Sensational SoChu House: a vegan-friendly hot spot near downtown Phoenix

We’ve been fans of chef Johnny Chu since the first time we ate at Fate years ago. We loved the Asian tapas at Sens too, but missed the variety of vegan entrées available on the Fate menu. With the opening of SoChu House, we get the best of both worlds – and then some.

For starters, the parking is the best of all three locations. That may sound trivial but I just don’t travel with $3 worth of quarters on me usually. Also, the restaurant is in a larger space that still has a hip look and feel, but is much less cramped.

Chu’s flair for creating intensely flavorful sauces is still in full force on the SoChu menu. Previous favorites such as the red curry with tofu remain, but he’s added some new items and made slight changes to some dishes.

We always enjoyed the wide variety of fried tofu tapas on the Sens menu, but had a hard time picking one dipping sauce over another. The new SoChu Tofu tapas dish comes with two spicy sauces — pineapple ginger and sesame — so we no longer have to choose.

Both dipping sauces are “I will save it to put on my rice later ” good. The pineapple ginger sauce is available on other items, but the sesame sauce is unique to this dish and not to be missed.

Our waitress told us all of the entrées can be made vegan with tofu, and Johnny stopped by to point out other vegetarian options on the menu as well. For the entrees, we tried a previous favorite plus an item that was new to us.

House Dynamite with tofu has been one of our default choices since the days of Fate.

The flavor of the sauce continues to be terrific. It’s spicy with a hint of sweet. However, the kitchen may not be quite dialed-in yet at SoChu House. It was not as delicate as it used to be in terms of the subtlety of the flavor, variety of the vegetable mix and quality of tofu preparation (the breading was a touch soggy).

The Spicy Basil entrée with tofu may look similar to House Dynamite, but the flavor was distinctly different.

I thought it was spicier, and had a more robust, less sweet, sauce. The basil was strong but not overwhelming. Spicy Basil Tofu is also available in the tapas area of the menu, but might be a dipping sauce rather than with vegetables.

For those of you who have loved dining at Fate and Sens over the years – don’t worry, you’re still in safe hands! You can continue to enjoy most of the old favorites, but also try something new. I have my eye on the new Pepper Mint and Chili Citrus entrées, so we will have to head back soon. Or maybe instead we’ll try to get out to Chandler to try Chu’s Tien Wong Hot Pot or to The Mint in Scottsdale, but the Mint doesn’t look quite as vegan-friendly based on the online menu.

Oh and I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the adorable key chains they gave us with the check.

Too cute! I’m guessing they were left over from the grand opening?

Vegan Eats Above and Below the Rim

When the thermometer hits 110 degrees in Phoenix, the natural inclination of the population is to head for higher altitudes. Two of our favorite destinations for day trips or overnight stays are Flagstaff, which is above the Mogollon Rim (the boundary between “way to hot” and “not quite as hot” in Arizona), or Payson, which is just below it. But what’s a vegan to eat in these small towns? As it turns out – plenty!

The vegan destination of choice in these two quiet towns is Macy’s European Coffee House and Bakery.

In fact, I’ve lobbied to go to Flag just to visit Macy’s on more than one occasion. The menu is entirely vegetarian, and many items are either vegan, or can be made vegan with a bit of tweaking. The atmosphere is seriously mellow, with the staff and patrons seeming to have an unspoken code that even after many visits I have yet to decipher. It’s the closest vibe to that of my old college town of Gainesville, Fla. that I’ve found in Arizona, which makes sense given the proximity to NAU.

First thing’s first, Macy’s has the best coffee I’ve ever had in Arizona. And the prettiest as well.

They usually have a vegan pastry or too if you get there early enough. On this trip we lucked into a vegan almond Danish.

For lunch, my husband had the hummus pita (without the feta).

It wasn’t an adventurous choice, but it was delicious and filling.

I really like their burger, which is normally served as a “mushroom and Swiss burger” but I opt for it without those toppings.

