I’m really looking forward to checking out the new French Market here in Chicago – it sounds absolutley FABULOUS!

Opening December 3, 2009, Chicago will finally have its first and only year-round, indoor marketplace providing you with permanent, convenient and personal access to local artisans and purveyors.

Open Monday thru Saturday, enjoy Chicago French Market’s fresh selections for dining at our place, cooking at your place or on-the-go.

IN CHICAGO’S WEST LOOP
131 NORTH CLINTON
AT THE OGLIVIE TRANSPORTATION CENTER

One of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles is Real Food Daily. It is a FABULOUS vegan restaurant which is loved by I’m sure all veggies in L.A. and even non-veggies! When I was recently in L.A. my friend and I went there for dinner and she is not at all a vegetarian or vegan but she loves the restaurant.
As much as I wanted to try something new I had to stick with one of my favorites – El Bandito Rojo – wheat and gluten free Corn enchiladas, seasoned tempeh, salsa roja, Spanish rice, black beans, pico de gallo,
tofu sour cream, guacamole, and drizzled with cashew cheese. It’s AMAZING!! Lesli had the Country Vegetable Miso which of course I had to try and it was awesome – the perfect combination of chunky veggie soup and miso – fabulous idea! For her entree she did a Basic Three – where you select one from each category: veggies, beans & grains and plant proteins. I can’t remember what she got but I know she loved it.
If you’re in the area you must try RFD – there is one in West Hollywood on La Cienega and one in Santa Monica on SM Blvd.

My Delicious Lunch at Lemonade - L.A.

Last weekend I went back to Los Angeles to visit friends, enjoy the warmer weather and eat at all of my old favorite restaurants.  I did however try a new spot and am so glad I did.

Lemonade has three locations – on Beverly in West Hollywood (where I went!), on Flower downtown, on Abbot Kinney in Venice Beach.  There will soon be another at the MOCA!

The restaurant is super eco-friendly from what I could tell.  I suppose they could be more eco-friendly by using real plates and flatware for inside diners but since they use disposable they are good about using utencils that are bio-degradable, recycled paper bowls and plates and recyclable/bio-degradable cups and take out containers.

OK – to the important part – the FOOD and DRINKS!

I have to start with the LEMONADE of course!  I had the Rosemary Watermelon Lemonade and it was the most amazing thing!  They also had Cucumber Mint, Ginger Peach and Blueberry Mint (which my girlfriend got – also amazing!).  The lemonades are all very colorful, full of flavor and very refreshing.

As far as the actual food goes – I don’t even know where to begin.  First off there are PLENTY of VEGGIE options – so many in fact that I had a very difficult time making my selections.  I opted for the Red Top Turnip Soup, Roast Cauliflower with Golden Raisins, Almonds and Curry, and Avocado & Cherry Tomatoes with Pine Nuts in a Lime Vinaigrette.  Turnip Soup may sound bland and boring but I assure you it was full of flavor.  I’m a huge curry fan so the cauliflower was amazing – the adition of raisings added a sweet touch to this savory dish.  I will definitely try to replicated these dishes at home.  My friend Lesli had Israeli Couscous with Wild Mushrooms, Parmesan and Truffle Vinaigrette and something with cubed sweet potatoes but I can’t find it on their menue now – I tried both and they were fantastic.  I think she may have had the seared ahi as well along with a couple of other sides that I can’t recall.  She loved them all but one which was too much like cole-slaw, which she doesn’t like.

I love that the food is set up deli-style so you can try a little of several different items.

For meat eaters they have tons of different pot roasts which look so cute in their colorful LeCrueset roasting dishes.

To complete my meal I had a small red velvet cupcake. The size was perfect – not a full cupcake but not a one bite mini.  It was moist and delicious – much better than the one I had the day prior at Toast (sorry L.A. friends, but I’ve decided theirs are always too done and not moist enough for my liking).

If you live in Los Angeles put this at the top of your list of places to try.  If you don’t live in L.A. nor are you going to be visiting soon, check out their menu for ideas.  They give enough detail for each of the their marketplace sides that you could have a go at replicating them.

I just came across a great new site - Going Green DC.  If you’re in the DC area this site should be on your daily list – it’s great! Even if you’re not in DC you can still pick up some great things.  I’ve had a lovely time checking it out and have added it to my favorites to keep checking.  She covers a wide variety of subjects and there is plenty of stuff to take away from the site for those of us not in DC.

The author, Sacha Cohen writes about the things that interest her: organic restaurants, urban farming, natural health and beauty, green events, sustainable communities, and local eco-friendly businesses.

Fairly similar to what I do for the Chicago area!

There is a great new building getting ready to be the home to tons of Chicago green businesses later this year.

“Later this year, Green Exchange will open its doors as the country’s largest sustainable business community, offering 272,000 square feet of convenient one-stop shopping options where the public can engage directly with the country’s leading green businesses, eco-speakers, events and ideas.    Green Exchange is committed to shifting the green marketplace from niche to mainstream, making green living easy and accessible for the public, and giving green businesses and innovators the national stage they need to grow exponentially.”

How cool that Chicago will be home to such an amazing complex!  It’ll be a one stop shop for all things eco-friendly.  Check out the video below to see the building the merchants and the people behind this awesome project!

An Introduction to the Green Exchange (web version) from Conscious Living TV on Vimeo.

The other day Eric and I went to brunch at The Chicago Diner.  They’ve been around since 1983 and I’ve been going there since 1991.  A great way to lessen your impact on the environment is by eating a veggie meal.  This restaurant is a great choice as there are plenty of things a meat eater like Eric can enjoy without missing the meat on his plate.

