My First Visit to Chipotle

Memphis has gone Chipotle CRAZY! Our first Chipotle opened here in the Ridgeway shopping center on Tuesday, and it's really all anyone can talk about: "Have you been to Chipotle yet?" "When are you going to Chipotle?" "Oh my god, I went to Chipotle last night and had the best burrito ever!" We have a few Moe's Southwest Grills (and they have tofu!) and a Blue Coast Burrito, but when news broke that Chipotle was moving here, everyone flipped out. Someone even started a Facebook page dedicated to determining when the new Chipotle would open.

And I confess: I'm guilty. I've been counting down the days to try this all-natural, veg-friendly burrito joint. Tonight, Paul and I made the 20-minute drive from our house to the Chipotle in East Memphis. When we arrived, there was a line out of the door and down the block. Paul wasn't really all that excited about Chipotle, especially when he saw the line. But he waited with me anyway! Here he is waiting outside, forcing a smile:

Once inside, we stood in line for at least 30 minutes. But everyone around us was very nice. Our line neighbors raved on and on about how good the food was based on the time they'd tried Chipotle on a trip to Boston.

You can choose between a vegetarian black bean burrito, a bowl, tacos, or a salad. I opted for a burrito since that seemed like the ideal first meal choice. This burrito was loaded with black beans, cilantro-lime rice, corn salsa, pico, guacamole, sauteed veggies, hot salsa, tomatillo salsa, and lettuce:

We also ordered a side of guac, and it definitely lived up to all the hype. Best guacamole I've ever had for less than $3. I mean, my mom's is better. But for a restaurant, Chipotle has the best. In the end, I could only eat half of my big-ass burrito:

The other half will become tomorrow's lunch, along with the leftover chips and salsa.

Was Chipotle worth the 30 minute wait? Absolutely! The burrito was probably on par with Moe's in terms of taste, but that guac really takes the cake. I'd stand in line all over again for another tub of guac.

Do you have a Chipotle in your city? What do you order there?

Processed Food Heaven!

I'm one of those people that can't stand to be told what to do. Even if I'm doing the telling. So the day after Raw Day always becomes a naughty food day. I mean, not that naughty. Just a few processed foods and such, like in this Waffle, Sausage, and Cheese Panini from The Kind Diet:

Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet is mostly filled with ultra-healthy, macrobiotic-friendly meals, but she also includes a few recipes for people transitioning into a vegan diet. Those dishes often include faux meats and vegan cheeses.

Now this certainly isn't my first vegan rodeo (is that an oxymoron?), but I still love fake meat. I'm pretty sure I always will. I've never understood why some vegans would desire to move beyond the need for fakin' bacon, soy sausage, and faux chicken. That stuff tastes awesome!

This panini was made from Van's frozen vegan waffles, Tofurky Kielbasa, Daiya cheese, and a spread made from Vegenaise, apricot jam, and herbs. It was absolutely yummy and perfect for re-toxing from my uber-healthy day yesterday. To add a little balance, I ate the panini with my leftover raw slaw.

The Return of Raw Food Tuesday

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you might remember my old Raw Food Tuesday tradition. For a couple of years, I ate totally raw on the first Tuesday of every month. But the habit took a hiatus when I was wrapping up my cookbook in the fall and winter. Now that the cookbook's at the publisher and the temperatures are finally in the mid-60s and 70s, it's time to revive Raw Food Tuesday!

I started the day off with a Peachy Kream smoothie from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen — raw date-sweetened Brazil nut milk and frozen peaches. So thick and creamy! Amazingly, it kept me full until at least 11 a.m.:

Mid-morning, I snacked on some of Katie's Good Girl Vegan Coconut Fudge. I've been wanting to make this for, like, a million years. For some reason, I've been waiting for Raw Tuesday though ... like I can't eat raw dessert unless it's raw day. I know that's a silly way to think. Anyway, this frozen treat of coconut butter and banana puree was worth the wait:

Lunch was this Giant Salad with Salsa-Flax Crackers from Becoming Raw with Mango Nectar Dressing from Savory Raw Dressings & Sauces by Andrew Perlot:

Let's talk a little more about the dressing, shall we? Months and months and months ago (we're talking, like, last summer), Andrew sent me a copy of his ebook to review. I fully intended to get right on that, but I was finishing up testing for my cookbook and Raw Day had taken a break. Now I'm finally getting around too it (sorry Andrew!).

