Category: atlanta

Hot dogs without buns

The night before we left town on vacation, we needed dinner and something that wouldn’t create any leftovers and wouldn’t take too much time. We decided to try HD 1 because we’d heard they had some vegan options and it seemed like somewhere we could order the exact right amount of food.

So, there are two vegan “hot dog” options: the Field Roast sausage and the carrot dog. And the chili is vegan and so are a bunch of the sauces. And the waffle fries. But you know what’s not vegan? The fucking buns. We didn’t feel like going somewhere else, so just stuck with it. Behold, bunless dogs:

That’s the South of Chi-Town with the carrot dog.

And that’s the Cubanita, already dug into. We also got some waffle fries and the server kindly gave us some of the chili to try. It was good on the fries.

Sure, the sauces were really nice and all, but I see no point in going back unless the get some freakin’ vegan buns.

Casual kelp noodles

How is it that I never posted about the Asian Noodle Bowl with Kelp Noodles in Thrive? Next time I make it I’ll have to fix that because it is awesome. Anyway, that came to mind because I was going to refer to it since I’m bringing up kelp noodles again.

So kelp noodles, also called sea tangle, aren’t the easiest to find, but it is getting easier. In Atlanta, I know three places that carry them: Sevananda (on shelf, not refrigerated), Return to Eden (in refrigerated case at back of store) and Buford Highway Farmer’s Market (last aisle in the back, far left.) They’re at least half the price at BHFM, so if it’s convenient, that’s the place to get them. They seem to keep about forever in the fridge. Oh, and pick up some of their house made tofu while you’re there.

Kelp noodles have a nice crunch and don’t taste like much of anything. So it’s all about whatever sauce or dressing you use. I had some about and wanted to add some interesting texture to my salad, so added them on in. So this is spinach, carrots, cucumber, bell peppers and kelp noodles in peanut dressing with peanuts and gomashio sprinkled on top. Worked out nicely! Hmm, I tucked some cilantro pesto into the freezer. I bet kelp noodles would be great tossed with that and some veggies.

Grilling out and gaga dance

gloATL had a weekend of performances set up at the Old Fourth Ward Skate Park and even though it wasn’t clear exactly what would be happening, we decided to check it out. But first, we grilled out over at Star & Simon’s. Or, we watched Simon grill and then enjoyed eating it.

Field Roast’s frankfurters are the best veggie dogs you can get.

Simon made a rack of Gutenfleischer’s ribs. Nom.

We brought leftover chili and Daiya to top the dogs. Star made a kale and kelp noodle salad. And we brought chips & ranch dip.

After dinner, we walked the still-in-progress Beltline to the skate park.

The dancers were in the skating bowls and also moving through the crowd. Skating continued during the performance and sometimes the skaters intricately worked their way through and around the dancers.

Apparently it was a style of dance called Gaga.

After watching and getting rained on a little bit we headed back. And had the Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding Pie from Vegan Pie in the Sky with coconut ice cream.

The Porter & Mayer Hawthorne

Last Friday we had tickets to see Mayer Hawthorne at the Variety. Beforehand we met friends at The Porter for dinner. We started with the Belgian fries and they were ridiculous. Slathered in garlic oil. So good.

The vegan option at The Porter is the black bean burger. Oh, look, more fries. Now, given the reputation The Porter has for their food, I was expecting a little more from this black bean burger. It was .. okay. Not bad at all, just nothing memorable about it. Although that red pepper mustard was delicious.

Beer was consumed as well. I started with a Hopscotch, then dialed back the % to a Terrapin Easy Rider. It was like going from Winter to Summer. Easy Rider could become a regular summer beer.

We didn’t arrive at the venue until towards the end of the opener’s set. And our favorite seats were already taken. So we headed to the balcony. We found a pair with a perfect view except for the people shuffling to and from the stairs.

We first saw Mayer Hawthorne as an opener for Chromeo. Even if you aren’t 100% into the Motown, blue-eyed soul kind of music he puts out, the show is fantastic. It really is a good time.

And here’s a better view from the floor. These days there’s no need to be that person holding up their phone or camera the whole show because someone else definitely will.

Dinner at Sauced

We keep forgetting about Sauced. But we finally remembered and decided to go with Kevin’s parents. I started off with a lovely cocktail that had muddled avocado in it.

We had a couple of starter munchies. Guacamole with taro chips and tomato jam. The tomato jam look it to the next level.

Oh, whoops. Forgot to grab a pic of the seitan and potato skewers before we started digging into them. So here are some bits and pieces.

Kevin and I both had the Sketti and Neatballs, seitan in a red sauce over spaghetti squash. Destroyed. I need to try making spaghetti squash again.

And this was a brussels sprouts salad with parsnip chips (I think) on top. I’ve seen recipes for raw brussels sprouts salads, but never had one. A+++ would eat again.

For dessert we went over to Irwin Street Market and had some Jake’s Ice Cream. They have a couple of vegan flavors on hand.