Too Many Choices

The other day I met Bonnie at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe for dinner. A few of my friends work at Rudy's, so I eat there alot. But this time was different. Now I had choices.

Whenever people would inevitably ask why I became vegetarian, one of my favorite answers was that I was indecisive. By eliminating meat I was narrowing the choices down to five or six dishes at the average restaurant. Now I stared at vast expanses on menu which had been previously unavailable to me.

I decided that I still was not ready to jump in to the burger section, I went with the turkey club. It was delicious. The best part: bacon. Crunchy bacon is one texture that veggies simply can not touch. I also love the presentation of a club sandwich, four mini sandwiches. Every time you finish one you have another one waiting. Rudy's does have a veggie club which is great, but I always found it too juicy. Veggie juice running down my face.


Last night my friend John and I went to Cato's on Piedmont Ave. They have fantastic pub food, I love their pizza by-the-slice. This time I had the pancetta with bell peppers and mushrooms. It was a great slice of pizza, the pancetta complimented the veggies nicely without overpowering. When I was previously a meat eater I loved meat-lovers pizzas. Now the thought seems a little strange. Compared to vegetables, the meat in pizza toppings all taste pretty similar. Nothing but meat would be too much.

I am almost a week in to this experiment. So far I haven't had the slightest bit of stomach trouble. I have been sneaking bites of beef from friends plates to prepare myself for the transition to red meat. But based on current results, I am optimistic. Maybe four years is not enough to alter you digestive system. Or maybe it is all a myth. We will see.

Brunch at Herbivore

Brunch has become the bane of my vegan existence, because what can a vegan possibly order from your typical brunch menu? Eggs? No. Pancakes? Nope. You're usually stuck ordering something sad like the fruit bowl. Hence my excitement when I discovered Herbivore: The Earthly Grill. It's a vegan/vegetarian restaurant in the Mission (with other locations in the city and in Berkeley) that serves breakfast everyday til 2pm. Vegan brunch!! So I took a group of (mostly meat-eating) friends to see if it was as good as it sounded. I ordered the corn cakes and swapped one with my friend for a piece of her french toast. Yum! Everyone seemed pretty pleased with their delicious vegan meals.

Black beans piled on top of a corn cake on top of potatoes.

Corn cakes with salsa, guac, vegan sour cream black beans and a piece of french toast.