Seabirds Kitchen offers simple and delicious vegan fare

Vegans living in Orange County aren’t met with a variety of choices when looking to dine out. Even though I can never become vegetarian or vegan, and as long as I’m not forced to eat a plant based diet, I actually enjoy eating it from from time to time because it can taste pretty good depending on where you go.

The newly opened Seabirds Kitchen came out of the Seabirds gourmet food truck which Stephanie Morgan started. While I wasn’t fond of the truck — it was always on the bland side for my palate — I was hoping that this wouldn’t be the case with the brick and mortar, and I’m happy to say, it wasn’t at all!

The minimalist decor and use of natural, earthy colors create a space ideal to enjoy this genre of cuisine at. Besides a row of two and four seaters, there is also a communal table with high stools for larger parties wishing to dine here together.

We began with Burnt Brussels Sprouts ($5.95) which possessed lovely tart flavors from the lime and dijon mustard. I would have liked them a little crispier but they were very tasty.

Organic Beet & Cara Cara Orange ($5.95/half $10.95/full) was so good my son kept asking me if I could make this at home for him. I love cara cara oranges and the sweet segments added a wonderful citrusy freshness to the greens. Roasted local beets and kale, both from Tanaka Farm in Irvine are sweet and crunchy and a wonderful way to get your antioxidants into your diet in one dish. I loved the crunch from the candied walnuts and the smoky coconut bacon added depth to the salad.

For a nice starter to share, choose the Tahitian Squash Flatbread ($11.45) a Tahitian squash puree is spread over flatbread and topped with caramelized onions, smoked paprika, chopped Tuscan kale and aged balsamic. The richness of the vinegar really brings the whole thing together.

I wasn’t sure if I’d like BBQ Jack Sliders ($7.50/2pc) seeing I’m not a huge fan of barbecue sauce, nor pulled pork, which is what this vegan version is mirroring. Shredded young jackfruit is grilled and then seasoned with Kentucky BBQ sauce before it is assembled on whole wheat slider buns and topped with Seabirds slaw and caramelized red onion and pickles. They were absolutely delicious, so packed with flavor with the salty, sweet, tart flavor profiles.

Our last savory dish, Zippy Tofu Plate ($11.95) is a version of something Morgan’s mom used to make while she was growing up. Brown rice is topped with grilled Hodo soy tofu, creamy green chile cheese sauce, broccoli and topped with tortilla strips for crunch. An ancho salsa is served alongside and gives it an elevated flavor if you like a bit of spice. It is even good the following day warmed up in the microwave!

Chaffle ($8.95 feeds 2-4) is a churro waffle topped with coconut sorbet, chocolate sauce and chopped pecans. The coconut sorbet is from Vitaly, across the street at The Camp and makes this generous portion a meal in itself.

You can be a carnivore and still enjoy vegan cuisine once in a while. I definitely need a break from time to time, and Seabirds Kitchen has a great selection for you to cut your teeth on.

Seabirds Kitchen
2930 Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Tel: 714-549-2584

one of my faves opens new location

This is my 500th post and it is befitting that I write about one of my favorites! It is no secret I love Veggie Grill. From the very first time I tried them six years ago, I have not lost my desire to eat this absolutely delicious vegetarian fare.

Their latest location in Laguna Niguel is just another reason to give Veggie Grill a try if you haven’t already been introduced to them. I love how each location has its own unique decor while still keeping in tune with its signature style and colors.

I’ve positively had everything on the menu and although 90% of the items I love, there are definitely some that are dearer to my heart than the others. If you are a salad fan, there are lots to choose from starting with the Thai Salad ($9.95). Romaine, cabbage, corn salsa, green onion, mandarin oranges, sesame seeds, cilantro, wonton strips are tossed in a spicy Thai dressing and topped with with either grilled chickin or tempeh.

I love the buffalo wings and you can have them on a salad by ordering B-Wing Salad ($9.95). These deliciously spicy tart buffalo wings are served over chopped romaine, avocado, celery, toasted corn salsa in a creamy ranch dressing. So mouth puckering good!

