Archive for the 'Ethnic Restaurants' Category

Jodie’s Vegetarian Soul Food in Berkeley

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2 months ago
in Berkeley, Eastbay Cities, Soul Food, vegan friendly and vegetarian friendly
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Jodies in berkeleyBerkeley has no shortage of vegetarian restaurants. You’ll have your choice of Thai, Indian, Chinese, Italian, and just about every other ethnic variety. It’s also lucky enough to have a good ol’ Southern restaurant squeezed into a shoebox of a space in Albany, near Marin and Solana avenues.

Jodie’s is soul food with the emphasis on soul. You’ll get fed with love and pride. The menu is filled with vegetarian options If you can’t choose, just ask for “nothing with something, minus the meat.”

The food at Jodies is quite unique. The owner is proud to tell you that there’s no other restaurant with the same dishes. These are all figments of their imagination.

The recipes are filled with flavor from slow cooking and real spices. Don’t even think of adding ketchup or syrup to your dishes until you’ve tasted them au naturel.

Jodie’s is not for everyone. It’s tiny, cramped, and bohemian. You will end up chatting with everyone that has found a space inside or at the sidewalk tables. This is not the place to enjoy a long breakfast with a book and solitude. This is where you go when you want something unique, flavorful, and enjoy the company of new friends.
Jodies in Berkeley
Although Jodie’s is tiny and cramped, it is still somewhat accessible. A wheelchair could not get to the bathroom. However, there is outdoor seating and there is no step to enter the restaurant. There are no braille menus, but asking for advice is half the fun.

Jodie’s Restaurant
  • 902 Masonic Ave
  • Berkeley, 94706
(650) 364-2808
Southern and Soul Food
  • Overall: 5/5
  • Value: 4/5
  • Location: 3.5/5
  • Taste: 4/5
  • Vegetarian Options: 4/5
  • Vegan Options: 4/5
  • Meat-Eating Friend Friendly: 4/5

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Millennium – Gourmet Veganism

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Ted
8 months, 4 weeks ago
in Ethnic Restaurants, San Francisco, raw food, vegan, vegan friendly and vegetarian friendly
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It’s hard to live up to great expectations. That is a curse that Millennium has to deal with. They’ve become known as the “French Laundry” of veganism. While that is great for bringing the guests in, it’s also easy for them to leave disappointed. I was one of those customers on my first visit.

Dinner at the Millennium

Dinner at the Millennium - Photo by Tomeppy - Creative Commons

Don’t get me wrong, Millennium has great food. Scratch that, they have excellent food. More surprisingly the food happens to be vegan and  innovative. What more could I have expected? A religious experience?

I was given a gift certificate for Christmas last year and made a return trip. This time my expectations were not in the stratosphere and I truly enjoyed the meal.

Honest Vegan Food

We’ve all seen the vegetarian or vegan version of a meat dish. We can eat shitake burgers, tu-no casserole, mock duck curry, and the list goes on. Millennium is not trying to re-invent meat dishes with other proteins. Their dishes explore the vegan proteins to see what new dishes can be created.

For example, the basket of bread arrives with a spread that doesn’t try to be butter. It’s got a personality of its own. Keep this in mind when visiting the restaurant. Don’t try to compare it to meat restaurants, look at the dishes on their own merit.

Expectations

You can expect to pay $60-100 for dinner (2 people), not including wine. The dishes are seasonal so you may want to make that big visit in Spring or Summer to get the best produce. Although it would be a great place to have dinner after a long day of holiday shopping. Heck, you’ve already blown your budget at Macy’s why not go all the way?

Millennium Restaurant
  • 580 Geary St
  • San Francisco, 94102
(415) 345-3900
Gourmet Vegan
  • Overall: 4/5
  • Value: 3/5
  • Location: 5/5
  • Taste: 5/5
  • Vegetarian Options: 5/5
  • Vegan Options: 5/5
  • Meat-Eating Friend Friendly: 2/5
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La Casita Chilanga – Mexico City in Redwood City

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10 months, 1 week ago
in Ethnic Restaurants, Meat Eating Friend, Mexican and Redwood City
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I’ve always said I’m an adventurous eater. I’ve got an iron stomach and willing to eat anything that is vegetarian. Granted there are some cheeses that would make me think twice, but the one challenge that stood out was the black corn smut of Mexico. Huitlacoche is a fungus that attacks corn and turns it into something that reminds me of a stray dog I found who was covered in ticks. It took hours to remove those bloated little freaks from the grateful dog.
Huitlacoche

In the back of my mind I hoped I’d never come across this monster on a menu. And then it happened. La Casita Chilanga sells corn smut tacos. I was stuck. I had to order them.

La Casita Chilanga – Mexico City Style

First off, lets back up to the joint in general. It’s a small Mexican restaurant in Redwood City. The parking is ok, depending on the time of day. Their closest competition is  a Peruvian restaurant.

You won’t find the standard list of tacos and burritos at a Mexican City style place. Look for tortas and slow cooked meals instead. There are a couple Mexico-city style restaurants in San Diego that I base my experiences with: Super Cocino and Chilangos. La Casita Chilanga has built their customer base by selling enormous tortas (sandwiches filled with meat and other toppings).

Eating Vegetarian at La Casita Chilanga

La Casita Chilanga has a few vegetarian options. But like most Mexican restaurants, the majority of the menu is meat based. I had the corn smut tacos, a friend had the veggie tostadas, and another friend had a meat torta.

I was really looking forward to eating the smut. However, I can’t tell you what it tasted like. There was enough to turn the taco black, but not enough to establish a flavor. The cheese and salsa were much more prominent. The texture didn’t even help. Over all, I was disappointed. I can’t really say that I’ve experienced the elusive Mexican Truffle.

My friend Jim cannot handle spicy foods, so he requested the veggie tostadas to be mild. Unfortunately they were quite spicy and he couldn’t get past a single bite of food. I tried them and thought they were ok but not spectacular.

Our meat-eating friend was quite happy with his torta. I can’t remember what creature was inside or how it was prepared. It was probably al pastor.

Overall, I’d say this was a good choice for your meat eating friends who are looking for something other than a taco shop in the Redwood City area. I wouldn’t plan another trip. I think the next time I am in the area I will try the Peruvian restaurant or a great Thai place around the corner.

La Casita Chilanga
  • 761 El Camino Real
  • Redwood City, 94063
(650) 364-2808
Mexico City style restaurant
  • Overall: 2.5/5
  • Value: 3/5
  • Location: 3/5
  • Taste: 2/5
  • Vegetarian Options: 2/5
  • Vegan Options: 1/5
  • Meat-Eating Friend Friendly: 4/5