ethiopia restaurant

nene'wee at ethiopia restaurant

dear east bay,

you are so lucky to have so many fine ethiopian establishments to choose from. we visited ethiopia restaurant in berkeley and were happily delighted. i ordered the nene’wee, which consists of five vegetarian items to choose from a possible twelve, and all for $10.95 ($9.95 for lunch). the injera (spongy crepe-like sourdough bread) is made with 100% teff! i loved the engudai we’t (mushroom stew) and yemisir we’t (red lentil). it was all so good and fresh!

http://www.ethiopiarestaurant.com/

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things i miss from nyc: installment two

dosa man making up dosas in his dosa cart!

the dosa man has stolen my heart and the hearts of many others who frequent this shrine o’ dosas. located in washington square park at west 4th street, thiru, the dosa man will make you “purely vegetarian vegan” dosas, uttapam, samosas, and more. his most popular item is the pondicherry special, but i tried the simple sada dosa with sambar and coconut chutney. it really wowed me. thiru puts so much love and pride into his cooking; its very enjoyable to step aside and watch him take orders, create meals, and smile. what a friendly man! everything is cheap.. and t-shirts are for sale!

thiru, the dosa man

the sada dosa is a plain dosa. its basically a crepe made with fermented rice and lentils. you have a choice to make it spicy or not.

sada dosa with sambar and coconut chutney

dosa man telephone: 917-710-2092

and what a lovely way to to end your dosa meal.. walk over to STOGO ice cream!!

stogo coconut vanilla and coconut chocolate ice cream

oh man, stogo is the best dairy-free ice cream i have ever tried! its so rich and creamy, and their flavors are quite unique. how about vanilla goji berry crunch… the coconut vanilla and coconut chocolate are my favorites. most of the ice creams are soy, coconut, or hemp based. feeling sad? has nyc rained on your day? stogo makes life so much better. be warned, it can turn into an expensive habit but its so worth it, i think. i can’t wait to go back! babycakes nyc cupcakes and cookies are also for sale here, along with gourmet chocolates.

http://stogonyc.com/

i am.. cafe gratitude

i am whole from cafe gratitude

i would love to be whole again, and again and again and again. i visited cafe gratitude in healdsburg, california (there are other locations in SF and the east bay) with a friend and had no idea what this place was about or that i would be further seduced by the “i am” mantra. i really wasn’t sure about this place, but my friend reassured me that i must try it. we both ordered the “i am whole” which is a lovely bowl of shredded kale, sea vegetables, kim chee, and sprouts in a garlicky-tahini sauce with terriyaki almonds! YUM. cafe gratitude is raw vegan but they also offer quinoa and rice, which i think is quite nice. i like quinoa so i went with that; my friend ordered a red rice and quinoa combo. good choice.

lets just get right to the dessert!

i am bliss from cafe gratitude

“i am bliss” is a chocolate-hazelnut mousse pie. it costs around $9.00 and is so worth it!! its all raw, vegan and gluten-free, too. my friend got the “i am cool” which is a minty chocolate chip shake and so worth $10.00!

the staff at cafe gratitude were very friendly.. almost scarily so. beware, there is always a question they will ask at the end of your meal for you to ponder.. our question was “what time is it?”

http://www.cafegratitude.com/