One of my favorite salads is the All Hail Kale ($7.25 lunch size/$8.95 entree size). Not only is it healthy, but it is so delicious as well, so good that even my son loves it. Marinated kale and red cabbage are chopped into bite-sized pieces and tossed with corn salsa, agave roasted walnuts in a ginger papaya vinaigrette. You can add tempeh or blackened chickin for $2.75.

If salads aren’t your thing then I suggest getting a sandwich. Papa’s Portobello ($8.50) consists of a large meaty grilled mushroom, topped with chopped tomato, basil and garlic pomodoro, caramelized onions, pesto, lettuce, red onion and drizzled with chipotle ranch.

The All American Stack ($8.95) is one of my son’s favorites! Grilled veggie steak, pickles, lettuce, tomato and crispy onion rings topped with thousand island dressing complete this burger.

If you’re a fan of the buffalo wings like I am, then you’ll love the Buffalo Bomber ($8.95) with a crispy chickin’ pattie tossed with spicy buffalo sauce assembled with tomato, red onion, lettuce and creamy ranch dressing. So so good!

If you just want the buffalo chickin on its own then totally order the Buffalo wings ($6.95). These chickin strips are served with  celery sticks and creamy ranch dressing and I always order them on every visit.

Chill Out Wings ($6.50) are another favorite. These are the fried chickin strips served with tangy BBQ sauce and chipotle ranch. My son usually orders two serves of this but ends up sharing them with me in exchange for my buffalo ones.

There are also entree style plates such as Crispy Chickin’ Plate ($9.95) is so good you wouldn’t even miss the carnivorous kind. Fried chickin with cauli-mashed potatoes are accompanied by a flavorful porcini mushroom gravy with fresh rosemary and served with a side of steamin’ kale. For me, this is comfort food without the cholesterol!

Blackened Chickin Plate ($9.50) is a nicely charred piece of chickin topped with papaya salsa and served with steamin’ kale and quinoa pilaf. Talk about healthy! This is a totally guilt-free and filling meal.

if you’re not full yet from everything, you can try some of the desserts on offer. The new soft serve — vanilla, chocolate or swirl (with or without Oreo crumble) — is a good choice and kids love it!

Or, the carrot cake is absolutely delicious! None of the desserts are overly sweet which appeals to me!

If you haven’t tried Veggie Grill yet, here’s a chance for you to do it. I have two $15 gift cards to give away courtesy of Veggie Grill. Leave me a comment with your FULL name and tell me whether or not you’ve been before and why you love it, or, if you haven’t, then why you would like to try! Entries end on Friday, May 3rd.

Veggie Grill
27321 La Paz Road
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Tel: 949-362-9649

my week in NYC: the dosa man at NYU

We were on the hunt for the “dosa man” and time was running out. It was already 3pm and NY Dosas closes at 4pm. All we had to work with was that he is parked at Washington Square.

Our cab driver was no help, he didn’t even know where we wanted to go. WASHINGTON SQUARE we said, and still, he repeated it over and over again. One of my friends became VERY agitated and started looking at the map herself and directing him to the right place. Once we got to Washington Square we were stumped. Which side of the square was he on? After a few minutes of discussing, we decided to walk through the park and look to both sides and go from there.

Naturally, that didn’t help much, so we walked back out along the side of the park again and after seeing a herd of students stream out from buildings, I came up with the brilliant idea of telling everyone to ask any Indian student we see where the cart was located. After being misguided by about five students, I stopped a young boy who pointed down the street and said “he’s down there”.

We found Thiru, the dosa man at Sullivan.

After a little bit of chatting and telling him how far we’ve come and how long it took to find him, he immediately went to work making us his most popular dosa — the #3 Special Pondicherry ($6) — a dosa filled with potatoes and veggies.

Thiru asked how spicy we liked it and all of us chimed “SPICY” and while he was making these thin lentil and rice crepes, we told him we were stopping every Indian student we saw. He chuckled and replied “you should have stopped the American kids, they are my best customers!”

