A new donation-based yoga studio is about to open in Dallas! Karmany Yoga (formerly Bend Studio) will offer various types of yoga including Jivamukti, Ashtanga, Yin, and Tibetan Heart with some of the city's finest instructors. The Grand Opening is set for Monday, February 2 at 6:00PM. Mark your calendars and dust off those mats!
I stumbled upon this accidentally-vegan recipe for Italian wine cookies and knew I had to try it. They have a beautiful lilac color, and I can't even begin to explain how delicious they are! Do yourselves a favor and put these on your to-do lists pronto.
On those occasions when large, bustling crowds are not your scene, The Fish Restaurant and Sushi Bar in West Village East may just be the place you're looking for. Nestled on the strip between Brooks Brothers and Grimaldi's, The Fish offers fabulous vegan fare and a serene ambiance perfect for libations and deep conversation. The chic eatery's creative martini list and healthy selection of wines are only part of why I love this place! I had the opportunity to catch up with one of my oldest friends, Sam (who now lives in Korea), over dinner and cocktails at The Fish. We started out with a few appetizers and a quite potent, but delicious house martini. As I often do at most Asian restaurants, I ordered the seaweed salad and a vegetable sushi roll for starters (I really do need to branch out). Both were beautifully served...and in a swiftly manner. So swift, in fact, that we didn't even get a chance to look over the rest of the menu before our server returned with the opening dishes. My buttery textured vegetable roll was perfect--light on the crunch and heavy on the avocado!
Not overly sweet or spicy, the seaweed salad had a subtle brightness to it. Topped with carrot curls and garnished with sliced cucumber, the salad acted as a wonderful palate cleanser for the final course. I selected the vegan-friendly Vegetable Udon Soup for my final course. The soup, which varies in vegetable content daily, always includes Japanese udon noodles and shiitake mushrooms lightly drowned in a savory vegetable broth. This visit's soup consisted of asparagus, snap peas, napa cabbage, and baby bok choy.
Our entire dinner experience at The Fish was fabulous! We were in and out in less than an hour (on a Friday night!), leaving plenty of time to sample some great wines next door at Cork. Other perks at The Fish: complimentary valet and happy hour all day Sunday!
I spent much of my childhood watching cooking shows, experimenting in the kitchen, and gossiping with my grandmother while she prepared some fabulous meals! Not terribly exciting, but I grew up in Brownsville, Texas, after all. My grandmother is from a small Mexican village, where simplicity is valued, and native cuisine is a concoction of indigenous foods with a Spanish twist. One of my favorite breakfast dishes growing up was my grandmother's simple, yet delicious migas! Grandma prepared her migas with freshly made corn tortillas, scrambled eggs, and a few Latin spices. Not overloaded with flavors, the simple dish made it possible for all of my family members to dress the dish to our own liking. My mother and aunt Sylvia usually topped theirs with a salsa picante and cheese (chilaquiles style), and my brother Michael and I often picked out most of the egg (we had a funny thing about eggs) and topped the remainder with ketchup...don't knock it 'til you try it. A recent conversation with my mother about the dish inspired me to create a vegan version for myself...ketchup included! The dish is quite simple.
We ordered several appetizers and enjoyed our wine as we studied the extensive menu. I was overwhelmed with the many vegetarian and vegan dinner options! Christopher ordered a lemon grass tofu rice bowl, Marc ordered his curry tofu hot pot, and I ate a spicy vegetable and tofu stir fry. The kitchy-cool dining room catered to a diverse clientele including posh ladies who lunch, young hipsters, and design industry professionals. And I was especially excited to see some fellow Spiral Diner regulars in the crowd! Dinner was fabulous and über cheap...$15 each, 20% tip included. I was so happy with my dining experience last night, I immediately e-mailed my friends Bret and Jenn to plan a follow-up visit to Mai's.
The subject of Sunday brunch usually brings to mind dishes like eggs Benedict, French toast, and cleverly named omelets, none of which are options on a vegan diet, so I've become quite accustomed to settling for boring and/or fatty side dishes just to join my friends for Sunday mimosas. Luckily, that is not the case at Taverna! Having learned of their $5 bottomless mimosas and bellinis, and remembering past vegan advent
ures at other Lombardi restaurants, Sara and I were excited to catch up over Sunday brunch at Taverna's Knox-Henderson location. Although Sara's vegetarian diet allowed her to order from the brunch menu, we both ultimately ordered a fantastic butternut squash gnocci dish from Taverna's regular lunch menu. My Gnocci di Zucca, normally drenched in an Asiago cream sauce with fresh sage, was prepared with a tomato and basil sauce and served with a large focaccia flat bread topped with rosemary and olive oil. We both added a salad of mixed greens that was well worth the additional $2. Sara selected a full bodied chardonnay to accompany her meal, but I decided to stay true to my Sunday ritual and chase my meal with bottomless mimosas!
I realize the new year has already officially begun, but, working in the public school system, MY new year starts at the start of the new semester. With that in mind, I was happy to catch up with friends over lunch and adult libations at La Duni in Highland Park after my Sunday morning yoga class. Split on the decision between red or white wine, Marc and I shared a bottle of the vegan-friendly Montes Reserve Malbec, and Christopher and Horacio shared a bottle of an Italian pinot grigio. Initially, my plan was to order several accidentally vegan à la carte items (black beans, fried yucca, and mashed avocado), but I ultimately decided to pair my malbec with the Tomates con Palmitos (sans cheese), a beautifully presented salad of sliced tomatoes, mashed avocado, and tender palm hearts topped with a pleasantly fruity balsamic vinaigrette. While other vegan dishes can be made upon request, this salad makes for a wonderful post-workout meal...especially if that meal includes a nice red wine!
