Karyn's on Green, Chicago

UPDATE: This restaurant has permanently closed.
 
Karyn's on Green first opened a couple years ago as yet another restaurant in the Karyn's empire and I was one of the first to dine there. Upscale, vegan restaurants are few and far between so it is particularly exciting when a new one opens. This time, I was in Chicago for a few days and wanted to see how the restaurant had evolved since its inception. I couldn't convince anyone else to join me so I headed over alone.

From Karyn's on Green's website

The restaurant is off the main strip in a neighborhoody type area. The decor is very modern and crisp with white walls and a white backlit bar along with contrasting dark wood accents. The decorations and fixtures imparted a natural feel with large plants, bamboo sticks, and a large waterfall along the wall. Above the door, a Buddha watches over.

I started with the Skinny Vegan drink because I really wanted something light. It was made with VeeV Acai Spirit, fresh raspberries, fresh lemons, agave nectar, and club soda. It was listed as only 100 calories, which is great because I was getting ready to order a lot of food. :)

I asked my waiter whether I should try the roasted foraged mushrooms or just a salad. He recommended the salad because he said their salads are very unique. Sure, why not?! So, I ordered the Spinach-Endive salad that had red onion with shaved watermelon radish. The radish was beautiful - I'd never seen one of these before!  The Bosc pear vinaigrette complemented the greens nicely. I really enjoyed this salad.

The bread they put on the table was especially good. There was some mix-up with my order so I ended up waiting about 40 minutes for my entree during which time, I enjoyed the bread. They apologized several times and offered me a free glass of wine for my inconvenience. That sounded good to me. I ordered a Malbec '10 Pulenta La Flor Mednoza from Argentina, which was nice and light.

Finally, my entree arrived -- I ordered the "crab cake." It is made in-house with texturized wheat and soy protein. It really tasted like crab to me. It was served with a quinoa succotash with black-eyed peas over a vanilla-sweet corn puree. The succotash was delicious and paired so well with the sweet-corn puree and cilantro oil.  The dish was garnished with chili threads, which added some heat. It was incredibly balanced with just the right flavors and texture.

For dessert, I decided to try the German apple cake. This cake was pure perfection. It was a spongy upside down apple cake with spiced apples, vegan vanilla bean ice cream, caramel, and a dried apple chip. The cake was incredibly moist, the ice cream was creamy and the caramel was dreamy. I only wish I could take the whole cake home.

Afterwards, my waiter, Derek, told me that they are making most items in house now and also trying to buy locally sourced products, which is great. I mentioned that the last time I was here a few years ago, we tried the "chicken" legs and they were made by a Chinese company. He mentioned they are still using that brand. So, not everything is made in-house, but most things are.  The manager also stopped by and told me that the chef, Jonathon Garecki, has been there since last spring. He started as a line cook, advanced to sous chef, and is now the head chef -- all within a few months. And...he is only 22 years old! Wow! I gave my complements to the chef.

Karyn's on Green is a great place to go for a special dinner. The small plates are around $10 each and the large entrees are around $15 each so it certainly is a great value for the money. The service was great despite the long wait for my entree, which they made up for by offering me a glass of wine. I think this is one of the best vegan restaurants in the country. And I love their new tagline -- Making Vegan Sexy. And that they are. Highly recommended.

Karyn's On Green
130 South Green Street
Chicago, IL 60607

(312) 226-6155

Vegan Brunch at Muse - May 2012 - Giveaway!

I'm about as anti-brunch as it gets. I eat breakfast at 8 a.m. every day even on the weekends. So to have breakfast in the middle of the day seems ludicrous to me. And to not offer lunch items during brunch really irks me. Yeah, I said "irks." That said, when I saw the menu for brunch at Todd Gray's Muse at The Corcoran Gallery of Art, I was like - "okay, maybe brunch isn't such a bad idea sometimes."  By sometimes, I mean once a month at Muse. That is how often they are going to offer a 100% gourmet vegan brunch -- the only one of its kind in Washington, DC.

So, I invite you to join me at Todd Gray's Muse at the Corcoran this Sunday, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. as they host the first of their monthly vegan brunches, which just happens to be on the 1st anniversary of the inception of my blog! How awesome is that?!  They'll be introducing a new menu that any carnivore would love, created to marry nicely with the fantastic vegan baked goods from Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats.

The main menu includes:

• Bananas foster vegan pancakes with carmelized baby banana
• Grilled polenta with asparagus sauce
• Roasted mushroom and black walnut pate with toasted baguette
• Macaroni salad with green peas and ramps
• Fried artichoke with lemon vinaigrette
• Plantain fritters with black bean and red onion marmalade
• Roasted potato wedges with truffle salt
• Smoked tempeh and roasted garlic cassoulet
• Pineapple and strawberry salad with basil coulis

Goodness gracious! Have I died and gone to heaven?! The price for adults is $25, which does not include cocktails. Children age 12 or younger dine for $12. Reservations are recommended. To make yours, email reservations@toddgraysmuse.com.

