Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. Things get pretty busy mid-semester. However, at the moment my brain is on vacation thanks to a magical time of year that comes around just when you need it: spring break! A time traditionally associated with beaches, beer, and boobs…. or so I’ve heard. Well, I went to a place that starts with “B”, but that was about as close as I got to having a traditional spring break.
The place: Boise, Idaho. Not my first choice for a spring break destination. I know it would have been more appropriate and exciting for my first vegan adventure post to be to Portland or Austin. However, I have a hard enough time picking out socks in the morning, so it’s probably better that I didn’t dive straight into a vegan mecca where my brain would have exploded with all the options…and I inevitably would have tried to eat everything, not knowing when I would be back, and I would stuff my cheeks with food, and hide it in my suitcase, and gained twenty pounds in a week having spent all my time eating. Yes, it’s probably best that didn’t happen.
Anyway…
I should explain this bizarre and bewildering choice of destination; my family is making the leap from Texas, to Idaho this summer; so for spring break we went house hunting in Boise, as well as to get a taste of what it had to offer. My brother has recently adopted a vegetarian diet, so my family started planning well in advance where we could go to eat. Now, I will admit I wasn’t very excited about going to Boise. But, in the end I was pleasantly surprised with the eclectic and delicious meals I had in such a short time.
We arrived in the afternoon and our first stop was the Boise Co-op, where I wanted to EAT ALL THE THINGS!
There was a great selection of vegan goodies at the Co-op, both in the way of frozen stuffs and snack goodies. There was a sizable selection of raw goodies as well. The produce section was quite extensive, and they were giving away samples of a delicious green smoothie with ginger, apple, and spinach.
The Co-op does gets points off, however, for charging extra for soy milk at their cafe; but it was worth it because my latte was delicious, as was the bagel I enjoyed with it.
For our first night in Boise we went to Fork. Yes, Fork. It’s a restaurant in the heart of downtown that prides itself on being “loyal to local”. All the ingredients either come from Idaho, Oregon, or Washington. I enjoyed the Grilled Portobello Sandwhich, which was awesome. I expected the mushroom to be whole so it would be like a patty, but was surprised that they cut it up. I think this allowed it to soak up even more flavor because it sure was tasty! It came with a side of chips as well, which I had high hopes for, it being Idaho and all. I mean, the license plates say “Famous Potatoes”, a point of much distress for my mother. Anyway, I was not disappointed. Some of the fries were crispy, while some were softer, but all yummy and obviously homemade from scratch. Sadly, I could not dip them in the remoulade sauce, but my family loved it. I would have liked to see a few more vegan and veggie options on the menu, but what I did have was very satisfying; and not a salad!! A promising start to the week! And it only got better from there.
I meant to take pictures of all my meals to share with y’all. But, being me, I forgot ever single time and scarfed down my food before I even remembered that I was carrying my camera. But, you all know what a portobello burger looks like, right? So, here’s a picture that I did manage to snap of my brother’s dessert at Fork, some donut balls. Don’t they look incredible?! I was so jealous, they smelled fantastic and came with chocolate and peanut butter dipping sauces; although my family agreed they didn’t need them. 
Our next stop on the Boise Vegan Tour was the Taj Mahal for dinner. Again, I wanted to EAT ALL THE THINGS! There were like ten vegan dishes to choose from, but I eventually settled for the Mung Daal and my brother got the Bombay Aloo. Both dishes could only be described as incredible taste sensations that exploded with deliciousness in ma mouth! Also, they had the best naan I’ve ever had the delight to introduce to my taste buds. Needless to say, it was hard to keep ourselves from going back for every meal. Located in the center of downtown Boise though, I don’t think it will be very hard to find an excuse to visit the Taj Mahal again and again this summer.
I thought every other place would pale in comparison with the Taj Mahal. But oh how wrong I was. The next night we discovered Mazzah, a Mediterranean grill with amazing falafel. I got the falafel sandwich and was all prepared to ask for the tzatzki to be omitted from my sandwich when the server asked me if I would like tahini or tzatziki. I’m sure I had this giddy grin on my face when I said tahini. More and more I find myself getting excited about simple things, like being able to have a choice between sauces on my sandwich and finding things on menus that are accidentally vegan– and aren’t salads :) Anyway, back to the food; it was amazing! For $3.99 my falafel sandwich was a bargain considering how much flavor it had and how filling it was. Mazzah definitely made it on the list of places I’ll be hanging out this summer.
Finally, we made our way to the Boise Fry Company, a small place whose motto is “Burgers on the side”. I was surprised to see a burger place show up on Happycow.net’s list of vegan places in Boise. However, all became clear when I walked in and saw the menu. Although there are only three choices of burgers, there are a multitude of options for fries. And one of the burger options just happens to be vegan, so I was all set! We got an assortment of fries to try–curly, skinny, regular and made of various different taters– and I was all set with my vegan burger, made of quinoa and black beans, when we made another scrumptious discovery. Against the wall next to the drinks, there was a sauce and seasoning station. All the sauces were marked if they were vegan, and so I was over the moon. The garlic aioli absolutely rocked my world. I wanted to smear it over everything!! Some of the other sauces included blueberry curry, which I wasn’t brave enough to try, as well as just plain ketchup. But really, after the garlic aioli I stopped using any other sauces. I saw and ate more fries that night than I am proud to admit. However, the fact that my mouth is watering just writing about this is a testament to the deliciousness of the experience.
Overall, I give Boise a B+. The food I had was delicious, and while all of it was probably not 100% vegan, like we vegans are always so fond of saying– it’s not about being pure and perfect, but about limiting suffering.
Also, any city where I’m not limited to eating salad when I go out, gets a pretty good mark in my book….
….although I probably should have thrown a few salads in there :) Oh well.
My spring break is now finishing up splendidly with reading, reading, and more reading. And I was just pleasantly surprised by one of my housemates when she returned home with a vegan treat for me, all the way from Portland’s Sweet Pea Bakery! It’s a Charlie Brown– which I can only describe as a delicious peanut butter cup cookie. And it’s huge!! It’s sitting here taunting me….I’m trying to resist it until I get some more reading done. We’ll see how that goes.
Also on the menu tonight, I’ve been craving pasta, so I’m going to try this recipe for creamy avocado pasta sauce, which looks scrumptious! I figure I should eat something slightly green in honor of St. Patty.
Thanks for everyone’s continued support and kind comments! I’ll have to think of something special to do for my three month vegan-versary which is rapidly approaching. I’m thinking something with a mountain of Daiya, mmmm…..
veganward 