OMG VEGAN DONUTS!!!!!

i can’t even tell you how elated i was to find mighty-o, a donut-baking shop in seattle that was ENTIRELY vegan. i was even more elated when i tried their donuts and they tasted EXACTLY like (if not better than) the real (unhealthy, ridiculously sinful, fattening, artery-clogging) thing!

sprinkled o: the best chocolate donut ever covered in decadent frosting and sprinkles $1.65 along with naked cake: a mini plain donut 35¢

i’ve gotta say, during the short time i spent in seattle, mighty-o was by far my favorite discovery. it’s definitely a heaven on earth for any vegan with an intense sweet tooth who misses the sinful vegetarian lifestyle. i’ve not had a donut in YEARS, but i remember loving them.

i’ve alway had a penchant for sugar-laden treats. when i was a vegetarian teenager, i used to drive all the way from santa clarita to a donut shop in van nuys (a 20 mile journey) to obtain their coveted, brand-new, freshly-cooked donuts (if i arrived during certain hours, i could even watch them being made on a giant conveyer belt—what fun)! unfortunately, at the age of 20 when i became a vegan, i assumed that avenue of donut-devouring pleasure had been permanently closed off to me. ….boy, was i wrong! not only did mighty-o give me the opportunity to enjoy a pipin’ hot sugary donut, it also made those old treats i used to eat look like limp, crappy, fast-food versions of the real thing.

and with a refillable cup of mighty-o’s coffee, plus a great seat in the window, i could easily spend all morning sipping drip and eating donuts.

it’s no surprise that with vegan sweets this good, there was a line going out the door of mighty-o at 11 am on a saturday morning. the line was so long, in fact, that i turned around and decided to come back the next day, early. when i returned on sunday at around 8 am, the place was still pretty full—i guess people are willing to wake up early and wait for these magical donuts, and i am too!

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wayward cafe is a modest cash-only co-op—a small house that’s been converted into an entirely vegan restaurant, located in a residential area of seattle’s university district. more importantly, it’s where i had the best breakfast of my entire life.

tempeh scramble: fried tempeh wedges, scrambled spicy seasoned tofu and steamed broccoli on a bed of spinach. served with a side of tahini sauce and toast. $7.50

breakfast burrito: scrambled seasoned tofu, tvp chorizo and spinach wrapped inside a grilled flour tortilla. topped with cilantro sour cream. served with a side of salsa fresca and home fries. $6.75

while there are a few things that kind of irritate me about this restaurant, the food is so wonderful it makes them all irrelevant. if i lived in seattle, i would eat at this place several days per week. i’m talking food so good, it rivals pure luck…if wayward cafe had tap beer, i’d surely move to washington.

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Since the early 70s, the Pike Brewery has been serving ales in Seattle, moving to its present location in Pike Place Market during the early 90s. If you can deal with the nightmare that is parking in downtown Seattle (or better still, get a taxi: you probably won’t want to drive after a visit to the Pike!), you are in for a beer TREAT with several vegan options on the menu, including my favorite, Hummus and Pita, which is lovingly prepared, saladated with cucumber, lettuce, and the all important kalamata olives:

Having said all that, I forget my veganism when I show up at The Pike, because the thing that gets me every time is the cask ale, served at just the right temperature from traditional British-made hand pumps. If the stars are aligned, you can get a porter, stout or (if you’re really lucky) the perfectly hopped IPA, which I was lucky enough to find on cask suring my last visit.

The vibe is similar to a large English pub, but with a very Pacific Northwest feel: comfortable pleather couches, large plastic covered menus and the stench of fried food everywhere.

Visiting at peak times usually means a wait unless you’re lucky enough to get a seat at the bar, or you have to line up at the bar and order if you’re sitting in the “pub” — just like in England! If you visit off-peak, though, you can get a comfortable bar seat and chat away to one of the knowledgeable bartenders while enjoying one too many cask beers

The Pike is one of Seattle’s best breweries, arguably the best location, probably the best vegan food offerings and, albeit at certain times, the best atmosphere. If you enjoy good vegan food and great beer in a hassle-free environment the Pike is certainly for you.

Check it out on your next trip Up North.

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there’s nothing like a really great breakfast scramble, and seattle seems to do it best. cafe flora, in particular, offers up some amazing vegetable scrambles that can be veganized by changing out the eggs for tofu. they even come with a delectable piece of vegan coffee cake!

spinach scramble: scrambled tofu with organic baby spinach, leeks and caramelized onions with roasted potatoes and coffee cake $11

grilled asparagus scramble: scrambled tofu with fresh basil pesto and sundried tomatoes with roasted potatoes and coffee cake $11

cafe flora isn’t the typical kind of scrappy vegan-friendly restaurant i gravitate towards. it’s expensive, has a long list of complicated opening hours, and several different menus depending on the time of day. it’s actually only open for breakfast (or “brunch” as they call it) on saturday and sunday.

but when they serve the food you see pictured above, that tastes way better than it looks, it’s no surprise that cafe flora was completely full on sunday morning, within ten minutes of opening its doors.

