Vegan Brunch at Muse - June 2012 - Giveaway!

DC's only vegan brunch returns again this month on Sunday, June 24 at Todd Gray's Muse at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Last month's bananas foster pancakes with carmelized bananas were absolutely amazing, but this month's menu rivals that one.  I actually went to the vegan brunch last month to try it out and loved it. This could actually change my views on brunch as we know it -- history in the making!

Once again, I am giving away 2 tickets to one lucky winner for complimentary brunch on June 24!   

Here is this month's brunch menu:

• Vegan Deviled Eggs with whipped tofu "yolks" and Cavi-art
• Banana Bread and Brown Sugar Pancakes with sweet pecan butter sauce and marinated West-Virginia strawberries
•  Grilled Byrd Mill Polenta with grilled vidalia onion, thyme, and grana padano
• Local Heirloom Tomato and Cucumber Salad with mint pesto and cracked black pepper
• Sweet Corn and New Potato Boil with vegan sausage, old bay, and thyme
• Watermelon Salad with shaved fennel, mint, extra virgin olive oil, and lime
• Compressed Summer Fruit Terrine with Moscato D'asti Gelee and Tahitian Vanilla
• Market Salad with marinated peaches in five spice
• Desserts by Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats

I can not wait to try the brown sugar pancakes with sweet pecan butter sauce and marinated strawberries! Now, just tell me which menu item sounds the best to you and I'll choose a winner at random this week!

Muse Brunch Giveaway:

• Prize: Complimentary brunch for two (not including cocktails) on Sunday, June 24 
• Seating time: must choose either 11 a.m. or 12:45 p.m.
• Deadline to enter: Thursday, June 14 by 5 p.m. EST
• Winners will be announced on this blog on Friday, June 15

About Muse: A fresh to-go-style concept by celebrated chef Todd Gray, Muse offers handcrafted, seasonal options with a focus on sustainable, and local fresh foods as well as offers a number of vegetarian and vegan options.

Sjaak's Organic Chocolates - Vegan European Assortment

Sjaak's Organic Chocolates is a small family-owned business that was started by a couple, a vegetarian confectioner from Holland and his wife, many years ago. Today, they offer many types of vegan chocolates including bars, chocolate-covered nuts, and truffles. As a gift, my mother recently sent me a box of their Vegan European Assortment of truffles.

This assortment came with a Coffee Truffle, Almond Creme, Raspberry Truffle, Pecan Caramel, English Toffee, Solid Dark Chocolate, Almond Truffle, Hazelnut Creme, and Peanut Caramel.  Each one of these chocolates was good, but definitely not amazing, at least not when compared to other brands I've had.

The caramels were like regular hard caramels and they were okay, but not fantastic.

I really liked the Coffee Truffle as the coffee flavor gave it a little "oomph." It had a hard outside shell while the core was soft and creamy.

My favorite though, surprisingly, were just the plain solid dark chocolate flowers. They were simple, yet rich and very good.

I especially like the statement on the back of each box that states, "By choosing this Fair Trade product you are directly supporting a better life for farming families through fair prices, direct trade, community development, and environmental stewardship."

Sjaack's seems like the kind of company that I like to support. Their products are some of the most reasonably priced on the market with a box of truffles selling for only $12. There are definitely better truffles out there (like Rose City and Allison's), but these easier to find than most specialty vegan truffles. In a pinch, I'd be happy to pick up a box of these for $12 at my local natural foods store when most of the other brands are available by mail order only.

Capital City Bakery, Austin

Our first stop in Austin was the Whole Foods. Why? Because Austin is home of the first Whole Foods and is Whole Foods' headquarters. Not to mention it is one of the biggest Whole Foods in the world!  While in Whole Foods, we ran into Chris and Crystal of Food for Lovers -- they make an awesome queso! They recommended that we go to Capital City Bakery to try their baked goods. Who could resist a glowing recommendation?

So, we kept that in the back of our minds and headed to eat at Conscious Cravings. Little did we realize that not only is Capital City Bakery a food trailer, it is right next to Conscious Cravings, a vegetarian (almost fully vegan) food trailer. How convenient! And it is a fully vegan bakery! Had Chris not recommended them though, I might not have gone over to take a look because the word "vegan" was nowhere to be seen.

