The Rarebit, Downtown Charleston

The Rarebit

The Rarebit on King Street is a sweet little fancy restaurant.

They have an amazing menu including. BREAKFAST all day!!!

I know a lot of people LOVE breakfast at all hours, so check out Rarebit.

Also on the menu is a VEGAN BURGER!!!!

This is a tasty little patty served on a bed of lettuce, tomatoes and sprouts.  It does come with a honey vinaigrette sauce.  It is a little bit however if you don't do honey, make sure you ask for no dressing.

This burger does not have a bun.  But it is very yummy, light and healthy.

Throw in a bowl of tomato soup and  you have a wholesome meal!

Enjoy The Rarebit.  Fancy downtown dining at an affordable price!

The Rarebit
474 King Street
Charleston

Taco Mamacita by Mia Chaveco

Guest Blog By: Mia Chaveco

Mia is a fellow Jivamukti Yogi and vegan.  She went vegan 2 1/2 years after reading the book Skinny Bitch. 

She actually quit cold turkey after discovering the truth of the meat and dairy industries!

She is married and has an 8 year old daughter, Autumn.  She grew up in New Jersey and lived there her whole life.  They have been in Mt. Pleasant for the past 5 years.  Mia is a RN.

Mia and her husband


Taco Mamacita by:  Mia Chaveco


After yoga class Thursday night, 13 of us met at Taco Mamacita (on beautiful Sullivan's Island) to try out their famous Vegan menu. It was a full house, and since we had a large group, we did have to wait for about 1 hr. But it was worth the wait.

This restaurant supplies a totally seperate menu for Vegans. This was definatly refreshing, since usually Vegans have to ask the kitchen to make modifications on existing dishes. The Vegan Menu featured 10 main dishes, and 4 side dishes.

Everything looked so delicious! At our table we ordered some appitizers: the "Salsa Sampler" features corn tortilla chips with mango jalepeno salsa( my favorite), Salsa verde, and roasted tomato salsa, and we also asked for the "Fresh Guacamole Now" with corn chips. Both were very tasty and fresh. The guac was as good as homemade, just the right flavor. 

After enjoying those, we had some choices to make. We enlisted the help of Ali (our server). She was so excited to serve us, and said that we were the first table of Vegans she had served since they opened, and it was nice because she is a Vegetarian. She suggested the Vegan Tortilla Soup. It was my favorite dish   of the night. A white bowl came out with fresh tomato, avocado, lime and cliantro in it. Next to it was a metal pitcher with the most delicious house made roasted tomato veggie based broth in it. Ali brought it out to our table, and poured the broth over the fresh ingredients. The presentation made my mouth water. On top she sprinkled corn tortilla strips. When I tasted the soup, I was in heaven. The flavors went so well together,especially the tangyness of the lime in the broth. I would come to this restaurant for this soup alone, I enjoyed it so much.

Next we ordered 3 Tacos and The Enchiladas. My daughter loved the "Freakin Vegan Taco". This delicious taco had cilantro spinich rice, petite red beans, crispy lettuce, pico de gallo, fresh escabeche ( a sort of slaw) , and guacamole in a flour tortilla. My husband and I also shared one and I thought it was delish too.  Next was the "Avocado Taco". This had fresh avocado, lettuce, pico de gallo, salsa verde and fresh escabeche wrapped in a flour tortilla.  This was tasty as well, but I mostly tasted the avocado, and not much of the other ingredients. My favorite taco was the "Vegan Jerk Taco". It has shreaded cabbage, mango salsa(so tasty), sauteed plantains tossed in homemade jerk sauce and petite red beans, wrapped in a flour tortilla. The jerk was very savory and flavorful, and I enjoyed the different textures, and tastes of the plaintains,salsa, cabbage and beans. It was like a smorgasborg of flavor. My absolute favorite besides the soup! The Enchiladas come 2 to a plate with a side dish of your choosing. This is the largest entree, since the tacos come ala carte style. The "Vegan Enchiladas" were corn tortillas filled with cilantro spinich rice, sweet roasted yellow corn, diced tomato, black beans, cilantro, and topped with homemade salsa verde. They were savory, but I couldn't help thinking that they would be even better with some Daiya Cheese melted on top. (I'll get back to that in a minute). These enchiladas tasted similar to the "Freakin Vegan Taco", I wouldn't order both the next time I go, since they had almost the same sort of flavors.  The sides that were available with the Enchiladas were : Cilantro-Spinich Rice, Sweet Potato Fries, or Black Bean and Corn Salad (made with white balsamic vinagrette dressing) We tried all three and they were all yummy. You can also order them ala carte.