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If I feel like spending around $70 on dinner for two in a nice restaurant where I can take my time to enjoy good wine and awesome vegan food, the Il Fornaio chain is always a good bet. I’ve been to outlets in San Francisco, Denver, Vegas, NYC, LA and, most recently, Seattle. Each has a slightly different atmosphere, but the same menu, quality and good service. AND, they understand what “vegan” means.

Capellini al Pomodoro: Angel hair pasta, chopped fresh roma tomatoes, marinara sauce and fresh basil. $12.95

While my main dish is always the Capellini al Pomodoro, I usually order a bottle of wine, and pig out on the fresh bread and olive oil they serve upon arrival. In fact, this is the BEST fresh bread and olive oil available in any restaurant I’ve ever been to, especially the outlet in Vegas (its bakery is adjacent).

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seattle is sooooo the land of wonderful vegan food. if only it had better weather and an industry in which i was employable, i’d surely move there. even without those things, it’s so tempting to leave my sunny so-cal atmosphere and job stability for the rainy pacific northwest—with its overabundance of meatless eateries and brew pubs where cask ale flows (that seem to be inevitably taken for granted by locals who’ve grown accustomed to such pleasures).

EXAMPLE: while in seattle, i stumble into a random hotel restaurant for some late-night eats, and the menu happens to brag about it’s vegetarian options. it doesn’t stop there—the friendly server knows all about the difference between vegetarianism and veganism, and assures me that i’ll be taken care of. even in liberal hollywood, i’ve not seen this type of vegan acknowledgement. sure there are some la omnivore establishments that cater specifically to my kind, but other than that, whenever i ask about animal stock in my entree, i’m greeted with a completely clueless dumfounded gaze…to the point at which i don’t even bother eating at places that aren’t specifically vegan-friendly, for the most part.

but in seattle, even in the confines of a hotel bar/restaurant, i still feel completely safe, and possibly even understood. for instance, dragonfish.

tofu veggie roll: tofu, cucumber, kaiware, avocado, cilantro, and yama gobo $8

dragonfish yakisoba: soba noodles tossed with vegetables and your choice of chicken or tofu $13

this food was bloody incredible. i’m talking “11pm, late night snack, hotel bar food”…not “6 pm, i sought this really cool vegan restaurant out, and wanted to try it food.”

yeah, this shit was on-point…and hassle-free for a passing hotel-diner vegan-customer like myself. the food itself tasted good, i trusted it, and it arrived in no time. what else could i possibly ask for when my meal was pushing midnite?

plus, i’d never even tried tofu sushi before. forget that lame, boring avocado & cucumber roll—finally some sushi i can identify with! my only guff with these rolls is that they may have spoiled me; hopefully i can continue to appreciate old school sushi from here on out.

yep, dragonfish totally brings it….especially for so little $$$$ in the late night hours. if you want a post-dinner snack in downtown, or if you are a vegan dining with picky omnivores, this is definitely a spot to add to your list.

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Well, the unavailability of most good vegan food in LA is very sad. What’s sadder is how available it is in Seattle, where I lived for a long time as a lowly vegetarian before I saw the light. The wonderful “eclectic vegan grocery store”, Sidecar for Pig’s Peace, stocks stuff I wish I could get at Erewhon or Whole Foods down here in LA and I’d shop there every day if I lived in Seattle, even with the unbelievably snooty person behind the cash register (lady, don’t shit on your own doorstep and poke fun of out of town vegans and where they live…). Fortunately, right across the street is an entirely vegan pizza joint, the only one I’ve ever been to and one I would (again) shop at every day.

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quarrygirl.com has moved to seattle, at least for the next few posts. we recently took a trip there for mr. meaner’s birthday, and were so absolutely overwhelmed with all the vegan options, we thought the least we could do for us, them and you was to blog all about it. plus, it gave us a really good excuse to eat like 5 meals per day. bam.

first up, the legendary teapot vegetarian house. in the mid-90’s, before i ever met my husband, seattle was his home…and this was his favorite vegetarian restaurant. suffice to say, when he first showed me around the city in late 2005, this was virtually our first stop. our subsequent/most recent trip to seattle was no different. we arrived via virgin america, had a few pints in a lovely brew pub, and made a beeline for the teapot vegetarian house.

steamed dumplings: traditional northern chinese dim-sum made of fresh diced vegetables and spices hand wrapped in an envelope of flour. steamed and comes with a dipping sauce of vinegar and sesame oil. our pride and joy. $6.95

broccoli tofu: a perrenial favorite, fresh crunchy chunks of broccoli florets stir fried with slices of wheat gluten in dark, savory sauce. $13.95

fried wide noodles in dark sauce: we use wide rice noodles, fresh bean sprouts, scallions and add a delicious dark rich syrupy sauce to make this traditional Singapore “roadside” dish. $8.95

i must admit, despite my pleasant encounter with the teapot in ‘05, this time i wasn’t expecting much. 2 and a half years later, i consider myself a much more seasoned vegan-restaurant-connoisseur, and my disdain for the los angeles vegan thai food boom has made me the ultimate skeptic toward any faux-meat asian cuisine. but, as usual when i take a vehement stand against something, i was completely proven wrong. this restaurant was fucking spectacular—inventing each dish as it went along, not borrowing from or copying any other asian vegan restaurants. this place left me genuinely impressed and wanting more.

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