Week 4 - Hogtown Vegan

The Hogtown Vegan - Bloor & Ossington

Welcome to Week 4 of The Lazy Vegan Challenge Blog! I apologize for the late entry as I got really sick last week and had to postpone my blog :(

However this past Sunday of January 27th, I had the privilege of dining in at my featured vegan restaurant with a few of my peers who are also doing the challenge with me!

It was great because everyone ordered a different dish so there were different tastes and opinions going around the table.

The restaurant we ate at was at "The Hogtown Vegan"  which is on Bloor and Ossington. Their menu is particularly famous for their uniquely prepared entrées in which vegans would ultimately describe as "vegan comfort food". In other words, nostalgically satisfying your taste buds with the flavour of meat. So ironically, their menu includes a "Burger Section" with the unthinkable creative suggestions such as Hogtown Burger, Pulled Unpork Sandwich, Unchicken Burger, and much more.

Southern Combo - $13

The restaurant is small and always packed. We had to wait almost over half an hour to get in. Even late on a Sunday night! The environment felt more of like a super casual "hangout joint", which obviously works with the successful amount of traffic they get.

Once seated. I decided to let my colleagues place their orders first so that I wouldn't get the same dish as anyone else. The waitress had suggested for me to try the Unchicken and Waffles as it was one of their most popular entrées and generally received good ratings. I decided to go for it until one of my colleagues made another suggestion and said to try the Southern Combo if I liked "sweet". The unexpected suggestion from him caused me to agree under pressure and impulse that I didn't even know what I had just ordered.

The Southern Combo was basically the mimic of "chicken strips", really made with breaded, deep-fried soy chicken served with a side of sautéed garlic collard greens, along with their famous mac 'n' "cheese" and their house-made BBQ sauce for the strips. It was good. It definitely tasted like chicken strips. Their mac 'n' "cheese" was good too. That's really all I can say to describe it. I guess I'm not much of one for "comfort food". 

If you had been a meat-eater before becoming vegan and had once enjoyed the taste of chicken meat and mac 'n' (real) cheese and missed that taste, then you definitely would have appreciated this dish more than I did. Or anything else on their menu for that matter. 

Philly "Cheese" Burger with Fries - $12

The photo to the left here is the Philly "Cheese" Burger with a side of their fresh-cut fries. I'll have to admit that I really enjoyed the fries. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it were smothered in their house-made mushroom gravy. If there's any comfort food that I would always appreciate as a vegan, it's "poutine" (fries topped with gravy and curd cheese for the wondering non-Canadians reading this). 

However, if you're one to appreciate the healthier lifestyle, perfectly happy living on greens, and the type to cringe at the thought of meat, then this restaurant is definitely not for you. You really and literally have to miss and appreciate the taste of meat in order to even consider The Hogtown Vegan, as the majority of their entire menu is based on the idea of mimicking that common yet distinct taste. 

Shroom Burger & Side Caesar Salad - $12

There's always the typical healthy option that they offer such as salads and...well just salads. It's nice that they're still considerate for true hard-core vegans (which I am seriously slowly becoming). 

But based on my personal views as a vegan and my personal reason for not being nostalgic for meat, I give them a 4/5, mainly because the dishes weren't that bad and the service was decent enough.

**All photo's are taken by me from my iPhone :)



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Week 3 - Rawlicious

Rawlicious - Bloor West Village

As I sit here munching on my kettle cooked potato chips (so healthy...NOT), trying to recall my recent trip to my second vegan restaurant, I just have to pause and update you with my vegan challenge progress so far...and well so far it's been a real piece of cake! Preferably vegan cake (womp womp).

Anyhow, welcome to Week 3 of The Lazy Vegan Challenge Blog!

I'm excited to share with you yet another satisfying trip of delicious vegan goodness. Today I had lunch at "Rawlicious" which is located in the Bloor West Village. The moment I stepped inside the restaurant, I felt as if I walked into a calm and collected atmosphere, my mood suddenly feeling light and pleasant. The environment was more of like a small elegant cafe with sofa's by the window and a grand piano all the way in the far back. I was greeted by a pretty waitress who invited me to sit wherever I pleased. Everything inside was squeaky clean.

They had a fairly simple menu. I took the liberty of peaking at their menu online while I was on my way there so I felt like I kind of cheated by already knowing what I wanted to order. All their entrées are raw (hence the name of their restaurant) with a small variety of different combinations and options from wraps, to pizza, to pad thai.

While the one side of the menu was dedicated to the salads, entrées and desserts, the other side was entirely just for beverages, with a wide selection of smoothies and juices, with the price ranging between $7-$9. Guessing they're not your ordinary booster juice.

Soft Tacos with Side Salad - $13

I ordered the Soft Tacos with Side Salad. It was an excellent choice. The side salad was a mix of greens with diced bell peppers also topped with I'm guessing hemp seeds with a light drizzle of their balsamic vinaigrette. Such a pleasant taste! I had to try my best to eat slowly and not to scarf the entire plate in two bites!

When it came to the tacos, I really had to control my urge to savage everything whole. The corn taco was made of buckwheat and flax seed and was stuffed with salsa, guacamole, refried beans, shredded romaine and sour cream. I know right???? The whole entrée was like the Gods of gardens partying in my mouth....but delightfully and elegantly.

