Vegan Mofo: Pigging Out...Vegan Style!

I remember it like it was yesterday, my very first trip to Veggie Bite (Chicago, IL). I didn't really know what to expect from a vegan fast food restaurant but as a faithful guinea pig I was compelled to try everything on the menu. I fell in love immediately (if it is possible to fall in lust with food then I might have done that too). Since writing my first review on Veggie Bite in April I have been to both locations at least 20 times - which is quiet a feat considering I don't even live in Chicago, or the Midwest!

My most recent visit to Chicago was this past August for my bestfriend's wedding. Imagine my joy when I did a quick mapquest search and realized that the church where the wedding would be held was only a couple miles from the Southside Veggie Bite! Immediately after the wedding my boyfriend and I headed over to Veggie Bite for our own version of a reception (since we already knew there would be no vegan food, aside from a salad, available for us at the real reception). Imagine me in a gorgeous dress and my date in his best suit sitting down to cheese fries, a Philly cheesesteak and a meatball sandwich. It's a wonder I didn't end up getting faux cheese and sliced seitan all over my dress. But we managed to make it out in one piece with some chix-free nuggets to go, just in case we got hungry during the electric slide.

The next day we woke up with Veggie Bite on the brain. We were staying within minutes of the Northside location and as soon as the clock struck noon we were lining up to pig out, vegan style. Here's where the above picture comes in. We got a little carried away with ourselves and ordered damn near everything in the place. It was so much that I just had to take a picture. We took up two tables with all of our food (and I'm positive I gained 5 pounds from this meal alone!) In summation we ordered: 1 Philly cheesesteak, 1 Italian melt, 1 large chix-free nuggets, 1 strawberry milkshake, cheese fries, chili cheese fries and a couple donuts. I believe I even threw in a salad for good measure but I can't be sure. So it's official I'm in love with Veggie Bite. The only thing that would make my life more complete is if they opened one up in Atlanta.

And for the record that's not me, that's Drew pigging out vegan style - you don't think I'd actually put a picture of me up with a mouthful of food?!

Restaurant Review: VeggieBite Chicago, IL

Vegan fast food. An oxymoron right? Well God Bless Chicago because it has not only one vegan fast food restaurant but two! VeggieBite, my savior in a land of Parmesan cheese crusted everything, has two locations, on the Southside at 3031 W 111th St and on the Northside at 1300 N. Milwaukee Ave. My hotel was about 3 miles away from the Northside location and everyday I took a taxi at lunch time to Veggiebite to try something new.

Monday was an off day for VeggieBite. When I walked in the guy on the register was new, he didn't know how to work the credit card machine and they were out of buffalo wings (which I was salivating over after seeing them on the website). So on my first day I got a Philly Cheesesteak and a regular salad. Even though I spent an entire year living in Philadelphia, at this point I can't remember what a real Philly Cheesesteak tastes like. What I can tell you is that this one was amazing! Veggiebite uses its own homemade cheese sauce and a perfectly seasoned seitan beef, sliced thinly and oh so yummy. I really don't even care what a "real" Philly Cheesesteak taste like, because this is one is my one true love.

Tuesday. The girl on the register knew what she was doing and the kitchen was stocked with everything on the menu, unlike the day before. There was a quite a line so by the time I got to the front I was starving and ordered way more than I could ever eat in one sitting. I ordered chili cheese fries, chix-free nuggets, an Italian beef melt and a peach cobbler milkshake. Ok, I admit it. While I was ordering I acted like I was picking up half the order for someone else - I didn't want to seem like a total glutton! Everything smelled so good that I just had to dig into the chili cheese fries in the cab ride back and my poor peach cobbler milkshake never stood a chance to make it all the way back to the hotel. It seems like every time I tasted Veggiebite's cheesy sauce I loved it more and more. The peach cobbler milkshake was rich and decadent and actually had little bits of peach cobbler crust in it. Heavenly! The chix-free nuggets were delicious and came with a BBQ sauce. My only wish is that there was more than one sauce for the nuggets. FYI, if you're in a hurry nuggets are the best thing to get. They are ready in about a minute and the portions are generous. I wasn't able to fit another bite in my mouth for lunch but I managed to finish off the Italian beef melt before dinner with my steak-loving co-workers. The Italian beef melt was wonderful. There was only one problem. There was nothing Italian about it. It was basically the same seitan-beef used on the Philly Cheesesteak, smothered in BBQ sauce and on a bun. Don't get me wrong. It was DELICIOUS and I had to remind myself to breathe I was inhaling it so quickly but it just wasn't really an Italian sandwich. And there also wasn't anything melty or cheesy about it either. Great sandwich, but it needs a new name.

