e & drink in san diego

 
This is a shoutout to the new eatery inside the 99 ranch complex on Clairemont Mesa in San Diego. While not a veg restaurant, they do a super yummy veggie mini hotpot, complete with a litany of sauces and pickled bits to dip in and enjoy with the rice and bubbling veggies. Not being an unfermented soy eater, I had to pick out the tofu and soy skin, but I'll just be sure to order it without next time. Two of us ate for about $12.

The owner is an afficionado of teas as well, and with our meal we received a delicious glass of sweet iced green Alishan tea of the highest quality. She said to try the red tea from Taiwan the next time I come. I think I will!

This place has been here for about 2 weeks...so go and support them if you're in the area! Then, do what we do and duck into 99 ranch for fresh coconuts, seaweed, funky mushrooms and other Asian delights. There's also a Chinese "pharmacy" in the complex with a doctor on site to help you with your Eastern medicinal needs.

E & DRINK
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

D-K-Che' in Imperial Beach

You know how sometimes you find yourself in a neighborhood that doesn't have a lot of veggie options, so you start thinking, "how bad is a little lard in my beans, really?", or, "just one donut isn't going to kill me..."?

Well, Imperial Beach in south San Diego can be that place. So I'd like to shout out to the ladies that run the new smoothie, torta and juice joint just up the road from Home Depot on Palm Avenue. Clean, friendly, fresh and a nice option for a refreshing pick-me-up.

We had the green juice, with fresh pineapple, celery, parsley, grapefruit, nopales, spinach and orange juices all in one glass. We also enjoyed tostilocos minus the cueritos (pork skin). This snack is a hodge podge of jicama, pepino, chaka chaka (?), cacahuate (peanuts), tajin (one of my mom's favorites), lemon, chile, and chamoy. It was cruncy, salty, tangy and spicy. There were salty round corn chips tucked throughout the mix as well.

Here is the pertinent info, so that next time you find yourself in IB, you know where to duck in to!

D-K-Che'

1555 Palm Avenue, San Diego, CA 92154
(619) 651 - 8595
8 am to 10 pm

Located at the corner of 16th and Palm Avenue, just west of the I-5 freeway.

Thali Time

Welcome to Rajasthan, a desert state south of Delhi, but still in the north of India. This is a land famous for its ancient network of kings, forts, princes, palaces, and, of course, delicious cuisine.

One ubiquitous offering found all over India, but especially here in Rajasthan is the thali. Rather than one dish, thali is a predetermined collection of dishes served with chutneys, chapatti (flat bread), rice, dahi (Indian yogurt) and garnishes. It usually includes a couple of dahls (lentil dishes), mixed vegetables and some other tasty treat.

We have been enjoying a variety of thalis, as this is a good way to sample several dishes in one meal, and because sometimes we find ourselves in a restaurant that offers nothing but thali. This was the case with Natraj Hotel in Udaipur, which was voted “the best city in the world to travel to in 2009” by some authority or another.

temple

I agree that Udaipur is a lovely place. Lakes, palaces, temples and forts abound in this relatively quiet city in southern Rajasthan, as do touristy hotels and restaurants that serve sub-par food and overpriced clothing to swarms of inappropriately dressed tourists. It is also where the James Bond film Octopussy was filmed, a fact you cannot miss from the multiple hotels screening it nightly, for several decades now. (Can you think of a better recipe for insanity?) We were here on the tail end of the tourist season during a 3 day festival that among other things, celebrates married ladies. Not speaking Hindi myself (yet), I am still hazy on the intricacies of this celebration. Suffice it to say that it was colorful, spiritual, and refreshing to be in a crowd and not be oogled by dozens of sexually repressed men.

gaungar: festival for women

A couple of years ago I did a mosaic for a lady from Udaipur. When I found out that there is a mosaic tradition in her home town, I was keen to create a piece that echoed the works found in the palace: exquisite 14^th century mosaics depicting three-dimensional peacocks using deep, rich stained glass and mirror. We naturally made a beeline to the palace museum to check out the wonders within, and were not disappointed. After visiting multiple forts and palaces in this area, all of which are unique in their own right but pretty much similar to one another, I can say that that this was our favorite one. It was also the cheapest to get into, ironically. Filled with stained glass windows, mirror and glass mosaics, elaborate carvings and delicate, intricate stone carved pillars, archways and walls, this palace must have been one heck of a fancy place to live in its heyday. I am impressed at the level of preservation that has been maintained. Kudos to the Indian government and the citizens of Udaipur for recognizing that what they have is special and keeping it that way!

