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

Adam's Mountain Cafe, Colorado Springs

Beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado -- the land of mountains and crisp, clear skies. Unfortunately, it is not the land of vegan restaurants or even vegan options! I had to reach far and wide to find them and Adam's Mountain Cafe was one of my best finds.

Nestled in a stone lodge, was a quaint, warm restaurant. With a very old-school feel, the restaurant's decor was cabin-like with large wood beams across the ceiling and old-school wood furnishings. Me and my friend were seated near the bar. We were warned that Adam's is all about slow food rather than fast food -- real food cooked slowly. That sounds like my cup of tea. The warning came from someone who was insinuating that it may take a long time to eat there. But, it actually didn't.

I started with the Tree Line Martini made with small batch whiskey, Three Pins Alpine Herb Liquor, fresh lemon, house ginger simple syrup, and bitters. It was good, but not fantastic.

For dinner, there were a few items marked as vegan on their small menu like a spicy curry. I went with one of the "favorites" -- the Sengalese Vegetables. This dish was huge. Served over udon noodles was a mix of snow peas, carrots, onions, celery, cauliflower, and potatoes in a thick peanut sauce. And I added sesame crusted tofu. I found it to be very, very filling and a good hearty meal, but there was a bit too much peanut sauce. I think it needed some fresh herbs for some oomph.

Where this restaurant really shined though was with its dessert menu!  A menu that changes regularly is printed on a blackboard. There were three vegan options on this day including a rice pudding. But, I ordered the Vanilla Bean Cake because it looked most interesting. The super moist vanilla cake was topped with a lavender anglais and served with cashew cream ice cream. It was spectacular!

All in all, of the few options in Colorado Springs, this is one of the best. The main dish was filling and fresh and the dessert was truly spectacular. The service was so-so as the restaurant was very busy. And the prices were high with my main dish being $18 alone. With two drinks, a main dish, and a dessert, my total with tip was about $60.  But, hey, that's what you get in this small mountain town. I'd recommend giving it a try if you are in the hood.

Adam's Mountain Cafe
26 Manitou Avenue
Manitou Springs, CO 80829
(719) 685-1430

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

Plant Food and Wine, Los Angeles

After having experienced Matthew Kenney's fantastic raw cuisine at the recently defunct M.A.K.E., I was so excited to try out his new restaurant -- Plant. Unlike M.A.K.E., Plant is not exclusively raw vegan, but instead features both raw and cooked cuisine.  Matthew Kenney is one of the top raw vegan chefs in the world, so I was quite surprised to see that the restaurant featured mostly cooked food.

The restaurant itself is absolutely beautiful. Located on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, it surrounded by funky little shops and cafes. Inside, it is all black and white with splashes of color. From the marble-like tables to contemporary vases, this restaurant screams elegance. Outside, the courtyard is absolutely stunning with its large wooden tables and beautiful flowers and greenery.

My first visit was on a Sunday during brunch. I started with the Chili Beach drink made with chili infused sake, pineapple, cilantro, and Meyer lemon salt. I found it to be tasty, but not well balanced. I'd try something different next time.

For my meal, I ordered the Polenta Scramble. It featured seared polenta topped with broccolini, king oyster mushrooms, almond gremolata, and green harissa along with sweet potato hash. It was incredibly good -- all the flavors meshed together so well. I was really impressed. They also brought out a trio of sauces including an aioli, and two hot sauces. The habanero hot sauce was delicious, but I think I ate way too much of it as I had a stomachache later. :-(

I had such a good experience that I returned with a friend the next day for lunch. After some mineral water and mimosa, we were ready to place our orders.

We started with a two-cheese plate featuring nut cheeses.  The white truffle cheese made with cashews and macadamia nuts was definitely our favorite, but the peppercorn, also made with cashews and macadamia nuts, came in a tight second. Both were incredibly flavorful and had my non-vegan friend raving about vegan nut cheeses. They were served with pickled apples, mustard seeds, and some of the best raw crackers ever made with fennel and flax.

For my entree, I ordered the Roasted Tomato Sandwich. This thick artisan grilled bread had a luscious smoked cheddar nut cheese on it with roasted tomatoes and avocado. Although it was a bit too much bread, the flavors were incredible.

My friend ordered the Mushroom and Vegetable Burger, which was a rich, thick burger on thin spelt flatbread with pickles, lettuce, and carrot ketchup. We liked everything but the flatbread and both preferred the tomato sandwich to the burger.

The service at Plant was pretty good both times I went. There also weren't many people dining either time I went. As it is still new, perhaps they haven't yet built up a customer base. No matter because the fact is that the food is exquisite. The brunch item was $14 and the lunch items were $13-$14 each -- well worth it in my opinion. And the atmosphere is great. This is one of the best vegan restaurants I've been to in LA and I highly recommend you visit it as soon as you can.

Plant
1009 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 450-1009

Real Food Daily, Los Angeles #3

Real Food Daily is one of those restaurants that people return to over and over again because they consistently serve good food. This all-vegan mostly organic restaurant has three locations and I think this may have been my first visit to the Santa Monica location.

The Santa Monica restaurant features light wood and soft lighting for a relaxed feel. We started with a couple glasses of wine as we perused the menu. I am familiar with many of their dishes, but there are still many items that I have not tried. To keep it fresh, we ordered off the seasonal specials menu.

First up was the Three Amigos -- crunchy cauliflower fritters with romesco sauce and jalapeno aioli. The texture was delightful and the flavors perfect.

For our entree, we split the Caribbean Quesadillas. They were made with spinach, caramelized onions, coconut lentil puree, and pepperjack Daiya cheese in a whole wheat tortilla. The coconut lentil puree and coconut cilantro cashew cream really made the meal. On the side were some fantastic grilled plantains and a mango salsa.

After all that, we still wanted to try some dessert. The Brownie Bowl is to die for. The rich thick brownie is topped with chocolate sauce and coconut ice cream. It was incredibly decadent and my non-vegan friend remarked that it was as good if not better than any other brownie bowl he'd ever had.

Although the service was a bit spotty, all in all we had a great experience. The appetizer was $13 and the quesadillas were $17, but for mostly organic high-quality cuisine, I thought it was appropriately priced. Real Food Daily will continue to be one of my staples in the LA-area.

Real Food Daily
514 Santa Monica Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-7544