Wednesday. Finally it was time to get the Buffalo wings I had been craving since I first walked into this store. Along with the Buffalo wings I ordered cheese fries, another regular salad, cookie dough milk shake and a hot dog (I know, the oddest combination you've ever heard). The cheese fries were gone by the time I got to the hotel and the milkshake was two sips away from the same fate. I ran up to my room knowing that after 2 days of perfect food VeggieBite wouldn't let me down. Unfortunately, they did. The Buffalo wings were a disaster. Fried tofu with a mix of sriracha and hot sauce. The texture was off, the sauce was off, everything was just off. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. I didn't spit it out but after 2 bites I gave up on trying to like it anymore. Thank God for the hot dog waiting in the wings, you can't go wrong with a hot dog and it did the trick. Next time I go I'm going all the way - the chili cheese hot dog!

Overall, I highly recommend Veggiebite. As long as you steer clear of the Buffalo wings your life will be happy. The prices were fairly reasonable, although they didn't have any type of combos so things did add up quickly. The milkshakes alone are worth the trip! The service was quick and the atmosphere was nice, but above all else the food was delicious. That's all the reason I need.

Restaurant Review: The Chicago Diner Chicago, IL

Today I write to you lying in my hotel room bed, rubbing my belly two seconds away from a complete vegan food coma. My last trip to Chicago was mediocre in the food department, but I knew there were better restaurants out there than the previously blogged about Karyn's Cooked. In walks The Chicago Diner (3411 N. Halsted Chicago, IL), like a knight in shining armor. I'm always intimidated when I go to an all veg*n restaurant. It's strange to look at nearly everything on the menu and realize "I can eat this!" The Chicago Diner's menu has old standbys like Chicken Caesar Salad and Cobb Salad all the way to amazing entrées such as the Vegan Crab Cakes or Red Pepper Ravioli (which I tried). They also have a great kids menu with quesadilla's, Not Dogs, Grilled Cheese and pasta marinara.

I started off with the BBQ Wingz made of seitan with vegan ranch dipping sauce. The wings were okay but the vegan ranch dressing was incredible. I even got some to go so i can enjoy it on a salad or for dipping later. Then of course there is the list of vegan milkshakes & supershakes. My original choice of strawberry was not available but I honestly can't imagine anything tasting more perfect than the Blueberry Shake I ended up ordering. I tried to save room for desert but sipping on this milkshake throughout my meal was more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. The vegan shakes are also made with real fruit so it took away some of my guilt for devouring such a large treat.

For my entrée I went with the Red Pepper Ravioli. I haven't had ravioli since my vegetarian days so this was a welcome treat. The ravioli was stuffed with tomato, zucchini, red pepper and onion with a creamy tomato-vodka sauce served with a side of veggies and garlic bread. The portions were more than generous and the taste was pure perfection. Even when I was way past my limit I still continued to nibble on the ravioli until i literally couldn't fit another bite into my mouth. Just writing about them makes me want to grab them out of the fridge (because of course I had to take some back with me) and have another bite. The hotel room service menu here isn't very vegan friendly but The Chicago Diner has come to my rescue for breakfast tomorrow. I ordered the brunch special for the day of Breakfast Pizza with tomatoes, pineapple, vegan Canadian bacon and soy cheese. I took a little bite of it before putting it in the fridge to save for tomorrow and it was all I could do to not eat the entire thing on the spot.

