VeganMoFo 2016 #12: Sleepless in Seattle

12th: Dream Holiday Destination – what would you eat on your dream holiday?

No one will be surprised when I tell them that my dream holiday is in Seattle. After a whirlwind 48 hour trip in 2011, I fell madly in love with this beautiful city. I have since returned in 2013, 2014 and 2015. This year, tragically, I was not able to get back to my beloved city. But the good news is that I shall be back next year, and I am already in full planning mode! Seattle makes my heart sing. It is such a beautiful city, and the food is amazing. And I know magnificent people there.



One of my favourite places in Seattle is Wayward Vegan Cafe. I have been there for brunch a few times, and dinner once. I love their diner menu. One of my favourite brunches there was a delicious cheesy scramble, and last year I also finally got to try their famous club. They apparently have a breakfast club now, and that is top of my list for 2017!





Last year I visited the Seattle Cookie Counter van a couple of time for delicious ice cream sandwiches. Since that time, they have now opened up their own store front! I can't wait to visit for amazing desserts!



Last year I didn't get a chance to visit Pizza Pi, because I forgot that they were closed on Mondays. And then they were going to close down, which broke my heart. But thankfully new people stepped in and Pizza Pi lives on! So I am looking forward to 100% definitely visiting them on a non-Monday next year and getting some pizza on. And of course, Sizzle Pie has a Seattle location now as well, so pizza can be mine!



I love getting my cinnamon sugar doughnut fix from Mighty-O. If you can get out to the location, you can take your doughnuts on a short walk to eat them looking over the beautiful Green Lake. Otherwise they are available at lots of other stockists as well!



And one of my favourite Seattle traditions is to get breakfast down at Pike Place Market. I get a baked goodie and a cinnamon chai from Cinnamon Works, and a piece of fruit from one of the fruit shops, and eat them overlooking the water front.





Of course, this is just a the tiny tip of the mountain of delights in Seattle, the city that has completely stolen my heart. Just search for Seattle on this blog (or click on any Seattle tags) to see my other Seattle adventures. Or better yet, go to Seattle and make your own! If you are there in May 2017 we may just run into each other. ;)

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Another photo of Pascall, in all her silver glory. My fourth kitty.

USA 2015 Part 14: Sleepless in Seattle

Normally I am an early to bed, early to rise kind of person. Though during this trip I often became a late to bed but still early to rise person. Certainly Seattle was keeping me pretty busy late into the night with fun times! And so it was on my final Seattle day. I had decided my last day in Seattle would be my tourist day. This Seattle trip was great because I got to do a lot of things that you might not think about doing in Seattle, but I still love Seattle's cheesy tourist heart. And in Seattle, that means Pike Place Markets.



One of my favourite Seattle rituals is to pick up breakfast from Cinnamon Works and eat in in a small park (Victor Steinbrueck Park if you are looking for it) overlooking the water (and the viaduct, but you can ignore that). ]Cinnamon Works has several vegan options, including cinnamon buns that have way too much icing for my tastes, so I got a delicious banana chocolate chip muffin and a cinnamon chai, as well as a plum I picked up from one of the fruit stalls in the markets. It was a clear, sunny morning, and the view was beautiful. Mount Rainier was visible but a little hazy, like a pretty painting.









After breakfast I took a walk and explore through the markets. To be honest I know most of it by now, but I still love looking at all the beautiful fruit and vegetables, poking around the arcade (a visit to Golden Age Collectables is a must for a geek like me), and the peonies... oh the wonderful peonies! They are my favourite flower, and I am always in Seattle in peony season.





A new stall I found was Marnin Saylor, who sells super cute little handmade plush critters (all non-animal materials), the most famous of which is their Donut Cat (though they also had Eclair Bears there as well). I couldn't resist picking up a super adorable Maple Mini Donut Cat to come with me on my travels.



I also stopped by Britt's Pickles to try one of their famous (and free) pickle brine shots (it is delicious). I was sad I couldn't buy any of their pickles because jarred pickles do not mix well with an international flight the next day. But they sell pickles individually on a stick, so I was able to munch on one as I wandered around.



For the first time in four visits, I also stumbled across the famous gum wall. To be honest I hadn't looked that hard for it in previous visits because I thought it sounded pretty gross. Guess what, it is pretty gross.



The markets get crowded, so a peaceful walk down to the Olympic Sculpture Park seemed in order. I've walked through the park a few times on previous visits, so this time I just stopped at the top for a little rest, some free wifi and to take in the beautiful view before walking up to the Seattle Center.