Anyway, Savory Raw Dressings & Sauces is a cute little, 26-page ebook with a variety of mostly oil-free, often fruit-based dressings. This Mango Nectar Dressing was simply made of blended tomatoes and mangos. Easy and delicious. Andrew also provides plenty of tips for throwing together your own DIY dressings based on what's in season. You can purchase Andrew's ebook here.

My mid-afternoon snack was Crudites with Mock Sour Cream and Chive Dip from Raw Food Made Easy. Made with creamy, blended cashews, this sauce was dare-I-say better than many vegan ranch dressings I've tried:

Finally, dinner was a couple of Italian Herb Collard Wraps from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen:

These were stuffed with sunflower seed-based Sunny Dill Cheese, avocado, sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and scallions. Full disclosure: I actually blanched the collard leaves for one minute in boiling water (somebody call the raw police!) to make them more pliable and tasty. Past experiences with raw collards that haven't been blanched weren't so memorable. Here's a pre-rolling shot:

And on the side, I had the April recipe in Sarah Kramer's 2011 Go Vegan wall calendar — Beth's Fresh 'n' Tasty Raw Slaw, a mix of grated apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, raisins, walnuts, and olive oil:

I'm sipping a cup of hot miso right now, one of the few warm treats I allow myself on raw day. Of course, I also allow myself coffee in the morning. I mean, giving that up would be plum crazy.

Delicious as though today's eats were, I'm looking forward to my Gimme Lean soy sausage and Earth Balanced toast in the a.m.

Vegan Thai Pizza at the Trolley Stop!

I've done a Bluff City Vegan Eats post on the Trolley Stop Market's weekly Vegan Night before, but in case you missed it, this is just a reminder. If you're vegan and living in (or visiting) Memphis, please get out and support the Trolley Stop on Monday nights! Each Monday, this kitschy Medical District eatery features a vegan special, which can range from vegan TVP sloppy joes and eggplant biryani to shephard's pie and bean & grain burritos.

Around 4:30-ish on Mondays, the Trolley Stop posts the vegan special on its Facebook page. On the nights I plan to eat there, I check their page compulsively every 30 minutes or so from 3:30 p.m. on. I like to know what I'm eating as early as possible so I can fantasize about what dinner will taste like. At 4-something this afternoon, this was posted on the page:

"Tonight we have Thai Pizza - a layer of fresh sliced tomatoes, covered with a base of red onion, peanuts, garlic, ginger, galangal, soy sauce, lime juice and sassy serranos. Baked and topped with green onion, cilantro, mint, and basil. (You can ask to add daiya cheese!) Served with a mango-cucumber salad topped with a house ginger vinaigrette."

Oh yea, so I was all over that! Here's the delicious pizza, which by the way, was big enough for at least three meals:

The Trolley Stop recently started offering Daiya vegan cheese on their locally-famous pies, and this was my first time trying their pizza. Normally, I'd have liked more Daiya than what you see pictured above, but this was the perfect amount since it didn't overwhelm that delicious peanut sauce.

Though Vegan Night doesn't always involve pizza, you can order a Daiya cheese pizza from the Trolley Stop anytime!

Papa Crunk Turns 57!

Today (April 3rd) was my daddy's 57th birthday! Does this man look damn-near 60 to you?

Yep, thought not. He may be old, but my dad's still a total bad-ass. He rides a Harley, hangs out at juke joints, and he wants a skull tattoo. A freakin' skull tattoo?! I couldn't have asked for a cooler dad because there's no one cooler than the one I already have. In the above photo, daddy's showing off his new Harley skull baseball cap, a gift from my mama. I got him an insulated Harley cooler bag.

