Coming back from our vacation in St. Augustine we stayed the weekend in Atlanta. Atlanta is a semi-regular trip for us as my mother-in-law and brother-in-law live there so we know the places to eat well. Saturday we had lunch at Veggieland, a small restaurant in Buckhead that has quite an extensive menu. I usually get a sandwich but decided to get a salad of some type since when I am usually there some at a nearby table orders one and I tell myself to get a salad next time. I got Jennifer’s Salad (some salads are named after customers who have created and ordered them regularly), a mix of spinach, brown rice, steamed broccoli, steamed sweet potatoes, tofu, tempeh bacon, tomoatoes and cucumbers with a vegan ranch dressing. My wife had the Tostada Salad, I am not sure what all was on it but it was tasty as I swipped a bite. My brother-in-law had a pasta dish with steamed vegetable which smelled great and my mother-in-law, who never branches out in her vegan eating when she eats with us, got her usual veggie burger which was served with sweet potato fries. Veggieland also serves a few vegan cakes and we had a slice of a peanut butter-chocolate cake and a strawberry cake. I am never impressed by their cakes, they are good but noting compared to what my wife can whip up. They are served directly from being refrigerated and are far too moist, their cake supplier has a few things to learn in the art of vegan baking.
Salad From Veggieland
Saturday night my wife and I had planned a dinner out and we considered Cafe Sunflower, of which I am not the biggest fan (see pretty food rant). After looking at the menu we quickly decided against it as their prices have increased considerably over the already overpriced amounts. We called to check on the hours of Soul Vegetarian, a restaurant operated by African Hebrews, but were told they would be closing early for Passover. They informed us they would be open the next moring for brunch, not a big deal to me but my mother-in-law has some kind of infatuation with it so she said we should go then. After thinking and not finding anything that we really wanted to bother driving to and burning expensive gas for we decided to go to a nearby Mexican restaurant where they prepare guacamole at tableside. After a bowl of guacamole and a margarita we called it a night.
Sunday morning started with Soul Vegetarian. After looking at their menu I found there was too much to choose from to waste time on a brunch selection. I ordered a plate of collard greens (one of my favorites) and barbecued kalebone, described as made in house using soy protein and wheat gluten. It is seitan with some spices added but is quite good. I was served two large pieces and my collards and was quite happy. My wife had a battered-fried “steak” and macaroni-and-cheese made form raw cashews. The steak was also seitan but not flavored the same as what I had and covered in gravy, also quite good. My mother-in-law went out on a wild tangent and ordered…no wait, she had a veggie burger. I had a bite of the patty and it was different than any other veggie burger I have had but since I didn’t eat the entire thing I am not sure what tey used to make it. My daughter had two huge pancakes from the brunch menu, she is a pancake lover. They were very moist and again, huge. I almost forgot, onion rings! We had onion rings for an appetizer, battered, fried, crispy and delicious.
The night before whicle searching for a dinner place we found Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe’s website and noticed the address was near Soul Vegetarian so decided a stop there should be next. It is in a small storefront and they have a good selection of vegan items usually only found online. Asmall corner near the front of the store has clothing items including vegan shoes and belts. There are two aisles of vegan foods and a cooler with vegan cheeses and other items, including my wifes much sought after vegan marshmallows. There was only one package left and we would have bought more if they had them. I also got a container of vegan rice marshmallow cremewich I have been craving on a saltine. Both are great, there a re a few marshmallows left as we have been rationing them to ourselves. My wife also found an apron which is perfect for her that she got which says “Vegan Master Baker”.
Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe
Next would be a trip to Ikea that I have been looking forward to. I have been needing a new stand for my 60″ Sony television and the only reasonably priced stand I could find that was long enough was at Ikea. Once I saw the stand in person I noticed the shelves for components looked a bit small on width. Not wanting to buy the stand I really wanted only to get it home and find nothing I had would fit I decided to make some calls for measurement of components. Sure enough, the width was 1/2″ shorter than the standard 17″ component size. Why make something a standard component won’t fit in? After being a a little disgruntled I found another stand that looked like what I needed which had the shelving and length required. We also picked up some lighting to replace various ceiling fans in the game room on living room at a much better price than can be found at Home Depot or even the Ikea website.
After loading two oversized boxes into a small car as well as bags from Ikea we headed to Trader Joe’s to stock up. As the Nashville store is not scheduled to open for a few months trips to Atlanta will include Trader Joe’s for the time.
Next stop, Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market. This is a stop where we typically fill the car with produce as the prices are hard to beat as well is the selection. With not much room to spare in the car we cut it short and opted for some basics as well as replinishing our spices with their large bulk selection.
Our last restaurant stop would be Sweet Tomatoes. This is one place we always look forward to and would really like to see one open in the Nashville area, Coolsprings would be a great location.
Afterward we packed up for the trip back home. As Atlanta is a regular trip for us we will probably be going back soon and I will try more at Soul Vegetarian, get back to Eat’s which we didn’t include this time and maybe Harmony Chinese.