animals and art of Udaipur

One evening we set out from our hotel with no real plan in mind. We walked towards the city gardens in the hope of finding something interesting to do. After gaping at a tree full of long tailed, black faced monkeys, and a spell of sliding around in a nifty playground, we followed the sound of music to a small Hindu temple where festival activities were in play. Seated on the ground were men, women and children, clapping, drumming and singing into a highly amplified sound system. When they noticed us leaning on the wall listening to them, they beckoned us in and sat us down, placed tambourines in our hands, marked us with bindis and fed us…you guessed it, thali! We were told that we must eat every morsel of food on our plate lest we anger the god(s) from which it was sent. (We did, of course.) It was special to feel welcome in this small celebration. Ryan even got draped with a silky orange scarf around his neck, another detail that is lost on me due to my ignorance of the religion and language. (Hindi lessons…here I come!) We capped the evening off with a gondola ride up to the top of a hill which houses a small Karni Mata temple. This is a temple which reveres rats. Being close to the city, however, I think that it pales next to its sister temple in Bikaner (our next destination). The two dozen or so white rats here are contained in an enclosure full of fresh fruit and vegetables. In Bikaner, I hear that the Karni Mata temple is an altogether different affair…

night time fun in Udaipur: ropeways, hindu festivals, and city lights.

in the city palace

Anyhow, in order to get tasty food in Udaipur, (unless you want a real cup of espresso and a slice of pie, in which case park yourself in Café Namaste right there in the tourist quarter) you must hop in a rickshaw and go another neighborhood. We were directed to the Old Hotel Natraj by a friendly Indian fellow as a famous thali joint. It was a tasty and fast paced experienced, in which we were seated and served, and never asked what we’d like or offered a menu. The whole time we sat there, there was a steady stream of servers coming around to refill our bowls, or to add rice and chapatti to our plates for what amounts to an all-you-can-eat dining experience. This is what makes thali the best bang for your buck if you are a hungry hippo. Even if you are only hungry enough for the initial serving, at 80 rupees (about $1.50), it’s not a bad deal at all.

Natraj Hotel and Dining Hall
22-24 City Station Road (Raj)

Phone 0294-2487488, 94147 57893

monkey business

Sardar Pav Bhaji

In the past few days, we have managed to eat a lot of food. While we have yet to consume anything that has not been downright delectable, some foods are even better than others. And some places are famous for their specialties, for a reason. This would be the case with Sardar Pav Bhaji in Mumbai's Tardeo Circle.

According to Wikipedia, Pav Bhaji (pronounced "pow-bah-jee") originated in Mumbai as a fast food lunch dish for mill workers. It consists of a flavorful vegetable curry with potatoes, tomatoes, onions and spices that you dip soft buttered bread rolls into. This dish is very buttery...I would say there was a quarter stick on each plate of bhaji. While not gluten-free or vegan, it is vegetarian, and quite delicious. 

Last night we met up with some old friends of Ryan's from his Mumbai days. They suggested that we eat at Sardar, the most famous joint in the city for this ubiquitous dish. Even though we already had a plate of the stuff at Chowpatti Beach that afternoon (good, but not as good as Sardar), we readily agreed, as A) we are quite keen on the dish, and B) how do you pass up anything that comes from an eatery universally agreed upon as "famous" by the local population? The place opens at 7pm, and we arrived at 7:05. All the tables already full, we were second in line of the queue that formed immediately, curving around the corner and down the street. 

Serving up only one thing, Sardar is in the business of selling pav bhaji not only to the sit down clientele but also to an endless stream of to-go customers on foot and in car, which does not let up until closing time at 2am. It was fascinating to watch the cooks mashing up huge pans of butter, spices and vegetables into the famous red colored curry that we would be sopping up with hot, buttery rolls. The sheer volume of food that this place churns out is formidable, ensuring fresh, delicious fare from opening time until closing.