I had (with tofu and soy cheeze):

HUEVOS A LA MEXICANA 8.99
Eggs or tofu, tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, avocado, cilantro, cheeze, with corn tortillas, rice, black beans & salsa.

This was FABULOUS!  The only drawback was it was rather spicy.  The portion was large enough that I ate a little more later that afternoon and took the remainder to work on Tuesday for breakfast.

Eric had:

GRILLED POTSTICKERS 6.99
With cabbage, carrot filling, dipping sauce & sesame seed topping.

I would have to say these were the BEST potstickers I’d ever had.  The dipping sauce was thick and held on well – great flavor!

FRENCH ONION SOUP 3.25  4.25
Caramelized locally grown organic sweet onions in a savory sage & thyme vegan broth with seasoned croutons.

I love finding vegan french onion soup.  It was great but a little spicy for Eric’s taste buds – I loved it!

I absolutely love Carnivale.  The atmosphere is fun and the Latin American cuisine is delicious.  I love it even more now that I discovered how green they are.  They are making efforts to reduce their impact on the environment from the food they serve to the cleaning products they use.

They source a lot of their food from farms in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.  They’re cooking with cage-free organic eggs and sustainable seafood.  Their chicken and pork are from local Gunthorp Farms and in the summer the grow veggies on the restaurant’s roof-top garden!  Even their mojitos are made with organic mint from local farmers and they’re filtering their water at the source so it is 99.9% purified for drinking and even cooking!  They recycle and they’re working with Gunthorp Farms to recycle non-trans fat fryer oil as an alternative fuel for the farm.

Read more about their Green Program.

I sourced this info from an article by Kathleen Furore in el Restaurante Mexicano, May-June 2009.

Saturday night we celebrated our engagement with friends at Landmark Grill + Lounge.  We really went there for the drinks but also thought it would be smart to have some appetizers.  I had the gnocchi which were not of the traditional shape but little pillows (that’s the best way I can describe them).  I was very impressed that the chef sources his ingredients from The Green City Market here in Chicago – all local and some organic goods. 

My one disappointment was they have foie gras on the menu – on the sliders – maybe elsewhere, I just didn’t continue looking.  It is the liver of a duck or goose who has been force fed through a metal pipe down their throats so that a mixture of corn can be forced directly into their gullets. In just a matter of weeks, the ducks become grossly overweight and their livers expand up to 10 times their normal size.   Only male ducks are used, and females are discarded by the industry.  SICK!  Please avoid eating this inhumane food!

Otherwise we had a great time – the DJ was good so we did a lot of dancing and enjoyed the night.

Last week Eric and I went to Karyn’s Cooked for a fabulous vegan dinner.  I have been several times on my own for take away and with vegetarian girlfriends, but this was the first time bringing Eric, who is a meat eater.

The organic beverages were a wonderful way to begin – Eric had an organic beer and I had a lovely glass of organic Meinklang Pinot Noir.

For startes we had a bowl of cream of broccoli soup and bruschetta.  The bruschetta was standard with almost a smokey taste from how the bread was grilled.  The cream of broccoli was fantastic – thick and full of flavor.  I miss cheesy broccoli soup as I consume very little dairy so this really satisfied my craving and reminded me of my childhood when that was my favorite soup.

For an entree Eric selected Green Enchiladas – Corn tortillas stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes, smothered in a green tomatillo sauce and drizzled with soy cheese. Served with a side of Spanish brown rice and refried black beans.  The meal was good but not amazing – of course I tried it too   The enchiladas were good but I would have like them to have some veggies inside.  They were very unique being stuffed with mashed potatoes but by the end of the meal it just seemed like potato overdose.  The best part was the Spanish brown rice which Eric quickly gobbled down, leaving none for me to try.  The refried black beans were rather dry and crumbly – disappointing.

I opted for the Stuffed Eggplant- Thin grilled eggplant stuffed with a homemade faux ricotta cheese topped with marinara sauce.  I’ve had this before and it has been amazing each time.  It is a unique dish that you don’t often see – even with real ricotta – so I had to have it.  I really should make this at home some time – it can’t be too difficult!

To finish off our lovely dinner we had the blueberry cheese cake – the cheese cake itself was blueberry flavored and then there was a blueberry compote on top with a whole wheat crust.

On past visits I’ve had the mac and cheese(vegan of course), sloppy jo  and stuffed cabbage(which is often a special).  I highly recommend anyone of those dishes!  YUM – I’m getting hungry just thinking about them!

We’ll definitely be back – even Eric!  Even if you’re a meat eater give it a try – there are lots of great things on the menu that you’ll find surprisingly delicious.  If you’re nervous to be too adventurous there is always pizza and salads that should make you feel safe for your first visit

Saturday night I finally was able to score a reservation at Terragusto on Armitage.  Since they opened the new location several months ago I’ve been trying to go but I never call far enough in advance, somehow I actually called on Saturday was able to grab a reservation for that evening!

The venue is small and intimate with low lighting.  The service is attentive but not intrusive.

The house wine is only $4 a glass or you can BYOB.  The organic pasta is made fresh daily and they use local and sustainable products whenever possible.

Salad - I didn't have this but as there were no photos online of what I ate I thought this would be beautiful to display!

My girlfriend and I split the “sformato” which is a silky, warm vegetable custard topped with mushrooms.  It was extremely light and melted in your mouth.  For my entree I had a wide ribbon pasta with portobella musrooms, red pepers and onions in a mushroom ragu.  The sauce wasn’t heavily poured on just enough to cover the noodles but not drown them.  It was phenomenal!  I’m already looking forward to going back and taking Eric since he’s been wanting to go as well.  The pasta was so fresh and the dish itself was full of flavor.  The portions are just right – they leave you full, not stuffed and you’re likely to not bring anything home.