Sababa Market, DC

Last Saturday, Zach and I were perusing Eastern Market in Washington, DC in the 100-degree heat desperately searching for a bite to eat. Amongst all of the meat-based vendors was a stand selling falafel. My first thought was "ugh, another falafel place," but as I began to walk away, I caught a glimpse of their toppings. The toppings looked very gourmet and immediately I realized that this place was a hidden gem within the market. I asked the woman working the booth if I could take pictures and she immediately asked me if I was from the health department! She had a funny sarcasm about her, which I found amusing.











So, we ordered a falafel sandwich to share and she kindly offered to split the pita for us to create two sandwiches. After handing us the falafel sandwiches, she walked us through the different toppings, all of which were 100% vegan. I topped mine with cucumber and tomato salad, picked baby eggplant, Israeli pickles, and purple cabbage salad. There was also an array of delicious homemade hot sauces and Amba sauce (pickled mango and cumin).

When I finally tasted it, I thought it was absolutely delicious! The falafel was not overfried or greasy.  The bread had been freshly made and delivered that morning and was incredibly soft, yet thick. And the toppings and sauces were very good. I especially liked the hot chili sauce (you only need a little!) and the green sauce. At $8, these falafel sandwiches are a bit pricey, but it seems you get what you pay for in the falafel world. If you are at Eastern Market and looking for good eats, you should definitely stop by Sababa!

Chocolate Inspirations caramel sensation bar

On my last trip to Pangea, I picked up a handmade Chocolate Inspirations caramel sensation bar. I'm always on the hunt for a good vegan caramel chocolate bar even though I've been disappointed by others in the past. So, I reluctantly purchased this one hoping it would taste as good as it looks.

It is a thick, decadent bar and, upon first bite, I realized it was different than others I have tasted. When you bite into this bar, the thick Swiss dark chocolate melts into the caramel in an amazing way. It is more caramel-like than any other vegan caramel I've ever had.  As far as the texture, it is not a creamy caramel, but not a hard caramel either -- it is more like the texture of peanut butter, but with a caramel taste. And the thick chocolate pairs very well with the caramel flavor. For $3.99 this is a steal. Highly recommended!

Raw Kale Chip Showdown!

Zach and I have been searching far and wide for the best raw kale chips over the past six months. We have tasted many brands from grocery stores in San Francisco, New York, and DC.  During this particular taste test, we tasted 3 brands -- New York Naturals; Brad's (nasty hot flavor) from PA sold in DC; and Elizabeth's Gone Raw from DC. The New York Naturals brand was okay, but not very tasty. The texture was good, but the kale rinds were hard and difficult to swallow. Brad's "nasty hot" didn't taste very hot at all. Oddly enough, this chip was lighter in color and less crisp than the other two.  Lastly, we tasted Elizabeth's Gone Raw's kale chips. They were a good texture, crisp, spicy and tasty. You really can not eat just one of Elizabeth's Gone Raw's chips. There is so much flavor in these chips!

From left to right: Elizabeth's, NY Naturals, Brad's

Interestingly enough, the ingredients in all of these chips were similar with slight variations.  They all used red bell pepper, cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, sea salt and cayenne pepper. Elizabeth's and Brad's also had jalapeno. New York Naturals and Brad's included sunflower seeds in their recipes.

As far as packaging, Brad's and New York Naturals' used plastic containers, which are probably better for shipping. As Elizabeth's doesn't ship her kale chips (sorry for those of you outside the DC area), she has a very cool green bag in which she packages her chips.

In the end, Elizabeth's won this taste test - hands down!  These chips are only available at Elizabeth's Gone Raw, the restaurant. So, you can only get these chips one of two ways: (1) you can dine at her fine raw restaurant or (2) you can pick up a bag at the restaurant during the day. Just be sure to call first as they aren't always available.

Todd Gray's Watershed, DC - grand opening reception

Last night, we attended the official grand opening of Todd Gray's Watershed, his newest restaurant.  He describes this restaurant as a neighborhood gathering place giving homage to the regions of the Eastern Seaboard.  The menu is very "coastal" -- it consists mainly of seafood.  This night was a special night for which there was a reception to celebrate the new restaurant. The restaurant is located in NE Washington, DC in the Hilton Garden Inn.

There were three stations of food and while two of them were mostly seafood, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the station in the middle was completely vegan.  Immediately, Todd showed me around and showed me what was vegan and told me he had two special soups for me as well. On the vegan station, there was this wonderful kalamata olive tapenade, Israeli hummus with pita chips, and bruschetta. Although all of these items are quite common at a reception, they were especially good here. Todd also prepared a wonderful corn bisque with scallions and roasted tomatoes that was incredibly delightful. It was deliciously creamy, yet there was no cream! This dish is on his regular menu, but with some type of seafood so I'm sure you can just order it without the meat. The other soup he brought out was a tomato gazpacho that was loaded with flavor.  But, I wouldn't have expected anything less from Todd.