Obligatory Space Needle shot!



One block behind the Seattle Center is Bamboo Garden, one of the best vegetarian Chinese restaurants ever. This was actually the first place I ate at on my first trip to Seattle in 2011. Pretty much everything is vegan, except for the fortune cookies they hand out with the bill. If you go at lunch, they have huge lunch combination platters that you must order. I ordered Lunch Combination A, which came with soup, a fried potsticker, vegetable chow mein, steamed rice and stir-fried chicken and broccoli. You can pick hot and sour or corn chowder as your soup. I picked hot and sour but it was sad, too much hot, almost no sour. And then I remembered that I had had this soup here before so I already knew not to get it! Oh well, next time it will be the chowder, which is very yummy.



The Seattle Center is home to Plum Pantry, so I stopped in there to have a refreshing drink. I ordered the Wild Yam Juice, which is something that has intrigued me for years. It is orange, yam and carrot juice. It was lovely and cool and sweet, just right!



My original plan had been to go to the U District and pick up some Pizza Pi for dinner, as well as some sandwiches for my flight tomorrow from Vegan Haven. However then I realised it is Monday and Pizza Pi is closed on Monday! Instead I caught a bus to Central Co-op in Capitol Hill, which has a good range of vegan goodies and also stocks sandwiches from Wayward. I was able to pick up a nice little collection for plane snacks the next day.



From there I was able to walk to In The Bowl, a great Thai restaurant. I ordered the Pad See Ew with Fried Tofu and Stir-Fried Vegetables with Fresh Tofu. Originally I ordered the latter with veggie chicken, but thankfully remembered just in time that their veggie chicken has egg in it. Luckily they hadn't made it yet so were able to change it to tofu. Phew! I took these back to Helen's for an early dinner at home. The Pad See Ew was delicious, great sauce and chewy noodles and an excellent noodle to veggie/tofu ratio. The stir-fried had a fun mix of broccoli, pineapple and cashews in a brown sauce. It was all very nice.





After dinner we went to a birthday party for one of Helen's friends, which ended up in a late night karaoke bar. I would have loved to sing a Kylie song (they had a surprisingly large collection available), but I am far too shy and anxious to sing in front of people! For the party Helen had made this beautiful cake. So pretty!



It was a late night, I didn't get to sleep until after 1am and I had a very early start the next day to begin my long trip home. Only one more USA trip posts to go! I know that this post had a lot of Seattle photos in it compared to food photos, but I just love Seattle so much! It is honestly my home away from home. At least for the next 50 years or so until it is completely destroyed in a catastrophic earthquake.

Have you been to Seattle? Did you love it? Do you have a favourite city that you just feel instantly at home in?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I am so thankful that during my time in Seattle I was able to have some good kitty times, especially with handsome Zeno. Cats are my number one requirement for life (followed by food, oxygen, then water at the end), and I often struggle when I am travelling. Of course my own cats are my number one number one! Zeno was very generous with his hugs and purrs, even though I helped Helen out by giving him some yucky medication (if you have a cat vet as a guest, make the most of it!). Love you Zeno!

USA 2015 Part 13: Seattle Sunshine

For most of my trip to the US, it was pretty warm and sunny. And Seattle was no exception. I was actually hoping that when I got to Seattle it would be a bit cooler and cloudier, because as a very fair-skinned red-head hot and sunny days mean wearing fully covered clothing (including socks), slathering on sunscreen every 2 hours and carrying my trusty UV repelling umbrella. However the sun and warmth were out in full force!

I woke up early on Saturday, after some serious Zeno snuggle time, and took myself off for an early breakfast at a newish cafe that had opened near Helen's place, 701 Coffee, that has many vegan options. I opted for a Strawberries & Cream Smoothie and a Mighty-O cinnamon sugar doughnut. People who know me know that I am all about the cinnamon sugar doughnut wherever I go.



A bit later, we drove down to Georgetown to explore the Georgetown Festival. And also to go to Georgetown Liquor Company for brunch. I had some the very yummy Benedict, which came with a side of fruit, but I also added a side of potatoes. Because potatoes! It was very yummy. It was quite dark in GLC, so the photos are a bit moody.



Helen had a Bloody Mary (which she decorated herself at the Bloody Mary bar) and a breakfast sandwich with a side of salad, and Clayton had the the breakfast burrito.