This restaurant is all about the food. Bright lights, stark decor and fast service are what you get. If you need more bread, simply get the waiter's attention and he will toss another couple of rolls down on your plate. When you are finished, pay up and get out of there as there are dozens, if not hundreds, of others waiting to take your place. 

If you are visiting Mumbai, be sure to hop on the train to Mumbai Central and take the ten minute walk to Sardar for the butteriest deliciousness you will ever have. Here is a Google Maps link in the event that you plan to go there.

this awesome sequence made by ryan

When I get home I might experiment with a vegan GF version, which will certainly not taste the same, but hopefully will evoke some of the sensations that I have experienced while eating the pav bhaji here. Coconut oil, maybe? I probably shouldn't mess with something so iconic but we'll see...

Sardar Pav Bhaji
166b M Malviya Marg, Tardeo-tulsiwadi, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400034, India

+91 22 2494 0208 ‎

Achchha Lagta Hai!

Means "It's very tasty" in Hindi...or something to that effect. Forgive me for possibly butchering both spelling and meaning but it is what I've been taught to say since arriving...and I use this phrase about 10 times a day.

Am I in heaven?

Writing about the joys of veggie-voyaging in India is like shooting fish in a barrel. Let me just say that, if you are looking for the vegetarian mecca, it is here. Four days in and my pants are already a size too small, and we've done our fair share of "walking it off." I feel like its hard to find a restaurant that does serve meat. Let me offer you a list of the things I have had the good fortune to consume since our arrival early Wednesday morning. 

Pani puri, pav baji, dosa, chana masala, chai, bathura, malai mutter, mysore masala dosa, ginger lime soda, sugar cane juice, bhel puri, dahi patata puri, sabudana, aloo palak, baingan bharta, wada sambar, coconut water, samosa, idli & sambar, vegetable pulao, fresh juice.

upscale dosa...

restaurant dosa...

I don't even know where to start. I'm loving the dosa of course. If you are not familiar with this delicacy, it is a fermented rice and bean flour crepe filled with deliciousness, eaten with the hands. We have had corner store dosa, fancy catered dosa, street food dosa, and restaurant dosa. Happy to report that the hands-down best version yet would be the street food dosa. It was so flippin good that I will tell you how to go there in the event you are in Mumbai, near the train station and the post office, and not afraid to eat street food while standing on a noisy road. Slathered with ghee, loaded up with potatoes, onions, tomatoes and spices and served with sambar and coconut chutney, I actually spent 10 minutes after we finished eating directing other foreigners straight to the stall so that they could share in my culinary delight. Here is the approximate location on the map for your reference. It's on Saint George Road, just outside the train station by the post office. Eat at Tamil Nadu Foods, for a culinary taste explosion. See the locals also enjoying the delights? Always a good sign.

best. dosa. ever.

But really, I have yet to try something that was not delicious. Like I said, I think I'm in heaven.

aloo palak and baingan bharta

Of course, India is not just about the food. There is so much to take in here, like a sensory overload. In addition to big flavors, there are big colors, big smells (good and bad), big sounds. Our color and sound sensory input were turned up to 11 on our second day here at the holi festival, or festival of color. Marking the change of the season, this is the holiday in which people blast each other with colored powders and water, basically a big water balloon fight on the streets. In the olden days it was believed that during the change of the season it was prudent to throw around medicinal colors to help ward off sickness. Neem, turmeric and other natural powders were smeared and tossed around in a communal inoculation of brilliant hues. These days the colors are synthetic dyes that can stain the skin and hair for days. I was encouraged by my friend who we are staying with to douse my blond hair with coconut oil and then cover it up. That of course, did not stop her husband Vijay or Ryan from wrestling my scarf off my head and then dousing my hair with colored water and powders. Fortunately, the coconut oil did the trick and I am still looking natural. A few days of pink hair would be fine but Jill reported that one year her hair stayed colored for months.

all dressed up for holi

the aftermath

the pyre for a holi bonfire

We are in Mumbai, and will be here until Tuesday, when we depart for Delhi. The rest of our trip will be spent in the northern states, where Ryan called home years ago. So I am doing my best to soak up the sights and sounds of the south while here. We visited caves, saw monkey families and a festival in the street yesterday. Tonight will be spent with old friends of Ryan's and I hope there will be much more walking and eating today. Maybe we'll check out a Bollywood film at some point, Ryan claims samosas and chaat are on offer as well as popcorn...