As per tradition, we lunched on what we like to call "Carb Sandwiches" for daddy's big day. They're actually French Fry Po' Boys, which we first tried in New Orleans at the Verti Marte on Royal Street a few years back. Who can resist steak fries on a hoagie bun, topped with Daiya cheese, vegan dijon-mustard spread, bell pepper, tomato, onion, and ketchup?

On the side, we had more fried carbs! Yep, we had sweet potato fries with our French fry sandwiches. Oh, and chips with mama's secret recipe guacamole (okay, you twisted my arm — the secret's actually a little squeeze of fresh orange juice along with the traditional lime). If there's one thing we Phillips folks know how to do, it's cram as much naughty foods into one meal as possible.

Oh, but we didn't stop there! Daddy requested some sort of coconut cupcake for his birthday cake, and I settled on these Coconut Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World:

I didn't have any coffee extract for the frosting, so I mixed a tablespoon of instant coffee into a wee bit of soymilk and used that instead. The result was a super-charged, coffee-flavored frosting that perfectly complemented the chocolate-coconut cupcakes.

My Matchy-Matchy Meal

I grew up watching lots of Food Network (way back when it called the "TV Food Network"), and if there's one thing I learned, it's that meals should have "gorgeous color." When I was home alone in the summer, I'd concoct crazy meals in my mama's kitchen with way too much spice. And I'd say to my pretend audience, "Just look how the color of these green beans pops against the yellow corn." Sometimes, when I'm alone, I still pretend like I'm on a cooking show when I'm prepping meals (yes, I just admitted that). And I still brag about the lovely colors in my saute pan.

I also know that one's plate should contain lots of colors for the full nutritional spectrum (beta carotene, flavanoids, and all that mess). But tonight's two dishes violated that rule. My entree and my side veggie turned out almost the exact same color. I didn't even think about that when planning this very orange and tan meal.

My main dish were these Chickpeas with Carrots and Onion from The Natural Vegan Kitchen:

This is the sort of dish that doesn't need a recipe, but it has one magical ingredient that I wouldn't have thought to include without some direction from cookbook author/macrobiotic guru Christine Waltermyer — kombu! The flat, dark green sea veggie is simmered with the dry chickpeas, carrots, and onion, and after it sits a spell, the juice gets all thick from the gelatin-like effect of the kombu. Not like Jello-thick, though. More like cornstarch-thick, but without the gravy-like consistency.

My other orange and tan dish was this serving of Steamed Sweet Potato Melt, also from The Natural Vegan Kitchen:

It might look similar to melted cheese, but that gooey stuff on top is actually melted mochi! If you've never had mochi and love chewy food, this stuff is a must-try. It's a pressed rice cake that melts when heated and puffs up when baked in the oven. It's super chewy and delicious.

I must say though, this sweet tater dish may be one of the weirdest things I've ever cooked. Delicious, but weird. The potatoes are steamed in orange juice and then topped with a tahini-dill sauce and melted mochi. Strange as hell, right? But I think that's why I was drawn to it. I'm always attracted to dishes with weird-ass flavor profiles.

Anyway, I'm sure I got plenty of beta carotene from this meal, considering all that orange. Despite it's color-sameness, the two dishes complemented one another quite well.

Do you strive to get as many colors onto your plate as possible? Or do you also secretly have pretend cooking shows in your kitchen (I know I'm not the only one!)?

Extra, Extra!! Vegan Cafe Opening in April!!

As I've lamented over and over again, Memphis doesn't have one single, totally-vegan restaurant with a full menu. Cosmic Coconut, a vegan/raw juice and smoothie bar, is opening soon, and there is Belawa's tasty little raw vegan burger stand inside Smooth Moves cafe (which is also home to a Middle Eastern food counter that serves meat). But where does a vegan go for "junk" food?

We do have some guilty pleasure options (BBQ tofu nachos at R.P. Tracks, the best vegan burger ever at Fuel) at veg-friendly places around town, but Memphis will soon be home to a totally-vegan comfort food eatery called Imagine Vegan Cafe. It'll be in the old Casa Grill location at 2156 Young Avenue, and they're opening on April 18th.

