Growing up in a large Italian family, I was constantly surrounded by delicious food and great conversation amongst my family.  As I walked into the front door of Joseph Tambellini’s, these feelings were instantly relived.  I was greeted by a very accommodating staff member and after we distinguished where I would be heading (the third floor), was led and seated in the proper area.

The decor of the entire restaurant is elegant and much like the service, homey. I felt extremely comfortable; like I just stepped foot into one of my relatives homes.  The lighting is soft and the atmosphere is calm and relaxed.

After a glass of Chardonnay, we were seated and ready for the tasting to begin.

The first course commenced with a delicious Caprese salad (and gorgeous heirloom tomatoes).

Caprese Salad

After the delicious salad (and another glass of Chardonnay), we were kindly served the next course, a Mahi Mahi fillet with a potato crust. Now, I’m not sure if you know me, but I really don’t eat seafood. Fish, especially.  The odor just really gets to me. There was no fishy smell at all to this dish, so I figured I’d give it a go. The worst thing that that could happen was that I wouldn’t like it. To my surprise, it was absolutely delicious. I ate the entire thing. How on Earth?!

Potato Encrusted Mahi Mahi with Asparagus Spears

The night was going extremely well. Wine was flowing, the conversation was engaging, and I was learning so much about wine! After our speaker had finished telling us about the many different types of Chardonnay’s they had, we were then introduced to the next course, my absolute favorite.

Gnocchi with Pancetta and Mushrooms

Good lord. One bite of this and my mouth was literally begging for me. It was literally every flavor I absolutely loved combined into one dish.  The creaminess of the pasta and potatoes, the crispy and salty pancetta, the earthiness of the mushrooms and finally, it was topped with elegant shavings of fresh Parmigiano. Everything you could ever want in a dish.  I was in such a state of bliss at this point that had there not been others around, I would’ve most definitely licked the plate clean. Fortunately, I chose to keep things classy.

Though hard to top, the next course was absolutely fantastic as well– a date stuffed with prosciutto and Gorgonzola cheese.  I am always so fascinated by the ways in which people can completely turn the flavor profiles of foods.  Dates are normally very sweet.  In this case, the date came out and aside from being visually stunning, the flavor was so savory and surprising. I loved everything about it.

Fig Stuffed with Prosciutto and Gorgonzola

After the delicious fig, a fillet mignon and lobster combination was brought out to us.  Again, this was not something I was expecting to have high regards to. For one, the seafood, and two, I’m not a fan of steak. I’m not entirely sure why, I just never really developed the palette for them.  I took a bite of the fillet and was pleasantly surprised at the flavors of the overall dish.  The two seemed to merge well and created a very creamy and savory texture and flavor.  Again, seafood and steak. Me? Who would’ve thought? (note all of the wine glasses!)

Fillet Mignon with Lobster

Finally, the last course was brought out and of course it was a dessert! Can it get anymore visually appealing than this? The flavors were very complex and everything complemented each other well. I was impressed! It was even served with a shot of Tuaca.

Passionfruit Sponge Cake with Green Tea and White Chocolate and shot of Tuaca

All in all, I feel like this was an absolutely amazing restaurant experience! From the fantastic service to the food, I will definitely be going back again (and hopefully getting some of that gnocchi)! *salivates*

Let me introduce you to my little friend. He’s a vegan burrito filled with rice, fajita veggies (peppers and onions), black beans, corn salsa, pico de gallo (mild salsa), hot salsa, guacamole, and romaine lettuce. In others words, burrito orgasm.

Chipotle prides themselves on their fresh ingredients, buying what is in season, and when able, organic. To some, it’s considered fast food. By definition, this is true. However, the flavors and array of ingredients are more like that of a sit-down restaurant. My favorite, of course, is their homemade Guacamole. It’s made fresh everyday, and is so worth the additional price (on a veggie burrito it’s free, on a chicken, steak, or carnitas it’s an additional $1.80). I can’t lie, it’s probably the best guac I’ve ever had..

Aside from burritos, you can also get your meal as tacos, a bowl (all ingredients, sans the burrito shell) or a salad (all ingredients on a bed of romaine).

The only cautions would be salt.  If you add up the nutrition, the sodium content could get a little high. However, with my burrito alone, I was able to get my RDA of fiber in just my burrito alone. If your stomach isn’t used to such a high amount, prepare yourself! Haha.

If you would like to figure out the nutrition of your menu items, this website is a great resource!

My favorite chain restaurant soup, without a doubt, is the Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana. Traditionally, it is a slightly creamy, brothed soup with italian sausage, russet potatoes, and slightly wilted kale. The taste is absolutely delicious, and so I decided to recreate it at home.  Since I’m working towards eating vegan, I figured this would be a great dish to test with.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 and 1/2 vegetable bouillon cubes, whisked into 6 cups of hot water
1 tube of Gimme Lean ground “sausage” (I could only find the breakfast kind, so I used this)
3 small russet potatoes
1 tbsp garlic, chopped
1 cup of milk substitute (I had rice milk on hand so I used that)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your spice preference)
1/2 tbsp italian seasoning (I used this because I didn’t have the Gimme Lean italian flavor)
2 tbsp Earth Balance
2 cups of sliced kale
salt and pepper to taste

First, I collected all of your ingredients! Not pictured here are the Earth Balance, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning.