One more thing...Ryan has posted some pretty funny pics of our time in Capadoccia...check it out
http://everthine.blogspot.com/

a sweet way to end a meal

A Delicious Day in Istanbul

 We have a very limited time here in Turkey, and an even more limited time in Istanbul. Certainly not enough time to dig our teeth into the nitty-gritty details of the culinary wonders, nor enough time to befriend people, go into their homes, and learn their recipes and ways. This is disappointing to me but I only have myself to blame, for booking such a whirlwind tour of a country with such a rich history. I was even told that such a short visit is an insult to the Turkish people, and for this I am sorry. We don’t even have time to stray off the beaten path as we often manage to do. I will, however, return one day. I promise.

pigeons at the new mosque

With only two days in Istanbul before departing to Capadoccia I was determined to find some place to eat that was excellent and not a tourist trap…while still not too far from our hotel as we decided to have a walkabout on our second day. With our bus departing at 6:30pm and luggage safely stowed in Pasifik Travel, we set off.

The plan: a morning in the Grand Bazaar, afternoon walking and eating.

  

I am so making these lamps when I get home.

Let me begin with the Grand Bazaar. With limited funds, we didn’t end up spending too much time there. Just enough for me to spend what little money I did have on a pair of handmade boots and a purse. Boots that are covered with embroidered flowers in bright colors that I now get to carry around in my backpack for the next 5 weeks. But I love them! I am sure you’ll see them on my feet in future posts. Money spent, we began working our way north towards the Galata Bridge towards Beyoglun, a shopping district across the Bosphoros from Sultanahmet. If this is all Turkish to you, have a look at a map of Istanbul and you’ll see what I am talking about.

shoes galore...

Highlights of our big walking day include: cats, cats, and dogs! Mosques, pigeons, and very old buildings. Turkish delicacies such as fresh juice and delectable sweets, and finally, delicious vegetable dishes, seasoned with dill, lemon, olive oil and garlic.

not such a bad place to be a stray

One thing I love about Istanbul are the juice stands that are on nearly every corner. Orange, grapefruit and pomegranate seem to be the main fruits available. (I think we are lucky to be here during pomegranate season, so am considering this to be a perk of the off season traveler). For 2.5 Turkish Lira (TL), which is less than $1.50, we enjoyed a delicious cup of fresh pressed pomegranate juice. The juice pressers that they use are the juicers from America’s past: the old mechanical orange juicers with a hand lever. I happen to have my grandmother’s at home, and am looking forward to trying it on pomegranates. I love pomegranates, and they are packed with antioxidants and other goodies, but are such a pain to get into. But this made it look easy. The juice-man simply cut off the top of the fruit, placed it on the juicer and pressed down. Try it at home and let me know how it works.

Let’s continue with our walking and eating. We have discovered a blog called Istanbul Eats, in which I read about a restaurant in the neighborhood of Beyoglun called Merih. According to this “serious eater’s guide to the city”, Merih is a meyhane (mey-hay-neh), similar to a Greek taverna. According the Istanbul Eats writers this restaurant is tucked into a “culinary no-go zone” yet the restaurant offers “no fuss, top notch dishes” packed with “gustatory punch”. At night, the meyhanes are places for music, booze and small dishes, or mezes. This place got such a great review that we decided to make it that afternoon’s destination. It took us a while to find it, and by the time we arrived our appetites were ready to be satisfied. Listening to the blog was a good move. I also loved the décor: established in 1972, with wood panel walls, we were surrounded by Turkish men tucking into their lunches on all sides. My only complaint: no hot veggie dishes. Many vegetable dishes in Turkey are served at room temperature, as was the case at Merih. But each thing we got was wonderful. The spinach (ispanak) dish, with olive oil, lemon and yogurt is turning out to be a favorite of mine for sure. We also enjoyed artichoke (enginar), white beans with veggies, and fried zuchinni croquettes (kabak tava) which I will most certainly find the recipe for and then render Gluten-Free once I get home. If you are in Istanbul Ryan, myself, and the experts give Merih a thumbs up. Address: Kamer Hatun Cad. No: 5/A Telephone: +90-212-245-4325

