Connect with me!
Vegetable Way
  • Blog
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Restaurant Reviews

Oleana, Cambridge MA

5/31/2015

0 Comments

 
Oleana, Cambridge
Jay and I went to Oleana for my birthday dinner way back in February and had a great time. They have a special menu for vegetarians and the waiter was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and could explain in detail what was vegan or could be made vegan. Unfortunately the Spinach Falafel wasn't included in this list, but as you'll see there were a lot of other great options! The food was so good, you can see from the photo above that I forgot to take a picture before we started eating! Also, it was pretty dark in there and I just had my phone, so I apologize for the poor quality of the photos.
Oleana, Cambridge
The menu is tapas style, so we ordered a bunch of small plates - all vegan.
The photo above shows clockwise from the top left: fried cauliflower, a chickpea terrine, my plate of food and grilled red pepper pita.
I wish I had taken a picture of the chickpea terrine earlier, but it was so good we ate it so quickly. It was layered with pureed chickpeas, sliced radishes, and greens.  I loved the combo of the smooth puree with the crunchy radishes. I paired it wish the red pepper pita and bread basket they provided. I'm not sure how they expected you to eat it since it didn't come with any bread or pita itself, but it went really well with the pita.
On the left you can see an up close shot of the pita with the cauliflower in the background and below an up close shot of the flat bread with the chickpea terrine on top.
The pita was tasty, but not what I was expecting. I thought it would be warm, since it was grilled, and have bigger pieces of red pepper. It was still really tasty though and I used it a lot to eat the rest of the items.
Oleana, Cambridge
The fried cauliflower (below) was the real winner. Jay was a little skeptical when I ordered it since he has yet to like a cauliflower dish that I've ever made, but this was a real game changer for him! His hang up has always been the texture of the cauliflower, but this melted in your mouth! It was seriously some of the best cauliflower I've ever had and Jay said it was the best thing he ate that night. Coming from someone who has never like cauliflower before that is high praise!
Oleana, Cambridge
Oleana, Cambridge

The spicy fideos, pictured on the left, were really good. I wanted them to be a bit more spicy, more flavorful, but they were all around solid. Not as good as the cauliflower or chickpeas, but still a great dish. To be fair I probably had extremely high expectations for them, since I always love a good noodle dish.

The flattened potatoes, pictured below, unfortunately were underwhelming. You can see how dark they are in the picture. I don't know if this was on purpose or not, but they were very burnt and the taste was overwhelming, in a bad way. The potatoes were nice and soft inside, but since they were flattened potatoes there wasn't much of an inside. I liked the oregano flavor, but the burnt edges were too overpowering. Jay was disappointed as they were the last item brought out and he had been looking forward to them. Luckily he was able to enjoy the cauliflower instead.
Oleana, Cambridge
For dessert we had blood orange sorbet and it was soooo good! It had an extremely intense orange flavor that was great and a phenomenal texture. It was very smooth and creamy, not at all overly icy. Overall it was a great meal. The potatoes were a disappointment, but the rest of the meal was great, as was the whole experience. It's a cute little place with a cozy atmosphere and great service. I was just checking the menu out again, and it looks like there are some seasonal updates - I would definitely go back and try some more items!
Oleana, Cambridge
0 Comments

O2 Vegan Cafe, Cambridge MA

2/26/2015

0 Comments

 
The other week I had a friend in town visiting MIT, so after a Saturday morning gym class we went to O2 Vegan Cafe in Cambridge for a brunch we could feel good about. Of course, since we were at an all vegan restaurant I went a little overboard... I got a side order of the nachos to start. I must be on a nachos kick recently. After not having them for a long time this was my third time in about 6 weeks. Their homemade cheese sauce was featured a couple times on the menu, so I wanted to give it a try. I loved that the nachos came in a small version so I could have a taste of them and not feel like it was too much food! They were a nice simple little treat with some homemade cheese sauce, a little pico de gallo and a sprinkle of black beans. The cheese sauce seemed like it was maybe a cashew sauce with some nutritional yeast. I really like the texture of it, it was smooth and creamy, but not too thick.
O2 Vegan Cafe, Cambridge MA
My friend went for the breakfast burrito, which also featured the homemade cheese sauce. It was also packed with tofu scramble, quinoa, and black beans, which made it a great post-workout protein re-fuel.  I loved how everything inside the burrito was soft, warm, and gooey, but its surrounded by a well pressed and crispy tortilla. They really offset each other well. Plus the warm burrito was paired with a fresh dollop of cool pico de gallo.
O2 Vegan Cafe, Cambridge MA
O2 Vegan Cafe, Cambridge MA
I went for the classic tofu breakfast sandwich. I loved the thin, crispy, slice of grilled tofu. It did a great job of giving me the crunchy, crispy, greasy, feeling of a fried egg sandwich without the stomach full of regret I'm used to following. Once again, the vegan cheese made an appearance, as well as one of my favorite - slices of warm tomatoes. I am so excited that we are starting to make into springtime months and I'm getting closer to being able to put real, fresh, local tomatoes on my sandwiches again. In the meantime I'll have to deal with thin little slices on my sandwiches from time to time cause that's all you eek out of tomatoes this time of year without them being gross and mealy. Because the sandwich as cheese sauce instead of just a slice of vegan cheese, it kind of gave you the same sensation and texture that the yoke from a fried egg sandwich would have. Overall, it was delicious. Something I'm definitely going to try to replicate at home.
My sandwich also came with a side of pico de gallo - which I really like as an idea of a standard side instead of french fries or potato salad (i.e. something I really don't want to be eating anyway). 
One thing that I love since going vegan is being able to have an awesomely satisfying brunch - in both flavor and substance - and yet still feel good about myself, that I ate something healthy and fresh and I don't feel so full I need to take a nap. After my brunch at O2 Vegan Cafe I felt nourished and energized and ready to take on the day!
0 Comments