Sometimes I get lucky and they have it on special with toppings other than mushrooms (which I hate) and Swiss (which they don’t have a vegan version of), but on this trip it was a touch plain. The mustard (put accidentally on the hummus plate) livens it up greatly though. And as a bonus – the fresh salsa at Macy’s shouldn’t be missed.

After hiking in the areas outside of town for awhile, we stopped back in Flag for a quick bite before heading back to Phoenix. We decided to try Tacos Locos, a Mexican restaurant right around the corner from Macy’s that has vegan options.

Tacos Locos offers eight different vegetarian options on the menu, all of which can be made vegan with ease. The prices are very reasonable too!

Meals come by default with plenty of chips and salsa, as they should (I’m talking to you, Chipotle).

The chips were fresh and warm, but the salsa was a bit bland so we spiced it up with optional hot sauces, available upon request.

My husband had the guacamole and veggie tacos, neither of which were world-rockers, but they were serviceable. I had a bean and rice taco and a potato taco.

Both were just fine, but the fried shell of the potato taco was the stand-out.

I probably wouldn’t drive to Flag just to go to Tacos Locos like I do for Macy’s, but it’s a nice option for a quick, safe bite.

When we next said, “We can’t take it anymore” and needed to get out of town, we headed to Payson. Lucky for us, our dining choice was not limited to Taco Bell vs. Subway. Ayothaya Thai Café is a decent Thai restaurant in Payson with a wide assortment of vegetarian items on the menu. When we asked if the dishes had fish oil/sauce or if they were truly vegetarian, they confirmed that there was no fish product involved. They menu also clearly states that they use vegetable oil.

Based on how crowded the restaurant was at 5:30 p.m. on a Saturday, I’d say it is dining destination #1 for Paysonites. There was an odd duet of acoustic folk singers on a stage at the front of the restaurant, which was decidedly not Thai-esq, but they clearly had a strong local fan base.

We had read in reviews that the service at Ayothaya left a lot to be desired, so we ordered a fresh garden roll appetizer to start just to make sure we didn’t starve.

They came out within minutes, which was a good thing because the meal took another 45 to arrive. But, it also meant they had probably been made hours before, and they tasted like it. The peanut sauce was good enough to cover up what the garden rolls lacked though.

I was intrigued that they had tempeh items on the menu, so I ordered the tempeh with mint leaves.

It was a light stir-fry but while I was hoping for something “minty” and flavorful, it was a little bland and greasy. The tempeh wasn’t very compelling either.

My husband did much better with the almond Thai curry.

This was full of delicate spicy and the tofu was cooked perfectly.

There were plenty of other interesting options on the menu, such as the tofu royale, or the pra ram joe, so I hope to visit again soon!

Gourmet Vegan Dining in Phoenix? Christopher’s Says Yes We Can!

Several years ago, a co-worker in DC treated me to an amazing vegan tasting menu with wine pairings at the Mandarin Oriental. I’ve dreamed of replicating the experience in Phoenix, and thought my husband’s birthday was a good excuse to try to make it happen. I developed a list of top 10 gourmet restaurants in Phoenix that do tasting menus with the intent to call each one and ask if they could do a vegan meal until I got a “yes.” Lucky for me, the first one on the list, Christopher’s, put me on hold for a minute and came back with the magic words: “Chef Christopher said yes, we can do that!” I knew we were in safe hands because I said, “I wanted to do something a little more special than Green for his birthday” and the person on the phone said “I love Green!”

Christopher’s regular menu doesn’t hold much interest for vegans. But I had been to the chef’s previous venue, Christopher’s Fermier, before turning vegan and knew it was top notch. We were seated in a “semi-private” glassed-off room in the center of the restaurant. It’s a great spot to see everything, while still being able to have a conversation. I’ll admit I was very nervous about what we’d be served since I’m such a fussy eater and am not comfortable giving control over my choices to someone who doesn’t know me. All I asked up front was “no mushrooms please.” Before we started, the waiter told us the chef had been to two different stores to find the meal’s ingredients and had labored over it all day. He previewed the menu with us and it all sounded excellent!

