Mantra Indian Cuisine, Temecula, CA #2

After having had a great experience at Mantra the last time I was in the area of Temecula, I headed back as soon as I could. We arrived early on a weekday night and there were very few people in the dining area.

We sat down and started munching on the papadums.  As soon as I asked my server about the vegan items, he got really excited and told me he was vegan as well and they were collecting contact info for their vegan patrons. Sign me up!

Based on his recommendation, we started with some Indian beer and an appetizer. For the beer, I ordered the King Fisher and found it light and refreshing. For the appetizer, we ordered the Aloo Tikki, which were deep fried patties of mashed potatoes with herbs and spices. Yum! We dipped them in the cilantro mint sauce.

It turns out that many of the items on the menu are vegan or can be made vegan including the Chana Masala, Aloo Matar,  Bengan Bharta, Bhindi Masala (very good!), and Tofu Masala. They can even make the rice vegan even though last year they incorrectly told me they couldn't! And the Roti bread is vegan too.

I went with the Aloo Gobhi, which is the simple dish of cauliflower with potatoes, with rice and Roti. It was super good and extra spicy!

My friend went with the Garlic Mushroom, which he really liked. I didn't like it as much as my dish, but it was good.

All in all, it was a great experience. Good, flavorful food, entrees for $10, and great service. I will come back every time I'm around Perris or Temecula!

Previous review
March 14, 2016

Mantra
27645 Jefferson Avenue
Temecula, CA 92590
(951) 506-1800

Aiyara Thai, Temecula, CA

I was out skydiving in Perris, California and looking for a new place to eat when my friend suggested Aiyara Thai in Temecula.

This large Thai restaurant had a mix of wooden and plush seating complete with a dramatic elephant fountain in the middle! As soon as we walked in, we were excited!

We started with a bottle of wine, which turned out to not be very good. Unfortunately, I did not note which wine it was.

I started with the Fresh Spring Rolls, which turned out to be a huge appetizer! The fresh rolls were filled with lettuce, bean sprouts, mint, sweet basil, cilantro, carrots, and tofu. They were very fresh and filling with the peanut sauce.

For my entree, I had the Basil listed as "our most favorite entree!" Loaded with carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, corn, cabbage, and tofu, it was quite good. And they really made it spicy for me. I also like that they offer brown rice.

The appetizer was $9 and the meal was $11 so I thought the appetizer was a bit expensive and the meal appropriately priced. The service was pretty slow and the food isn't any different than a typical Thai restaurant, but it is a nice option in the area.

Aiyara Thai
41533 Margarita Road
Temecula, CA 92591
(951) 296-575

Rice & Spice, Moreno Valley, CA

While in Perris, California, we headed out to have a nice Thai meal at a little place called Rice & Spice in Moreno Valley. It looks like a little house from the road. Inside, it's a small, simple joint with Thai artwork and not a lot of flare.

We had a large group of nearly 20 so we took up most of the restaurant...and probably annoyed the regulars. They were extremely accommodating stating they could make almost any dish vegan. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending upon how you view it, they didn't serve alcohol, so I just had water.

We started with a Garden Roll, which was your typical rice paper roll with veggies and tofu served with a mustard sweet and sour sauce. The rolls were large and filling.

For my entree, I went with the Bai Kaprow, a spicy Thai stirfry made with green peppers onions, red peppers, and fried tofu in a savory sauce with brown rice. I really enjoyed it.

We also ordered some veggie tempura that was greasy, but good.

What was interesting about the menu was that the starters pretty much cost the same as the entrees -- everything was $6 - $8 each. With no alcohol license, I don't know how they make much money. But, for these prices, the appetizers are a tad bit overpriced and entrees are super cheap so I guess it evens out. Given how much service we required, I thought they did a great job. And I love how accommodating they were to my dietary preferences. I'd recommend this as a great place to go in Moreno Valley.

Rice & Spice
22720 Alessandro Boulevard
Moreno Valley, CA 92553
(951) 697-1222

Hana Sushi, Menifee, CA

Ah, sushi. It seems to be the go-to cuisine for skydivers out looking for a decent meal. I'm always hesitant as some Japanese restaurants are very vegan friendly and some aren't.  On this particular night, I wasn't incredibly hungry so I figured I'd find something and we all headed out to Menifee to go to Hana Sushi.

