Vegan Mofo: Recreate a Restaurant Meal

It's Day 6 of Vegan Mofo, and that means it's time to recreate a restaurant meal. But technically, this post isn't about a meal. It's about a cocktail. But you know, some nights, you drink your dinner. And some days call for a liquid lunch. Thankfully, this cocktail is loaded with healthy veggies, so it totally makes an acceptable dinner.

But before we get to the recipe, here's a little background. I mentioned White Owl Social Club in Portland in yesterday's sandwich round-up. I've had the place on the brain for awhile, as it was truly one of my favorite restaurants in Portland when I was there for Vida Vegan 2 in 2013. Not only did I eat the most amazing vegan fried mac & cheese sandwich there, I also drank the best bloody mary of my life there. It was made with fresh beet and veggie juice!

This drink was so perfect in every way. Salted rim. Fresh veggies. All the right garnishes. I've no idea why it's taken me this long to try making it home. But I was finally inspired to recreate it when Balls Vodka offered to send me a bottle of their vodka to create recipes with. 

First of all, they called it Balls!! That alone is enough to make me like the stuff. But it doesn't hurt that this 80 proof, grain-distilled vodka is distinctly smooth. It's the kind of vodka you can drink on the rocks without making a scrunched-up face with every sip. But of course, it's more fun in a cocktail. So I finally attempted to recreate the White Owl Social Club Bloody Mary.

I forgot the salted rim! But that would be a nice touch. I garnished this with some garlic-stuffed olives, but celery, lime, pickles, or even pickled okra would be great too.

You'll need a juicer for this one. It's basically just fresh veggie juice spiked with vodka. You could maybe try blending the veggies in a Vitamix and then straining out the pulp, but that sounds like too much trouble to me. Also, note that the amount of juice you get depends on your juicer and the size of your veggies. I used a big ole tomato, a fat cucumber, and a medium-sized beet, and this made about 16 ounces.

We Got the Beet Bloody Mary

Yields 2 servings

1 medium beet, top cut off

1 large cucumber

1 large tomato

1 large carrot

1 large green bell pepper, seeded

1 hot pepper (like a jalapeno or cayenne pepper), seeded

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 lime, peeled

Splash pickle juice, optional

Hot sauce, to taste

4 ounces Balls Vodka (or any vodka)

Ice

Garnishes (choose any): olives, pickles, celery, or lime slices, salted rim

Juice the beet, tomato, carrot, bell pepper, hot pepper, garlic, and lime. Transfer the juice to a shaker cup. Add the pickle juice, hot sauce, vodka, and ice. Shake and pour over ice.