First the bad news: Balewa's Vegan Gourmet, the raw food restaurant that was right across the street from my house in Crosstown, has closed. He was there for less than a year, and I'll greatly miss those Live Burgers and Phyre sprout salad. A sign on his door says he's looking for a new location, so keep your fingers crossed.
But Memphis is still home to four vegan restaurants, because as one place closed, another opened! A few months ago, I blogged about 2 Vegan Sistas, which operated a mostly raw/totally vegan food delivery service. The food was wonderful and so fresh, but the only caveat was you had to place an order a day in advance.
Well now the sistas have their very own brick-and-mortar restaurant on Summer Avenue near Bartlett!! And they have a new expanded menu!!! It's a far drive from my Midtown house, but it's a drive well worth it. My co-workers Susan and Hannah went there a couple weeks ago to check it out.
We started with the Cauliflower Poppers, seasoned with spirulina, kelp, herbs, and spices. You can also get an order of popcorn with the same seasonings.
I always loved the sistas' cashew-based mock chicken salad when they had the delivery service, so I was happy to see it offered in several ways on the new menu. I had the BB King BBQ Live Sandwich (named for Memphis' own Blues Boy). It's a BBQ version of their mock chicken salad on wheat bread. You can pick salad or sweet potato fries as a side, so duh, I chose fries!
Susan ordered the classic Bretta's Mock Chicken Salad Sandwich with a salad. The dressing on the salad was awesome. It had avocado in it!
Hannah ordered the Cashew Burger, a raw burger served in a lettuce leaf with ketchup, mustard, and fries.
I had a Groupon for 2 Vegan Sistas, so I needed to spend at least $20. So I got the Living Pizza and Kale Chips to go. I had this for lunch the next day, but I didn't think to take a picture until it was half gone. The pizza was made with a nut crust topped with nut mozzarella, marinara, and veggies. So good!
The entrees at 2 Vegan Sistas are delicious, but the desserts really shine. Nothing beats a dessert that's both scrumptious and healthy, right? I ordered the Raw Oreos made with carob-date-and-nut cookies and a cashew cream.
Hannah had the Reese's Raw Pie. This was my favorite dessert! It tasted like a Reese's peanut butter cup but healthy! Made with peanut butter and carob.
And Susan had the Crepes, raw flax pancakes with vegan whipped cream, date syrup, blueberries, and strawberries. Decadent. I loved how the date syrup made the dessert extra-sweet.
WOW! Food looks TASTY! I checked out the online menu also - REASONABLE prices! Unfortunately I live a few states to the north, the one known for it's corrupt governors ;)
ReplyDeleteeverything looks awesome. especially the sandwich & fries!
ReplyDeleteare you kidding?! wow. that post nearly blew my mind. Tell me, are those sandwiches raw? they have a crust on ? and what about the cauliflower popcorn? raw also? I've made this roasted but not raw. thanks!
ReplyDeleteAw, man, I didn't even get a chance to blog about Balewa's! I'm so behind (obviously).
ReplyDeleteReally surprising that Memphis has more vegan restaurants than Nashville. Pretty cool!
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ReplyDeleteyum!
ReplyDeleteBTW what are the 4 vegan restaurants??