Dinner at Veggie Galaxy in Cambridge

11/3/2014

0 Comments

 
One of my old roommates and good friends from college was in town last night to attend an event at MIT today. Since she was staying in Cambridge we met up out there. Veggie Galaxy has been on my list of places to go for a while and she was in the mood for something healthy so it worked out well! Veggie Galaxy is a vegan/vegetarian diner and bakery in Cambridge. The menu is mostly vegan but they do have some cheeses and egg with breakfast (the egg can be substituted with tofu).
When I saw the BBQ sandwich made with jack fruit I couldn't pass it up. If you're one of the many people that's asked me what I miss most since adopting my vegan diet there's a strong chance I told you pulled pork because it's so hard to replicate. I've seen recipes uses it and have always wanted to try it, but had a hard time finding jack fruit and was hesitant to go on too much of a chase for something I didn't know I would like. The waitress's excitement at my order was a great sign!
Picture
Look at how awesomely messy that BBQ sandwich looks! It did not disappoint! The sandwich had a great flavor and texture. The pickles on top added a nice crunch. The sandwich came with a green salad with a light dressing and a side of your choice. I went with the potato salad on the waitress's recommendation. It was good but didn't have a whole ton of flavor, although I'm not a huge potato salad fan in the first place.
My friend got the Homage salad and the soup of the day, which was a creamy potato soup.
Picture
Those are tofu croutons on the salad - how interesting!
Picture
Those crispy pieces that look like bacon are actually crisped up pieces of potato!
We were too full to eat dessert - but the menu looked awesome. In addition to their pastries they had coconut based ice cream and vegan frappes! I'll have to come back with Jay - I think he'll enjoy the comfort-food centric menu!
0 Comments

    Author

    This blog is about my adventures adhering to a plant-based diet in a meat-based world and incorporating vegan practices into more parts of my life. As many of my friends and family aren't vegan, and the best part of cooking is sharing your food with others, I try to make recipes that can be enjoyed by vegans and meat-eaters alike. 

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Acorn Squash
    Appetizers
    Apples
    Asian Inspired
    Avocado
    Banana
    Basil
    Beans
    Beets
    Bell Pepper
    Beyond Meat
    Blueberry
    Boston
    Breakfast
    Broccoli
    Brussel Sprouts
    Butternut Squash
    Cambridge
    Carrots
    Cashews
    Cauliflower
    Cheese Sauce
    Cooking Greens
    Corn
    Cranberry
    Delicata Squash
    Dessert
    Edamame
    Eggplant
    Gluten Free
    Grains
    Green Beans
    Ice Cream
    JayApproved
    Kale
    Leeks
    Macaroni
    Mushrooms
    Noodles
    Nut Free
    Onion
    Orange
    Pasta
    Peanut Butter
    Peanuts
    Pear
    Peas
    Pesto
    Pie
    Pittsburgh
    Pizza
    Potato
    Quinoa
    Restaurants
    Rice
    Sandwich
    Seitan
    Sides
    Slow Cooker
    Something GUD
    Sour Cream
    Soy Free
    Spaghetti Squash
    Spinach
    Stew
    Summer Squash
    Sun Dried Tomaotes
    Sweet Potato
    Tacos
    Tahini
    Tempeh
    Thanksgiving
    Tofu
    Tomato
    Veggie Burger
    Zucchini

    Archives

    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.