Then we emerged out into the sunshine to explore the festival. We saw the stalls at the festival, viewed some power tool races (that didn't seem entirely safe), poked around the cool little shops at the Trailer Park Mall, had a turn at giant Jenga, saw some pirates, did some antiquing, played Jurassic Park Lost World pinball at Flip Flip Ding Ding (turns out I am terrible at pinball, Helen is pretty awesome, they also have vegan sandwiches there), visited an interactive art exhibit made up of discarded items, saw some circus performers and went antiquing. There was a lot going on!







It was pretty warm, so to cool down we got ice cream sandwiches from Cookie Counter, which was at the festival. They rotate through different flavours each day, though I went with the same as the day before. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry. Yes! As we were walking around with these beauties we had so many people ask us where we got them. This was also one of the most popular photos I ever posted in my Instagram. People love ice cream sandwiches!



After the fair they took me to see a cute park that has a giant cowboy hat and giant cowboy boots. You would think you would find this in Austin, not tucked away in Seattle! Unfortunately the boots were locked, so we couldn't play inside and go up the top. The grass was lovely and cool in the shade!



We visited the West Seattle location of Chaco Canyon Cafe. Originally I thought I would get something to eat, but I was so hot and kind of headachy that I ended up just getting a refreshing Peachy Keen Smoothie, which was just peaces, banana and hemp milk. It was so rich and creamy and thick. You can see Helen's veggie juice in the background.



Then we went to roller derby! The Ranier Roller Girls were having their final bout of the season, and we had heard that they had a vegan bake sale there. I had never been to roller derby, but was very keen to see it, and Helen has friends who would be there, so it seemed like a good time. Unfortunately when we got there the bake sale was not vegan at all... there was no Mighty-O as had been suggested... I think maybe some of the cookies may have been vegan from Chaco Canyon, but the person doing the stall had no idea. So that was disappointing. However the roller derby was fun, if a little violent. There were a few injuries! Afterwards we skipped the after party and went to dinner at the nearby Shadowland for their famous vegan burger. It has two Field Roast patties! I surprised myself by demolishing the entire thing, including the fries on the side. So yummy.



On Sunday morning I took Helen for thank you brunch at Plum Bistro. They have a good chai there! I sampled both the regular and the decaf rooibos.



I was very tempted to continue my benedict theme, however I was not in a seitan mood, and the Veggie Slam with cheesy potatoes, roasted portobellos, spinach and asparagus and an English muffin seemed like just the thing. It came with a pesto sauce, which was very oily. Much better for dipping bread in than for pouring over. However I also got a side of the avocado hollondaise that normally came with the benedict, and that was excellent for dousing everything!



Helen had the Butternut and Fennel Scramble, which came with toast and an apple sage sausage.



We split up so that I could go back to Wholefoods and pick up my beloved Herbivore hoodie, which was safe and sound. Thank you Wholefoods South Lake Union! I also used some of the coupons I had from my VVC swag bag to get some free/discounted goodies. Then it was back to Helen's for a fairly low key afternoon. We tried a tin of Toona that came with our swag bags and it was awful. But we had some leftover cheese to cleanse the palate. For dinner we walked to Moonlight Cafe, which I had heard a lot about from Anika. We got Anika's recommendation of the Lemongrass Tofu Vermicelli, which was so amazingly great, as well as a very tasty gluten, cashew and vegetable stir-fry.





After dinner we went to Smash Putt, which is now closed, for hilarious post-apocalyptic mini-golf. Then it was back to Helen's for a vegan ice cream and cheese party. This was my first time trying So Delicious cashew ice cream and Oh. My. God. I could have inhaled the entire tub. So good! Sadly I was pretty underwhelmed with the Heidi Ho chia cheese. I had loved their chevre at VVC, but I just couldn't really get behind the flavour of this. Turns out it has capiscum in it and I found it quite pronounced. Thankfully I had picked this up for free with a coupon.



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



This glorious little pudding basking in the sun's rays is Chloe, who is Helen's housemate's cat. She is a little shy, but super sweet, with a teeny tiny little voice. And she loves her dad more than anyone in the world.

USA 2015 Part 12: Seattle

How am I up to 12 parts of this trip? Are you all over my holidays stories by now? I'm sorry, there was just so much food!

The next morning I walked from Helen's place to Cafe Flora to meet Jess for breakfast. I've been to Cafe Flora twice before, and while each time has been good I have always ended up with a bit of order envy or regret. I am happy to say that I ordered like a champion this time! I started with a giant mug of chai, which was lovely and, happily, not overly sweet. For food I ordered a delicious potato and leek scramble, as well as a side of smoky collars, which had a gentle spice. We don't have collards here so I am always excited to eat them in the US. I also finished with a glass of their rosemary lemonade, which is always amazing.