Below is a description of all six courses. It was the most creative and unique vegan meal I’ve ever had. It didn’t have the self confidence of a Millennium meal, but it was inspired and aspirational. The tastes varied from strong to subtle, and the portions were ideal. I didn’t take pictures of the meal, but I did try to take good notes. Of course, after the third round of food and drink, the notes bcame illegible. The wines may be off a bit, but I tried to capture them accurately.

Before the meal we were treated to delicious fresh bread with olive oil. I kept saying to myself, “don’t fill up on bread” but it was too good.

Course one: Tomato tea paired with sparkling wine from Wrigley Mansion

When the waiter said “tomato tea” I had to ask him to say it again. This was essentially the “soup” course, but it was unlike any soup I’ve ever had. At its base was a chilled tomato puree garnished with basil chiffonade. The tea was then poured over the top. It created a very thin tomato broth with a hint of lemon juice. This may have been our favorite single dish. It was light, healthy and unique. The wine was a keeper as well, as in “no, don’t take that one” when they brought the next course and wine pairing.

Course two: Coriander infused heritage carrots with saffron jus paired with Chockstone Riesling Victoria

This was also a nice light dish but surprisingly full of flavor. The baby carrots (two orange, two yellow, two purple) were peeled and just barely exposed to heat; they retained their full texture. In fact, they were firmer than I would have liked, if only because the oomph required to cut them threatened to splash the jus on our clothes. Unfortunately, the bread plate didn’t get refilled in time, so we were unable to soak up the marvelous coriander and saffron broth.

Course three: Freekeh with grilled asparagus, chive and tomato sauce paired with Montes Sauvignon Blanc

This was the best pairing of the night. The wine had an apple fragrance, which became more pronounced as it warmed to room temperature. We had never had Freekeh before, which is a wheat grain picked while still green and roasted. It was very firm, similar in texture to buckwheat, but without the overpowering flavor.  It was gently placed on top of the tomato sauce, which was not ambitious but very complementary to the grain. The savory dish brought out the elusive sweet notes in the otherwise very dry wine. The asparagus was very small, almost a garnish. It was the most filling of the dishes.

Course four: Ratatouille with tofu and bell pepper coulee paired with Vina Cousino Macul Finis Terrae Red Wine Maipo Valley

This was probably the least creative of the dishes. We are not big fans of ratatouille, since it’s pretty much a full-on nightshade-a-thon. But it complimented the tofu, which was lightly cooked, unseasoned and bore the pronounced grill-marks of being cooked over an open fire, very nicely. It was also another great wine pairing, now switched to red.

Course five: Red and yellow beet garbanzo bean ravioli stuffed w/tofu and topped with truffle oil paired with Marc Bredif Chinon

This was the dish that made us say “Is it really vegan?” Clearly extra effort was put in here to create vegan ravioli for us. The ravioli rested on a bright beet infusion and the tofu filling mimicked ricotta. The ravioli dough was somewhat chalky and inelastic, but very flavorful. This was a great finish to the main meal!

Course six: Mango and lemon sorbet with raspberries paired with desert wine (I didn’t catch the name)

A pleasent pairing to finish the night. The sweetness of the sorbet brought out the strong alcohol flavor of the dessert wine, giving the night a nice send-off. Elements at the Sanctuary does sorbet better, however.

The evening itself was a very special experience; probably the only way a vegan can have the full Christopher’s gourmet experience. You need to come prepared with sense of adventure, since you never know what they will serve. So if, like me, you cannot stand certain foods, you’d better tell them in advance. The dishes were all excellently prepared, and well crafted. However, you could still tell that they were out of their wheelhouse with vegan cuisine. You can’t expect Christopher’s to compete with a core vegan gourmet experience like at San Francisco’s Millennium, but when you add in the cost for flights and a hotel, it is a good compromise.

In summary, I’d like to say a big Thank You to Christopher’s for taking a chance, being accommodating and creating a unique celebration that could hardly be topped.

