Estadio, DC #2

Estadio is a trendy, Spanish restaurant located in the heart of Logan Circle. My last experience was very enjoyable so I was really looking forward to dining there again.

We showed up around 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday at which time they told us we'd have a 45-minute wait for a table. Luckily, this is what I expected so it didn't bother me much. I think my only complaint about this restaurant is that they don't take reservations for parties under 6 after 6 p.m. There really is no good reason not to take reservations and it really doesn't make business sense since it annoys most of the patrons. One woman, in particular, who was standing at the bar was quite upset about the wait. I made my way over to the bar and ordered a glass of wine. About 15 minutes later, they informed me that a large party had canceled their reservation and some tables had opened up. Great! We were seated at one of the nice two-person tables along the window.

We immediately asked for the vegan menu and they brought it over to us. (I love that there is a vegan menu!) It appears that they added a bunch of new vegan items and we were having a really hard time trying to decide what to order. My friend wanted to order everything, but we eventually agreed that that wasn't the best idea. So, instead, we ordered 7 dishes!

All of the dishes are small plates so you are encouraged to order lots and share. As we waited for the first dish, I remarked that the restaurant hadn't changed much since the last time I visited. But, that isn't a bad thing. The tables and chairs are made of a dark wood and have a stoic feel to them almost as if you are dining in a castle. There is an open kitchen in the front of the restaurant where you can watch the chefs and a bar in the middle of the restaurant that has an open feel to it as well.

Our first dish was the Grilled Country Bread. This time (as opposed to last time) the bread was grilled perfectly and topped with a delicious tomato, olive oil, and onion spread with chives.

Next, we had the House Marinated Olives, which was a great mix of black and green olives with marinated orange peel.

Then, we tried the Fava Bean and Almond spread served with Picos, a Spanish cracker. I liked the spread, but the crackers tasted like generic crackers to me. They just weren't very exciting.

Our fourth dish was the Roasted Beets, Endive, and Orange salad -- a great mix of flavors.

Next, we had the Roasted Wild Mushrooms with Parsley and Garlic.  The mushrooms are roasted with the perfect amount of oil and tossed with parsley and garlic. You really can't go wrong with this dish.

The Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions, Pine Nuts & Currants was by far my favorite dish. The brussels sprouts were blackened to a crisp and served with paprika-spiced pine nuts and currants.

Lastly, we ordered the sauteed Pea Shoots, which also turned out to be great although they were very oily.

As this restaurant is known for its wine list, I am usually very satisfied with the wines they serve and this visit was no different. The food, wine, and service were great while the dishes were appropriately priced at $5 to $9 each. I think this is a great restaurant for a meal with friends or a long-term significant other as it is quite lively and loud. It probably wouldn't be the best for a first date though. All in all, I really like Estadio and look forward to coming back again soon.

Previous review of Estadio - March 2012

Estadio
1520 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 319-1404

Ape Man Foods

I truly believe in the nutritional value of raw vegan foods. I mean what could possibly be bad about plant-based foods in their most natural state? So when I received a press release in early May announcing there was a new raw foods company in town, I nearly rejoiced. Ape Man Foods is what they call themselves and good food is what they make -- as they like to say, "only pure, unadulterated, delicious plants."

The woman behind the company is Valerie Grissom and she has worked in the restaurant industry since she was 16 years old including a stint at Equinox in DC. With a strong work ethic, she worked throughout college and has since had several former careers as a lawyer and an accountant, but ultimately found herself returning to the kitchen to do what she loved. Her husband was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a very young age and Valerie wanted to see what effect a raw vegan diet would have on his condition. Together they discovered that they felt so much better living a raw vegan life 6 days per week -- she felt like she had found her calling. A self-taught chef, Valerie learned most of what she knows from books published by the most famous raw foods chefs including Matthew Kenney and Roxanne Klein. With this knowledge coupled with her restaurant experience, she began developing her own recipes and feeding her friends and family until one day, the owner of the juice bar, Puree, in Bethesda asked if she might be willing to prepare her foods to sell at the cafe. And just like that, in 2012, the company was born. Just a year later, Valerie has moved her distribution from Puree to Whole Foods in Friendship Heights and is hoping to expand to other Whole Foods in the area soon. She brought me the five items they are selling in Whole Foods to try and boy, was I impressed.

If I had to pick a favorite product, I'd have to say the Walnut Meat Tacos were the ones that really blew me away. From the dehydrated nut-based shells to the walnut meat inside, I was impressed with every aspect of this dish. Filled with lettuce, tomato, and onion, and topped with a raw sour cream, you'll find you won't be able to eat just one.

The Portobello Caprese Sandwiches are mind-blowing as well. The bread is made of spiral-sliced onions, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, tamari, and olive oil and dehydrated for a total of 36 hours. Yeah, this is why I don't make much raw gourmet food on my own. Inside the sandwich was a marinated portobello cap, ripe tomato slices with spices, fresh basil, and cashew cheese paired with sundried tomato marinara sauce. This is a very rich, filling sandwich.

