Seaport Oil & Vinegars, San Diego

While in San Diego, I stopped by the little village of Seaport. This was a touristy town with your typical tourist stores selling shell necklaces and t-shirts. In the midst of all the junk, however, I discovered an olive oil shop and you know I love my olive oil.

Seaport Oil and Vinegars is a small store right on the water selling olive oil, vinegars, and sea salts. Their selection is limited due to their size, but they have a pretty good selection. It is set up the same way most olive oil shops are set up so they allow you to taste all of the oils and vinegars before buying.

They offer flavored, fused, and infused olive oils in flavors like blood orange, harissa, and chipotle. One particular stand-out was the cilantro and roasted onion EVOO, which was particularly tasty.

The balsamic vinegars included both white and dark with flavors like cranberry pear white, blackberry ginger dark, and jalapeno white. I decided to buy a bottle of the jalapeno white balsamic because I  thought it would be great for a spicy salad dressing.

As I went up to pay for it, I was a bit shocked at the price. The 375ml bottle was priced at $22.99 whereas in most other olive oil shops, you'd pay around $17.99 for the same bottle. I guess because they are selling mostly to tourists, they can charge whatever they want. And I really liked the flavor so I bought it anyway.

If you don't have any olive oil shops near you and you find yourself in San Diego, this is a great way to try some premium olive oils and vinegars and perhaps take a bottle home. Just remember to check your bag before boarding.

Seaport Oil & Vinegars
809 Harbor Drive, Suite G
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 232-6096

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

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