Does a business deserve to be held to a lesser standard of customer service simply because they are all veg?
We had a disappointing experience at Planet Raw restaurant in Pleasant Hill recently. After 90 minutes of driving, we arrive to find Planet Raw tucked away in the corner of this shopping center in the suburbs. Chris goes inside while I’m outside looking at the menu and taking a photograph of the exterior to help promote them in the Ultimate Guide.
Chris returns before I’ve even finished taking my pictures, as I had to wait while this woman exited, as we prefer pics without people for UG.
And he says they’re closed, I ask why, he says the chef has left. And then, the woman who was leaving, interrupts our conversation to identify herself as the chef and just erupts with this litany of reasons why she is leaving, in a very angry fashion, ending with “next time call before you want to eat here”. Not one word of apology or even acknowledgment that now her restaurant is unable to fulfill its function of serving food to customers, because she is walking out mid-day.
I was totally shocked by her rudeness, and the very anti-customer tirade. (It almost felt like I was in the wrong for wanting to spend money at her restaurant.) Anyways, after she stormed off, our curiousity did get the better of us so we went back inside together to ask the staff who that was. They said it was Valerie, co-owner and chef. They were very friendly and apologetic, and did offer to try to make us something, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the very un-welcome greeting we just had. Interestingly enough, Valerie contacted me through yelp (where I also posted a review) and said the staff made a mistake; it was Carol, the other co-owner, who was rude, not her.
Anyways, for anyone else who might be driving a distance to visit them, I just wanted to share our experience that they close unexpectedly, and beware that you may be treated rudely.
Personally, while I do want veg businesses to succeed, I don’t think it does them any favors to hold them to a lesser standard. For any veg business to succeed, it must have the support of both veg and non-veg customers.
Side note: This was most definitely our first and last visit to Planet Raw. I might just give up on raw restaurants all together after this. The last time that I dined at one, Cafe Gratitude in SF, the waiter (who knew I was vegan) felt compelled to tell me that he prefers to dine on animals because he feels closer to them.
Scallion Pancakes. Just those two words are enough to completely grab my attention.
If you’re veg and live in the San Francisco Bay Area (anywhere not under a rock), you’ll hopefully know exactly what I’m talking about.
Garden Fresh, a popular vegan restaurant in Mountain View, serves scallion pancakes as an appetizer. It’s a fried pancake (yum) served with a brown sauce on top of another fried pancake (double yum).
One day, I was at my local library and browsing the cookbook section. Although I have the world wide web at my fingertips, and close to two dozen vegan cookbooks at home, I do like to occasionally check out a vegan cookbook at my local library so that it keeps them in circulation.
While in that general area, I randomly picked up this cookbook called Quick & Easy Chinese. I was flipping through it, looking at the color pictures. When, suddenly, I spotted scallion pancakes! Okay, so the author calls them “Green Onion Pancakes”. The picture looks exactly like the scallion pancakes at Garden Fresh.
So if you also love the Scallion Pancakes at Garden Fresh, and want to try and make some at home, go look for this cookbook Quick & Easy Chinese. I took a quick look through the rest of the cookbook, and it didn’t strike me as particularly veg-friendly. So, you may just want to get it through your local library.
I can be an avid reader. Unless it’s something for the veg/animal rights book club that I belong to, I’m typically reading fiction. I picked up Dead Heat by Dick Francis. He’s one of my favorite authors because he writes interesting and suspenseful action novels, usually with a horse theme.
I’ve read many Dick Francis novels over the last decade. If I had to put a number to it, probably over 25. Yet, this one was a first in two ways – it mentioned vegans, and I actually learned a real fact about a food that I eat regularly.
The story involves a chef who caters two meals at a horse racing track. There is a nod to preparing food for vegetarians and “one vegan who had preordered grilled musthrooms to start, roasted vegetables for main course and a fresh fruit salad for dessert”.
Yeah, I can relate to being the vegan who has to preorder special meals. He got that part right. But then in an interesting twist, someone later dies, and the suspect is food poisoning from kidney beans. Francis says “Every chef, every cook, every housewife, even every schoolboy, knows that kidney beans have to be boiled to make them safe to eat.” (chapter 6)
Hmmm .. well, that is everyone except me! I finished the book last night, and this morning did a quick google search on “kidney beans toxic”. And it’s true, a few undercooked kidney beans can make you sick in just a few hours.