Then there is the Pistachio Pesto Lasagna. The top and bottom noodle layers are made of dehydrated zucchini while the middle layer is made of yellow squash. Inside you'll find thick layers of pesto, corn, nut-based ricotta, mushrooms, and tomato sauce. Again, very rich and very good.

There is also a Garden Blend Soup with Eggplant Bacon. I could eat that eggplant bacon sans the soup as a snack like every day.

And for dessert, there are Brownies with Chocolate Sauce and Raspberries.

Best of all, their foods are raw, vegan, organic, and gluten-free. As you may already know, the time and labor-intensive processing and pureness of the organic ingredients drive up the cost of raw foods, and these products are no different. The lasagna and portobello caprese retail for $11.99, the tacos for $9.99, the garden blend soup for $8.99, and the brownies for $7.99.  Are they worth it? Yes, I'd say so. To find out more about this company, click here. In the meantime, I'll be emailing the P Street Whole Foods on a daily basis begging them to bring these items to that location.

Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that in no way influences my veracious opinion. 

Gourmet India, San Diego

There are only a few vegan-friendly restaurants in downtown San Diego and Gourmet India is one of them.  Gourmet India takes it one step further by labeling some items as vegan so you can be assured they actually know what that means. I had a great experience when I dined there a few years ago so when I had the opportunity to meet an old friend downtown, I jumped at the chance to go to this restaurant with him.

Gourmet India opened its doors in May of 2006. Inside, there is a warm feeling projected by the red walls and deep red draperies. You can choose to sit on traditional Indian floor level seating on cushions or at more American-style tables in the dining room. We chose a regular table.

They immediately handed me a gift of jeweled stickers for fun so I placed one in-between my eyebrows. At that moment, I became Indian.

We were served a papadum with a spicy red sauce to start as we perused the menu. I ordered a glass of California wine while my friend ordered an Indian beer. I was told that Indian wine selections are only available on Tuesday. Bummer.

For an appetizer, we ordered the vegetarian pakora, which was spinach, cauliflower, and potato fritters served with tomato chutney. So bad for you, yet tastes so good! Bad me.

For dinner, my friend and I ordered two plates to share off the Vegetarian and Vegan menu. Yep, it is actually labeled as such. The first dish to arrive was the Aloo Gobi -- cauliflower and potatoes sauteed with fresh tomatoes, ginger, green chili,  and ground coriander. Despite our waitresses warnings, we ordered the highest spice level and boy, was it spicy!

The other dish was the Tofu Jahlfrezi -- tofu and mixed vegetables simmered in a red curry sauce, again super spicy.

I am so thankful that Gourmet India is still here because I had just as good an experience as I did the last time I was in this city. The food is great, traditional Indian food priced at $13 to $14 per entree. The service was great and we really liked the ambiance. Maybe next time I'll be more adventurous and dine on the floor. We'll see.

Gourmet India
810 4th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 702-7967

PROBAR - Bolt Energy Chews

PROBAR recently released their new Bolt Organic Energy Chews, which are being marketed towards athletes. They say these gummy little chews provide the energy needed to help power you from morning workouts to race days. Of the four flavors, strawberry, raspberry, berry blast, and orange, all are made with "superfruits," and contain electrolytes and complex carbs.

I do my fair share of running and yoga, but I'm much more a fan of eating right, sleeping well, and abstaining from caffeine than I am for consuming products that will "give me" energy. That said, I am not a professional athlete or a marathon runner and I know it is these types of products that one is recommended to consume while completing a 26-mile run.  Each flavor has a unique ingredient-profile including caffeine and b-vitamins and are known to provide sustainable energy.

Take the Raspberry Bolt chews for example. The ingredients are tapioca syrup, sugar, tapioca syrup solids, pectin, citric acid, yerba mate extract, color added (black carrot concentrate), potassium citrate, natural flavors, ascorbic acid, organic fruit blend (apple powder, acai powder, blueberry powder, pomegranate powder), vitamin blend (vitamin B3, B6, and B12), sea salt, sunflower oil, and caranuba wax.  So I see some good and bad in this blend. I like the fruit blend and the B-vitamins, but I don't like all the preservatives, even if they are natural, or the caranuba wax.

That said, all of the flavors tasted pretty good and were easy to eat -- just like giant gummy bears. The Berry Blast was probably my favorite flavor.

The Strawberry and Orange flavors had nice flavors as well.

So if you are an athlete and are looking for a boost, the PROBAR Bolt Organic Energy Chews may be a good option. I do like that they contain natural yerba mate for caffeine, are mostly organic, and are Non-GMO Project Verified, which is very important to me. I just wish there were less extraneous ingredients like the citric acids and caranuba wax, but I suppose without them, they wouldn't be in that funky gummy form. To order some for yourself, click here. Save 40% off your first order by using the code BLOGGER when you check out.
Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that in no way influences my veracious opinion.  