This was a good-sized sushi restaurant with a rose-colored interior and yellow walls. This inviting atmosphere featured an open sushi bar with rose chairs, black tables, and wood floors. Traditional Japanaese artwork adorned the walls with orchids placed here and there.

We requested to sit outside on this beautiful night. To my delight, there were tons of vegan options! But, before we get to that, sake, please! Okay, now on tot the food. We started with spicy and regular edamame. It hit the spot, but wasn't anything particularly special.

Next, we had the seaweed salad with cucumbers and sprouts, which was quite tasty.

The mixed vegetable maki rolls were filled with lettuce, cucumber, sprouts, and avocado. They were really good.

The avocado roll nigiri style was yummy. There was avocado inside and on top -- you really can't go wrong with that.

My favorite though was the tofu avocado roll made with inari. The layers of tofu skins and avocado were the perfect complement.

We also tried the tempura -- broccoli, asparagus, onion, etc. I didn't think the batter was very good.

All in all, I was happy that there were so many options at a typical sushi restaurant. The service was very good and the atmosphere was fun. The only thing I didn't like was how expensive the rolls were. Each dish was $6.50 - $12 each. Our meal ended up being nearly $90 including sake, which seemed pretty expensive. I'd come back only if I planned to order just a few rolls as the prices are particulary high.

Hana Sushi
30098 Haun Road
Menifee, CA 92584
(951) 672-0110

Mantra Indian Cuisine, Temecula, CA

For our second night in Perris, California, we wanted some good Indian food, which didn't appear to be available in that city. Instead, we found ourselves on a 20-minute journey to the city of Temecula to Mantra, which dubs itself as fine Indian cuisine.

The restaurant itself is huge as they typically offer buffet style meals. On this Tuesday night, however, it was pretty empty. They had a vegetarian section of their menu, which is always encouraging, and were willing to make many items vegan. The pappadums served with cilantro sauce were quite tasty.

Many of the appetizers were already vegan like the samosas and pakoras, so we started with those. The samosas were your typical fried pockets filled with potatoes and peas. They were okay. The pakoras were mixed vegetable fritters that were very oily. Both were quite filling.

For our entrees, we ordered Tofu Masala and Bhindi Masala. The Tofu Masala is typically not vegan, but they made it with coconut milk for me instead of cream. It turned out to be a creamy tomato sauce with a lot of tofu, bell peppers, and onions. It was a bit too creamy for me.

The Bhindi Masala, on the other hand, was a delicious dish of fried okra cooked in tomatoes, onions, ginger, and garlic with mild spices.  We decided they were better mixed together as I wanted more veggies and my friend wanted more sauce. Voila!

They said they couldn't make the rice vegan, but they did cook the Roti vegan. Other vegan options included the Aloo Gobhi, Chana Masala, Aloo Matar.

We left pleased with our meals. The service was attentive, the restaurant was nice, and the prices at only $10 per entree were just right. I'd definitely recommend this place if you are in or near Temecula.

Mantra
27645 Jefferson Avenue
Temecula, CA 92590
(951) 506-1800

Tarasco, Perris, CA

As we were working on setting the Wingsuit World Record in skydiving, we had a week to spend in Perris, CA -- a small town in a valley with mountains on either side. There isn't much to this town, so, as always, I was a bit worried about the vegan food situation. The first place we saw that looked like a possibility was Tarasco, a Mexican restaurant in the downtown area. We thought, 'why not?'

It turns out that they are open to fixing many items vegan, so we gave it a shot!  The server was oh so helpful and her name was conveniently Margarita. Not surprisingly, she recommended we try the margaritas, so we did. They had a lower alcohol percentage due to their license, but were still good just the same!

We started with some chips with guacamole and salsa. The chef threw some cucumbers on the side for flare. It was good, but nothing to rave about.

The courtyard was really beautiful and on this 70-degree day, the temperature was perfect.

They didn't have vegetable fajitas on the menu, but offered to make them for me anyway. This nice mix of peppers, onions, and mushrooms came out great. They served it with corn tortillas as they weren't sure if their flour tortillas were vegan, along with pinto beans, guac, avocado, and a salad. I was very happy.

For this tiny town, I'd say we hit the jackpot. The food was good enough, the service was great, and the courtyard was a nice setting. I'll definitely be back when I jump in Perris again.

Tarasco
539 S D Street
Perris, CA 92570
(951) 657-6353