Phytohaemagglutinin, the presumed toxic agent, is found in many species of beans, but it is in highest concentration in red kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). The unit of toxin measure is the hemagglutinating unit (hau). Raw kidney beans contain from 20,000 to 70,000 hau, while fully cooked beans contain from 200 to 400 hau. White kidney beans, another variety of Phaseolus vulgaris, contain about one-third the amount of toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% the amount that red kidney beans contain.
The syndrome is usually caused by the ingestion of raw, soaked kidney beans, either alone or in salads or casseroles. As few as four or five raw beans can trigger symptoms. Several outbreaks have been associated with “slow cookers” or crock pots, or in casseroles which had not reached a high enough internal temperature to destroy the glycoprotein lectin. It has been shown that heating to 80°C may potentiate the toxicity five-fold, so that these beans are more toxic than if eaten raw. In studies of casseroles cooked in slow cookers, internal temperatures often did not exceed 75°C.
The onset time from consumption of raw or undercooked kidney beans to symptoms varies from between 1 to 3 hours. Onset is usually marked by extreme nausea, followed by vomiting, which may be very severe. Diarrhea develops somewhat later (from one to a few hours), and some persons report abdominal pain. Some persons have been hospitalized, but recovery is usually rapid (3 – 4 h after onset of symptoms) and spontaneous.
I’ll still eat and enjoy cooked kidney beans. But it gives me a new appreciation and respect for these powerful little beans.
I grew up eating the sad Standard American Diet, consuming animals by the mouthful. Green Salad was one of those foods, as a young carnivore, that I liked only when it was smothered with a creamy Thousand Island dressing and crunchy croutons on top.
As a vegan, I’ve educated myself and now enjoy a variety of different salads, from bean salads to green salads to fruit salads.
Recipes for three bean salads abound. I basically use the one from Peaceful Palate by Jennifer Raymond.
I still don’t like green beans though. So in my version of a three-bean salad, I replace the green beans with red bell pepper. In this version photographed, I used both red and yellow bell peppers.
I brought this bean salad to a vegan food party (aka potluck) in Pacifica. Purely by coincidence, I found this went well mixed with a green salad that someone else had brought.
And, thanks to Saucy Vegetarian, I can make my own creamy salad dressings for my green salads. For crunch, I add walnuts instead of croutons.
Are you a top vegan chef? In the San Francisco Bay Area? This could be your opportunity to share vegan food through one of the top reality cooking shows. And, the best part, when they ask you to choose your “protein”, shout “Seitan! Tempeh! Tofu! Kidney Beans! Lentils!”
Yes, Bravo TV is casting for season 7 of “Top Chef”. It would be totally awesome to have some vegans on the show who choose BEANS as their protein! There is an open call in San Francisco on October 18th.
Chefs with a passion for food, creativity, a thorough knowledge of cooking techniques and trends and oodles of charisma are what we’re looking for. We want talented, experienced chefs with that flare that puts you over the top.
SAN FRANCISCO
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
10:00am – 2:00pm
The Parlor, 2801 Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
There are other open calls on various dates in Miami, Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles through November 15th so spread the word to all the vegan chefs you know.
Or, even if you’re not a great chef, it might still be fun to bluff it with your fabulous personality and favorite vegan message t-shirt. Tell them to eat beans, not beings ….
Earlier this Spring, I was on a day trip through Berkeley with a friend. We had trekked across the Bay on BART, and were on a quest for vegan pizza at Bobby G’s. Everything else in between that and home was by random chance or grumbling “feed me” messages from our stomachs.
Smart Alec’s was one of those stops. We happened to be across the street, realized we were hungry, and thus decided to refuel on the most delicious vegan “air baked fries”.
Fresh Garlic on Air-Baked Fries
Catering toward Cal Berkeley students, Smart Alec’s is cafeteria-style food (burgers and soups), with many vegetarian and a few vegan options. There are still a few folks who are long-time members of the veg community in the SF Bay Area that begrudge Smart Alec’s decision to stray away from being an entirely vegetarian restaurant.
