hot for food

Tonight was one of the best! I went to the soft opening of Hot Beans in Kensington (160 Baldwin St.). It’s a new vegan takeout restaurant specializing in latin-inspired fare and it is SCRUMPTIOUS! It’s owned by long time friends and foodies Scott McCannell, Ross Corder, and Madeleine Foote. A special shout out to Ross (veganeastblog.com) for inviting the boy and I because I’ve been anticipating this food for over a month ever since I heard it was happening.

First of all, there is NO place like this in the city, and its about freakin time! The menu is the perfect size and not overwhelming, the location is hot, and the food is fresh and all handmade (including the seitan).

I want to try everything – and I will – but tonight I tried the TVP “Beef” Burrito as well as a Yuba “Chicken” Taco and Jackfruit “Pulled Pork” Taco with the most delicious homemade coleslaw I’ve ever had on the side. This was all shared, BTW. I had been dreaming of cashew sour cream for days leading up to this too, because I knew it would be like the one they serve at Live (where the chef’s worked prior), and my dreams were fulfilled tonight! Excellent.

The strips of bean curd used in the “chicken” taco and the jackfruit “pulled pork” tasted amazing and both something I’ve never seen done before. The “Beef” Burrito was the best vegan “beef” I’ve ever had and I’m not the biggest fan of “mock meat” or TVP (textured vegetable protein) for that matter. But Hot Beans preps and cooks it right. The burrito is massive, stuffed with garlic-annatto rice, refried black beans, pico de gallo, cashew sour cream, and a fresh cilantro-jalapeno salsa. YUMMO!

If you can believe I had more room, I also had a chocolate cinnamon donut. I know… vegan donuts!! YES. The selection may vary from day to day, but also look for a cafe con leche and coconut-lime variety. You will die! Hmm the only thing I didn’t eat and should’ve were the hot beans! Next time.

It was great to see so many friends out to support Hot Beans and I can tell it’s going to be a huge hit. But you need to go and see for yourself! The official opening is Friday Feb 25, 2011. They’ll be open at noon that day and until 2 am every Friday and Saturday. I’ll see ya there!

(NOTE: photos of food were provided by Hot Beans, all others were taken by the author)

On a daily basis I am faced with all kinds of comments about how “radical” my diet/lifestyle choice seems. It really isn’t, at least I don’t see it that way. So look… if Oprah can influence 378 or so members of her staff to go completely vegan for a week (including herself), I’m pretty sure you can too. I’m just happy momma O has devoted an entire episode to talking about veganism. To me, this is monumental. If Oprah is talking about veganism to ALL of America it therefore can’t be that “crazy”.  Here’s a chunk of the show that aired Feb 1, 2011.

So it’s been just about a month of my new updated version of my diet. I haven’t had any white bread! But I do know some other refined sugar has snuck in, in small small amounts. I had some vegan chocolate chips that I was NOT about to throw out! (I’ll post those baked goods another day) No alcohol and no coffee. Not NO caffeine, I’ve had maybe 3 black types of tea. But that’s a HUGE step. I feel better. But I’m still working on it. I still haven’t kicked the movie popcorn!!

I made a Barley Risotto recently that was really good. I actually prefer it to using Arborio Rice which is a white starch. Barley is a whole grain and good for the immune system. I just cooked it slowly, the same way as a risotto, and added hot water and stock in small amounts stirring constantly until absorbed and the barley looked creamy. I added sauteed mushrooms and peas to the mix as well, AND lots of black pepper. Delicioso!