Chicago – Loop

I can’t emphasize enough – if you’re ever in NYC you NEED to make it over to Lula’s – it’s well worth the trek and it’s in a super cute neighborhood so do some exploring while you’re there.

The atmosphere was great – super cute place and our server was fantastic. I’d highly recommend it!

not the best photo – it was a bit dark in there and I forgot to turn on my flash!

Vapiano Chicago Review:

Last week I went to Vapiano on Clark in Chicago with a few girlfriends for dinner.  The inside was very modern and I loved all the fresh herbs growing on lighted shelves and as table centerpieces.  Unfortunately the bar isn’t open yet but its BYOB so we ran next door and grabbed a bottle of wine – there isn’t a corkage fee.  It’s set up Food Life style – if you’re familiar with that restaurant in the bottom of Water Tower Place – meaning you get a card, walk around to different stations and swipe then at the end you check out at the front desk and pay for everything on your card.  They make their pasta fresh daily – which is all vegan and they have plenty of vegan sauce options.  I believe I read that their pizza dough is not vegan, but that’s fine, there are plenty of pastas and salads.  Service was quick for the pasta, I stood there as they whipped it up.  I did the pasta primavera but changed to the arrabiata sauce all with wheat pasta.  There were barely any veggies and not enough sauce (and coming from me that definitely means something – I don’t like a lot of sauce or a lot of dressing on my salads).  Basically I had a ton of wheat fusilli that had an odd texture.  Almost seemed over-done, not sure how best to describe it but I wasn’t impressed.  The homeless man outside the door ended up with a big container full of wheat fusilli dusted with sauce and no veggies since I’d eaten the few I had started with.  Two girls split pizza and salad.  They got the salad immediately but the pizza took just over 20 minutes.  They seemed happy with their pizza but the salad toppings were sparse.  I think they each got one pinenut :)  My cousin also got pasta but in addition, had hoped to try the brushcetta.  After an hour she told them to forget it.  Not sure how pizza can take less time than bruschetta but whatever. 

All in all it was ok.  It would be a good place to take a large group of people or children as its easy for everyone in the party to get whatever they want and super easy to have split checks.  The food wasn’t anything exciting so I really don’t plan on going back.

click to download your guide!

My friend Dana just pointed me in the direction of this great Guide to Meat Free from HSUS.  I’m pretty sure I remember seeing all these pages in a past issue of the magazine that HSUS sends to donors but I love that they put all these pages into a book and made it available in pdf via a quick download!

There are some delicious looking recipes, tips for dining out, tips for taking steps to going meat-free, info on the health benefits and more!

I’ve been loving the Pret that opened across the street from my office.  Today was my third visit and they continue to impress me with delicious healthy options – specifically vegan for me.  I discovered that they can do their oatmeal with water or any kind of milk – so I had soy.  They steam it with the steam wand on the espresso machine so by the time I got settled back into my desk it had thickened up and was fantastic.  It has almonds, hazelnuts, cinnamon, cashew, coconut and supposedly currants but they seemed like raisins to me – either that or they were currants on steroids!  Regardless it was delicious.  Although the package doesn’t say it, I read online it has maple syrup – which I definitely taste.  This was the perfect Friday – gloomy day – breakfast.  I’ve always been a Jamba Juice oatmeal fan since they do theirs with soy.  Jamba’s is slow cooked and consistency wise better but I love the flavors in the Pret oatmeal – and considering its far closer to my office I think I’ll be sticking to Pret from now on!  Love it!

Next up, Sarah ordered the Sweet Potato Quesadilla – Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes and melted Mozzarella, served with Salsa and Sour Cream.  Who would’ve thought sweet potatoes would be so good in a quesadilla!

I ordered the Chili Cheese Fries – French Fries covered with Three Bean Chili and Melty Cashew Cheese.  Fries are really one of my favorite foods and nothing is better than fries covered in something else delicious.