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"Where do you get your protein?" If you are vegan you have surely been asked this question. But lately I've been thinking that treating this question as an interrogation or implied nutritional advice is all wrong. I mean, why would near strangers care so much about my health? They wouldn't. What I think they are really asking is "Where do you get your satiation?" • Protein is the best source of satiation and thanks to government issued nutrition guidelines, our understanding of protein centers on meat. But as I've become an independent adult, I now to prefer my protein in the form of wheat gluten—seriously, don't leave me alone with your seitan, I will eat it all because I am human and I crave fullness. • In the search for satiation, @nativefoodscafe nailed the vegan formula. The seasonal menus now focus on burgers probably for this very reason. Of the new winter lot, the BBQ Brisket Burger ($12.5) is my favorite. The housemade seitan patty comes draped in crisp edged "brisket-style sliced seitan," @followyourheart smoked Gouda, ranch slaw, fresh pickle chips, BBQ sauce, and the rare unicorn of vegan deep fried treats—onion rings. I (and @coffeeandvegan) immediately asked if the onion rings come as a side... And while they are not on the menu as such, I have it on good authority that if you ask it may be possible—and a part of me wants everyone to ask so they will see the demand for battered and fried onions but another part of me doesn't want to be a dick and stress their lovely minimal wage employees. So proceed with mindfulness. ______________________________________ #VeganBurgersinSanDiego #VeganBurger #NativeFoodsCafe

Happy anniversary @barkindred... and to me. San Diego's newest vegan restaurant three years ago was were me and my now husband heading after our appointment with a county judge under an awning of bougainvillea on the edge of the pacific. I wore gold, drank a lot of bourbon, and ate almost the entire menu. Kindred has changed little since then except in one small way—this Chocolate Cremeux ($9). Significantly better they the Trifle served three years ago, a smooth ball chocolate pudding sits on a swath of black pepper créme anglaise, with a tidy scatter of gingered almonds, wedges of brûléed persimmon, and the beauty of bitter nasturtium flowers. ______________________________________ #VeganDessert #VeganDessertinSanDiego #ChocolateCremeux

We are living through a wild moment of veganism. With national chains dipping their toes into the shallow end of the vegan pool and fancy hotels adding vegan options—I can hear omnivores holding their tongue and not asking "but what can you eat?" because it is becoming so obvious. Stumbling across this vegan BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich ($16) in the swanky dinning room of @westgatehotel in downtown's San Diego shocked even me. Classic, French-leaning, kitchens rarely produce dishes this thoughtful and so in-your-face-vegan. • I wrote all about the breath of vegan options—along with some musing on the "Luxury didn't always mean loud" call to arms of @mcmansionhell—for @ediblesd (link in their bio). • I also regret not getting this information to you sooner because when I visited they had unexpectedly stylish Almond Milk Panna Cotta (second picture) served with one of the best almond cookies I've had in a very long time. They have a new dessert—Bittersweet Chocolate and Almond Mousse ($11)—that sounds just as creative. _____________________________________ #VeganSandwichinSanDiego #VeganPulledPork #WestgateHotel

Sometimes wishes do come true. Just a few week ago I lamented San Diego's City Heights lack of a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant. Then BAM, Nhà Hàng Chay Hoa Từ Bi Tâm rises from the still warm husk of Saigon Deli's unpopular second location on El Cajon Blvd and 46th St. • The operation is, um, casual. There is no menu at this time and I couldn't discern if there was anything available beyond the Noodle Soup ($5). So I ordered the noodle soup. After ordering the noodle soup a gentleman nipping herbs off their steams pointed me toward a not-hot bar and said I could take a Bánh Patê Sô (veggie "meat" hand pie), so I did. • The soup is, f'ing thank you, not pho. The broth, a murky brown brimming with flavor floats with a variety of mushrooms, fried tofu, sliced yuba cakes, cilantro, rice noodles, and a heavy pinch of black pepper. Arriving with a plate of lettuce, mint, bean sprouts and a slice of sweet Meyer lemon, the gentleman instructed me to add it to the soup. Lettuce in soup seems kind of weird, but turns out, I like it. • A women from the kitchen brought me a silver pitcher of chrysanthemum tea and a warm mochi ball in ginger syrup with coconut creme. As I finished the meal I waved to the kitchen to pay my bill. The gentleman raised five fingers—a deal I'll be back for. Soon. _________________________________________ #VeganSoupinSanDiego #VeganVietnameseinSanDiego #CityHeights