Treehouse Bakery’s Vegan “Pop Tarts” – the New Cupcake?

Some people may think cupcakes are “all that” – but I’d like to propose a new pretender to the hand-held, single-serving treat throne: the glorious toaster pastry, aka the Pop Tart. The potential for inspired variations and flavor combinations is limitless. It’s time for Pop Tarts to go viral!

When I became a vegan eight years ago, I thought pizza would be the hardest thing to give up. I was wrong. There’s plenty of excellent vegan pizza out there to keep me happy. However, two vegan taste sensations have eluded me over the years: frosted Pop Tarts and Cheese Doodles. But now, thanks to Treehouse Bakery I’m happy to say the splendor of frosted toaster pastry is back in my life.

I had been looking for an excuse to visit the recently opened Treehouse Bakery storefront at the intersection of 15^th Ave, W. Roosevelt and Grand Ave. So when proprietor and vegan baker extraordinaire Corianne Sizemore posted pictures of freshly baked strawberry “Pop Tarts” on her Facebook page, I was out the door and headed her way.

The storefront is easy to find when traveling westbound on Roosevelt, and there’s plenty of parking. It’s light and clean inside, with the fresh-out-of-the-oven treats in cases or cooling on a rack.

Of course since I was there already, I had to survey everything on offer and make some tough decisions.

I’ve tried Treehouse’s vegan cupcakes plenty of times before (see previous review here) so I wanted to experiment a bit. I ended up with the strawberry “pop tarts” of course, plus a chocolate chip cookie and a snicker doodle.

The pop tarts were amazing. We toasted them to give them the “fresh out of the box” taste. The crust was flaky and slightly salty, and the strawberry jam was at just the right thickness. It isn’t a Pop Tart without frosting, and Treehouse’s were frosted to perfection. And of course, the rainbow sprinkles were the essential finishing touch. I want more. Now.

Next up were the vegan cookies. Corianne apologized for the cookies being a little “flat” but they were just like I like them – soft, bendy and tasty. I couldn’t say which I liked better – they were both perfect.

I also splurged a bit since it was a long weekend and picked up a blueberry pie.

Corianne admitted up front that it hadn’t quite set (which is why I opted to buy the whole pie and not just a slice). It was pretty soupy, even after sitting in the fridge for a day, but the crust held up well. I’m afraid I’ll have to try a few more of her pies before posting a fair assessment of the Treehouse pie options.

Now if only someone could come up with a good vegan Cheese Doodle, I’d be all set.

The Big Tease: Specials at Green

Lately, Green New American Vegetarian’s proprietor Damon Brasch has become the biggest vegan food-tease in the Valley via Green’s Facebook page.

He’s driving me “specials” crazy. It’s bad enough that I crave Green’s thyme fries and spicy peanut chicken salad on a daily basis. And now that Green’s Phoenix location is 10 minutes away from my home and/or office, I go there far more than anyone should. But to make matters worse, Damon has twice the ability to tempt me to make an extra trip with his somewhat-weekly and always intriguing specials for both locations, which he teases his loyal patrons with on the Facebook page days in advance.

Case in point: Damon posted last Friday that there would be new specials coming up soon. I hadn’t seen any posted over the weekend, but twisted my husband’s arm that we should go to the Phoenix location on Saturday to get salads, since we’d be “in the neighborhood.” While there, the person taking my order said they should have new specials on Monday. I had the day off on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so beginning at about 10:30 a.m. I stalked the Facebook page to see what they’d be, hoping to go for lunch. By 1:15 I had given up, figuring “maybe Tuesday” and made lunch at home. At 1:30 p.m. The Teaser posted that the Tempe location has an amazing sounding special: “The 1970’s PO BOY- our tasty throwback Nature Burger patty with a tahini lemon dressing over fresh lettuce, tomato, sliced cucumber, and alfalfa sprouts. A bit of vegan mayo on a toasted po boy roll make this classic, one vintage sandwich – comes with a side.” I griped, and then realize I have a meeting tomorrow right by the Tempe location and can squeeze in a visit before or after.