Evolution Fast Food, San Diego

Evolution Fast Food has undergone a number of changes over the years including three name changes. Once called "Nature's Express," this small, mostly take-out, vegan fast food joint is one of my best memories from my last trip to San Diego several years ago. So when I found myself in this city again with only a couple nights to eat out, I knew one of the nights would be at Evolution.

Evolution is located just outside of the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego. It is a very small restaurant with a drive-thru and seating for just a few inside at the counter with additional seating outside. What I loved the most about Evolution the last time I was here was that they made nearly everything in house. So, I was a little disappointed to see that they were now serving Gardein burgers along with their housemade burgers. Well, at least they still have the housemade burger. I placed my order and took at a seat at the counter.

This place hasn't changed much. They offer fresh salads, raw food, and drinks in the refrigerated case up front and desserts in another case. Their menu consists of burgers, sandwiches, small meals, fries, and sides as well as fresh juices and smoothies.

Their juices and smoothies are one of my favorite things here so I ordered an Israel's tonic, which had apple, beet, carrot, cayenne, garlic, and lemon. It was delish.

I grabbed a fresh salad out of the case that was filled with cucumbers, cabbage, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts, and sunflower seeds and paired it with a raw cilantro dressing. I love their fresh salads.

Then, my burger came out. I went against my gut and instead of ordering my favorite bacon cheeseburger, I decided to try something new -- the Mushroom Swiss. I opted for their housemade black bean burger that had fresh sauteed mushrooms, Veganaise, Daiya cheese, lettuce and tomato on a fresh, whole wheat bun. It was pretty good.

After scarfing all of that down, I decided to take a raw chocolate mousse to go. The raw chocolate mousse was in a nut crust with shredded coconut on top. It was very rich and decadent.

Evolution uses mostly organic whole foods in its meals without refined sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, GMO ingredients, artificial additives, flavors, preservatives or colors so it is good food that is good for you. They say their mission is to improve the world with delicious, nutritious fast food that is good for you and good for the earth. I like it. Recommended.

Evolution Fast Food
2965 5th Avenue (at Quince)
San Diego, CA 92013
(619) 550-1818

The Great Unbaked - Karma Katcher Chocolates

Raw chocolate is a gift from above. And as much as I love raw chocolate bars, I love raw chocolate truffles even more. So when The Great Unbaked out of Oregon proposed that I try their Karma Katcher Chocolates raw truffles, I said, "sure, why not?!"

You might be wondering, "why raw?" Unroasted cacao beans contain an amazing array of nutrients such as antioxidants and minerals. Cacao is known to be good for your vascular system, keeping your heart healthy, and is a good source of magnesium, chromium, iron, zinc, copper, and manganese.  More specifically, The Great Unbaked, keeps refined white sugar, refined flours, GMO's and anything artificial out of all of their products. All of the chocolate is fair trade and free of preservatives. They also try to source mostly organic ingredients when possible.

They sent me a great assortment of these chocolates to try and I really enjoyed them. Although they were a bit dense, they had some great flavor to them. My favorite was the Orange Rawbanero, which was delightfully spicy with the hot pepper flakes on top and a really nice texture.

The Goldenberry Cherry truffle (their award-winning flavor) had a huge cherry inside; the Mochaccino was very coffee-like, and the Almond was loaded with chunky pieces of almond.

The Heatwave was super spicy while the Raspberry Rose packed a raspberry punch with the hint of rose.

Other flavors include Orange Sunshine, Mint, Nibs Dark, Crispy Crunch, and Plain Jane.

In addition to the Karma Katcher Chocolates, The Great Unbaked makes pies and brownies as well. So if you are looking for healthy, vegan, gluten-free, raw chocolate truffles, look no further. These would make a great gift to a friend or just to yourself. An 8-piece box can be ordered for $16 via their online shop here.  You know what they say: some like it raw and some like it hot, but with Karma Katcher, you can have the best of both worlds.
 
Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that in no way influences my veracious opinion.  

Blue Burrito Grille, Phoenix Airport

With a quick layover in Phoenix, I did some research and found there was a vegan-friendly Mexican eatery right in the airport. Blue Burrito Grille is its name and lard-free beans are its game.

It offered a limited menu in the airport that included breakfast, burritos, favorites, and salads. I went with the vegetarian burrito with no-lard black beans, grilled peppers & onions, lettuce, and guacamole. I added the guacamole and asked them to hold the cheese. With it, they gave me some of the Tappato "hot" sauce.

The burrito really wasn't that good, but I was happy to have a real meal. The beans and veggies were pretty flavorless and the hot sauce wasn't that great either. And there was so little guacamole that it didn't add much to the meal. That said, if I'm ever in this airport again, I'd eat here again because the options are limited and this sure was better than nothing.

Blue Burrito Grille
Phoenix Airport
Terminals 3 & 4