Back In the Seattle Again
August 28, 2009
River House Creperie
West Seattle
Rive House is a darling little creperie right off the West Seattle Bridge that offers a vegan gluten-free batter as a base for all their sweet and savory crepes. I opted for a simple strawberry and banana crepe rather then fine-tuning one of their many dairy-based options. Although my crepe was scrumptious I am now convinced, having also tried Atlas Cafe‘s vegan crepe, that maybe it’s quite difficult to capture crepe-bility as both have been too akin to pancakes.
Hillside Quickie’s Cafe
Capitol Hill
Hillside has a growing family taking root in the Pacific Northwest. With sandwich shops in the University District and Tacoma and a small cafe in Capitol Hill, Quickie’s also recently opened a vegan bistro (see Plum below). A friend and I popped into the cafe on the Hill for a savory bite after those sweet, sweet crepes. But when there’s vegan cake, I’m going to have to try it. We opted to share a heaping slice of peanut butter banana cake and their delicious vegan Reuben. As not the hugest fan of peanut butter (I know, I know) but a huge fan of the banana-baked treat, the cake pleased me fine. The Reuben is always a pleaser, especially when one’s craving some salt- thin layers of wheat meat, tomatoes, red onion, sauerkraut and vegan thousand islands. Yum.
Plum Vegan Bistro
Capitol Hill
The latest member of the Quickie’s family at just about a month old, Plum is more of a upscale eatery than its sister soldiers. This great space has a lot of tasty sounding options but requiring some wicked sustenance I chose the hearty scramble of the day from their breakfast menu. The name of the game at Plum is savory saltiness. And I mean that in a good way. My scramble was super satisfying and flavorful and with a side of thick, smeared French-toast-tasting toast, a perfect balance.
The seitan steak, greens and grits was also very good though I’d prefer a firm grain to the wet, granule-y grits as the seitan was super tender.
What’s a brunch without the potatoes? Plum’s Cajun spuds were delectable but skip the accompanying aioli if you’re trying to avoid a sodium headache.
Thrive
University District
“Welcome to the fullest expression of your physical magnificence” the website says. So right there you get the vibe of of Thrive, a raw juice bar and cafe in the University District. You got to love the energy of those raw foodies. We strolled in brimming from the carb fest at Plum but yet with enough room to swallow 12 oz. of beet, apple, carrot and the good energy from the beaming employees. The great space has tons of info on the raw food lifestyle as well as some bulk and pantry staples and some yummy-looking desserts.
Mighty O
West Seattle
Rive House is a darling little creperie right off the West Seattle Bridge that offers a vegan gluten-free batter as a base for all their sweet and savory crepes. I opted for a simple strawberry and banana crepe rather then fine-tuning one of their many dairy-based options. Although my crepe was scrumptious I am now convinced, having also tried Atlas Cafe‘s vegan crepe, that maybe it’s quite difficult to capture crepe-bility as both have been too akin to pancakes.
Hillside Quickie’s CafeCapitol Hill
Hillside has a growing family taking root in the Pacific Northwest. With sandwich shops in the University District and Tacoma and a small cafe in Capitol Hill, Quickie’s also recently opened a vegan bistro (see Plum below). A friend and I popped into the cafe on the Hill for a savory bite after those sweet, sweet crepes. But when there’s vegan cake, I’m going to have to try it. We opted to share a heaping slice of peanut butter banana cake and their delicious vegan Reuben. As not the hugest fan of peanut butter (I know, I know) but a huge fan of the banana-baked treat, the cake pleased me fine. The Reuben is always a pleaser, especially when one’s craving some salt- thin layers of wheat meat, tomatoes, red onion, sauerkraut and vegan thousand islands. Yum.
Plum Vegan BistroCapitol Hill
The latest member of the Quickie’s family at just about a month old, Plum is more of a upscale eatery than its sister soldiers. This great space has a lot of tasty sounding options but requiring some wicked sustenance I chose the hearty scramble of the day from their breakfast menu. The name of the game at Plum is savory saltiness. And I mean that in a good way. My scramble was super satisfying and flavorful and with a side of thick, smeared French-toast-tasting toast, a perfect balance.
