Restaurant Review: Bay Area Edition

Last week I was in the San Francisco Bay Area to see my younger brother off to boot camp. I spent a lot of time watching football and cracking jokes with all of my siblings but I also got the opportunity to visit one of my favorite vegan restaurants (and mourn the ones that were too far away for me to get to).

My favorite place to visit when I head home is a humble place in Oakland’s Jack London Square neighborhood that is skyrocketing in popularity, Souley Vegan. My mother actually introduced me to this restaurant over a year ago after she heard about it from a coworker. The two of us headed there for dinner one evening and started a tradition of regular (maybe obsessive?) visits from that point on. Not every dish is perfect but Souley Vegan constantly improves and implements customer feedback and sometimes that’s more important to me than having everything be flawless the first time I visit.

Though some dishes could use a bit of help, there is one item on Souley Vegan’s menu that I have had an embarrassing number of times and at this point I pretty much refuse to eat anything else, no matter how good it is. That item, is the Portabella Steak sandwich. It is a crunchy, meaty, juicy, messy pile of joy that is consistently delicious and perfect every single time. Let me paint a picture for you, dear reader, in case you find yourself in the Bay Area with not a clue what to eat. The bun, though important to some, is not as important to me. What is important is the mushroom, a huge specimen covered in a lightly fried and impeccably seasoned cornmeal coating. It shines beneath a layer of garlicky sauteed spinach and minimal condiments such. The first bite of this sandwich alone is enough to come back. Add to it many more bites, as well as an array of tasty sides (the homestyle french fries and black-eyed peas stand out), delicious house-made teas and lemonades (the strawberry ginger is sweet, spicy, and utterly delicious) and a laid-back atmosphere and I’m not sure why you’re still reading this if you’re in the Bay Area. Go get that sandwich!

Another favorite of mine, which sadly did not make it into my belly during this trip, is Cinnaholic. Cinnaholic sits directly across from the entrance to UC Berkeley’s campus and serves some of the most delicious cinnamon rolls you could ever hope to have cross your path. The kinds of cinnamon rolls available seems endless due to the mind-boggling amount of frostings and toppings available to choose from. My personal favorite combinations are caramel frosting with almonds and strawberries or classic frosting with chocolate chip cookie dough. (Oh yea, they sell cookies and brownies too). But back to the cinnamon rolls. Cinnaholic also offers specialty rolls that will run you a bit less than choosing your own toppings and a special of the day for only $4. The best thing of all? A student ID will earn you a discount and you don’t have to be a UC Berkeley student. I was pretty upset about not being able to make it to Cinnaholic this trip so that means if you’re in the neighborhood, you have to go eat an extra cinnamon roll just for me.

Restaurant Review: Everlasting Life Cafe

I love food. That may seem like a statement most people would proclaim but I’ve found that when most people say they love food, they really mean they like it or have an acquaintance with it but rarely do they mean they love it the way I do. Unfortunately, many of these people who only have a friendship rather than a love affair with food own or cook in restaurants. I’ve eaten at a lot of terrible restaurants. I’ve eaten a lot of terrible vegan food at even more restaurants. But every now and then I’m blessed to find a place where it is obvious there’s some good old-fashioned food-lovin’ going on. Everlasting Life Cafe in Washington, DC is one of those places.

Everlasting Life was initially a place I used to write off as I walked past on my way home from classes at Howard University. The original owners had a health food store in front of the cafe and unless you knew about the secret food in the back, it was easy to keep on walking. When I finally did try Everlasting Life I got a small serving of their lasagna and wasn’t convinced. I was still eating dairy cheese at the time and the “cheesy” sauce just wasn’t anywhere near what I expected from lasagna. I can’t tell you how much time passed before I finally gave this gem of a restaurant the love it truly deserves. But when I finally paid attention it quickly became one of my top three favorite places to eat in DC outside of my own kitchen. The variety of foods makes it easy to please most palates and the flavors are consistent. I’ve been on a raw food kick lately and typically get the spicy tofu, mung bean noodles, and sesame spinach. My favorite hot bar food is the tofu pot pie, which isn’t offered in the summer months but should be making it’s way back to me soon. It has the perfect flaky yet tender crust and creamy gravy with just the right amount of tofu and vegetables. It’s my favorite thing on the menu by far. If you’re ever in DC and make it past the monuments, be sure to visit this humble restaurant serving amazing food.

*Since I neglected to take photos of the food here are pictures of my cat when she was only a kitten*