Hold on, hold on – I’ll get to dessert.
I had a big date last week. My stomach is still kinda all in butterflies about it. A rendezvous with my Utah bestie had been postponed a couple of times so this was a big deal. Sure, we’d been in near constant touch via text, email and blog comments, but it’s just not the same thing, is it? And then it happened. The stars aligned and our schedules meshed; I was going to spend a whole couple of hours alone in a vegan restaurant with Somer. Yep, that’s right. Somer, of Vedged Out fame.
That there up above is what Somer ate. It’s Sage’s Cafe’s awesome Nut Burger, loaded with pesto, guacamole and nestled up against two slices of whole grain bread. Read her post for the deets on that, but I know it was good cuz there wasn’t a single crumb left on her plate. It’s what I usually get (my only complaint about their burger is that it is too darn small – Supersize Me, Sage’s!), but I forced myself to look at the other half of the menu – into the unchartered territory of Entrees.
It was a tough decision, but I went for the Magical Wok. It looks pretty, huh? A coconut-currified meal in a bowl, it’s loaded with cashews and a seasonal selection of grilled veggies that still have a nice crunch to them. You can get it with either soba noodles or brown rice and then load it up with your choice of tofu, tempeh, mushrooms or chik’n. It’s creamy with just the right amount of curry flavor, but truth be told, I found it a tetch oily. I ended up taking most of it home and then splitting it with Kel for lunch. Sadly, it did not reheat well and we both composted the majority of it. I’ll be sticking to the Sandwiches and Salads side of Sage’s menu.
Which brings me to dessert. An unexpected end to the meal. Neither of us had any intention of stretching our waistbands further – at least not until dinner – but the waiter guessed correctly that we were celebrating Somer’s birthday so he pushed a dessert on us with the irresistible added bonus of it being gratis. When he set the tiramisu down in front of us, well, I can’t speak for Somer, but I’d bet both of us immediately thought two things: 1) where can I get a bigger fork?? and 2) I wonder if I can make that at home (and then blog about it)? Theirs is a very chocolate-flavored tiramisu, very creamy and very rich. Definitely one that you want to split with another person. It was the perfect wrap-up to a sweet, fun, funny, girlie lunch with my dear, Vedged Out friend. Next time we conquer Omar’s!!
What a lovely occasion! It must have been very exciting to meet after all that build-up, and to enjoy each other’s company with such tasty fare. That tiramisu looks divine, I’m looking forward to your take on it on this very blog some time.
I can see you biting into that tiramisu, Lorna – alongside a nice cup of tea of coffee…
Yay! I love this! So much fun. I can’t remember spending a better afternoon in good company in forever! Love you to bits girl and thanks a million for the fun date. Can’t wait for Omar’s! Next round is my treat! xoxo!!!
That tiramisu looks pretty amazing! I’d love to hoard a huge piece of that!
It was so creamy!
Ohh my gosh!! This nut burger looks amazing!! What a fabulous time and yay for your meshed schedules!!
Yay! I know! Amazing what blogging brings, isn’t it?
How I would have loved to be there with you ladies! Too bad the curry was disappointing. I hate that. But tiramisu? Oh yes please!
That would’ve been great fun, Jennifer! One of these days – – you never know!
I definitely live in hope, in all seriousness!
Fantastic vegan food, and fantastic friends. Two of life’s best things. Happy B-day Somer. So cool to get to know both of you a little better.
You said it – hope to have many more long lunches with Somer. Same back at you, GiGi – nice to “hang” with you, too!
I’m sure it was such an exciting meeting my friend 😀
And good food always makes an outing better!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Especially when that meeting ends with chocolate…
How awesome!! There’s nothing like meeting an online friend of years in person and doing so over a delicious vegan lunch is icing on the cake!
I know, so fun!
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!!gah! I wish I lived near places like this, looks spectacular. I’ve never had a nut burger before, sounds divine!
I hadn’t before eating here – makes me want to try making one at home.
What an amazing time you had – a feast of delicious food and you two wonderful women together – it makes me smile from ear to ear
The food looks absolutely amazing – wish there were more places like that in the world!!
TIRAMISU. Oh I swoon. Love anything involving those delightful tiramisu-y flavours. Man I would have just ordered 3 of those and called it a meal.
Bummer on the wok-disappointment…. hate it when that happens. Ah well, live, learn, eat more dessert, right?
That sounds like a fantastic lunch- the food and the company! What a fun and delicious occasion!
Chocolate tiramusu? Sounds like heaven on a fork AND something that I am now going to try to recreate as well. That nut burger looked heavenly and again, something to be reproduced (if possible) in my humble kitchen. Cheers for another fantastic post
Thanks!! Restaurants always inspire me to get into the kitchen to try and recreate something yummy (or something not so yummy that nevertheless has some potential).
Here in Tasmania (home of the MEAT…) I pretty much have to make all my own vegan treats and my rss feed reader is cram packed with amazing vegan food porn blogs. Yours is right up there near the top I will be trying to recreate those nut burgers (with pesto) as soon as possible…they actually made me drool and its only 6am here! ;))
The nut burgers are seriously drool-worthy!
Just headed over to Somers page and she was more elusive than you lol. I am now determined to recreate something similar on the weekend and will be messing about with nuts, chickpeas, pesto and guac…the mess will be tremendous…the finger licking will be constant AND the results will (hopefully) be demolished and talked about for the rest of the week in wistful hushed tones of reverence
Here’s to a beautiful nutty-chickpea-pestoy mess!! One must get the hands dirty to make truly awesome food!
And one must test everything repeatedly as the process evolves to ensure that you have the seasoning right…and another test…and another one… and a spoonful of pesto…emmm!…and a few more nuts…and pretty soon you have gorgeous nut burgers and no appetite at all to eat them! 😉 Oh well, I guess I can have them tomorrow night
I’m frustrated that even though I’ve been subscribed to you, I haven’t been getting any emails – it’s just going straight to the WordPress reader which I don’t use as often. Hmmmmmm
Kammie, the SAME thing is happening to me on a couple of blogs! Frustrating for sure! Wonder what’s going on? I’ve tried unfollowing and refollowing – doesn’t seem to help.
Ugh yeah I just tried that too. It’s weird. I’ve got the settings set to immediate delivery too. Hm