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Asheville will finally have its own 100% vegan restaurant. Not bad for a tiny little city in the mountains. Plant, opening this summer at 165 Merrimon Ave. will feature flavorful vegan dishes by former Laughing Seed chef, Jason Sellers.

From the Mountain Xpress (click here for the full story):

“We will serve flavor-sophisticated, multiculturally influenced food, using techniques that we like the best to intensify flavors based on what’s available to us at the best time,” he says.

….

Plant’s menu will be kept small enough to enable great attention to detail, he says, with fresh vegetables in the spotlight.

The restaurant also will have a char-grill. “Smoke and flame is something that’s really important to me, especially with vegan food,” says Sellers, who expects to include menu items like smoked potatoes and other dishes with “over-the-top” flavors. The chef will nod to his Italian heritage with seitan marsala and polenta dishes. He will also make his coconut-milk ice cream and other desserts, as well as pizzas and baked goods.

“I think we’ll just really surprise people with increasing the level of vegan food and offering what they may not have expected,” says Armstrong, who admits to a healthy addiction to Sellers’ ice cream.

“The menu is a hit list of all of our favorite flavors,” adds Sellers. “Our goal is lots of grilled and sautéed and cook-to-order vegan food.”

Weekend brunches will feature pancakes and yeasted Belgian waffles. “We want to take vegan brunch to a whole new level,” Sellers says.

Sounds great to me. If the food is good, I will eat at Plant all the time. I can’t wait to try their weekend brunch. Laughing Seed brunch just hasn’t been the same since they took the vegan omelet off the menu. * hint hint, Plant *

In the meantime, you can still support Asheville’s only *almost* vegan restaurant, Firestorm Cafe & Books. Their entire food menu is 100% vegan, but they do sell milk-based coffee drinks.

Update: The chef from Plant tells me that they already have some gluten-free options planned and he is working on ways to expand the gluten-free selection even further. Sounds like there may be some raw options as well, and….possibly….maybe….a vegan omelet in my future!

Click to view the flyer

There is no shortage of festivals in Asheville, celebrating music, art, health, the environment, and/or just the wonderfully freaky nature of Asheville. Now, for the first time, we’ll be having our very own VegFest, celebrating all things vegan and animal-friendly.

Putting something this big together takes a lot of work and of course some money. Here’s the email (slightly abridged) that went out through The Asheville Vegetarians about this event:

As you know, The Asheville Vegetarians and Goat Mountain Ranch Sanctuary are planning the first ever Asheville VegFest (Sunday, August 7th).  WE NEED YOUR HELP!! We’ll be sending out a volunteer form soon but in the meantime, please note that our current estimates indicate that the festival is going to cost us nearly 7K (permits, insurance, porta potties, security, marketing materials, advertising and on and on…..). We are hopeful that rental fees from vendors and donations from sponsors will cover much of this but we do expect a shortfall. To that end we have applied for a www.vegfund.org  grant and are in contact with other organizations to whom we will apply for grant money. WE do need YOUR donations though! ….

For any donation above $20, you will receive a vegdiscount card which is good for a year of many discounts around town at various restaurants, service providers, retailers et cetera.

Asheville Vegfest  is a great opportunity to “vegucate” and “vegutain” folks near and wide  so please consider participating in any way you can but .. if you have some extra funds, they’ll go a long way in helping us pull this off!

All donations are tax deductible., checks should be written out to Goat Mountain Ranch Sanctuary and sent to:

Goat Mountain Ranch Sanctuary
1601 Newfound Rd
Leicester 28748

Alternatively, you can donate via paypal via the Goat Mountain website:  http://www.goatmountainsanctuary.org/about.html Please specify that donations are for Vegfest (donors to VegFest will receive a vegdiscount card but not a Tshirt from Goat Mountain– separate donations earmarked for Goat Mountain of $17 or more will  get you one of their cool T-Shirts).

The Farmacy Juice and Tonic Bar

It’s hard for most of us to get too excited about a juice and smoothie bar, but maybe that’s because most of them aren’t as satisfying and exciting as they could be.

The Farmacy Juice and Tonic Bar, in West Asheville, is appropriate for vegans, raw foodists, those who are gluten-intolerant, or any health-conscious person who also wants to enjoy their meal. They offer juices, smoothies, “super smoothie meal replacements”, raw soup, tonics, and shots. Their smoothies feature such exciting ingredients as chia seeds, coconut yoghurt, cacao, mesquite, spirulina, lavendar, and all the fresh fruits and veggies you’d expect. They also have something I’ve only been able to read about but have always wanted to try: Rejuvelac, as made famous by Dr. Anne Wigmore of the Hippocrates Institute.

Judy and Carl, who operate The Farmacy, do things differently than most places. For instance, you get a coconut water chaser with your wheatgrass shot. And they’ll first bring you a taste of your smoothie so you can ask for changes before they pour it. They are also wonderful, positive, interesting people who enjoy getting to know their customers.

