact it was very good, but it just seemed to be a little too different from the dish I was expecting and craving. This despite trying to go in knowing it was likely made a little differently.

clockwise from top left: Lemongrass Beauty, Lemongrass Tofu, Blissful Fried Rice
with Thai Iced Tea

Loving Hut Counter & Seating

While there I also ordered the Lemongrass Tofu because I adore lemongrass and the pictures and descriptions of the two entrees sounded just different enough. The Lemongrass Tofu was okay. It was a bit on the spicy side and had curry powder. Oops. I am not a huge fan of curry, and I must have missed that in the description, focusing only on the lemongrass, otherwise I would probably have asked for it without (an option per the menu) or tried something else.

I sampled their Thai Iced Tea which was decent, but I think I like  Fresh Mint's better because they use a coconut cream instead of soy. Lastly, everything was accompanied by their Blissful Fried Rice. Fried Rice, in general, is a perfect food. It definitely tasted like Glendale's Blissful Fried Rice, only greasier. Which was not necessarily a bad thing, since it reminded me a bit of the fried rice I used to get at Chinese restaurants growing up. Sure, prolly a little less healthy, but no less tasty.

The restaurant itself is tiny and tucked into a small strip mall. But its clean and has the same cheerful yellow and white decor as all of the other Loving Huts. Overall, a nice place to visit. Just check the hours before you go. Seems like they might vary.

Loving Hut, Fridge Case and Behind the Counter Scenes

Loving Hut - Huntington Beach
Ranking: ****

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

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Loving Hut - Huntington Beach
19891 Brookhurst St.
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
(714) 962-6449
http://lovinghut.us/huntingtonbeach/

Hours
Call for Hours (per website)