Hopefully I'll get the chance to go back one more time before I leave to try their $5.95 vegan brunch. The Huevos a la Mexicana (scrambled tofu,tomato, onion, jalapeño, avocado, cilantro, vegan cheese, tortillas, rice, beans and salsa) that the table next to me were eating was calling my name and I can't imagine leaving without trying them.

The Chicago Diner is definitely a mandatory destination for anybody in the Chicago area or visiting. The service was quick and friendly. Every server in there was helpful, you didn't have to wait for your server to come back for you to order, get extra napkins, more sauce or just for someone to check on you to see how your meal was going. I felt like i should tip everyone when I left. The only downside the Chicago Diner is that it is also a vegetarian restaurant so you have to specify that you want vegan cheese and there are eggs in some things but everything can easily be replaced with vegan options. I did also spot some honey on one of the tables, but at the next table over there was agave nectar as well. So as far as complaints go, this is a small one.

Restaurant Review: Karyn's Cooked Chicago, IL

Well, I'm stuck here in Chicago with a delayed flight so I thought to myself "no better time than the present to blog about my culinary experiences in Chicago". I've been Chicago for meetings all week and last night I was at my whits end with the Luna bars, soy milk, veggie jerky and instant oatmeal I packed as rescue food just in case the veggie selections at the hotel and throughout the meeting were horrid (which they were). So instead of settling for hummus and fries one more night for dinner I took to the streets of Chicago and found Karyn's Cooked (738 North Wells Street Chicago, IL).

From my internet research I'd already heard a lot about Karyn's other restaurant, Karyn's Raw, and it seemed absolutely delicious so I had to try Karyn's cooked. The reviews online were all pretty mixed but what was standard throughout every online review I read was that the service was 300% horrible so I opted for take out to avoid that issue. I can offer you this tip, it does seem like they are a lot faster with their take out orders than their dine in my food was ready in about 10 minutes.

As far as the food goes it was unimaginative, and at times unpalatable. Since the reviews were mixed on the food I decided to keep it simple and order the basics, but some of the sides and desserts I just couldn't resist so I got a little bit of everything. Let's start with the vegan cheeseburger. No real complaints with this one except for the fact that it was CLEARLY a Boca burger. I would expect this from a chain restaurant that doesn't cater to vegans but not from a vegan restaurant. So this was disappointment #1. Next came the bland coleslaw which was basically just cabbage and nayonaisse, disappointment #2.

So at this point I'm getting frustrated but then i remember I have mac & cheese, collard greens and carrot cake left to eat so i dive in! Vegan mac and cheese is a rare treat and I was unbelievably excited to taste Karyn's version. The trouble was that there was only macaroni noodles in the container, i couldn't even catch a hint of anything that seemed like it could be construed as a sauce, let alone a cheese sauce. Disappointment #3. The collard greens were good, so no complaints there and the carrot cake was decent as well, so I didn't completely waste all my hard earned money. I looked in the bottom of the bag and remembered I'd also ordered the cornbread as well. I took one bite and immediately spit it out, and not even like a cute dainty lady like spit into the napkin move, I just spit it out into the nearest trash can, plate or surface available. It tasted like the list of ingredients for the cornbread were as follows: sawdust, cornmeal, flour, water. In that order. I now see why they serve alcohol, you've got to be 6 steps beyond drunk to enjoy most of the food on their menu.

Nonetheless, next time I'm in Chicago I'll still stop by Karyn's Raw and give it a try. And from reading the other online reviews it seems like the lasagna might be worth giving Karyn's Cooked a second try. To find out what other people are saying about Karyn's Cooked check out the links below:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/Lj4oeHOAioRJpXdBZo3n1g
http://www.happycow.net/reviews.php?id=5130
http://www.centerstagechicago.com/patronreviews/pr.cfm?ID=7664&which=place