Prices are extremely reasonable and we’ve never been unhappy with our order. Give them a try any Wednesday through Saturday, inside the West Village Market at 771 Haywood Rd. in West Asheville.

Other than bee pollan and honey, there is nothing on the menu that vegans need to look out for.

Once a week or so, I go out for a fancy coffee drink. For a while, it was a soy latte, or almond milk latte if it was available.*

During a visit to Firestorm Cafe in Asheville, I ordered a latte and the girl taking my order suggested I try a “vegan breve”. She explained that a regular breve is made with half-and-half. The VEGAN breve at Firestorm is made with almond milk and coconut creme. Of course I agreed to try that instead and it was the most delicious coffee drink ever, by far.

I like the breve so much that I started drinking them 3 or 4 times a week. I’ve had to consciously limit myself to only one per week. “Breve Friday” I call it.

As far as I know, Firestorm is the only place in town that serves vegan breves. You have 2 options. Their “Coconut Creme Breve” is listed on their menu. It’s what I described above but also has syrups in it for flavor. I hate syrups in my food, so I specifically ask for a vegan breve without the syrups. Or I should say, I used to ask for that. Now I just tell them “I’ll have the usual.”

* Note: Those who have known me for a long time, know that I used to really eschew coffee in all forms, so this may seem like an odd statement.  What can I say – life takes weird turns sometimes.

Asian Slaw and Potato Salad

A new vegetarian restaurant opened up today in downtown Asheville. Green Light Cafe, on Lexington near College (across from Tops Shoes) offers a new healthy option for dining out.

Everything on the menu is vegan or can be made vegan, with the exception of one of the dips. There are also several gluten-free options, although they do not have gluten-free bread for the sandwiches and wraps at this point. For the raw fooders, there are several salads and at least one raw dip.

The first thing they brought us was chlorophyll water, which they serve free of charge. It didn’t have a strong flavor but I did feel as though I was getting my meal off to an extra healthy start.

We then ordered the savory pocket appetizer which had a flakey spelt flour and coconut butter crust. It was magical. I will no doubt go back there many more times just to order that.

For entrees, we had sweet potato patties over rice with peanut sauce which was amazing, although a little more like breakfast than I’d expected. More sweet than savory. We also ordered the Jamaican Rice Mixup which was also a little sweeter than expected, but still a very filling, healthy, and tasty meal. The food was so filling actually, that we took half of it home with us.

But that didn’t stop me from ordering the Chunky Monkey cookie (I was won over by my server’s enthusiasm for it). It wasn’t the greatest cookie in the universe, but I did enjoy the blend of chocolate, banana, and walnut. They weren’t stingy with the good stuff.

High quality and generous portions and the whole thing cost us only $25 (before tip, after taxes).

More so than other restaurants, the staff seems so genuinely happy to serve their customers. It made me that much more happy about giving them my business. It’s a little unfortunate that their name is so similar to another healthy restaurant that is just a block away, The Green Sage, but on the other hand, Green Light Cafe has actually been around since 1998 as a catering and “mobile cafe” based out of Black Mountain. It is only their downtown Asheville location that is new.

So overall, I am genuinely excited about this new addition to Asheville. If you’re not a vegetarian or if you’re not into health food, you might be inclined to think “what do we need another healthy veg restaurant for?” But if you are into vegetarian health food, you’re probably just as tired as I am of eating the same things all the time. Green Light Cafe brings a whole new set of options to town. Check them out and give them your support!

[P.S. - like an idiot, I left my camera at home so I didn't get any pictures. I'll take some the next time I'm there. The picture currently on this post is from their website and is not what we ordered.]

Smashed up windows at the Grove Arcade

I remember being angry at how messed up the world is. I even remember thinking people who engaged in “civil disobedience” that involved stealing from and destroying property of big corporations were heroic.

Even at my angriest, I never would have even considered wrecking the storefronts of small, family-owned businesses in a little mountain city like Asheville. The only chain store in the effected area, which is a Subway restaurant, escaped unscathed.

From the Asheville Citizen-Times:

About 10:45 p.m. Saturday, a group of between 20-30 people wearing dark clothing, some wearing masks and carrying backpacks, threw items, including newspaper boxes, through windows of several businesses along O’Henry Avenue. A front window of the Asheville Citizen-Times was shattered, as were multiple storefronts at the Grove Arcade. An ATM was smashed at the RBC on O’Henry.

Multiple cars parked on Battery Park had their windows smashed.

The violence is likely linked to the observance of May Day, a day for marking worker solidarity that has been seized upon for anti-capitalism displays of violence, especially by self-proclaimed anarchist groups in Europe.

Several in the group yelled unintelligably as they vandalized. The group walked south on O’Henry Avenue and turned left on Battery Park Avenue. Some walked through the alley beside the Citizen-Times, where several employees of the paper had rushed to ensure the safety of their cars.

