San Francisco Bay Area Vegetarian » vegan friendly

Jodie’s Vegetarian Soul Food in Berkeley

Ted — Mon, 31 May 2010 21:53:06 +0000

Berkeley 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.

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

Millennium – Gourmet Veganism

Ted — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:44:59 +0000

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 - 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

Best Burger, Vegan? (sfist.com)
Reading Food Labels: Certified Vegan (wholefoodandmore.net)
“Uncooked, organic foods such as raw sauerkraut, flaxseed and searingly hot habanero peppers.” (althouse.blogspot.com)
Top Chef Brings on the Vegetables and Natalie Portman! (takepart.com)
Clean Plates NYC: Eating Well and Healthy in the Big Apple (takepart.com)
How to Eat Vegan & Vegetarian During DineLA (laist.com)
The Must-Have Vegetarian Cookbooks (fitsugar.com)
What the Last Meal Taught Him (nytimes.com)

Organic Vegan in San Jose – Vegetarian House

Ted — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:48:35 +0000

The Vegetarian House is an organic, vegan restaurant in San Jose. I haven’t visited it yet, so I cannot give it a review. Their menu looks interesting: Vegetarian House menu.

Vegetarian House

520 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, 95112
(map)

(408) 292-3798

Mexico City style restaurant