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1. I got the quinoa burger at Urban Solace in San Diego. No bun, cheese, or fries of course.. so I got sautéed mushrooms, half of an avocado, and a side of greens instead. That's how I usually replace everything on the menu. It's getting easier! Anyway, it was delicious, and I'd recommend that beautiful restaurant to anyone :)
2. What was I doing in San Diego? Visiting my cousin! And, I decided.. that I like it there.
3. For dinner later that night, we made:
- Roasted butternut squash: oven! 350. Cut squash into pieces, top generously with cinnamon and honey. 45 mintues.
-Monkfish: oven! 350. cubed. marinated in lemon juice and olive oil. sprinkled with red pepper and other spicy things. 20 minutes.
-Roasted veggies: oven! 350. Brussels sprouts, zucchini, mushrooms, and onion. Tossed in evoo, with salt, pepper, and herbs. 45 minutes.
4. Taking the Pacific Surfliner Amtrak back to LA. A beautiful, beautiful train ride.
I don't really have restaurant reviews for my town in Missouri. Guess I should start! Here are a couple photos from Bleu. I think some of their meat and produce is locally grown.. but the place isn't what I would call an organic-y restaurant. It's just a nice restaurant. There aren't many things I can order there.. but I succeeded with with side of sautéed brussel sprouts (san the bacon) and their signature fish tacos (san the grilled taco and the crème fraiche). Pan-seared cod, spicy Asian slaw, avocado puree, mango relish and honey chili sauce. Yum!!
So, there is this restaurant, La Posada.. that was 3 blocks from my apartment in Buenos Aires, and I went there a bunch. I think the kitchen was open til around 1am.. so, as long as you got there before midnight, they'd serve you anything on the menu. Quite the shock I had when landing at the St Louis airport at 11pm and only having 1 option for dinner.. on a Friday night! In a city! (besides fast food anyway.. which.. isn't an option.)
Back to the story. They would start by bringing six little ramekins, each with different appetizers. Sometimes liver pâté, or a fruit jam, or a cucumber salad, or steamed carrots with garlic, or potatoes.. and I'd always be able to enjoy at least one of them. Don't you love the wooden plates? I have to say.. I miss them.
The food here was delicious. The salad.. the salmon.. the skirt steak..
After dinner, I'd usually leave my family early, and catch a cab to a milonga for a night full of tango dancing. sigh....Honestly, it's too late for me to be awake (in the United States, anyway. In Buenos Aires, my night would just be beginning) so I'm going to cut this short, and stop blogging for the night.
Buenas noches.
My view from Deby's.
After a visit with Deby, my personal guide into milonga* land, I went to lunch at a place she recommended. Spring Restaurante is a vegetarian place in Palermo, Buenos Aires. The food was surprisingly good for a buffet, and the price is 30 pesos for all you can eat. (Including dessert.. which I decided to leave for another trip.) So in dollars.. that's about $7.50 with the current exchange rate. :)
As I was bringing my mountain of food back to the table, (avocado, fresh greens, steamed carrots and mushrooms, hearts of palm, lentil salad, and rice noodles) another couple stopped to look at my plate. "Wow, we should eat like that," they said (in spanish). It was a nice compliment... I didn't even realize that my new-ish healthy eating habits had become second nature.
*Milonga is the term for a place or an event where tango is danced.
In the beginning of my 1 month in Argentina, it was a little difficult adjusting to the food situation. Luckily, I stayed in a nice apartment with a usable kitchen. The vegetables all tasted different, of course.. and so did the olive oil, the salt.. and even the different water made me miss the taste of home. I got over it, don't worry :) But when I found this little place downtown during my first week there, I was so excited! I think I missed organic-y people.
PuraVida Juice Bar is on Reconquista, at Tucumán. They serve salads, sandwiches, wraps, muffins, juices, smoothies, and wheatgrass. I enjoyed their Todo Verde Salad: organic mixed greens, avocado, parsley, alfalfa sprouts, green onion, celery, and cucumber, with a tahini based dressing. And, the drink I went back for, a few different times, was the anti-resfrío: made with pineapple, apple, ginger, and wheatgrass.
I'm no scientist - but I'm pretty sure wheatgrass is gluten free. Incase you were wondering.
Follow Your Heart is a sweet little, well, not that little, vegetarian health food shop and cafe in Canoga Park, California. If I'm in LA and need a specialty health food or supplement or medicine, or anything item - I can find it at this place. In the back of the store is a cramped (not because it's small, but because it's crowded) café. They had a gluten free menu.. which I'm pretty sure is becoming more and more popular, even in non-healthy restaurants. I had the wok stir fry, of fresh vegetables and organic tofu, stir fried with garlic, ginger and tamari on a bed of brown rice.
A little while later, my aunt and I ventured to Juicy Ladies.. a cute little place on Ventura in Woodland Hills. They serve lunch, snacks, desserts, juices, and smoothies. I had them make my favorite juice of red apple, celery, ginger, and lemon (the ginger tonic from Main Squeeze) and my aunt got a carrot.. apple, ginger, lemon? I can't remeber now.. but they were delicious. Don't let the tasteless logo throw you off.. the food at this place is great. :)
This wasn't the first time I enjoyed a meal at The Classic Cup in Kansas City, but now that I'm getting into reviewing restaurants I wanted to write about this meal. It was my first rack of lamb ever, and it was dreamy with the portberry sauce it came with. I used my fork and knife for as long as I could - but there's something about eating meat on a bone with your bare hands.. no? Is it just me?
They have a fantastic menu, check it out!
