The Farm at San Benito isn't merely a restaurant - it's a fully fledged wellness retreat in the Philippines. I had to include them somewhere because the food is truly amazing. Everything is made on-site, and they even grow a lot of the ingredients in their garden (which you can tour).
It's hard to pick a favorite, but their housemade coconut and walnut milks gave new meaning to oatmeal and granola. It's some of the freshest plant-based milk I've ever had. I also loved their play on a caesar salad, wrapping romaine hearts with nori, nut-based parmesan, and a raw dressing for dipping. They also focus a lot on alkaline foods, which aims to balance the Ph of the body. Alkaline or not, it's delicious. If you ever find yourself in the Philippines, stay at (or at least visit!) the farm.
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THIS PIZZA. I would eat it every day. Please come to California, Rocket Pies.
With a cashew base, sweet onions, crispy kale, zuchinni and spicy veggie sausage it does not skimp on flavor. They make it fresh from the dough to the big pizza oven and it is sheer perfection. Rocket Pies is located inside the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids. Get one to go and check out a park! If you can put off eating it in the car ride over, that is. Another tried and true Michigan veggie favorite, Seva recently opened a location in downtown Detroit.
The sandwich was the special one day over the summer - a fried artichoke masterpiece with fresh slaw and green goddess dressing dip. YUM. All of their sandwiches come with a McClures pickle, the way all sandwiches should be presented. The side salad here is the peanut kale: Kale, carrots, butternut squash & red peppers, peanut-cider marinade. You may roll your eyes here, but I thought this was too peanut-y. I like to order at Cafe Gratitude as I choose between dishes like "I am whole" or "I am vital." Yes, some people may feel like "I am over this shit, give me my food please" but I think the vibe at Cafe Gratitude is nice.
This is an honorable mention for the Berkeley location, may you rest gratefully in peace. The cafe has a location down in Santa Cruz (the Turmeric late is the best) and even further down in LA. What are you grateful for? I mean, with a name like that, you can't NOT love, Love N Haight Deli.
This is a solid sandwich establishment offering a plethora of fake meats. They also have some good chips and carry ABC Cookies. Not everything is vegan, but it is all vegetarian. Just ask! Get yourself a sammich and walk over to Duboce park to hang out with other people's dogs. It's cool. All hail the V!
After being transferred over to Animal Place, and now "technically" called Animal Place's Vegan Republic - Republic of V is a one stop shop for all of your vegan groceries. They've got dry goods, frozen goods, mildly cool goods, and even a small retail section. My favorite items are Plentils, new varieties of Miyoko's cheese and knowing that even though I can get these things in other places, when I shop here the revenue goes back to Animal Place. Yay! Public Transit: It's closest to Downtown Berkeley and North Berkeley Bart stations One of my favorite frozen foods brands goes retail! Amy's Drive Thru is pretty exciting. I'm a big fan of their burgers and the broccoli mac and cheese (yes, it's vegan!) is really tasty. The chili fries are in this picture too but they're personally not my fave - I'm not a chili gal.
You can enjoy the meal on-site or take it to a lovely nearby park. Matanzas Creek winery is nearby and besides having nice wines they have lavender fields and lots of lavender scented things to buy. Worth the side stop! Sure, Ben and Jerry's is not a restaurant but they now carry four vegan flavors and you should know about that.
You should also go eat them. Here are the flavors in order of my preference:
Sometimes they only have one flavor available for scooping, but they almost always have all four in pints. So, just get the pint. It's basically the same price as a cone and you'll enjoy having the whole pint. Also, this B+J's is at the corner of Haight and Ashbury so you can get that touristy photo if that's your jam. From their humble food truck beginnings, Hella Vegan Eats now has a funky storefront in Oakland.
This boston cream pie donut was THE BEST and I enjoyed my brunch plate as well. The spicy watermelon was a nice addition. Occasionally their food can be a bit too salty for my taste, but that's just me. Definitely check them out and be sure to go on a sunny day to take full advantage of the Beer Garden area. Ps. they've got odd hours, so just check their website before heading over. Cha-Ya is easily my favorite restaurant in San Francisco. It's simple, flavorful food that makes me happy to eat.
Here are some of my favorite dishes:
Really, you cannot go wrong here. Cash only! They have another location in Berkeley. |