Then the fatal vegan food-addict blow came. Fifteen minutes later Damon posted that the Phoenix location special is an “Aspen Mountain Grilled Cheese n Tomato Soup – Colorado cracked wheat, buttered and toasted with vegan American slices and a side of house made tomato soup with organic elbow corn pasta- Throwback- Just like mom used to make.”

That was it. I couldn’t take it. I finished up my household chores (a rationalization/justification for having a second lunch) and hit the road. Here’s the result:

The bread was grilled perfectly – just greasy and crispy enough to give it some bite. The “cheese” was a bit dry/flavorless, but I think we all know that my penchant is for Daiya (which this wasn’t). I should have asked for pickles (which I always put on my grilled cheeses for some reason).

The soup was spot on — tangy and robust, and given some extra boost by the pasta.

Once it clicked in my brain to dip the grilled cheese into the soup, my day was made.

Of course while I was there I had to pick up a couple of brownies from Nami – which I swear are the world’s most perfect brownies (vegan or not).

Crisp on top and on the edges, chewy inside, and with just the right amount of chocolate decadence.

As to that special in Tempe, I’ll be trying it tomorrow for sure! Be forewarned that the best specials usually only last a couple of days. I’ve been burned too many times waiting til the weekend only to hear “we just ran out.” Get there soon!

Special note: for those not “in the know” – there is an off-menu  special that is always available and definitely worth trying – the secret wendy’s chicken (but I call it the Chick-fil-a because of the pickles).

It’s fried “chicken” pieces with hot sauce, pickles and mayo (but I leave off the mayo).

It’s become a regular for me (much to my waistline’s chagrin) – almost surpassing the no harm chicken parm or the secret bbq chicken sandwich.

Phoenix Vegans: Naked Pizza Is Test Marketing Daiya Here!

Run run run to a Naked Pizza soon! Or, given that there aren’t any locations in central Phoenix yet, maybe take a bike, car or bus.

I received a friendly note that Naked Pizza is test marketing my favorite vegan cheese —  Daiya — in the Phoenix metro but it took me a few weeks to make my way to one. When I finally did, the pizza completely blew me away. Not only are their pizzas made with healthful ingredients such as probiotics and multi-grain flours, but they also taste great.

We tried the Superbiotic (but without the mushrooms) with Daiya cheese and gobbled it up so fast we burnt our mouths.

The dough was delicious – both light and flavorful, the wide variety of veggies tasted fresh, and they used just the right amount of Daiya to make it cheesy without being too gooie. The only downside is they aren’t really set up for dine-in (their website touts “no freak chemicals or dine-in”) and only had small tables outside. It’s still pretty hot in Phoenix and the smell of parking lot isn’t really my favorite dining ambiance.  Since it was so far away from where we live, bringing the pizza home wasn’t really an option.

Please go to Naked Pizza soon and let them know how much you loved having a vegan cheese option for your pizza so they keep it on the menu once they open new locations in Phoenix! They plan to have 12 locations open in the metro by early 2012! You can also leave a comment for them on Facebook or Tweet them your thanks.

Nami! Green! Downtown Phoenix! It’s all happening!

This is just a quickie in case anyone hasn’t heard the most exciting news to hit Phoenix in 2011. Both Nami and Green are open in the “downtown” location: 2014 North 7th St. Nami opened Friday, and Green opened today, on “World Vegetarian Day” – how fitting!

Nami features tsoynamis and delicious vegan desserts (cookies, cupcakes, etc.). Green has the same vegan menu as the Tempe location.

We popped in for dessert after having a Berkley Vegan at zpizza (because we didn’t know Green was open too!) and picked up a few treats to go.

It doesn’t look the the Green/Nami websites are updated with info for the new locations yet, but the Green Facebook page should give you all the info you need. Nami is open Monday – Sunday, 7:00 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. but I don’t know the Green hours yet.

Congrats to the Green team for making it happen!

