Slice of Life (Project 358: Day 208)

Whoops! I just realized I skipped a day! So. Rewinding back in time a bit to Evan's first solo trip to Sebastopol...

On his last day at Grandma Kim's house, it was decided that Stephen, Elinor, and I would make the drive to Sebastopol to pick Evan up. This ended up resulting in a mini-date for me and Stephen when we were offered the chance to go to dinner while Kim watched the kids. Deciding where to go was simple; we'd been wanting to try Slice of Life, a local vegetarian restaurant, for quite some time after reading a review of it on Vegansaurus.

At Slice of Life, they pride themselves on being, "The natural choice for vegan, vegetarian, American, Italian, and Mexican cuisine." I would have tried the place even if all they served was vegan sandwiches, but American, Italian, AND Mexican veggie cuisine all in one place? AND a huge selection of breakfast entrees served all day long? I'm sold.

The decor at this tiny, hole in the wall joint is typical for casual, veg-centric eateries. Tibetan prayer flags hang from the ceiling; paintings by local artists cover the walls; the furniture is dated and was most likely purchased second-hand. But who cares about any of that? What really matters is the food, right?

Day 208: Slice of Life

Stephen and I sat down, ordered a couple Lagunitas IPAs and reached for the menu, fully unprepared for how overwhelming its contents would prove to be. I started to get a little anxious as I tried to pick one thing from the seemingly endless list of delicious sounding options...SIX different types of house-made veggie burgers...veggie melts and tempeh BLTs...vegan lasagna...vegan pizza...pancakes...burritos and more! It just went on and on and on and the ONLY way Stephen and I were able to finally make a decision was by telling ourselves that we would return, again and again and again, so that eventually we would be able to try it all.

It was actually kind of funny. At a typical restaurant, meaning one not specifically catering to the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, it's usually pretty easy to make a decision about what to order because the options are so limited. Eating at a restaurant such as Slice of Life or Cafe Gratitude is such a wholly different experience (You mean I can eat anything on the menu?), it can take a little getting used to.

Mmmm....food.

I ended up ordering the special of the day, Tempeh Tacos, pictured below. I don't know what they marinated the tempeh in, but it tasted like mole; rich, complex, and smoky. On top of the tempeh was an enormous pile of beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, sprouts, and vegan sour cream. This meal was so good I ended up eating the entire thing, leaving only about half of the side of brown rice on my plate. This was a mighty big meal, but since it wasn't loaded with a bunch of nasty animal products, I felt great afterwards, totally free from the bloated, heavy feeling I used to get from eating Mexican food made with meats, cheese, and lard. This meal also inspired me to start looking for a vegan mole recipe that I can make at home. I found one for mole seitan, but have yet to try it. I'll be sure to blog about it when I do.

Tempeh Tacos

Stephen ordered The Works Burrito: beans, rice, steamed veggies, tofu, and vegan sour cream in a whole wheat tortilla, topped with homemade salsa and guacamole (pictured below). As unremarkable as it looks sitting there, all alone on its plate, this burrito was super satisfying and full of flavor. Still, I'm glad I chose the tacos.

"The Works" Burrito

We definitely plan on hitting up Slice of Life again the next time we're in Sebastopol. I'm dying to try the pizza as well as the vegan lasagna and, one of these days, we'll take the kids there for a big ol' plate of vegan pancakes. I hear they're delicious!