 After eating, we still had a couple of hours before we needed to check in for the 10-hour overnight journey to Capadoccia. We filled the time with more walking and a visit to a Turkish sweet shop. We ended up at a place that was definitely on the beaten path, called Hafiz Mustapha. We passed up about a dozen others, settling on this one for its obvious charm, and the sign on the door noting that it was established in 1864. It was like sitting inside of a filigree toybox. As you walk in the door you are greeted by the friendly staff and then offered samples of Turkish delight (as far as I can tell, this is a gluten-free offering. I do wonder if gelatin is in there, though) as well as a bunch of other tasty Turkish sweets. It also offered us a warm, cozy respite on a cold and exhausting day of walking and eating. I had my first Turkish tea, served in a small glass carafe with my pastry. Ryan bought a box of sweets and we spent a quiet hour enjoying their free WiFi at a table upstairs, looking down onto the street, people watching. It’s near the Galata bridge and the New Mosque if you’re looking. I recommend the syrupy pastries filled with pistachios, akin to Greek baklava. Address: Hamidiye Cad. #84-86 Bahcekapi-Eminonu.

my turkish tea: pronounced chai

our box of sweets

All in all, it was a delicious and lovely day wandering the streets of Istanbul.

Shortly after, we found ourselves on the bus to Anatolia, equipped with in-drive entertainment, refreshments and a front seat view to a country wide snowstorm. But that’s another post. See you in Capadoccia!

Burger Lounge in San Diego

I feel like Burger Lounge was thinking of me when they came up with a soy free veggie burger on a lettuce "bun". It's actually a quinoa, sweet potato, cheese blend...very tasty. There are several locations, too, so if you are out with your carnivore friends everyone can eat happily here. I recommend asking for jalapenos on the side, but I like my food spicy...

Well done, Burger Lounge!

Saffron Thai in San Diego

Veggie voyagers in San Diego should know about Saffron. Yum!
They're gluten/veggie savvy for sure...

vegetarian pad thai at saffron

Also,  I've been meaning to mention...right next door at Gelato Vero you can get a delicious house brewed chai with almond milk. A soy free dream come true!

Taco Tuesdays in Coronado

Attention veggie voyagers in the San Diego area! The Brigantine in Coronado has deeelicious fried avocado tacos ($2.50 each) and cheap glasses of champagne. Open til 10pm. A good veggie voyager discovery for sure.

this classy feast for less than $10

Himalayan in San Diego

For you veggie voyagers in (or planning a visit to) San Diego, I recommend this hidden gem, which is definitely off the beaten path.

left to right: malai kofta, palak paneer and alu bhanta

Nestled in the La Mesa Boulevard Station (read: strip mall), this unassuming restaurant has great food, cheap house wine, and a warm, cozy atmosphere. Not to mention, the waiters don the most awesome uniforms (traditional hats, vests, and tops), and as you walk in the door of 'Himalayan Cuisine', each one brings his hands into Angali Mudra and spouts a cheerful "Namaste!" before seating you.

Last night I went there with a couple of girlfriends and we shared three delicious dishes. I can highly reccommend the Malai Kofta, and the Palak Paneer. (The Alu Bhanta was good, but I've had better.) Malai Kofta consists of delicate fried potato and paneer croquettes swimming in a creamy tomato sauce. They were fluffy, creamy and savory. The Palak Paneer was a perfect balance of spinach, paneer, and what are touted on the menu as "Himalayan spices". All served with delicate basmati rice...

Another awesome feature of this place is that they have a cheap ($3.95) and decent house wine, served by the glass. I remember this being the norm in Greece and other parts of Europe, and I'm happy to see it in action at this groovy establishment! (I would not, however, recommend the mango lassi. An unnatural shade of orange, I'm sure it comes from a powdered mix. Not their best offering.)

I'm not the only one who loves this place. They get great reviews on the web as well.

Here is a link to the menu. Hope to see you there!