Co-owner Kristie Jeffrey (who's opening the cafe with her partner Adam, both pictured here with their kids) took some time out of prepping the new space to answer a few questions about Imagine Vegan Cafe:

1) What inspired you to open a vegan cafe in Memphis?

Feeling like a weirdo. Our daughter Savannah loves to eat out, but 90% of the times we do, our order is messed up, and we get some sort of animal product on our food. This can be hard on many adults, but it is much harder on a child. She winds up feeling like a weirdo and we all wind up feeling bad for being so complicated.

So, after numerous experiences of getting our food wrong, not knowing in detail how they make certain items, and sometimes just bad service from people who don't understand the vegan lifestyle, I was bound and determined to open a place that was different. A place where you never have to question what is in your food, a place where you will never accidentally wind up with some sort of animal product in your food, and where you never feel out of place for eating vegan!

2) What kind of entrees, appetizers, and sides will you be offering?

We are so excited about the menu! It is very extensive. Appetizers range from cheese sticks to spinach dip, pigs-in-blankets to chicken drumsticks. Entrees include items such as mahi mahi, flank steak, tacos, beef tips and even country fried steak.

We will also offer close to 15 sandwiches including Memphis BBQ and Philly cheesesteaks. Sides will primarily consist of southern comfort foods such as hush puppies, mac 'n' cheese, black-eyed peas, cole slaw, etc.

We are also very excited about the build-your-own menu items of pizza and chili dogs. You can keep them simple or order them as messy as possible!!! We will also offer gumbo year-round, which is one of our favorite items!!!

3) Any desserts?

YES!!! This is Adam's favorite part of the menu. =) We will offer a lot of ice cream desserts, such as brownie sundaes, banana splits, and milkshakes. We will also have homemade chocolate chip cookies, killer chocolate cake, and pecan pie.

4) Will you be serving alcohol?

LOTS of Beer!!! As soon as we are approved with our beer license, we will sell a range of odd beers. The more unique the better!

5) What hours will you be open?

We are not entirely certain of this yet, but we think Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Closed Tuesdays.

6) Will the restaurant have table service or counter service?

You will order at the counter but all food and most drinks will be brought to you. Iced tea will be self service.

7) Yours will be the only totally-vegan cafe with a full menu in Memphis, and it will surely go over well with the vegetarian population. But how you plan to attract omnis?

1) By offering items they never even thought could be vegan. Many of our family and friends have tried items such as the corn dogs and beef tips and enjoy them just as much, if not better than the original. There's nothing better than enjoying great foods like these without biting into a piece of fat, gristle, or that thing you bite into sometimes not knowing what it is but you swallow really fast before you gag. =)

2) Live music. We want to get local bands in to play on the weekends. Not only because we are actually musicians ourselves but to have a place musicians can come show off their talent.

3) GOOD cheap beer! This always attracts people. We hope they might actually try a new item while they are enjoying a brew!

8) You've said you're not going for the "healthy vegan" approach, but rather you'll be catering to vegans who want junk food options (like me!!). Why are you taking that approach?

This is really important to us because sometimes you just want to eat what society calls "normal" without having to ask someone to give up their life in the process. You don't want to HAVE TO eat salad or tofu. Although these items are great, they are the standard option anywhere you go.
Our children want to go out and get chicken nuggets or pizza just like every other kid in America. They just want to do it without harming their animal friends in the process. For us, being vegan is about respecting all life that surrounds us. Being healthy is the added bonus.

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Stay tuned to Vegan Crunk for further updates on Imagine Vegan Cafe's opening. This place is so right up my alley — comfort food, good beer, vegan cheese sticks, dairy-free milkshakes. I don't think I'll ever leave this place once it opens.

In other vegan news, Midtown Yolo (a local yogurt joint with a few dairy-free options) will feature the top five winners from their Project Green Fork Flavor Creation gelato contest on Friday, April 1st from 2 to 6 p.m. I have the inside scoop (no pun intended) that one or more of the winners will be dairy-free! The address is 6 S. Cooper St.