Category Archives: Vegan Options at Restaurants

An Anniversary Surprise!

Posted by ljb in Andy, Around the House, Dinner, Vegan Options at Restaurants and tagged with , , , ,

The wedding jar had turned the day before our anniversary and I thought “I wonder what he possibly has planned?” Turns out that Mr. B is quite creative under pressure. He knows that I love to dance. I am by no means good at it at all, but every time we are at an event where there is music involved, I have to beg and plead with him to get out there on the dance floor with me and boogie. Basically, the man doesn’t like to dance. He told me we had somewhere we needed to be by 6:30, but we HAD to get drinks before. He obviously needed to calm his nerves about something.

Andy drinking old fashions When he got home, I asked if I was dressed appropriately for our date and that is when he dropped the surprise: We were going to take salsa dancing lessons! Beyond excited. So excited I was doing my best attempt to salsa dance before we even got out the door! This was really special to me because I have told him quite a bit in the past year that I am sick of buying/getting “stuff”. What is really want is to experience things. So instead of buying me something, he bought me an awesome experience that I will remember forever. We stopped by O’Tooles in New Haven for a quick drink then if was off to get our dance on.

We went to Alisa’s House of Salsa on Chapel St. I walked in with a little bounce in my step and Andy walked in looking a tad bit nervous. We stepped into the studio and poor Andy was the only man. Alisa, our instructor, was beyond amazing! So helpful and took it at a pace that even I could understand. We learned the basic steps, then went on to learn turns and dancing with a partner. Mr. B was the man of the hour! All the girls lined up and took their turn learning to salsa dance with him. He was a pro by the end of the night. What a trooper! She told us to download some salsa music once we got home so we could continue to learn the basics on our own. Um, done son. Andy probably had no idea I would get this into salsa when he signed us up.

Can I just say that I think I have finally found something that actually makes me comfortable with my big hips? I mean, I have rather large hips and we were encouraged to swing those babies and find our rhythm. It was quite freeing actually. And don’t you worry because we each bought 6 more classes :) After an amazing and addicting lesson, he then took me to Red Lentil, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant right downtown. I have been asking for him to go with me for months! So this was especially fun. He ordered the Santa Fe Salad and I got their delicious Shepherd’s Pie.

Santa fe salad at red lentil

red lentil shepherd's pie

If you live in this area you really should try it. Veg head or not.

After our meal, it was time to head home so I could give him his surprise. My friend, Lydia, makes these amazing cakes. Super elaborate and beautiful cakes. Andy always says he doesn’t want/need any gifts. But I know he loves to eat so I decided to give him a delicious treat of anniversary cake. Lydia did such an amazing job coming up with the design. It even fooled Andy into thinking it was a real wine bottle when he first saw it! wine bottle cake bennett vineyards So cute right? Andy loved it and is continuing to snack on it today. We also got quite the gift from our amazing neighbors. Now, those of you who know us know why this gift is appropriate, but in case you don’t. I will fill you in. The day we got married, a hawk flew into a transformer which caused a power outage in half our town. Including our church. Yeah, super inconvenient when you have a large amount of people coming to see you get married and it is 96 degrees outside. So we moved everything to a church that did have power only to find out the power at our church came back on just as that happened. The other piece to this story is that for our first anniversary, we went on a dinner cruise in Newport, RI. It was beautiful and so much fun! Until…..the boat caught fire and the power went out. Yes, this is a true story. But the real tragedy is because of the fire and power outage, they didn’t serve us dessert. So with that being said, our marriage creates lots of sparks. And just as a precaution, our neighbors, Kris and MacKenzie bought us a fire extinguisher. fire

I have a feeling it will come in use someday knowing how I cook. So there you have it. It was a wonderful anniversary with many awesome surprises. So meet me back here next year, when the wedding jar has once again turned! Well, I mean, I hope you come back before then.

Love love,

Choosing Vegan: Archie Moore’s

Posted by ljb in Out and About, Vegan, Vegan Options at Restaurants, Weekends and tagged with , , , , , ,

Archie Moore’s is straight up delish. Well, it was when I ate meat anyway. Chicken wings to die for and I wasn’t even a huge wing person to being with. Last night was our first night back there since I went to more of a plant-based diet.

I thought: “what does one eat when trying to avoid consuming animal products?” Lucky for me, there were a few options. They had a “Vegetarian” section on the menu which consisted of:

  • Grilled Vegetable Focaccia Stack
  • Garden Burger
  • Garden Burger Vegetable Club
  • California Grilled Cheese Sandwich
All of these are an obviously good choice for vegetarians, but probably only an ok choice for vegans if you order it sans cheese (no California Grilled Cheese for you) and pending the garden burger was vegan. It might actually be worth asking next time I am there, but I am going to guess it isn’t. They also had a pretty good salad section:
  • Fresh Garden Salad
  • Chef Salad
  • Spinach Salad
  • Caesar Salad
  • Trail Mix Salad
  • Grilled Vegetable Salad
Most of these salads came with cheese and a few had meat in them. So when ordered without those ingredients, they would be a safe choice. However, if you opted to get a dressing other than the kind listed with the salad which, for the most part, consisted of either gorgonzola vinaigrette or a creamy dressing, your choices were limited. Their choice of dressing included: vinaigrette, bleu cheese, creamy bacon, thousand island and ranch. Mostly fine for vegetarians, but kind of a disaster for vegans (besides the vinaigrette).

I choose the Grilled Veggie Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette dressing and a side of sweet potato fries (not the healthiest choice, but they are my vice).

My thoughts: Can I get two? I was very impressed with this salad overall. The pesto dressing and grilled veggies made me forget I was just eating a salad. The dressing was delish and I couldn’t even finish it, although I am sure the sweet potato fries had something to do with it.

You might be thinking: “Lauren, you went to a restaurant that is famous for wings. Did you honestly think you would find an extensive list of vegan options?” And I say to you: “Duh, of course not.” My “Choosing Vegan” posts aren’t about slapping restaurants on the wrist if they don’t cater to my diet. It is about helping to find what sort of options or combinations of options a plant-based dieter can have at their favorite establishments.

Obviously, this isn’t a place where a group of vegans would congregate for a great veg meal. But if you are meeting up with friends here for happy hour, just know you do have options! And when planning ahead, you can have a decent plant-based meal while enjoying the company of others.

Enjoy your beautiful Sunday,