Vegan Eats in Orlando: In Memory of Ralph Ameduri

I lost a dear friend, Ralph Ameduri, recently in a tragic way. His passion for food was a second only to his passion for music, so when I went home to Orlando for his funeral, I had to go to a few places we used to frequently eat at together. Although he wasn’t anywhere close to a vegan (and neither was I when I lived there), many of the places we both loved have plenty of great vegan options.

Less than a mile from my old house sits Paco’s Mexican Restaurant – so it was a mainstay for us. From the outside, it doesn’t look like much. Actually, it doesn’t look like much inside either. They’ve been in business for almost 30 years, and the only thing I know of that has changed on the menu (aside from prices, but only slightly) is they now serve Pepsi instead of RC (darn it). While Ralph would always say “you’ve got to have the beef tacos when you’re at Paco’s” (and was indeed right – they are great tasting if you’re a meat eater), I used to always get the bean burrito, which is covered and baked to a crisp in cheese, or the cheese and onion enchiladas. Both are vegetarian, but not vegan. However, the beans are vegan, so on this visit I “got the tacos” but with beans instead of beef, and no cheese.

They were loaded with beans, lettuce and a tomato slush. The thing about Paco’s is that the food isn’t fancy – it’s just simple and good. And these tacos didn’t disappoint. I didn’t ask if the rice was vegan or not – I was too tired hungry to be a fussy vegan – but it was lightly flavored and well prepared. I fantasized that if I still lived in Orlando, I’d regularly go to Paco’s with a bag of Daiya and make them bake me a vegan burrito or enchiladas. Maybe someday…

Sadly, I discovered another favorite restaurant of ours, Don Pepe’s Cuban Café (which was renamed to Habana Grill after I moved away but will always be Don Pepe’s to me) closed for good sometime in the last two years. Ralph and I used to go there for breakfast after late nights out, just to get their awesome Cuban coffee, but the food was great too. No worries, I went to our other favorite Cuban restaurant, the Black Bean Deli, which Ralph always argued had better food anyway.

If you’re ever in Orlando and have time to go to just one restaurant, GO HERE. It’s tiny, impossible to park at, always packed, and has only about six seats (is best for take-out) but it is just awesome! Similar to Paco’s, the basics haven’t changed at the Black Bean Deli since I moved. However, one huge thing did happen – they now have vegan empanadas on the menu! The person taking my order was also very fluent in vegan – and pointed out options to me.

It’s probably good that I moved, because I’d be there every day getting seriously fat on fried vegan pies. The empanada was stuffed with potatoes and a saucy picadillo-like fake beef substance – incredibly tasty. The black beans and rice were so good that one of the first things I told my husband when I got home was “I’m never eating black beans in Phoenix again” (which I’ve already violated due to Green’s amazing Tres Tacos special). The tostones were fried to perfection and covered in garlicky mojo, but a touch thick (I like them thin and crispy).

Another favorite we used to go to often is the Thai and Vietnamese restaurant Viet Garden. It hadn’t changed at all! Viet Garden was my “intro course” to Southeast Asian food, and in many ways – tofu – because they have great tofu dishes on the menu (I guess I was a vegan in training). One “must order” menu item is the garden rolls delight.

These fully-packed tofu rolls come with a thick and slight sweet (not spicy) peanut sauce that is lick-the-bowl good.

I had a hard time choosing between the Panang curry, which is quite delicious and can be made vegan with tofu, and the Buddha’s Crispy Noodle Delight. I decided my stomach wasn’t up for spicy, so the more mellow crispy noodles got the nod.

The tofu was very fresh and I still love the sauce. It’s similar to the Chow Mein at Fresh Mint in Scottsdale, but a bit more flavorful. They have plenty of other vegetarian and mock meat items on the menu too (but I’m not sure that they’re vegan).

In addition to my old favorites, Orlando has blossomed with vegan restaurants in the 14 years since I moved away to Phoenix. Ethos Vegan Kitchen was near my hotel and made for a great spot for quick bites. I decided it is Orlando’s version of Green, but with beer and Sunday brunch available (C’mon Damon – we want a Green brunch!).