Chop up the onion and add it to a large pan with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add a pinch of salt to help the onions sweat their natural liquids and become transparent.

While the onions are sweating, combine one cup of hot water with the vegetable bouillon cubes and whisk until the liquid is clear.

After the onions have successfully sweated out their juices and are transparent, stir in the crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, and italian seasoning.

Next, stir in the tube of “sausage.” It was a bit tough to break up, so you might want to use a whisk or potato masher to make even pieces!

Then, add in your one cup of hot water with the bouillon, as well as an additional 5 cups of water. Make sure to scrape all of the little bits off of the bottom of the pan as well, there is some good flavor in there!

Next, slice up the potatoes into half inch medallions. If you’re not going to be using them within the next 15 minutes, soak them in salt water to prevent them from browning
Add in the rice milk (or another milk substitute). Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Carefully drop the potatoes into the broth (don’t get splashed with hot liquid like I did..:P). Simmer the soup for about a half hour, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Drop in the Earth Balance (or other butter substitute), as well as the chopped kale.

The kale will only take a few minutes to cook, around three minutes. Look at that color! I served this with a toasted mult-grain bun for some dippage action!

Overall, I feel as though the soup was a major success! The flavors were very on par with what I experienced at the Olive Garden. Do beware, with the amount of crushed red pepper that is used. Let’s just say a little goes a long way! Don’t forget to taste along the way to prevent over seasoning. Remember, you can always put in, but you can’t take out! Also, this soup can be made with regular, non-vegan ingredients, so don’t get your panties in a bunch!

I’m about to head to bed and read a few chapters from my current nerd read, The End of Overeating. Bonne nuit, mes amis!

Is there a food you miss having since eating vegan? Have you tried making it? Would you like me to try making it? Leave a response in the comments below!

This product has the following ingredients: Water, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil , Isolated Soy Protein, Maltodextrin, Tofu, Nondairy Lactic Acid, Cellulose, Locust Bean, Guar and Carrageenan Gums, Sugar, Salt, Veg. Mono and Diglycerides, Potassium Sorbate (Added as a Preservative)

I really don’t like the fact that this product’s second ingredient is hydrogenated oils, and that each serving has 2g of trans fats.  It’s kind of perceived as a health food, and that’s completely opposite of what you’re getting here. I am, however, happy that I checked Tofutti’s website for other products.  It turns out other people felt this way, and they made a trans fat-free version! Score! Now if they would only carry that one around here.

Taste: Unlike some products, this soy-based product is pretty palatable. I could definitely see this being used in something like a dip, or as a topping on chili. It doesn’t really have the tangy taste of sour cream, but in all honesty, it didn’t bother me one bit.

Price: At Giant Eagle, this came out to be $3.99, which I feel is quite a bit for 12 oz of “sour cream.” At Trader Joe’s, I found it for a dollar less at $2.99. I’d buy it for certain occasions probably, but it’s not something I couldn’t live without.

Versatility: Endless, in my opinion. You could make a simple dip by mixing this with a packet of onion soup mix. You could also top chili or tacos. I was thinking about adding it to marinara sauce to make a Vodka-esque type sauce. There’s a lot you could do with it. OH. Mashed Potatoes. Sour cream and green onion? HELLO! Maybe in a cake… /stops while is ahead/

Verdict: It’s a good product substitute for sour cream, though the ingredient list is questionable. I would think of it as more of a “good to know” type thing, you know, for taco night.

I found out recently that I’m lactose intolerant.  I’ve been having stomach problems since high school and I’m pretty sure this was the source of all of them.  It might actually be a blessing in disguise, as I’m one step closer to becoming vegan.

With that being said, I’ve been doing well avoiding dairy. It’s been about two weeks and I’ve cut down so much, it’s unreal. I used to honestly drink 3-4 glasses of milk everyday and eat tons of cheese. I’ve since substituted to almond milk, and have yet to find a decent alternative to cheese.

The truth is, I really don’t even miss it, which is surprising. I’m not going to lie, I miss having pizza and macaroni and cheese, but it’s nothing I couldn’t try to replicate with different ingredients. I’m sure I’d love cheese-less pizza just as much as I used to love the original stuff.

I’m really not trying to rush my transition. I know that it’s going to take some time, and if I do it slowly and stick to it, it won’t be as difficult as if I were to go cold turkey.

So that’s where I’ve been lately, wish me luck. The next thing I plan on tackling is EITHER eggs or meat, probably meat. I really don’t see a problem giving up meat, but eggs might be a different story..