When we walked over to check it out, the baker was cooking up a storm. The items that were already available included cupcakes, cookies, and brownies. Oh, which one to choose? The brownies were super thick, the cookies super fresh, and the cupcakes adorable. From strawberry to blondies, all of the cupcakes looked superb.

The baker/owner, Kristen Davenport, recommended her signature cupcake -- the peanut butter crunch. Oh my gosh, it was sooo good. It was a super moist chocolate cake topped with peanut butter icing, chocolate sauce, and ground chick-o-sticks. It truly tasted like a Butterfinger cupcake.

Afterwards, I went back to talk to Kristen only to find out that she had just opened this location 5 days ago! I was so excited to be one of her first customers.  On her website it states, "The connection between food, our health, and the world around us is undeniable - We’re dedicated to providing an alternative choice in attempt to preserve the environment, protect animals, and unite people through a love of food and a desire for progression." Love it. Go there now and get a cupcake. That is an order.

Capital City Bakery
1901 Rio Grande
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 666-7437

Creamy Garlic and Dill Potato Salad

Summer is right around the corner and that means it'll be picnic season. It is right around this time of year when I start thinking about how to spice up my potato salad.  This year I've developed a picnic pleaser using So Good! Miso Mayo Garlic 'n' Dill mayonnaise alternative. Miso Mayo is this awesome vegan spread made of miso, tamari, herbs, and spices.  By using Miso Mayo instead of mayonnaise, you will be amazed at how delicious your potato salad will become. You are gonna love this salad. Just be sure to make it a few hours in advance as it takes a while for the potatoes to cool.

Creamy Garlic and Dill Potato Salad

Ingredients

• 3 pounds petite Yukon gold potatoes
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup So Good! Miso Mayo Garlic 'n' Dill mayonnaise alternative
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 of a large onion)
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• Fresh dill for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Put the potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover them by about an inch. Bring the water to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes.

While they are cooking, cut the white parts off of the celery, then cut the stalks lengthwise. Cut across into 1/4 inch slices.

 

Mix the celery, salt, Miso Mayo, red onion, vinegar, lemon juice, and mustard in a large bowl.

 

When the potatoes are done, drain them in a colander, then return them to the uncovered pot off the stove. Cooling them in the warm pot will get rid of any excess water in the potatoes and that is what we want. Let them sit until they are room temperature. This will take a while.

When they are cool, cut the each potato in half, then cut each half into quarters. Add them to the bowl as you go while mixing them with the dressing. Be sure to coat all of the potatoes with the dressing. Keep covered at room temperature until ready to serve.

 

Serve with dill garnish or chop up some dill and sprinkle on top.

The soft potatoes paired with the fresh celery and onion and coated with the Miso Mayo is a great combination. Enjoy!

Dukem, DC

Dukem is rated as one of the top Ethiopian restaurants in DC and it's where I used to enjoy taking people who've never had Ethiopian. Now, I'm not so sure. It is located right on U Street in the U Street Corridor, an area known for its Ethiopian restaurants and jazz establishments.  On Friday and Saturday nights, it is best to make a reservation as they perform live Ethiopian music to a packed house.

On this particular visit, me and my brother were just going for lunch on a Sunday. There weren't many people there so we had our pick of tables. They were playing Ethiopian music over the speakers and showing the Jackson Five dancing on big screen -- a funny combination.  My brother had never had Ethiopian before so I took the liberty of ordering the vegetarian sampler for two with seven items. I will note that they have spelled vegetarian wrong on the menu for many years and I really wish they would correct it. I also don't like how they list the option to add fish to your vegetarian platter as if that is what most people do. When I ordered, my waitress asked me if I wanted fish. I politely said, "no," with a bit of a scowl on my face.

I ordered a mango juice to start. The mango juice is really just pulp and is pretty good as long as you are okay with drinking a thicker pulpy drink.

Ethiopian food is eaten with your hands -- no utensils supplied. All of the food is served with injera, a spongy bread made of teff.  When they brought our platter out to us, they had only brought one piece of injera so I asked for one more.  All of the entrees are placed on a piece of injera that is laid over the platter. This platter included spicy split lentils, yellow peas, greens, cabbage and carrots, shiro (made of powdered chickpeas), tomato salad, and potatoes.