The menu isn’t extensive, but it has a good variety of light eats and full meals. I tried the Buffalo Chickun Wrap daily special when I arrived in town.

It didn’t hold a candle to That’s A Wrap’s Buffalo 66 with tofu in terms of knock-your-socks-off spice, but it was worthy of a try. The mock chicken tasted great.

On a return visit with a friend, he ordered the Creamy Potato & Broccoli soup and Spinach Salad (a safe option for non-vegans) and enjoyed both. In fact, he might go back again!

I tried the What’s the Dilly, Philly? with a side of the macaroni & cheese daily special.

The seitan was a bit thick for a Philly, but the onions, peppers and cheese brought it all together just fine. The mac & cheese was exceptional. I don’t think they used Daiya because it wasn’t melty and stringy, but it was perfectly flavored and very comforting.

Since I was headed to the airport, I ordered one of every cookie to take home with me. I’m sorry I didn’t order two of every cookie – especially the orange sugar cookie and the cowboy cookie. Bring them to all your non-vegan friends and they’ll all say “I can’t believe these are vegan!”

If you’re looking for an excuse to go to Orlando, maybe these dining tips will motivate you. If you need another reason, on Oct. 23 there will be a Ralph Fest in downtown Orlando to honor an amazing guy with great taste in food and music. I suspect there will be at least one chart-topping band playing – keep an eye on the Orlando papers to find out who. And I hope the Black Bean Deli sets up a food cart in his honor. Although he certainly would have gotten the pork instead of the vegan options, and lectured me on what I was missing.

Chandler’s Best: Woodlands Vegetarian South Indian Kitchen

Woodlands Vegetarian South Indian Kitchen in Chandler, Arizona (NE corner of Ray Rd. and S. Rural Rd.) strikes me as a counter-service version of our other favorite 100% vegetarian/vegan Indian restaurant in town, Udupi. Both restaurants feature the less common Southern Indian cuisine, and I believe the previous owner of Udupi now runs Woodlands. They have similar menus, however Woodlands doesn’t have a lunch buffet (but they do have lunch specials). They also do a great job of marking which items are vegan on the menu. The dining experience is much more casual than most other Indian restaurants in town. For instance, your meal is served on Styrofoam plates. However, what Woodlands lacks in pleasantries, it more than makes up for in flavor.

I have a serious weakness for vegetable samosas, and Woodlands serves some of the best in town.

They are perfectly fried and, like everything else at Woodlands, very spicy. The filling isn’t unique, it’s just really good.

Woodlands’ specialty is the flavorful and interesting South Indian-style dosa (crepes full of a variety of great stuff). My favorite of the ones I’ve tried so far is the Pav Baji Dosai.

The filling is a similar to what’s in a standard Masala Dosai, but taken up a notch with spice and, for lack of a better description, “good goo.” I think the goo is essentially a tomato and potato-based gravy, with garlic and chillies added in for good measure.

My other favorite is the Chole Dosai, which is filled with a standard spicy chick pea curry and a heavy dose of onions.

One time when I had it at Woodlands it was awfully greasy, but on our last visit it was just fine – maybe even a little on the dry side.

The dosa are served with a standard rasam soup as well, which, like everything else, is very intense.

If for some reason the food you ordered isn’t flavorful enough for you, Woodlands also offers a full chutney bar.

They don’t have a sign indicating if their mint chutney is vegan or not, but it doesn’t seem like it has yogurt in it to me and it’s so good I’m just not asking (bad vegan of me).

Other items I’ve tried include their vegetable curry and dal curry, which were both excellent.

I don’t make it to Woodlands very often – mostly because we live too far away, but if you’re in the neighborhood and up for a quick and spicy meal, give them a try! They’re open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. You can also “fan” them on Facebook but they don’t seem to be very active posters.

Fresh Mint: Vegan Vietnamese in North Scottsdale

One of our favorite vegetarian restaurants in the greater Phoenix area is Fresh Mint. It’s on the north-west corner of Scottsdale Rd. and Thunderbird, tucked away in a half-empty strip mall.

