SHOJIN

GREEN TEA MOJITO (NON-ALCOHOLIC)

SHISHITO PEPPER-fried with a green scallion sauce

Husband's Ramen

My ramen, with extra green onions.....YUMMY!!!!!

BREAKING NEWS: SHOJIN in LITTLE TOKYO is NOW serving VEGAN RAMEN!!!!!!!!!

Shojin Japanese Vegan restaurant is the FIRST to offer VEGAN RAMEN.

Vegan ramen noodles made ONLY for SHOJIN.

There are four different types and the choice to get any of them regular or spicy.

My husband and I prefer THE HOT AND SPICY RAMEN.

The broth contains chili oil infused with habanero.

Habanero is the world's spiciest chili.

But Shojin has made it perfectly spicy.

It will make your nose run,

but it won't make your head blow-up.

THe HOT AND SPICY RAMEN is topped with kale, green onions, and a seitan, mushroom, miso paste.

I prefer to get mine with just kale and EXTRA greens onions.

And my husband likes his with corn and tofu.

Shojin also offers vegan sushi (made with BROWN RICE), unique salads, scrumptious SEITAN dishes(SEITAN PEPPER STEAK...OMG!!!), unique drinks (non-alcoholic, but they will start serving alcohol in 3 months), and THE BEST VEGAN DESSERTS.

They recently added a few RAW appetizers and desserts.

What is awesome about SHOJIN, is that they constantly offer new savory and dessert items

Every month brings something new and exciting.

Another reason why SHOJIN is amazing, is the staff.

We have become so fond of this place, we eat here twice a week.

Mr.Morishima and Mitsuko (co-owners) REALLY care about their customers.

They always welcome all their customers with open arms.

And they even walk you out of the restaurant when you leave.

Chef Kimiko makes the most flavorful, amazing food.

She even makes time to come out and greet tables.

If you live in the Los Angeles area and you're a fan of DELICIOUS flavor, you HAVE to try SHOJIN.

Gourmet Vegan Japanese food in Little Tokyo!

TUSCAN WHITE BEAN PIZZA

Last Night for Dinner I Made:

TUCAN WHITE BEAN PIZZA for DINNER.

Recipe from VEGAN ON THE CHEAP by ROBIN ROBERTSON.

Whole wheat pizza dough topped with a white bean-garlic-basil sauce and thinly sliced tomatoes.

All we can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

This pizza was amazing!

You won't even miss the cheese.

And the crust turned out crispy, just like my husband likes it.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

Yesterday I Made:

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING for DESSERT.

Recipe from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson.

Chocolate and peanut butter together again.

I have no problem with that.

The cupcake turned out to be a little too crumbly.

But the frosting was amazing.

Tasty and so easy to work with.

Yummy!!!!

Last week I Made:

PUPUSAS STUFFED WITH BLACK BEANS AND PLANTAINS for DINNER.

Recipe from Vegan Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero.

Pupusas are stuffed grilled tortillas from El Salvador.

Usually served with CURTIDO (marinated cole slaw).

Pupusas are really more like thick tortillas made out of Mexican-style masa harina.

All you do is mix the flour, water,and a small amount of salt until a pliable dough forms.

Shape into balls, make a well in the center of each, stuff with filling, close up the center and shape into thick patties.

Then grill until brown on both sides.

This version is stuffed with a spicy black bean mix and cooked diced plantain.

Served with the CURTIDO, guacamole, and a spicy tomato sauce (recipe also from Viva Vegan!).

This was my first time having pupusas and it certainly won't be my last.

We both loved them so much, I had to make more the next day!!!

SPICY TORTILLA CASSEROLE WITH ROASTED POBLANOS

Last Week I Made:

SPICY TORTILLA CASSEROLE WITH ROASTED POBLANOS for DINNER.

Recipe from Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero.

A souvenir from San Francisco.

Tortillas dipped in a spicy tomato sauce then layered with a mashed potato mix, roasted julienned poblano chiles, and more sauce.