Talk about your random acts of senseless bullshit. For goodness sake, one of the vandalized shops, the Grove Arcade Copy Shop, has a big photo of the sweet-looking couple that owns the place right inside one of the smashed windows.

A comment on the article sums it up perfectly:

…this bunch of momma’s girls and boys who decided to get all radical in the most soft, liberal sympathizing, white-bred town they could find. LOL! Way to really show “the man” and take “the struggle” to the epicenter.

The Grove Arcade, where all this took place, is full of nothing but small locally-owned businesses, most of which take pride in supporting local artisans, farmers, and other local businesses. They are already struggling to survive in a down economy.

Since many of these “kids” were in their early- and mid-twenties, I am sure they came up with some amazing justifications for why they ran through downtown Asheville smashing stuff up. Wish I could hear what it was. I hope they all feel really stupid about this some day soon. Preferably from the inside of a jail cell.

The businesses that were vandalized include the Asheville Citizen-Times, RBC Bank, Grove Arcade, Grove Arcade Copy Shop, and The Eye Center.

Check out Veggie Trader! A new website that allows you to search for fruits and veggies grown by your neighbors in local back yard gardens. Sign up and you can trade your excess garden vegetables with your neighbors. Yet another way of building a strong local community!

It doesn’t seem like there’s much going on for Asheville yet, but I did my part to help change that by signing up for a Veggie Trader account. If my garden ever manages to produce excess I will be sure to list what I’ve got and hopefully trade with a neighbor for some good stuff that I’m lacking.

Sign up! Eat well! Get to know your neighbors!

Greenlife Grocery, more so than other large stores in the Asheville area, seems to be on the cutting edge of food options. While EarthFare only carries a few over-sweetened raw energy bars, raw crackers, and a couple of live food lunch-on-the-go type of items, Greenlife has an ever-expanding collection of raw food meals, snacks, desserts, fresh deli items, and ingredients.

For a long time, Greenlife has offered a full section of snacks about 7 shelves high. And they have featured some live food deli items for quite some time. In recent visits, I have discovered a new line of raw ice cream and a whole line of raw pies by Earth Cafe Living Foods in the freezer section. Both are out of this world delicious.

They have also expanded their selection of deli items and added a regular selection of to-go meals in the refrigerator. And they continue to add new snacks to their raw snack shelves all the time.

All the raw food isn’t in one place, so you have to become familiar with where everything is. Check the far left end of the deli case and the refrigerated area near the sushi. The refrigerated section in the produce area has some raw kimchee and sauerkraut and there is a mini fridge around the corner with some random items as well. The raw snacks are at the end of the pasta aisle facing the meat counter. And the frozen treats are a few feet away at the end of the freezer section.

Just like most people in Asheville, the employees at Greenlife are very friendly and helpful, so ask them to show you where all the raw food is and they’ll probably give you the full tour.

Greenlife is located at 70 Merrimon Ave.

BoBo Gallery is an art gallery, music venue, and vegetarian cafe all rolled into one. They are one of the few restaurants that seems to value the growing number of people who want vegan and gluten-free – not just one or the other. Their menu is mostly vegan and has extensive gluten-free options.

About half their menu is also raw and living foods, which is a first for Asheville. Other restaurants in town, such as Ophelia’s and Laughing Seed, offer raw specials or a couple of raw salads, but BoBo has a full menu of raw appetizers, entrees, and desserts.

This little gem is rare in the world and Asheville should feel very fortunate to have it. I hope everyone will support BoBo Gallery and enjoy their awesome food and friendly, welcoming environment.

BoBo Gallery is located in downtown Asheville at 22 Lexington Ave.

Update: I don’t think this restaurant exists anymore, but they do still exist as a small art gallery and bar. The Green Light Cafe has opened up in it’s place though and it’s delicious. Check it out.

It’s time to cast your vote for the 2008 Veggie Awards and this year, Asheville’s Laughing Seed Cafe has been nominated for “Favorite Vegetarian Restaurant”! VegNews Magazine will publish the winners in its 2008 Holiday edition.

I’ve eaten at about half of the restaurants on the list of nominees and I can honestly say that Laughing Seed is the best of the bunch. The only one that makes it competitive is Millenium, in San Francisco. The food at Millenium is absolutely amazing but it costs about 3 times as much to eat there and the food definitely isn’t 3 times as good as Laughing Seed. If you agree that Laughing Seed is the best vegetarian restaurant around, make sure you vote!

While you’re there, I’d like to plug some absolute favorites of mine, also up for awards:

• Pigs Peace Sanctuary – “Favorite Animal Sanctuary”
• Sidecar for Pigs Peace – “Favorite Vegan Storefront”
• Flying Apron Bakery – “Favorite Bakery”

Sidecar is a volunteer-run store and all its profits are used to support Pigs Peace Sanctuary. They need the publicity and deserve all the support you can give them. Their prices also tend to be lower than the nearby Whole Foods and PCC natural foods stores.