The order shown here was a large, all for the princely sum of $1.99. Fresh garlic is an optional choice, and is a must-have for those of you who like garlic, or are worried about vampires. Side note, Saturn Cafe, a veg restaurant open until the wee hours in Santa Cruz, also serves fries with fresh garlic.
In all honestly, and hindsight, I should have gotten a small, or split an order. But sometimes those “feed me” messages from my tummy overwhelm the rational part of my brain that should be responsible for making decisions like portion control.
Asian Rose was a restaurant in Santa Cruz, popular for its delicious and rich Sri Lankan cuisine. It’s just over an hour’s drive for us, down beautiful and scenic Highway 1. We made it a point to visit at least once or twice a year.
Over the recent Labor Day holiday weekend, little did we know that it would be our last trip. The food has always been entirely vegetarian, with many vegan choices. For example, all of the curries on the menu were vegan, and the prices were incredibly reasonable: one item was $6, two items $6.50, 3 items $7, and 4 items $7.50.
Another three Item Curry - Asian Rose
The first two photos shows two typical plates of three item curries – a deal at $7, including rice and a papadam. I opted for the Mixed Vegetables Curry, Spinach Yam Curry, and Basil Eggplant Curry shown in the first photo.
My biggest regret, every single time I’ve eaten at Asian Rose, is that there is a finite amount of food on the plate and I eventually reach the end.
As dire as my title sounds, Farewell Asian Rose, it’s really not that grim. We are not facing the end of vegan Sri Lankan food (yea!!)
Sri Lankan Spicy Potatoes
It’s sister restaurant, Malabar Cafe in Santa Cruz, remains open for dinner only, serving much of the same delicious cuisine. They’re now open daily from 5 pm to 9 m, and to 9:30 pm on Friday and Saturday evenings. And when I talked to the owner/chef during my most recent visit, he was going to be adding crepes. When we told him we were vegan, he assured us there would be vegan ones available, too.
So, whether it was Asian Rose or the remaining Malabar Cafe, it’s well-worth the journey to Santa Cruz for vegan Sri Lankan food.
An updated version of Bay Area Vegetarians’ handy Ultimate Guide is now available for your iPod. This lists all the vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, great for locals, tourists, and everyone who enjoys dining veg.
It’s easily installed by downloading a file and moving it content to the ‘Notes’ directory of your iPod. The Guide does not programmatically alter your iPod in any way: it’s simply a collection of documents organized for easy browsing.
Have a yen for vegan pizza? Well, it’s easier than you think thank to some widely available vegan products that have become staples in my household.
Pizza Dough: Don’t feel like making pizza dough from scratch, or even kneading the premade pizza dough available from Trader Joe’s? A very easy and delicious alternative is the cornmeal pizza crust from Vicolo’s. They’re sold as a two-pack in the refrigerated or frozen section of natural food stores. The last time I checked, New Leaf in Half Moon Bay priced it at $5.09.
Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet
Vegan Cheese: This isn’t entirely necessary for a vegan pizza, but it does provide another flavor dimension. There are quite a few commercial vegan cheeses now available as well as potentially making your own tofu ricotta style cheesey sauce.
The Follow Your Heart “Vegan Gourmet” cheese alternatives are the most widely available, even in small towns on the San Francisco mid-Peninsula. With this brand, the trick is to broil the pizza for the last few minutes of cooking to help the “cheese alternative” melt. (Hey, that’s what they call it on their website; cheese alternative photo courtesy of Follow Your Heart)
Vegan Pizza with Broccoli, Pineapple, and Olives
Sauce: I’m rather simple in this manner. I take a can of tomato paste (Trader Joe’s house brand), and add some water and herbs to it and use that as my sauce base. For herbs, I use a generic mix called “Italian Seasoning” that I’ve bought from the herb & spices bulk section at Rainbow Grocery. Another alternative is equally simple – instead of the dried herbs, I’ll use freshly crushed garlic. Or maybe both. Then a pinch of salt.
Toppings: Everything tastes good on pizza. My favorites are: bell pepper, onions, olives, pineapple, corn kernels, and broccoli.
