California Desert Adventure ☀️
Quick Respite in San Diego

After a few nights roughing it, a self-care day in San Diego. It started with Split Bakehouse, an all-vegan bakery I was really looking forward to. It’s inside a food court in a mall, but the food court has a bunch of dediacted vegan eateries. That is vegan friendly! Take note, New York.

Decisions are a lot of pressure. It’s not like I can just come back next week.

I went for a almond croissant (because I always have to try the pastry) and a yube conch. The friendly folks in line chatted me up about what to choose.

Yube means show me that purple please…

Yummy. Almond cream on top kind sogged it up however. Still absolutely delcious

On a tip from the bartender at a brewery on the way in, he hit a beach more off the beaten path as I suppose tourist swarms have other preferences. It was still very crowded considering the overcast. The first overcast day with a chill in the air would be the day we go swimming!

It was glorious of course. Nothing quite calms me like the ocean.

Finally at the beach!

After, a dinner at Donna Jean, San Diego’s premiere vegan restaurant. Far swankier than we planned for, but very well needed. On the walk there, San Diego corners popping with beauty.

Donna Jean‘s concept is making vegan food from scratch… from their own butter, handmade pasta, sauces–anything a discerning vegan may expect, Donna Jean delivered.

Housemade bread, housemade butter… I could have eaten three loaves of this fresh and warm bread. It was heavenly.

I went for the gnocchi, piled high with their housemade parmesan shards. The plate was served with spinach and not kale, as noted in the description. It was also missing tomato it was supposed to have. Both would have helped it be less one-note. Don’t get me wrong it was delicious one-note, but…

My friend’s dish: The Caramelle: stuffed pasta with fennel sausage spiced tempeh, pesto, dragon tongue beans, spinach, and topped with their parmesan.

For dessert, we shared a big soft fresh-baked vegan chocolate chip cookie. I thought it was really good. My friend liked my cookies better 🙂

The sunlight on the way to getting a drink… What a light show!

Said drink, tiki-inspired though the bar is not of this genre.

It was the strongest drink on the menu and I had to stop halfway. . .

The next morning was experience very strange service at Better Buzz Coffee. The counter person randomly took off all of the avocado toast’s toppings without explanation. But she rang it up like I had requested it that way! She punched in “no watermelon radish” without explaining they were out until I asked (I then saw it on another’s sandwich.) She punched in “no cucumber” because she wanted to I guess. I had to request it be put back on. My friend, who got the same thing, got a lemon wedge and microgreens, but I did not. It was all very odd and off-putting. The toast was very good, but the awkward way the counterperson took the order was irksome. Don’t mess with my avocado toast!

After, another awkward food situation. A table out front of Spoiled Vegans with the request to order online despite staff being present. Can we stop doing this now? Can service come back to the eating experience? And can we ABnormalize tacking on a tip to the ordering process when the level of service is not yet known! Like at this brewery we went to–you had to order online. If you had a question, you had to call a number despite being surrounded by the brewery’s staff. It’s very odd! Sorry for the rant, but food experiences have just gotten so impersonal and bizarre. Don’t you want to talk to your customers? Guess not.

Here is what I needed to get: The Let Go Of My Diego sausage on a stick… Apple Sage Sausage (read: Field Roast) wrapped in a crispy waffle on a stick! Served with a side of maple mustard.

It was a fun few bites.

A brownie for free. Ok, the guy I that bussed my order gave great service and I got a free brownie.

On our way to LA!