A few minutes and our dosa was ready. Thiru cut it and split it for us, giving us each a plate with some dosa and a little cup of sambar, the delicious vegetable stew you dip the dosa in. There is also a mint chutney and the coconut chutney traditional eaten with dosas on the plate.

I’ve never had dosa with fresh salad wrapped inside, but it created a really refreshing textural component in the otherwise crispy exterior/mushy interior I’m used to. It was simple and delicious.

While we were happily munching on the Pondicherry, Thiru told us he was going to make us a different type of dosa to try. It was a Jaffna, a pancake made with natural herbs and filled with spicy dried chutney.

Unlike the dosa, the jaffna is not crispy, but rather, soft like a pancake, but with a chewier texture. It was completely different, but still possessed the wonderful aromas and spicy layers we loved in the dosa.

After polishing off our afternoon snack, we bid Thiru goodbye and promised him when we are next in the city, we will definitely visit him again. This was one of the highlights of my trip. A delicious and affordable meal made with love even vegans can enjoy! And best of all, it lived up to the hype!!

NY Dosas
50 Washington Square South
(corner of Sullivan)
New York, NY 10014
Tel: 917-710-2092

118 Degrees Community Cafe

So after the meat debauchery post on Tuesday, I’ve gone in a completely opposite direction today with this one. I’ll have to admit, my experience with raw vegan cuisine has been extremely limited. Really, I’ve only had one meal at Au Lac years ago, and although I remember really enjoying it, I haven’t made a concerted effort to explore this further.

A few weeks ago, I saw a bunch of my friends posting beautiful photos on Facebook of their visit to the new 118 Degrees in Anaheim, and although I hadn’t really thought about visiting the one in Costa Mesa, the photos interested me enough to pay this new cafe a visit. In fact, in a span of a few days, I managed to experience Chef Jenny’s creations twice.

First of all, I visited the new cafe — the space is cute and cozy and the menu offers a nice variety of sweet and savory items.

I sipped on the House Iced Tea ($3.85), a refreshing concoction of hibiscus flowers, cranberries, blood orange juice and goji berries. It had only a hint of sweetness from agave, which was just perfect for me.

I started with Apple Coffee Cake ($6) a layer of pecan crust topped with fresh warm out of dehydration apple slices and drizzled with a sauce infused with coffee. Bits of cinnamon pecan crumble are sprinkled on top for an added crunch. I loved the textural contrast in every mouthful with the apples’ flavor intensified by the dehydration process. 

Next came Caramel Crepes ($6) with a dulce de leche filling inside. What totally threw me off and blew me away at the same time was the house coconut wrap — the “crepe” part — made with dehydrated raw coconut flesh. Stuffed with fresh banana and cinnamon, this was so delicious I couldn’t stop eating it.

I’ve heard of Chef Jenny Ross’ Living Lasagna ($14) for years but I’m ashamed to say this is the first time I’m trying it. Comprising layers of squash “noodles”, tomato, creamy macadamia “ricotta”, sweet basil marinara, topped with portabello mushrooms, the combined flavors were very complex, a surprising feat from just using vegetables and nuts. I was really impressed by how delicious it was.

The Fried Avocado Mini-Tostado ($4/$7) uses a crispy buckwheat shell, topped with peppita cheese, chopped spinach, cilantro, corn and “fried” avocado. The avocado is coated with ground flax seed and creates a nice crunch against the softness of the avocado. This is a great appetizer or snack.

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms ($7) even appealed to my son who cringes at the thought of eating mushrooms. These cremini mushrooms were stuffed with pistachio pesto and served warm with a marinara. I could easily eat a plate of these as an appetizer.

These items concluded my visit to the cafe, but two days later, Chef Jenny was at Tanaka Farms as part of OC Raw Dining Club, a meetup style group created by 118 Degrees to help educate the public about raw vegan cuisine.