I think they may suffer from not being close enough to ASU to attract the younger crowd like at Green. However, I believe they’ve managed to stay in business throughout the recession based on the quality of their food, the interesting menu and the always excellent service.

Fresh Mint is on our “high rotation” list, which means we usually make it there about once a month. The owners are from Hawaii, but most of the menu leans toward Vietnamese, Chinese or Thai flavors. Almost everything on the menu is vegan (except the Fried Imperial Rolls, the Imperial Roll Noodles and I’m not sure about some of the desserts). They use a lot of mock meats and tofu, and some of the sauces can be a bit salty so I wouldn’t say they’re a “uber-health-conscious” restaurant, but most of the items are fairly light and not greasy. They also don’t seem to do “hot” – even the curries are very mellow.

On our first visit, we grabbed a to-go menu and started marking each item we tried with a one to five rating. The menu has so much to offer we wanted to keep track of what was best. We haven’t tried everything on the menu yet but we’ve zeroed in on a handful of “fives.” These are the Lemongrass Soy Beef Delight, Golden Soy Chicken Delight, the Fresh Lemongrass Tofu, the Sesame Soybean, the Spicy Ginger Soy Beef and the Vegetable Chow Mein. And be sure to save room for the Banana Fritter — it’s a “five,” and definitely vegan!

During our most recent trip, we revisited a few of our favorites. Fresh Mint’s appetizers are mostly a variety of different rolls. Two we had most recently are the Fresh Summer Rolls:

And the Fresh Cucumber Rolls:

I normally get one or the other of these because I like their peanut sauce. While some restaurants’ peanut sauces can be spicy, Fresh Mint’s is pretty mellow — it’s thick and slightly sweet. Out of the two, I’d recommend the Cucumber Rolls because they are very unique compared to what you can get at other Asian restaurants.

We also had a couple of our favorite entrees – both “fives.” The Fresh Lemongrass Tofu is a totally unique dish.

They roll tofu and seaweed together with spices to create crunchy, slightly flaky bite-sized nuggets that are covered in a great sesame ginger sauce. I’ve never had anything like it anywhere else. The only downside is that sometimes the sauce can be a little salty.

One of my other favorites is the Vegetable Chow Mein.

Chow Mein isn’t something I’d normally order on a menu – it sounds so generic and reminds me of when my parents would make Chung King Chinese food from a can. However, since we were making our way through the menu I had to try it and now I’m stuck on it. Fresh Mint’s house brown sauce is very mellow, but delicious. Typically my husband takes whatever he ordered and dips it in my Chow Mein sauce. I also love the crispy noodles when they get just a little bit soggy. Like the Fresh Lemongrass Tofu, it’s very unique. It’s also beautifully served!

Although I don’t have a picture of it, I’d also say that you must try the Golden Soy Chicken Delight. They combine ginger and lemongrass to make what they call a “master flavor” and I don’t disagree – it’s masterful! It’s so popular that sometimes they run out of it!

For dessert, beyond the Banana Fritters, the Mango Coconut Tapioca and the Plantain with Coconut Sauce are also vegan. But the Banana Fritters are just too good to have anything else. Unfortunately we were too stuffed to have them on our last visit.

As I mentioned earlier, the service at Fresh Mint is always impeccable. The restaurant is family owned and run. The husband and owner (I think his name is Michael) typically greets and serves all customers, while his co-owner, wife and executive chef Mai Ly prepares the meals to order. He’s always incredibly friendly but not intrusive, and doesn’t act “too familiar” with regular customers but acknowledges repeat customers with little gifts like Fresh Mint pens and stuffed animals from Hawaii. How could you not love that? I know they’re trying to franchise the restaurant, but I think they need a little help with marketing, like, how about a Twitter feed or Facebook page? I’d also love to see them start offering specials as I have no doubt Mai Ly could come up with some knock-outs using seasonal ingredients.