Topped with pumpkin seeds and baked for 4o minutes.

The original recipe called for a home made PINE NUT CREMA (recipe also found in book).

But, I forgot to buy the ingredients to make it.

Delicious the first day.

Then it gets a little too mushy.

I also made the CAFE CON LECHE FLAN.

Took pics of it but somehow they were deleted from my MAC.

But take my word, it was one of the BEST desserts ever!

If you like coffee, you'll love this dessert.

MIJITA

Ok, so this is really my ALL-TIME favorite breakfast!!!!

CHILAQUILES from Mijita at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

Mijita's is NOT a vegan or even vegetarian restaurant, but a few dishes can easily be veganized.

Owned by James Beard Award-Winning chef, Traci Des Jardins.

Mijita's serves tacos, soups, and salads using local seasonal ingredients.

The chilaquiles are served with egg, sour cream and cheese.

But we veganized them by omitting those three items.

And substituting the refried beans for regular pinto beans.

(The refried beans are mixed with cheese.)

We also got a side of guacamole and pickled carrots and jalapenos.

THE BEST BREAKFAST EVER!!!

At least for me it is.

I dream about Mijita's chilaquiles.

Crunchy yet full of sauce.

A tangy spicy sauce.

Highly recommend trying them.

LOVING HUT-SAN FRANCISCO

After a hard day of watching HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (which was AWESOME!!!) and shopping, we made the long uphill walk to Loving Hut .

A chain of vegan Chinese (asian) restaurants.

We've tried the Alhambra location, which hits the spot when your craving Chinese food.

The San Francisco location is located at the edge of Chinatown and North Beach (San Francisco's version of Little Italy).

It's small but really quite quaint.

We went all out and ordered tons of stuff.

To our defense, we wanted to have leftovers just in case we got hungry back at the hotel.

And they have a lot of stuff our location doesn't.

Like banana splits, which we were too full to order.

Next time for sure.

We shared everything, family style.

POT STICKERS AND SZECHUAN GREEN BEANS-tradional pot stickers stuffed with cabbage,carrots,mushrooms, and celery.

GREEN BEANS stir-fried with soy protein, chili flakes and a light soy sauce.

AU LAC (VIETNAMESE) VERMICELLI+SPRING ROLLS-rice vermicelli served with marinated soy protein,radish & carrot salad,peanuts and fresh herbs

THAI PINEAPPLE RICE-wok-fried rice with mixed vegetables and pineapple, served with spring roll

SPICY CHA CHA-yam flour crescents crumbled and wok-fried with spices,bell pepper,celery and chili on a bed of romaine lettuce.

MANGO SALAD-shredded radish,cucumber,carrot,cilantro and mango strips tossed in a light vinaigrette and nuts.

TROPICAL PINEAPPLE DRINK with pineapple chunks.

Everything was good but not great.

The pot stickers were delicious.

The wrapper was home-made, nice and thick.

The rice was so forgettable.

The Spicy Cha Cha was made with fake shrimp because when I bit into it, it looked just like one.

The one at the Alhambra location uses real yam flour, no pink food coloring.

The green beans weren't crunchy.

The drink was way too sweet.

We had to let the ice melt to dilute it.

The pineapple topping didn't even taste like pineapple and it had a funny texture.

The bowl was AWESOME as always.

So many different flavors and textures.

It's nice to have options like Loving Hut .

Interesting dishes with some hits and a few misses.

But overall, we'll definitely be back.

Especially for the banana split.

THE PLANT CAFE ORGANIC

One of the reasons we love visiting San Francisco (aside from visiting my husband's granparents) is to eat out at all the amazing restaurants.

Take THE PLANT Cafe Organic.

3 locations around the city and extremely vegan friendly AND organic!!!

Our favorite location is just about a 5 minute walk from our hotel, up Embarcadero to the Pier 3 restaurant.

This location has outdoor sitting with amazing waterfront views of Berkeley and the Oakland Bay Bridge.

So now on to the food.