Guests were seated under a tent for the meal and Farmer Glenn Tanaka led the group on a tour of the farm on a tractor wagon, stopping sporadically to give us freshly picked carrots, beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelon to munch on while telling us stories of the history behind his family’s 3-generation farm.

We started with Yellow Squash Rolls with sweet tomato “creme” and fresh basil. The beautiful varieties of squash were hand picked fresh at Tanaka Farm for our meal this evening. The deliciously crunchy squash had a hint of sweetness and I could taste the subtle differences between the green julienned strips and the ribbons of yellow squash.

The main plate consisted of three different items. Tomato Stacked Salad with fresh romaine, chopped kale, capers and Tanaka herb dressing prompted me to use tomatoes and capers together at home. Savory Cannoli with broccoli garnish served with sweet almond green beans created a multitude of textures and flavors in each bite.

The best part was the dessert course and my son ravished both his and most of my Sweet Carrot Ginger Cake with chai walnut crust. The sweet carrots we sampled on our tour were used to create this naturally sweet delectable dessert.

Although I won’t be turning into a raw vegan anytime soon, I feel it is definitely very healthy to add into my diet several times a month. In the past, my lack of understanding caused me to reject the idea that it could be tasty, but Chef Jenny has definitely opened my eyes to how raw cuisine is not only beneficial to your health, but it can be a deliciously palatable experience as well!

As far as the Dining Club is concerned, it is modeled after the dining clubs at Cambridge University, Oxford University, Princeton University and Harvard University. The events include dining and conversation within a community of like-minded individuals and academic presentations by expert guest speakers. Events are held every six weeks. For more information, please contact Leslie Barber at  leslie@118degrees.com

For those of you who would like to give it a try, 118 Degrees has generously donated a $25 giftcard for one of my readers to win this week. Leave me a comment with your FULL name telling me of your raw cuisine experience or there lack of. As usual, entries close on Sunday and a winner will be announced on Monday.

118 Degrees Community Cafe
185 W Center Street
Anaheim, CA 92805
Tel: 714-772-2695

Veggie Grill opens today in Long Beach

The latest Veggie Grill opens in Long Beach today and I was there yesterday for a sneak peek of the new location. I’ve always been a fan of Veggie Grill from its inception in Irvine on the UCI campus to its many expansions. Long Beach is the 10th location and has adopted a stunning new look. The interior is reminiscent of a diner with booths, a counter and the addition of red to its ubiquitous orange and green color scheme.

We decided to order new menu items I hadn’t tried before, but began with the Tomato Basil soup ($2.95/cup and $4.50/bowl), a really delicious soup filled with tomatoey goodness and hints of basil.

Crispy Chickin’ Plate ($9.95) offers my favorite steaming kale as a side with the delicious sesame dressing drizzled on top. A fried chickin’ cutlet is cooked to perfection and honestly, tastes just like a piece of fried chicken to me but without all the calories and cholesterol.

VG Rollers ($7.95) are like mini wraps stuffed with blackened chickin’, cabbage, creamy Santa Fe spread and rolled in flour tortillas. A salsa is served on the side, but I love their housemade tomatillo sauce even more on these.

My favorite was the “Crab” Cake ($9.95). I was so blown away by the taste and texture I was honestly shocked that this was a faux crab cake. A spiced tartar sauce, pickles, tomato, lettuce and red onion is served on the sandwich.

The Buffalo Wings ($6.95) aren’t new, but they are so delicious that I had some of those too. My son eats two orders of these on his own.

End with a dessert like the Chocolate Pudding Parfait ($3.50) with their made-from-scratch pudding topped with chocolate sauce, crushed cookies, walnuts and VG crema. For a non-dessert lover, I totally love this one. Their chocolate pudding has always been one of my favorites with its rich chocolately taste and smooth texture.

The pudding, the sandwiches, salads and everything else in between — vegan or not, it’s simply THAT good.

Veggie Grill
6451 E Pacific Coast Highway
Long Beach, CA
Tel: 562-430-4986