It annoys me that I like this so much. Poke UTC offers no vegan bowls and so I fill my lunch with omissions and the vegan tax. Still, I keep coming back—because, really, this isn't poke. The Japanese leaning ingredients come together to form a massive pile of deconstructed sushi. • I split the base ($8.95) between short grain brown rice and a young mix of greens. Skipping the fish all together, I get all mix-in mixed with each other: cucumber, onions, and strips of Inari—deep friend tofu pockets steeped in soy and sugar—tossed with the spicy poke sauce. Topped with a scoop of mashed avocado (+$1) and seaweed salad (+$1) and finished with scallions, edamame, cilantro, pickled ginger and radish, wasabi, and sesame seeds. It's sweet and spicy and very green and the $11 price tag pisses me off compared to $9 my fishy friends pay. Yet here I am. Annoyance has never tasted so good. ______________________________________ #VeganPokeinSanDiego #VeganSushiBowl #PokeUTC

My first experience at Surati Farsan was so not good that I never came back. But I heard they have a vegan menu (kept at register) so seemed like a good time for a do-over. • Pani Puri ($4.99) is my favorite of all the chaats I've tried. Deep fried bubbles stuffed with chickpeas, potatoes and a chutney that tastes of pure sugar, filled with limey puri water and eaten in one big burst of flavor. • Hungry for heat, I also ordered a Garlic Chili Dosa ($6.25). Mashed garlic, green chili, onion, potato, and mung beans are spread flattened inside of a crisp rice crepe. The side of soup holds vegetables chopped so fine it renders them indistinguishable beneath the speckles of chili oil. Served without chutney (contains dairy), I sopped up the Pani Puri spill over with a hand held Dosa mop. __________________________________________ #VeganIndianinSanDiego #VeganChaat #SuratiFarsan

My favorite of the @saltandstraw #Vegandulgence special was the one I thought I'd like the least: Toasted Coconut Milk & Cookies. Less coconuty then the Woopie Pie ice cream, the mellow vanilla base is strewn with caramelized shreds of coconut flesh and moments of rich molasses. Huge chunks of chewy salted chocolate chip cookies and ribbons of almond milk chocolate ganache complete this dynamic party pint. • The Heidi Ho’s Lemon Chevre Cheesecake was a close second favorite—and is apparently the best seller so far. Heidi Ho’s cashew Ne Chevre is pulsed into an ultra rich coconut milk base spotted and lemon zest with soft clumps of crumbled pie crust. • I know banana ice cream is a major rage in the WFPB and general banana loving population. I'm a member of neither. So the Elvis Peanut Butter Banana Split with bananas mashed into the coconut base was too much 'nana for me. • Recently, I was handed a Jamba Juice of unknown pedigree. I took a sip and spat it out. It was pungent and sour and obviously full of yogurt—which gives you an idea of what I think of sweet yogurt. So the Candied Apricot Faux-yo was fine, but not for me. • I know cones are popular, but I prefer the mutlibowl experience of the flight ($11.5) shared with a friend. ________________________________________ #VeganIceCreme #VeganinSanDiego #SaltandStraw

Americas like choice. The great wall of cereal lining supermarket aisles is a testament to our demand to be overwhelmed with options. Last year @saltandstraw released an outstanding all-vegan, 5 item, January specials menu. Then February came and it was back to scant choices. In my American opinion, that's not worth waiting in that crazy line for—so I never went back. January again sees the return of the "Vegandulgence" menu—but with a new promise. • This year when February rolls in the vegan options will *not* roll out. Moving forward, Salt and Straw is dedicated to making 20% of their menu vegan. This news, to me, is powerful. In 2019, the channels veganism has slowly cut through the omnivorous bedrock are finally reveling themselves. • Ice creme maker Tyler Malek has jumped head first into the vegan ice cream option. Like this, Oatmeal Moon Pies w/Aquafaba Marshmallow ($5). A coconutty chocolate ice creme swirled with oatmeal and chickpea cookies, housemade aquafaba marshmallow filling, and stracciatella (shaved dark chocolate)—and this wasn't even my favorite of the bunch. ______________________________________ #VeganIceCreaminSanDiego #VeganIceCream #Vegandulgence

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"Where do you get your protein?" If you are vegan you have surely been asked this question. But lately I've been th… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 5 hours ago
"[The] “I’m-not-like-other-brands” schtick is meant to communicate something about the values of those who buy thos… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 days ago
"With typical American reductionism, we have made this brown sauce an object of curiosity, obsession, and mystery.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 days ago

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