Now, here is the best part -- I am giving away a complimentary brunch for two for this Sunday! For a chance to win, just enter below by 12 p.m. EST on Friday, May 18. The winner will be announced on this blog on Friday.

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.

Muse Brunch Giveaway:

• Prize: Complimentary brunch for two (not including cocktails) on Sunday, May 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Deadline to enter: Friday, May 18 by 12 p.m. EST
• Winners will be announced on this blog on Friday evening. 

Eat Pastry - Cookie Dough

I like to cook and Zach likes to bake -- that makes us the perfect dinner party-hosting couple! I just don't like making an entire cake or batch of cookies only to have it sit there in my home staring at me as I rush to try to eat it all before it goes bad. It is just too much pressure. So, when I first saw the Eat Pastry cookie dough in the refrigerated section, I thought 'what a great idea!' Now, I can make my cookies and eat them too without any fuss!

Eat Pastry has been around for a couple of years now and specializes in vegan cookies. It was started by Jessie and Alfredo, a couple who met in pastry school. They worked hard to perfect their cookies and with such a wide distribution, now anyone can enjoy them.

Currently, they make seven different varieties: chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin chocolate chip, chocoholic chip, gluten-free chocolate chip, gluten-free sugar momma, gluten-free snickerdoodle. In DC, you can get three varieties: peanut butter chocolate chip, gluten-free chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin chocolate chip so these were the ones we tried.

We noticed that the instructions for the gluten-free cookies were slightly different than the others, but being greedy and impatient, we tried to make them all work on one cookie pan. So, we heated the oven to 340-degrees (even though the GF ones are supposed to be on 350-degrees) and scooped two of each onto a greased pan. It also states to use a parchment-lined baking sheet, but I didn't have any parchment paper so we just smeared some Earth Balance on the cookie sheet instead.

As we baked them, we took a close look at the zany packaging. It is really cute and matches the zany website as well. Seriously, go to the website -- it is like Alice in Wonderland in cookie heaven! I keep waiting for the cheshire cat to jump out from behind the ferris wheel!

After about 15 minutes, they were done. We took them out of the oven and placed them on a cooling rack for a few minutes, then devoured. We loved them all!

The oatmeal raisin chocolate chip was our favorite just because we loved to have both oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip in one cookie. Why didn't I think of this? They were soft, chewy, and delightful!

The peanut butter chocolate chip was the softest and oh, so good.

The gluten-free chocolate chip cookies were a completely different texture as they were thinner and flakier, but I really liked them too!

But, wait! I couldn't stop there. Next, I made a new batch of oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. Once they cooled, I spread vanilla flavor Almond Dream ice cream on one, then topped it with another. OMG - this cookie sandwich was to die for. Imagine delicious almond-based ice cream melting in between two slightly warm and absolutely perfect oatmeal cookies with raisins and chocolate chips. Oh, god. I bet you just gained 3 pounds reading this description, but you liked it and will be back for more.

Now, I just need to get my hands on a container of the chocoholic chip -- oh, that sounds so good! The best part about these is that you can just make one or two (or five) cookies and then just close up the container and save the dough for another day. You don't need to make an entire batch of cookies so it is great for a single woman (or man)! To find a store near you, go to the website and click "buy." You'll be glad you did.

Shaved Zucchini and Sacha Inchi Salad

It isn't often that I make a raw salad that makes me say, "Wow!" out loud, but that is exactly what happened here. The Shaved Zucchini and Sacha Inchi Salad from Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health is refreshing and super flavorful!

What the heck are sacha inchi seeds? Sacha Inchi is one of the most nutritionally rich plants in the rainforest. Its seeds are a rich source of digestible protein, Omega 3, and vitamins. In fact, the sacha inchi seeds have a higher concentration of unsaturated fatty acids Omega 3, 6, and 9  than anything else including flax seeds. They were introduced to me by a Washington, DC-based company called "Sacha Vida."  They have an unusual nutty taste to them and the best part about using them in a salad is that they don't get soft so you can put them in your salad, put it in the refrigerator for a week, and they are still as hard and fresh as the first day you made the salad! Love these seeds!

Shaved Zucchini and Sacha Inchi Salad
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
Dressing

• 1/3 cup hemp oil (I used flax oil instead)
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

Salad

• 2 pounds medium zucchini, trimmed
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped sacha inchi seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
For the dressing, mix the oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and red pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

Using a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini into ribbons, working from the top to the bottom of each zucchini. Stop when you reach the seeds. Put the ribbons into a large bowl.

Add basil and chopped sacha inchi.

 Then add the dressing. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper as desired.

