Vegan Restaurant Dining and 25th Birthday

For those of you who know me personally, your probably new to hearing the fact that I (along with my boyfriend) am vegan. I was a vegetarian for a while, way back when, then went back to meat, then went back to being a vegetarian. What started out as going vegan for health reasons turned into also doing it for ethical and sustainability reasons. 

I don't normally like to spout off that I am vegan due to the reaction I have gotten already. It is either, "Where do you get your protein?" or "Don't you miss _____ (insert food here)?" or "I bet you just wanna eat this burger!" Another major reason I don't usually tell people what I eat, is because some people think I can't understand them or can't counsel them or that I think differently about them since I choose not to eat animal products. The fact is, I can counsel (yes, even though you eat differently than I do), I can understand, and no I don't think differently about you. I know there are some people that may act differently as a vegan, but I am not one of them. I'm planning on writing a post later on how I switched to vegetarian then a vegan diet, health benefits, my own personal benefits, and my responses to the ridiculous questions I get. Just getting that out of the way :) 

So, moving on... Yesterday was my 25th birthday. Happy Birthday to me! Adam (my boyfriend) and I went out to eat to Blue Sage Vegetarian Grille in Southampton, PA. I would highly, highly recommend it! The food was amazing, staff was really nice, and the portion sizes were huge! They have all the vegan items on the menu starred (*), which makes it easy. There are also vegetarian dishes that can be made vegan. They do have a non-vegan, non-vegetarian dishes as well. I would suggest trying some of the other stuff though, you would be pleasantly surprised! 

We got a ton of food, mainly because we wanted to try it all! We got the Taco Verduras and Luna Buns for appetizers. The Taco Verduras was blue corn griddle cakes with pumpkin seed crusted tofu, piquillo pepper remoulade, mashed avocado, and pickled red onions. They were absolutely delicious. The combo worked so well together. I really want to make tofu this way! 

The Luna Buns were steamed mini Chinese buns with roasted cremini bacon in a sweet-spicy hoisin glaze with pickled cabbage, cucumber, and pea leaves. Adam really liked those. I though they were a little sweet and I also wasn't a fan of the bun texture. I also got the Ginger Scallion Miso Bowl made with leeks, pumpkin, cauliflower, and white miso. Amazing! 

My main course was the Fresco: a salad with polenta croutons, roasted red peppers, hummus, pistachios, and oven dried cherry tomatoes. I went the no cheese route and got the maple mustard vinaigrette on the side. Again, awesome. I barely ate any of it because I was already full from everything else. That will be my lunch for work tomorrow :)

Adam got the Pan Bagna, which was a baguette with chickpea fritters, tomatoes, shallots, and pea leaves and a sherry vinegar oil. It also came with a side salad (really big!). Adam wasn't crazy about the chickpea texture. I thought it was good, but a little too mushy for my likings. 

 

Of course, there is always room for dessert on your birthday :) We shared a hazelnut torte (vegan) with a chocolate cream and brûléed bananas. Super rich and creamy. I don't think I would have been able to eat it on my own! 

Have you ever tried a vegan/vegetarian restaurant? What did you think??