Cheesecake - $9

The party didn't stop there though. Naturally, I had to try something from their dessert menu. The waiter was kind enough to take the time to give me his honest opinion on all the dessert items. It was a good thing he did though because the majority of their dessert selection included some sort of coconut in it which I am not a huge fan of.

So I decided to play it safe and go with their Cheesecake. The word "cheese" got me baffled the moment I ordered it but the waiter ensured that everything they served was 100% vegan. Just what I wanted to hear! Two minutes later he placed a plate of delectable cashew based cake on top of an almond and date crust.

Beautiful Foolishness  White Tea - $3

The cheesecake was divine. Again, I had to refrain from shoving the whole slice into my mouth in one sitting. It was a good thing I got a hot beverage to go with the meal to let everything settle nicely in my stomach. I was tempted to try one of their vegan smoothies or juices but I decided to save that adventure for another day. Instead, to keep the elegance going, I got what was labelled on the menu their Beautiful Foolishness - White Tea. After ordering it, I expected the tea to come in a fancy gold chalace with some crazy whipped swirls surfacing the top....but no. I can see why they included the word "foolishness" in the name. I sure felt like a fool when I was given regular tea in a plain white mug. But nonetheless, it had a sweet delicious scent that you can taste before the cup even reaches your lips!

I can definitely say with confidence that they deserve a 5/5. The entire experience was completely satisfying and I know I will definitely be back to try their other entrées and most definitely one of their smoothies/juices.


**All photo's are taken by me from my iPhone :)



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Week 2 - The Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen

The Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen - Scarborough

Thursday evening of January 10th, I was in Scarborough for a doctor's appointment and ended up picking up some medication that was to be taken with food. The pharmacist instructed that I began the medication that night, so I figured while I was already out, I might as well start my search for a vegan/vegetarian restaurant to try out nearby.

Hello "Urbanspoon" app on my iPhone.

The app suggested "The Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen" as the closest vegan restaurant nearby which was located on Midland and Finch. I know that area! They've also got some great Hot Pot and Korean BBQ! But back to VeganLand....

It's a small cozy restaurant, can fit maybe no more than 40 heads. When I stepped in, there were only a few tables but all full with groups of 4 or 5. I felt guilty for taking up a table for 4 all by myself. Their menu offered a generous amount of "vegetarian/vegan" dinners and appetizers. Some vegetarian soup probably would have made the most sense for me that night considering my illness (1 week before that night I was blessed with strep throat) but I was too excited and eager to venture some tasty vegan-ness that I couldn't settle for a boring soup.

Vegetarian Dim Sum

So I ordered vegetarian dim sum as a starter and the vegetarian squid in black bean sauce for my main dish. Like most Dim Sum restaurants, you would probably order a side bowl of rice as the main dish is usually served on a big plate that can serve an entire family. I skipped the bowl of rice since I was only planning on having a few bites and then taking the rest to go.

The waitress prepared my appetizer from a cart filled with other side dishes by the window (you can kind of see it in my first photo) which I thought was interesting. For a starter, it was a lot. So much that I forgot what I had ordered as my main dish and began to assume that it was all there on that plate. It was served cold and on a bed of sweet raw something which I couldn't exactly make out, but it was delicious! I was extremely grateful that the texture was soft because my throat was extremely sore so it was hard enough to enjoy it as it was!

Vegetarian Squid with Black Bean Sauce

Then came the vegetarian squid in black bean sauce with mixed vegetables and mushrooms. It was extremely tasty! And it wasn't just a plate of veggies where you could count how many pieces of squid was on there. No, that entire plate was full of squid! I just wish I had it with rice! The portion was massive and definitely worth the $7.95...I think that's how much it was....

I would probably rate them a 4/5, mainly because of the generous amount of options provided on their menu, cheap pricing, quick service, and you can never complain when everything is served with free tea  :)


**All photo's are taken by me from my iPhone :)



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Week 1 - Welcome To "The Lazy Vegan Challenge" Blog!

If you're a vegan or you're considering about going on some sort of "vegan challenge", then you probably landed here in search for a decent vegan restaurant review in Toronto. Well my friends, let me tell you that you are in the right place!

First off, I would just like to clarify that the idea of "The Lazy Vegan Challenge" came from my co-worker who decided to do it as a New Year's Resolution for 2013. The reason he labelled it "lazy" was because instead of doing this challenge alone, he decided to get as many people from work involved as possible. Smart. That way when he's eating his veggie sandwich in the lunchroom with his colleagues, he wouldn't be the only one! While I admire his scheming tactics of kicking off the New Year with a healthy start, my reason for this vegan challenge being "lazy" is because...well I am super lazy. I don't cook. I can. But I don't. With that being said, my notion of the "lazy" vegan challenge is an excuse to eat out even more, but this time with cause! And a healthy one!

I hear there a plenty of great vegan recipes. That's great...if you have the time to cook. However if you're like me and you have no time for anything but you have the extra dollar or two in your pocket to dine in, then I also hear there are a lot of great vegan restaurants in Toronto. The purpose of this blog will be mainly about reviews on these restaurants, the dishes I ordered and tasted, and what else is served on the menu, the service, and so forth.

Last night I've already had the privilege of experiencing my first vegan restaurant in Scarborough. But stay tuned! Details to be included followed by my next blog post!

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