Ellen, Todd, and me

Todd Gray is, in my opinion, the best chef in DC. Although he serves mainly meat-based dishes at both of his restaurants, Equinox and Watershed, he is an incredibly versatile chef who truly enjoys cooking vegan. In fact, his wife, Ellen Kassoff Gray, is vegetarian and is the co-owner and mastermind behind the marketing for both restaurants. Together, they are a power couple in the restaurant scene in DC. Although I haven't enjoyed a formal sit-down dinner at the Watershed, based upon this experience, I would say that the food is very good. I highly recommend visiting one of his restaurants if you are in the DC area. Just let them know when you are making the reservation that you are vegan and they'll take it from there.

Fine & Raw Chocolate, Brooklyn

As I was perusing the Brooklyn Flea Market, I stumbled upon a fine raw chocolatier called, "Fine & Raw Chocolate."  The woman at the booth was excited to tell me about the chocolate -- letting me know that while some of the bars could be found in the local Whole Foods, the bonbons were only available at the market. After much discussion about her chocolate, I picked up a box of the cacao & agave bonbons and only now was I able to taste this delicacy. They are amazingly smooth for raw chocolate. As I indulged in this sweet sin, I enjoyed the bitterness of the raw cacao tempered by the sweetness of the agave -- ah, a perfect match. The packaging is also impressive, that is, if you are into that sort of thing. It is a very clean design and the bonbons are nicely wrapped in paper with decorative tape.

If you are in Brooklyn on the weekend during the summer, I highly recommend picking some of these up...and probably some of their chocolate bars as well. 

Great Sage's raw dinner, Clarksville, MD

I've become a bit of a raw vegan connoisseur having dined at such fine establishments as the Blossoming Lotus in Portland, Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco, Elizabeth's Gone Raw in Washington, DC, Grass Root in Tampa, and Pure Food and Wine in NYC. I've also chosen raw items on the menu at Karyn's on Green in Chicago and other restaurants. All have been great. 

So, I preface this review by stating that I have many points of comparison and, unfortunately, Great Sage's raw meal, is going to come out on the bottom of this ranking. I will also note that while Great Sage (located in Clarksville, MD) is a great vegan [cooked food] restaurant, it is not a raw vegan restaurant. They do a raw meal about twice a year. This particular one was a 5-course prix fixe with only one seating. 

It started with an "amuse", which was really the first course -- this was a "mushroom ceviche" with a flax cracker, chipotle cream and a cashew brie. It was fine, but nothing special. The cracker wasn't nearly as good as ones I've had at Elizabeth's, Pure, or Grass Root. The cashew brie was kind of weird. The chipotle cream was spicy and pretty good, but it didn't pair well with the marinated mushrooms. It felt like a lot of random stuff on a plate.

Mushroom ceviche with chipotle cream

For the second course, there was a salad of wilted kale and watercress topped with avocado, candied pecans, and shaved fennel in a lemon-olive oil emulsion. This was pretty good. The kale was soft and the dressing was savory. The pecans didn't go well with it, in my opinion, though. Throughout the dinner, the size of some of the portions of food was a bit too large. This salad could have been an entree in and of itself. When I go for a 5-course meal, I want a sampling of 5 courses, not a full course in each of the 5 courses!

The third course was a sweet corn puree soup with bell pepper oil and ripe grape tomatoes. I did not like this dish at all. The corn soup was chunky and had this bitter aftertaste that I couldn't get over. Again, the portion size was way too large. It was a nice presentation though.

Sweet corn soup

The intermezzo was a local wild berry ice with mint infusion. It was more like a puree of wild berries without any sweetness to it. It really needed some sugar.

The fourth course was definitely the best course. It was jalapeno-pecan tacos with guacamole and sour cashew cream. These were really good. The nutty mixture inside the taco shells was delicious and the "shells" were just right. The flavors blended well with the cream and guacamole. The chef did a great job with this one.

Jalapeno-pecan tacos

Finally, for dessert, they served a banana split. It was a banana with macadamia-agave ice cream topped with caramel and fudge. The caramel sauce was delicious -- sweet and fulfilling. The ice cream was way too nutty. Now, I know what you are thinking - the ice cream is made of nuts so of course it will be nutty. Not so. The ice cream at Pure is smooth as anything and scrumptious. This one was not -- way too nutty and gritty. The fudge was thick and chunky as well. And, again, the dessert was way too large. One scoop would have been more than enough for this rich dish.

Banana split

So, in the end, I was mostly disappointed. A few of the dishes were good, but none were spectacular. If you are in the DC-Baltimore area, I would recommend Elizabeth's Gone Raw as the raw restaurant of choice.

Great Sage
5809 Clarksville Square Drive
Clarksville, MD 21029
(443) 535-9400

Nuts on Clark cashews, Chicago

This is my first food product review! No better way to kick this off than with my favorite cashews in the world from Nuts on Clark in Chicago. Okay, so you are wondering how one cashew could be better than another, right?! Well, I pretty much eat cashews every day and I have to say that these are the best cashews I've ever had. They are salted and roasted to perfection - not overcooked like many of the local cashews or the ones I find at Whole Foods. They are super flavorful -- melting in your mouth and not in your hands. Don't let their lack of updated packaging or marketing throw you off - these cashews are the real deal! If you fly through O'Hare or Midway or spend time in Chicago AND love cashews, then you have to pick some of these up. And, if you would, please pick some up for me too. I can never get enough with the luggage weight limits these days. *sigh*