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I’ve been so busy lately with moving, some projects, etc. I really need to start picking up my camera again. I’ve been cooking up a storm lately, I just haven’t been documenting it. Now that we’re settled in, things should pick up again!

Then, I realized my trip was almost six months ago, and I started writing this several months ago. Anyway, on with the much-delayed trip report.

While our home-base was Vienna, we also took side trips to Bratislava and Budapest. Bazu, Carmen, Melanie, Jojo, Rachel, and I spent a day in Bratislava wandering around the city, looking in second hand stores (I found an awesome pink jacket, a dress, and a very cool shirt!), and also found some vegan food. We ended up going to City Restaurant, which is a cafeteria-style vegetarian restaurant, and luckily there was a woman who was able to translate and point out the vegan selections to us!

I had seitan and vegetables in some sort of gravy served over a multi-grain pilaf, and a really good chewy freshly baked bread roll.
Vegan Food in Bratislava

We wandered around a little more, stopped for a leisurely cup of coffee, and then it was time for Bazu, Carmen, Jojo, and I to hop on the train to Budapest.
Coffee in Bratislava

While in Budapest, we ate at the lovely Napfenyes Etterem. I had a platter of Cheezly breaded with sesame seeds and spelt bread crumbs and served with the most perfectly cooked rice and peas. The Cheezly was amazing at the restaurant, and also made a really good cold snack the next day. I definitely need to try and replicate it at home. Jojo had an amazing seitan pepperoni, three cheese, and green olive pizza on spelt crust, then we shared a bunch of desserts – A chocolate sour cherry cake, a chestnut cake, and a chocolate cake lightly flavored with cherry.

Vegan Cake in Budapest

On the way home, we ran into George Clooney, who tried to entice us with coffee. Unfortunately, he didn’t have decaf so we had to decline since we didn’t want to be up all night!
George Clooney in Budapest, What Else?

The next day, we visited Eden Vegetarianus Etterem, a cafeteria-style cafe near where we were sightseeing. The food was very tasty and filling, and we filled our bellies with soup, noodles, potato dishes, and lots of bread and desserts, but it was a little dark (I think I’m going to need to get myself a travel tripod), so the only decent photo I have is of Carmen’s dessert. We still don’t know what it was, but it was soft and tasted of cinnamon.

I also came away from this trip with an enormous haul of food (including several packs of yogurt I crammed into my suitcase) that I never actually photographed because I couldn’t get it all in one photo. I’ll just say that I’ve eaten a ton of it, gave away huge gift bags full of goodies, and I still have quite a bit left.

Well, my goal for MoFo this year was to post more than usual, and definitely more than last year, which I accomplished. I also hoped it would be a nice jump start to get me blogging more regularly. I may not post every week, at least until we move, but I will try to post a couple of times of month. There are a lot of blogs out there, I’m happy if one or two people come across mine now and then and find something they like.

Anyway, on to the food! Before Bazu and I left on our trip to Central Europe, we met up with our friend Michelle, who was kind enough to pick me up in the middle of Manhattan, and drive us to JFK. We had plenty of time to grab food, so we decided on V-Spot, in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. I’d never been, and it’s always nice when I can order anything on the menu without modification!

I had a chicken burger with cheese and tempeh bacon, and a nice little salad on the side. The sandwich was nice and crispy without being greasy, but it was still nice to have a little salad on the side to cleanse my palate and make me feel somewhat virtuous. If I’m remembering correctly, we also shared a side of sweet potato fries, which, in my opinion, you can never go wrong with ordering!
V Spot October 3, 2009

Bazu had plantain chips with guacamole which she really enjoyed,
V Spot October 3, 2009

and Michelle had a pepperoni pizza made with Daiya cheese…delicious!
V Spot October 3, 2009

I really enjoyed eating at V-Spot, and I’d like to try out other things on the menu the next time I’m in Brooklyn. Check it out if you’re nearby!

PPK Meetup Soul Veg

PPK Meetup Soul Veg

PPK Meetup Soul Veg

The good thing about committing to a month of writing (even though I missed a couple of days, there) is that I force myself to post pictures and write about things that usually get neglected. I tend to take pictures at parties and restaurant meetings and plan to post them or share them, I really do. Then, a week or two goes by, and it just becomes embarrassing at that point to bother. So they go into my permanent collection, never to be seen by anyone except for me.

I’m hoping that starting this food blog will encourage me to post those photos more often. Even though I love to cook, the DC area is full of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants. Vegetate has amazing sliders and Happy Hour specials, Great Sage has a wonderful brunch and delicious desserts, and there are a number of other restaurants where it is easy for a vegan to find a great meal.

Last night, I went to Soul Vegetarian Cafe with friends Meghan, Karyn, Carolyn, and Laura. With the exception of honey in some of the desserts, the cafe is all vegan. Food is mostly served up cafeteria style, with several entrèes, carbs, and vegetables. They are famous for their mac and cheeze, though. Until last night, it had been several years since I’d been to Soul Veg, but I still remembered their creamy, tasty macaroni casserole.

After Soul Veg, we enjoyed Sticky Fingers for dessert. I was able to pick some goodies up earlier on my way to our meet-up. I may also have accidentally consumed a large quantity of homemade candy corn that Meghan and Carolyn made. Oops. No wonder I wasn’t hungry for most of today.