Posts Tagged ‘Restaurants’

Noodles & Company – Free Noodles!

June 21st, 2011

Noodles and Company

I wrote a review a few weeks ago of the newest Noodles & Company location at Green Hills. If you’ve visited and have discovered a favorite dish let me know. Is it customized or off the menu?  Do you have an idea for a new vegan menu item?  To win a free bowl at Noodles & Company (any location) you need to do two things: 1. Follow me on Twitter or use a valid email address so I can let you know if you win.  2. Post your dish or menu addition in the comments to this post and include your Twitter username (if applicable) in the comment.   I’ll choose 6 commenters at random for a free noodle bowl. Be sure to elaborate and be creative with what the menu gives you to work with.  I’ll pick the winners Monday, June 27th.

How about a Cheezy Mac Bowl with TVP crumbles in a vegan cheeze sauce? Sound simple enough? I could go for that.

PinterestShare

Noodles & Company

April 25th, 2011

Noodles & Company has opened a new location in the strip center adjacent to The Mall at Green Hills. For those not familiar with Noodles & Company it is a fast casual restaurant serving pasta bowls that are freshly prepared.  All items are $5.95 for a large or $4.95 for a slightly smaller portion.

We have visited Noodles & Company in Denver on many occasions previously and are very happy to have a location now in Nashville giving us another vegan option.

I received a VIP (read: let us use you for training purposes) invite to a pre-opening event this past Saturday. My sidekick foodie was our 5 year-old daughter who is a pasta-lover. I checked the website beforehand to make sure I knew what was vegan friendly. There is a selection of nine items on the menu that either are vegan or can be made vegan with a simple omission. Tofu is an option to be added to any entree.

  • Indonesian Peanut Saute
  • Japanese Pan Noodles
  • Chinese Chop Salad with no wontons
  • Penne Rosa with no cream and no cheese
  • Pasta Fresca with no cheese
  • Whole Grain Tuscan Linguine with no cream and no cheese
  • Spaghetti with no cheese
  • Cucumber Tomato Salad
  • Tossed Green Side Salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Upon entering we were greeted, asked for our names for the invite list and given a menu. While talking with the greeters, about 2 minutes,  no less than 10 people walked in the door only to be turned away when told it was invite only. Most seemed a little angry. I told the employees we were vegan and was quickly and happily handed a vegan menu, not something you get much of around here.  Usually when we tell a server that were vegan it’s typically followed by a blank stare and, “What does that mean?”

I had already decided to get the Japanese Pan Noodles and the kid just wanted a pasta so she decided to get Pasta Rosa. We added tofu to each, of course. Our food was served quickly and looked great. The one issue was the kid could not eat hers. It was far too spicy and I wished I had known it would be such an overpowering heat before she had ordered. A little spice doesn’t bother her but the Penne Rosa was far too hot for her. We packed it to go. The Japanese Pan Noodles was very tasty and not over-sauced. The dish was served with flavorful, seared tofu and fresh, crispy sprouts which my daughter thoroughly enjoyed picking from my plate. The noodles were a bit overcooked but I expect that to be worked out as this was, of course, a training session. I had planned on eating only half and boxing the rest but it was gone before I knew it.

The remainder of the Penne Rosa was reheated and eaten the day after our visit and tasted just as fresh as when it was served in the restaurant. I only wished I had some more of the Japanese Pan Noodles to munch on at the time. I plan another visit this week and I’ll likely try the Indonesian Peanut Saute or the Bangkok Curry. You’ll be seeing plenty of me at Noodles & Company in the future.

Noodles & Company
2116 Green Hills Village Drive
Nashville, Tennessee 37215
(615) 383-7740

Japanese Pan Noodles

Japanese Pan Noodles with Tofu



Penne Rosa with Tofu



Little Nashveggie with Penne Rosa



PinterestShare

Varied Vegan Chatter

January 28th, 2011

Over time I gather thoughts. Some I tell myself I’ll write about and some I think why bother. Most of these thoughts never have enough behind them to warrant a lengthy post for the site so I toss them aside and forget it. What I’ve decided to do is throw those all into one post. There won’t be much to go on but jump in the comments and complete my thoughts. I’m counting on you.

