Awesome vegan food at a university lunch--I almost cried!
I had to go to a lunch event with donors for a scholarship I received and told the coordinator a week ago that I am vegan and couldn't eat x, y, and z. She said "no problem, we can do that" and I was dreading having to turn down a meal that they specially prepared for me but turned out to have animal product ____ in it that they thought was vegan. I was pleasantly surprised when our meal was a big salad with fruit, nuts, greens, and the like and the omnis had fish/chicken/cheese on theirs, so simple enough to make vegan and I didn't look like a weirdo with a completely different meal.
Then they brought out dessert (raspberry chocolate cheesecake) and I was about to politely refuse when the caterer remembered my vegan salad and said, "Don't worry, it's made with tofu, not cream cheese--it's all vegan." I seriously almost cried I was so happy that I could eat dessert, and CHEESECAKE none the less! Turns out the caterer was a little restaurant that just opened up near campus that serves 95% organic food with many vegetarian/vegan options, and ALL (did you hear me? ALL) of their desserts are vegan. Needless to say, BF and I are going there for dinner tonight :) They even have a vegan beer and a vegan wine on their menu (I don't drink, but if I did, boy would I be a happy drinkin' vegan!).
Any of you coming to the Phoenix-metro area should check out The Center Bistro in Tempe--it's fabulous!
That's so wonderful!!
awww that awesome!!! :) :) :)
wow that is awesome! Enjoy your dinner tonight!
Sadly i just found out today that one of the vegetarian restaurants (w/lots of vegan options) in my town recently closed...dammit, just when i start coming to my senses! :P
Come back & tell us what you got for dinner :)
Inquiring minds want to know!
And congrats on your scholarship!!!
Way to go!!! 8)
that is so cool! i love when things like that happen, yay!
WHAT? that's awesome!
AHHH! you are SO lucky!!! what a surprise. I mean, in addition to having awesome food, you showed a bunch of omnis how well we actually eat AND you found an awesome new restaurant. sweet deal!
okay, that cheesecake you're describing gave me a major craving. wow.
Am I the only person who appreciates the fitness of the fact that this great eatery is located in TEMPE(H)?? ;D ;D Like, of course it's vegan!
Maybe he's one of my Vegan Ninjas... ;)
Yeah, Yabbit, that crossed my mind but I was too lazy to say anything. Thanks for doing it for me. ;D
Am I the only person who appreciates the fitness of the fact that this great eatery is located in TEMPE(H)?? ;D ;D Like, of course it's vegan!
Maybe he's one of my Vegan Ninjas... ;)
Haha, yes, it's quite cool :) Except, it makes me mispronounce tempeh (pronounced "tem-pay") because Tempe is pronounced "tem-pee".
Report back on the food from last night--fabulous! I had an organic mushroom sandwich on an Ezekiel sprouted bun w/ tempeh ;D, lettuce, dill, garlic, vegan cream cheese and pesto and for dessert I had their raw chocolate mousse parfait w/ fresh raspberries, bananas, and peaches--all of it was delicious! And the owner was so excited/surprised that I guessed the "secret ingredient" in the raw mousse--avocados. I guess all my time browsing VegWeb recipes accounted for my mad guessing skills ;D BF's dinner was also great, and he could have his animal flesh sans hormones, chemicals, and factory-farmedness--and he even chose the miso soup as his side, which I thought was quite adventurous of him. All of the staff is amazingly nice, and it just has a cool atmosphere--we sat at the "community table" right by the kitchen, so we could chit chat with other people and watch them make our awesome food.
The place is a bit pricey ($12 + for most of the meals and $6 for dessert--our dinner for 2 was almost $40), but I would rather spend a bit more supporting a veg-friendly place then spend less at some chain with one quasi-veg option any day!
Your sponsors are the bomb. How delightful that sounds!
Wow, that is so wonderful!
Just a question ... what is the difference between regular wine and vegan wine? Isn't it just grapes? (I don't drink, so I have no clue!)
Wow, that is so wonderful!
Just a question ... what is the difference between regular wine and vegan wine? Isn't it just grapes? (I don't drink, so I have no clue!)
Non-vegan beer and wine are filtered through isinglass (i.e. fish bladder), so there are no non-vegan ingredients, but it depends on your definition of "vegan".