My favorite dish is always the spicy split red lentils. I also love the yellow peas even though they aren't that spicy.  The cabbage and carrots dish is delicious as is the salad and greens. The only one I really didn't like is the shiro as it tasted odd. The potato dish is the one of the top left that was very rich -- I enjoyed that one as well.  The one thing about Dukem I don't like is that they don't make their dishes spicy enough. Meskerem, another Ethiopian restaurant in DC, does a better job of this.

The injera wasn't as soft and spongy as it normally is, which was really disappointing. It usually is better, but wasn't that good this time.

The service is always pretty lax here so it took a while to get our check.  I was surprised to see that I was charged for the extra piece of injera. Most other Ethiopian restaurants including Meskerem do not charge for injera. Oh, well.

So, while I continue to go to Dukem every so often, overall I prefer Meskerem. Dukem really needs to spice up their entrees and stop charging for injera, which are some basics of running a good Ethiopian restaurant. With so much competition in DC for Ethiopian food, they need to improve their game. That said, I do enjoy the live music so it is a good place to go to have a holistic experience -- Ethiopian food and live entertainment! But, for just good food, head to Meskerem in Adams Morgan.

Dukem
1114 - 1118 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 667-8735

Chocolate Inspirations - Chocolate Brownie

I've reviewed a bunch of products from Chocolate Inspirations in the past, but they still continue to impress me. The Chocolate Inspirations brownie made by St. Honore is rich with a flaky outside layer and a moist inside layer. It is sinfully delicious chocolate goodness and who would even guess it is also gluten-free?!

Yet another great product from Chocolate Inspirations!

Eatonville, DC #2

The last time I wrote about Eatonville was during restaurant week many months ago (see my review here). At that time, they had a new chef named "Oji" who was rocking the menu. He offered some vegan options that week that were absolutely delicious, but I never tried the ones he added to the regular menu.

So me and my friend, Pam, headed over to the U Street Corridor restaurant on a Thursday night to check out the menu. Eatonville is a large Southern restaurant owned by Andy Shallal who also owns Busboys and Poets.  It was named for the Florida hometown of a poet, Zora Neale Hurston, which was the country’s first, post-Civil War, African American incorporated town and the focal point in her most famous work, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

I've always loved the decor and ambiance at Eatonville. At night, they keep the lighting low, which makes the murals on the wall really jump out. It had been a long week for both of us so we started with some alcoholic drinks -- the Grown and Sexy, which our waiter kindly remarked described us very well. Cute. It was made with Grey Goose Le Poire, pomegranate juice and lemonade. It was very sweet and really hit the spot.

For my first course, I ordered a simple Eatonville mixed greens salad. It was a large salad with cucumber and yellow and red tomatoes tossed in a citrus dressing. It was nice, but nothing special. I wouldn't have eaten it all had the service not been so slow. But, they took so long bringing my entree out that I eventually ate the entire salad.

I asked my waiter if Chef Oji was there and he told me that Oji had left the restaurant to start his own catering business. When I asked who the new chef was, he said they were training a sous chef to take over, but at the moment there was no executive chef. Hmmm...I wonder how the menu will evolve in the near future. The manager, Michael, also recently left so it seems they've seen a lot of turnover.

When they finally served my entree, it was well worth waiting for. I ordered the jerk-marinated tofu, which was served with broccolini and mushroom ragout. The tofu was marinated in a jerk sauce and grilled to perfection. Although it was a tad bit dry, the spicy jerk flavor was perfect. It went well with the broccolini, which I should mention was a bit too salty. The mushroom ragout, on the other hand, could have been a dish of its own -- it was spicy yet creamy with a strong garlic taste. The tofu, broccolini, and mushroom ragout went together quite well.

We spent more time there than we probably should have due to the slow service, but it was a good experience. The food is a bit pricey for what it is thought with the salad at $7 and the tofu dish at $14. As I mentioned before though, I really like the ambiance. I'm interested to see how this menu will evolve once they appoint the new chef. I'll be back soon.

Eatonville
2121 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 332-9672