My friend from elementary school, Jenn, and I picked a place we had never been before and decided to meet there. This is how the Minneapolis trip was started. I have to say, that Minneapolis is the cat's meow. With an awesome art museum, food co-ops, lakes, nice summer weather, and a live tango band to dance to every week!! If it just didn't get so cold there.. hmm. (I learned that Minneapolis has two seasons: winter and road construction. There's your joke for the day.. but.. it's not really a joke.)
Anyway, one place I visited 3 times was a building called the Ecopolitan. It's full of natural doctors and massage therapists, and on the main level is a raw food restaurant. The first time I went there with a large group of friends, Jenn and I split a freaking amazing salad made with kale, kiwi, red cabbage, tomato, fresh basil, sprouted quinoa, raisins, and a tahini-garlic dressing.
We also got the flaxeed tostadas made with: flaxseed-sunflower shells with lentil “taco meat”, greens, marinated mushrooms, onion, olives, cilantro, cashew “sour cream,” & hot sauce. And it was served with salsa & guacamole. I couldn't help myself from getting a dessert to go as well.. I got a slice of coconut creme pie. It's just too exciting when I can actually eat dessert at a restaurant and feel good afterwards. I recommend checking out their website and visiting their restaurant if you're in the area, or at least downloading their menu and trying to make some of their dishes at home :)
My photos from the first meal didn't turn out so well, but the 2nd time I went there, I visited their juice bar and my friends and I got the "orange dream" (orange, carrot, and ginger) and "sweet beet" (beet, carrot, apple, kale, and ginger). mmm
The THIRD time I went back was by myself to get breakfast.. I got the "rawnola" made of crunchy cinnamon spouted and dehydrated buckwheat groats, with strawberries, pineapple, apple, cherries, dates, raisins, all topped with a date syrup and served with freshly made coconut milk. It was delicious, organic, $6. How? I don't know.
The Farmhouse is an amazing new place in the River Market neighborhood, in Kansas City.. I really recommend trying it out. They are all about in season produce from local farmers, and they have a big patio. This is important to me, which I have probably mentioned before.
In the photos:
Our salad, made of: roasted beets, blue cheese (on the side), walnuts, spring herbs, fried capers, farmer greens, lemon-thyme vinaigrette
Matthew's dinner: (even though it doesn't fit in with the rest of the blog, nor my diet.. I can still appreciate how beautiful it is and how good it must have tasted.)
Cheese plate: Green Dirt Farm’s bossa, prairie tome, wooly rind and sheep’s milk) cherry mostarda, syrup, seasonal fruit, house-made crackers
And my dinner: 360 day aged hanger steak with salsa verde, and sautéed summer veggies. To die for. Simply. Amazing.
I was treated to Blossom, another organic vegan restaurant in Manhattan, by my cousin Eric. Kosher for him and allergen friendly for me, the place was perfect. And we got to sit outside, which I think is important.. no need to waste good weather. This place gets 5 stars from me :)
We started out with all different colored beautiful fruit and vegetable juices.. I looked on their website, but they aren't listed there.. shucks. I should have taken a photo of the menu after all! I remember I had a "pink lady," Paul had something red, Benjamin something orange, and Eric something green.
The second photo was my Red Quinoa Salad:
with red quinoa, navy beans, julienne peppers, watercress, toasted seeds, mango guacamole, and lemon vinaigrette. Simple and delicious.
For dessert (my favorite meal of the day) I had a little scoop of green tea "ice cream" made from cashews, with a dehydrated gf cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookie. yum!!!!
Candle 79 is an organic, vegan restaurant on the upper east side of Manhattan. My friends and I splurged on this meal - but we were on vacation. There are no restaurants like this, probably in the whole state of Missouri, so it was worth it :)
The entree I got doesn't seem to be on the menu, maybe it was a special of the day. I got a Moroccan spiced chickpea pate over root vegetables with broccoli, with a dollop of special date paste and almonds.
Their drink menu was really fun too - especially since I cut alcohol from my diet. I got the homemade ginger ale, made from: fresh ginger, agave, sparkling water, lime, and mint.
MMMM!
Check out their menu for some fun ideas.. 
My cousin took me out to Live, an organic food bar in Toronto.. and it was to die for. Check out their website to drool over their menu, and get inspired by some of the descriptions.
I enjoyed the big bowl:
"A high protein salad mix of field greens, and kale topped with carrots, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, mixed seeds, black beans, avocado, and sunflower sprouts tossed with your choice of dressings. Raw option: Substitute sunflower seed pate for black beans."
With the dilly house dressing:
Made of " cold pressed olive oil, tahini, apple cider vinegar, dill, garlic, wheat free tamari, celtic sea salt"
I also split the smoked reuben with my cousin:
"Our sesame kale and carob 'rye' bread smothered with a spicy sesame mayo, avocado, probiotic sauerkraut and our smoked walnut veggie patty. Served with root veggie chips and dill pickles."
And washed it down with a blues buster smoothie made of:
"Almond milk, blueberry, hemp seeds, apple juice, St. John’s Wort"
I wish I took photos of everything I ordered, but it all disappeared before I had time to think, about taking my camera out. Dessert was so hard to choose.. all their desserts were made without flour, gluten, or refined sugar.. I ended up with something small, an almond dream bar, due to the lack of room left in my stomach.
I'm going to try to reproduce some of their desserts, and when I figure them out - I'll let you know for sure :)
1. I got the quinoa burger at Urban Solace in San Diego. No bun, cheese, or fries of course.. so I got sautéed mushrooms, half of an avocado, and a side of greens instead. That's how I usually replace everything on the menu. It's getting easier! Anyway, it was delicious, and I'd recommend that beautiful restaurant to anyone :) 