Jess had the spicier Rancho Colorado Scramble.



After breakfast we walked up to the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park. I say walked up, because while it is technically not a long walk, it turns out there is a hill of death you must ascend to get there. I love Asian art, and though this gallery is relatively small it had a lovely collection. They also had a Chiho Aoshima exhibit there, which I loved. The style of the artworks was right up my alley! Here is a bit of a blurry photo of one of my favourites. Of course it has a cat.



Afterwards we had a bit of a stroll through Volunteer Park, and Jess indulged me in my SQUIRREL! spotting hobbies. They were a bit elusive, but then one agreed to be photographed and squeed over from a distance. Look at their floofy tail! There was also lots of pretty wild flowers growing in the grass, which I love.





We then walked to Capitol Hill (lots of walking!) for lunch at Bamboo, which I had been told had the best vegan pho around. We were thirsty, so had a coconut each to drink. I loved the pho! Great tasting broth and lots and lots of tofu and veggies. Very good.





Bamboo is just down the road from Casita International, which is a great little shop that has a lot of locally designed goods. They are also a stockist of Rescue Chocolate. I recommend stopping in!

The other motivation for lunch at Bamboo was that the Seattle Cookie Counter was set up across the road for the afternoon. This is an awesome little mobile food van selling vegan ice cream sandwiches! I was torn between Oatmeal Chocolate Chip with Cherry or Strawberry Lemonade, but I eventually went for the cherry one. It was so good. The cookie was amazing! Their ice cream was coconut based, which I was a bit hesitant about, but I am happy to report that it was within my threshold for coconut fat and didn't have a heavy coconut fatty texture at all. Apparently they are playing around with oat based ice cream these days, which I would love to try one day!





After lunch I walked (more walking) downtown to Wholefoods at South Lake Union to pick up some supplies for dinner back at Helen's place. On the way back to Helen's, just as I got off the bus, I realised I didn't have my most beloved Herbivore Love Life hoodie with me! I chased down the bus but couldn't find it, so but when I rang Wholefoods they had it at their lost and found, and promised to keep it safe until I could get back there in a day or two. Phew!

Helen's awesome friend Molly came over for dinner (she is also a vegan and a cat lady, so we hit it off). We had planned a bit of a sample dinner so I could try a bunch of different things rather than eating out. We started out with a fancy cheese plate. This had a block of Daiya Jalapeno, Punk Rawk Original, Parmela Original Cream Cheese and Parmela Hickory Smoked Gorde. My favourite was definitely the hickory smoked, I love smoked cheeses!



Our main was a mac and cheese sampler. I had bought some frozen Amy's and Candle Cafe mac and cheese, as well as some Harbour Creek Farms mac and cheese mini studel. Helen picked up some Plum Mac and Yease. I also had some Field Roast Maple Breakfast Links, as well as a box of three different types of kale salad from the food bar at Wholefoods, because greens are important! My favourite mac and cheese was the Amy's one, as the Candle Cafe one just seemed to have globs of cheese smattered around rather than the pasta being mixed through a nice cheesy sauce. The little strudel bites were also excellent!





And finally, dessert. Molly had bought one of the new Daiya cheesecakes, the New York style, as well as some gorgeous fresh strawberries. We also had some carrot cake and cinnamon bun that had traveled with my from the Chicago Diner, and some Full Tilt vanilla hemp ice cream. The cheesecake was OK, I wasn't blown away by it. I wouldn't mind trying their strawberry flavour one day, but it is nearly $20 here in Australia so I don't see that happening any time soon. The carrot cake was good. However, the star was the cinnamon roll. Remember the cinnamon roll? It was 4 days old at this point, and pretty hard from being in the fridge that long. We gave it a zap in the microwave... best cinnamon roll I have ever had. Even the next morning I had some cold from the fridge. Still the best cinnamon roll ever. If it is this good when it is old and a bit stale, how amazing must it be fresh?



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post

On my way down to Wholefoods I stopped by Pretty Parlor, a gorgeous shop full of vintage and locally-designed clothes. I had visited last year and picked up an absolutely gorgeous dress by Glam Cloud. The best thing about Pretty Parlor is Vincent, their kitty. I had met Vincent last year, but shortly after my holiday he was attacked by a dog and needed a lot of surgery and recovery. Thankfully he is all good again now! He consented to allow some pats and hugs.