I’ve been on the fake meat bandwagon once in my vegan/vegetarian life. It was early on, of course, as most people who do get into that habit of eating with convenience in mind. I’ve not so recently put that aside. Fake meats are, to me, for transitioning vegetarians. They lend the familiarity of what once once the edible mainstay but as a vegan I have moved on to fresher foods. That’s not to say I don’t eat some here and there and you’ll likely see reviews for them pop up on this site. They are what they are, a transition food and that’s fine.

While on the subject of fake meats Just a mention that one of my biggest dining-out peeves is a vegan or vegetarian restaurant that relies on fake meats to fill their menu. How about the veggies, guys? I don’t want to pretend to chew pork or chicken/chick’n/chic’n, no matter how many letters you remove form the word, when I’m paying $15 to eat at your restaurant. If you can’t prepare fresh vegetables, and I don’t mean prepared in some gourmet-style, just simple fresh vegetables, then you have no place running a vegetarian dining establishment.

I have been noticing Earth Balance soy milks at Whole Foods for a few months. I’ve even bought the milks regularly but it wasn’t until recently that I noticed the absence of Silk products in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods. I asked about the disappearance and was told that Whole Foods had decided to stop carrying Silk due to the changes Dean Foods had made to the product line. Specifically, the dropped “Organic” from the standard packaging and came out with a new package design and marketed the Organic line again though with a higher price tag. There was no marking on the original package to signify it was no longer organic less the absence of the organic seal. Shady? Greedy? Shysters? No big deal?

For the past few months I’ve been doing P90X. I completed the first 90 days and immediately started a second 90 days which, at this point, I’m at day 60. I’ve had tremendous results losing some weight and finding muscles I never though I had. I have discovered that Tony Horton, creator of the series, is vegetarian and is now working on a vegan diet plan for his next workout series. Vegan P90X works!

“Flexitarian” is just omnivore disguised in a fancy catch phrase that makes advertising pop and sounds trendy. You know how people love trendy.

As the father of a vegan 5 year old I ‘ve often wanted to hear from other parents of vegan children. If you fall into that description drop something in the comments about your experiences. I would love to hear from you.

PinterestShare

Taco Mamacita’s New Vegan Menu

March 4th, 2010

Fresh Mexican-inspired food is always good.  It is even better when it is vegan.  I got the word yesterday that Taco Mamacita’s would be rolling out a new vegan menu this week and also a copy of the menu.  This happened around lunch time so where else should I head off to?

I was told the servers may not be aware of the new menu and to take it along.  After reading over the menu I was given I quickly realized that there were no vegan options and asked my server, Meredith,  if she knew of the vegan choices.  She told me she was also vegan and began showing me options on the menu by substituting and adding.  Then I asked if she knew of the new vegan menu to which I got a “No”, so I pulled out my Droid which I had the menu on and showed her.  Of course, being vegan also she was quite excited.

Vegan Tortilla Soup & Vegan Jerk Taco

Vegan Tortilla Soup & Vegan Jerk Taco



I ordered a cup of the Vegan Tortilla Soup and a Vegan Jerk Taco. The soup was poured at the table over fresh slices of avocado and cilantro with a side of tortilla chip crumbles and the taco was filled with one of my favorite delicacies, fried plantains, as well as fresh mango, beans and cabbage.  Everything tasted extremely fresh but I thought the soup could have used a little spice as it was a bit flat.

Overall, it was a good lunch, fresh and healthy tasting. The only thing I would like to see improved from what I ordered would be some flavor added to the soup in the way of spice. I left still hungry though I was thoroughly impressed with the freshness of everything. My next visit I will try something else and see if leaving stuffed is possible.

Taco Mamacita's Vegan Menu

Taco Mamacita's Vegan Menu (Click to view)




View 1200 Villa Pl in a larger map

Taco Mamacita
1200 Villa Place
Nashville, TN
(615) 730-8552

PinterestShare

Free Veggie Burger

May 8th, 2008

coupon.jpg

For those of you willing to go to Opry Mills or if you already frequent that area Johnny Rockets will be offering free veggie burgers (with the purchase of another sandwich, starter (fries?) and drink) for World Vegetarian Week, which is May 19 -25.  The coupon is above as well as here.   The menu says it is a “100% Soy Patty so I guess it is the Boca Vegan Burger, Boca not being one of my favorites but still, free is good.

PinterestShare