The menu caters to vegans, vegetarians and omnivores.

Very gourmet with reasonable prices.

My husband and I both ordered the AVOCADO WILD ARUGULA salad with shaved fennel, creamy black pepper & macadamia nut dressing.

AMAZING!!!

The restaurant now offers Happy Hour from 3pm-6pm M-F. My husband and I have a rule to only drink vegetable/fruit juices first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. But once we saw a 3 tasting juice option on the Happy Hour menu, we (meaning I) had to try it.

They came in shot glasses, so you can imagine how small they were.

The first drink on the LEFT is the IMMUNE BUILDER-carrot,apple,and strawberry.

The one in the MIDDLE was the sweetest, CITRUS BLEND-orange,apple, and strawberry.

The THIRD drink, SKIN REFRESHER-cucumber,apple,and strawberry.

They were delicious and very refreshing.

But since they all had strawberry, they pretty much tasted the same.

Below, you can see a list of their juices.

They also carry smoothies.

We haven't tried them yet...darn!

And now for the entrees.

My husband ordered the PUMPKIN SEED & CORN MEAL ENCRUSTED TEMPEH-coconut mashed yam,sauteed broccoli and bell peppers with an avocado & tomatillo salsa verde.

Let's just say, the plate was clean when he was done.

OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD!!!

I ordered the SPICY GREEN CURRY-asparagus, carrots, zucchini,broccoli and green bell peppers, coconut milk,lemon grass,kaffir lime,basil & mint served over jasmine rice.

You get an option to add baked tofu, but I chose to get just the veggies.

I love sour foods, so this dish was right up my alley.

I loved it so much, I'm even still thinking about it to this day.

YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For dessert, we ordered the POTS DE CREME.

Thick dark chocolate pudding served with 2 cookies.

It was good but not great.

THE PLANT CAFE at Pier 3 in San Francisco.

One of my top 3 favorite restaurants ever!!!

Great food.

Great views.

Great everything!!!

HERBIVORE GRILL

One of the reasons why we love visiting San Francisco is to have breakfast at

Herbivore - The Earthly Grill.

They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Serving anything from pancakes to sandwiches to salads to curry to pasta.

Open from 9am until 10pm Sun-Thurs and closing at 11pm Fri-Sat.

Did I mention that everything here is VEGAN?

VEGAN HEAVEN!

But my husband and I go there specifically for the breakfast.

I always order the DESSERT CREPES with grilled banana, blueberries and topped with maple syrup tofu whip.

My favorite!!!

I won't order anything else but the crepes.

A little thicker than a regular crepe, but much thinner than a pancake.

It just melts in your mouth!!!

And my breakfast wouldn't be complete without a side of house potatoes (not pictured).

All carbs for breakfast.

Need the energy because in San Francisco. all you do is walk.

Walk uphill.

Walk downhill.

Walk uphill again.

Walk downhill again.

I LOVE IT!!!!

My husband tried a new dish time.

"SAUSAGE" BISCUIT with house potatoes,mushroom gravy and avocado-tomato salad.

The sausage was wrapped in phyllo dough.

It was also stuffed with raisins and a sauce (which I don't remember what type).

Notice the small star decoration.

Great attention to detail.

When in San Francisco. make sure to visit Herbivore.

Great food, speedy service, infinite amount of choices, and awesome prices.

SAN FRANCISCO TRIP

HOTEL VITALE

OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE

SAN FRANCISCO FERRY BUILDING FARMER'S MARKET

CLOSER LOOK AT FARMER'S MARKET ABOVE AND BELOW

SUR LA TABLE-FERRY BUILDING

So this is the reason I haven't posted in days.

My husband and I spent a week in San Francisco!!!

I have pics from The Plant Cafe, Herbivore,Mijita's, Loving Hut, and Curry on the Bridge.

But will be giving each restaurant its own entry every day this week starting tomorrow.

So keep checking back.

(All pics above were taken from our hotel room.

Except for the exterior shot of the hotel.)