OXO Good Grips 5 lb. Scale Giveaway Winner

I'm pleased to announce that Melanie B. from Janesville, WI is the winner of a new OXO Good Grips 5 lb. food scale with pull-out display! Congratulations! Melanie said that she would use it for recipe preparation as well as to help her and her family eat more reasonably sized portions. Well, now you can!

Here is what she won:
OXO’s user-friendly Food Scale with Pull-Out Display is perfect for weighing all ingredients. Weigh items directly on the platform, on a plate or in a bowl, and pull the display away from the base to prevent shadowing from large plates and bowls. Accurately measure ingredients when cooking and baking or stick to a diet by weighing portions.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered! You all gave me some great ideas on how to use my new scale. Here are some of my favorites:

• Gloria K. of Keystone Heights, FL said she'd use it to measure pasta, flour, and sugar.
• Reena K. of Washington, DC said she'd use it for Jim Lahey's bread recipes and others requiring more precision.
• Courtney M. of Mount Morris, NY said she uses a scale for most of her meals to ensure proper portion sizes so she can watch her calorie intake.
• My mother also entered and said, "I would absolutely love this scale and since I have a vegan in the family, it would come in handy perfecting the recipes I need to prepare for my vegan." Cute, Mom.

Thanks again to everyone who entered!

Whole Foods Vegan Donuts

I've often thought how wonderful life might be if only Whole Foods sold vegan donuts. Come to find out they do. And not only do they sell vegan donuts, they actually make them in house at many Whole Foods in the nation. Why doesn't mine?  Well, life isn't always fair. But, I will enjoy them whenever I travel.

The purpose of this post is just to give everyone out there some hope that perhaps someday your Whole Foods will offer them too. In San Ramon in East Bay (northern California), they only sell vegan donuts meaning they don't sell non-vegan donuts. They don't have to because they are that good. And they sell several varieties. They are all cake donuts and all are delicious.

Blueberry cake donut

In the only Whole Foods in Tampa, which has, by the way, no vegan restaurants, they sell regular non-cake vegan donuts. I should mention that it is extremely hard to find non-cake vegan donuts. They exist, but they are hard to find. They even had raspberry-filled donuts.  I chose the chocolate frosted one and while I did find it to be a bit dry, it was still good. And I loved the chocolate frosting.

I love having the option to buy vegan donuts in Whole Foods and really hope all Whole Foods will sell them soon. Go to your Whole Foods and request them now (and bring my pics). :)

Teaism, DC

Teaism is an Asian-inspired teahouse in DC that serves a variety of vegan dishes. This cafe moved into the district proper in 1998 and I have not known DC without them. There are three locations, but my favorite is the one in Penn Quarter only because that is one of my favorite areas to eat. Other locations include Lafayette Park and Dupont Circle. Each of their restaurants consists of a tea shop at which you can buy tea kettles, tea cups, and a variety of teas; and a restaurant.

On this particular occasion, I had been sitting in a jury selection room for the past five hours without any food or drink so I was very hungry. It was about 1:15 p.m. when I walked in and I was hoping that the lunch crowd would have cleared by then, but, alas, I was not so lucky. As soon as I opened the door, I saw the typical line all the way to the door.  It usually moves pretty quickly as was the case that day and I at the front of the line within a few minutes. My two favorite dishes are the Japanese veggie bento box and the seitan stir-fry. It is always a toss-up between the two and this time the seitan stir-fry won.  I placed my order and waited for my number to be called.

The cafe is really nice with dark wood accents and a clear, easy-to-read menu. There is some seating on the main floor where you first walk in and additional seating downstairs. I always prefer to sit downstairs. After about 5 minutes, they called my number, I picked up my food, and headed downstairs. I took a seat at a 2-person table and took a look around. The lunch crowd was in full swing at almost half past one o'clock.

I took a sip of my ginger limeade, which I always love. It was as perfect as always.

My entree, however, was not. They had plopped a large scoop of brown rice on top of the seitan stir-fry. I mean there was a lot of rice. I've ordered this dish many times before and the rice is not usually placed on top of the other food. When I finally pushed all of the brown rice over to the side, I realized there was much less of the greens and seitan than they usually serve. That was disappointing. The flavors in the dish were still very good -- they saute the greens and [store-bought] seitan in a sweet chili sauce made with soy sauce and sugar and top it with macadamia nuts. It is so simple, yet so pleasing.  The brown rice is topped with white and black sesame seeds. The dish, itself, was great -- the portions were just off and the presentation was lacking.

As I was walking out, I was reminded of the poor captive Koi fish they have in a pond on that level. As much as I love to see them, it saddens me that they keep these big fish in an artificial pond inside the restaurant. They aren't even allowed enough space to swim about freely.

I love the food at Teaism as it is usually pretty consistent albeit maybe not so much this time. The stir fry is $9.75 so a little pricey for lunch, but the dinner prices and portions are exactly the same as they are at lunch so it isn't too bad considering that. Now, if only they would release those Koi back into their natural habitat...

Teaism
400 8th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 638-6010