The seitan steak, greens and grits was also very good though I’d prefer a firm grain to the wet, granule-y grits as the seitan was super tender.
What’s a brunch without the potatoes? Plum’s Cajun spuds were delectable but skip the accompanying aioli if you’re trying to avoid a sodium headache.
ThriveUniversity District
“Welcome to the fullest expression of your physical magnificence” the website says. So right there you get the vibe of of Thrive, a raw juice bar and cafe in the University District. You got to love the energy of those raw foodies. We strolled in brimming from the carb fest at Plum but yet with enough room to swallow 12 oz. of beet, apple, carrot and the good energy from the beaming employees. The great space has tons of info on the raw food lifestyle as well as some bulk and pantry staples and some yummy-looking desserts.
Mighty O
Wallingford
Call me a wuss but I can barely eat one Mighty O. Somewhere about halfway through my sugar intake level is maxed out. But, given the satisfying texture and appearance of the sexy Mighty O, I cannot stop there. Mighty O is the real deal: real fried and gluttonly glazed vegan donuts… not mere circular vegan cakes. These two below were straight off the cooling rack and skimmed from an order fresh! The kind clerk sympathized with our only slightly hyperbolic devastation of having arrived to an empty display case near closing time.
Heirloom Salad a la host/most
Heirloom Salad a la host/mostThick heirloom tomato slices, fresh basil, avocado, sea salt, cracked pepper and olive oil.
A Sailor’s Breakfast
A Sailor’s BreakfastWatermelons that take it personally, tangelo-sized mission figs, orange-sized tangelos and a pineapple-sized pine apples.
P.C.C. Natural Market
P.C.C. Natural MarketFremont
After much resistance, having had one too many veggie pizza slices that were not more than a pile of sloppy veggies on wet bread, I finally agreed to try P.C.C.’s signature vegan slice. With my friend’s vegan cred on the line, I was pleasantly surprised! The thin crusted-slice had layers of green pesto and marinara topped with artichokes, tomatoes, mushrooms and olives. So good. Back it up with an Oogave soda and you’ve got the perfect quick meal.
Central Cinema
Central CinemaCentral District
When I heard it through the grapevine that Central Cinema had veg-friendly pigs in a blanket at their cafe, I knew I had to go. But this was no hack job! Central Cinema delivered a huge apple-sage Field Roast weiner wrapped in fresh, soft seasoned and oiled bread. It was an unbelievable snack that went great with their curry popcorn and local beers.
Food Co-op
Food Co-opPort Townsend
Port Townsend is a lovely, sleepy harbor town across the Puget Sound and north of Seattle. It has a wonderful co-op with a great selection of veg and raw fare. Given their retail prices were much cheaper than in my New York City, I opted to try some raw snacks for the sustenance during the double-feature at the Wheel In Motor Movie drive-in. They also have a great juice bar to compensate for the nary vegan breakfast options in town.
Bleu Bistro
Bleu BistroCapitol Hill
Bleu is a dark lil bistro with a huge menu of vintage cocktails and plenty of private curtain-surrounded seating. Eventually arriving at the food section of their long menu after discussing bacon’s kinda-recent and definitely odd emergence in cupcakes, chocolate bars and high-end gourmet food, I had to hop on the bandwagon and choose the Vegetarian B.L.T. I never liked bacon: the crispy texture nor the salty taste! But the faux-bacon strips (with the “realistic” red stripes) gave me a sense of the appeal, I suppose. Facon was piled high, like an inch thick, and could have used a bit more L. and T. to water down the salt factor. But there was some apple sauce for dipping that did the trick.
Bacon tom-foolery at Central Market in Poulsbo. Bacon chocolate bars need to know there place.
Bacon tom-foolery at Central Market in Poulsbo. Bacon chocolate bars need to know there place.