The manager came out to speak to our table after we mentioned Daiya cheese to our server Ali. He said at the moment they don't have any vegan cheese option, but he asked us many questions about the cheese. All of us at the table liked Daiya the best so we explained how well it melts and how delicious it would be smothering the Vegan Enchiladas. He said that there could be a possibility in the future that they could order the Daiya cheese if there was enough of a market for it. (So get in there and ask them to get the cheese!!!) He also told us he would have no problem using it in a dish if we wanted to bring it with us. We could send it back to the kitchen and they would add it to whatever dish we wanted it on. This made me happy! They were very willing to please the Vegans!!

I am already planning a trip back to bring all my friends and family there. I am happy to patronize a restaurant that recognizes Vegan's needs! ENJOY!!

Thanks Mary for letting me describe my food experience in your blog!!!

Patat Spot by Sarah Swingle

                                                             Guest Post By: Sarah Swingle

Sarah and her hubby

Sarah is a compassionate vegan.  She has been vegetarian for 4 years and vegan for 2 years (and many more...). She is married to an awesome vegan husband, Hanes, and they have four rescued fur babies (one dog and three cats). They love being vegan in Charleston!

Sarah is a member of the local group, Charleston Veggie and Vegans.  Please visit their FB page here for great events and gatherings and also visit here for more information on Charleston's SECOND ANNUAL Walk for Animals!!  

PATAT SPOT by: Sarah Swingle

If you haven't been to Patat Spot Friet & Falafel yet, you're in for a delicious, vegan experience. Located on George Street less than a block away from C of C's Cistern, the establishment calls itself "a quick service vegetarian European style snack bar," but I call it falafel heaven, and soon you will too. Walking in, you're greeted with brightly colored walls, shiny diner-style tables, smiling staff, and the irresistible smell of made-to-order, hand-cut friet (or fries, as they're called in the US of A).

The menu, as evidenced by their name, is made up mainly of falafel and fries.A falafel, for those who aren't familiar with it, is a Mediterranean spiced chickpea cake. Patat Spot's falafel can be prepared fried or grilled and is actually gluten free, which is awesome for those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. They even have gluten free (and regular) pita bread to make a great falafel sandwich. Not feeling sandwich-y?

Falafel Pita

Not a problem; you can order a salad that comes with two falafel patties. Either way, you have your pick of more than 21 toppings at the toppings bar, which features local ingredients and is easy-to-navigate because each topping is labeled very clearly with a sticker that shows if it is vegan and/or gluten free. This makes deciding what you want easy: pile your plate up with all the vegan options! Some toppings are expected (like baba ganoush), some are unexpected (like pickled turnips from The Pickle Lady at the Farmer's Market), but all are scrumptious. I especially recommend the tomato/avocado topping and tabouli.

Falafel Salad

You can make your falafel sandwich or salad into a Patat Spot Combo, which adds friet and a drink. The friet are delectable, and they come with your choice of sauce. The only two sauces that are vegan are the curry ketchup and the mango chutney. I LOVE the curry ketchup and highly recommend it. If you want to get even fancier, upgrade your friet to a specialty topping. There you have your choice of delightful vegan options: The "Gribiche" tops your friet with olive oil, capers, pickles, shallots and parsley; the "Latino" adds a bite with lime juice and vinegar hot sauce; and the "Gremolata" complements the fries with minced parsley, lemon zest and garlic. Delish. And if you're only looking for a quick snack during a day of shopping on King St., they serve fresh pita chips with dips too!





All in all, Patat Spot hits the vegan spot. Go there. You'll love it.

Guest Post by Susan McKellar

Susan is a sweet, caring, fun, silly, creative, talented, compassionate vegan yogi!  Oh and did I mention an extradrodinary VEGAN BAKER!  This woman can make any yummy treat vegan for everyone to enjoy!  So she definately knows some good vegan food when she tastes it!  This blog is about her visit to 17 North in Mount Pleasant.  They host VEGAN NIGHTS with all vegan menus.  Check out their website here and read Susan's post for the details of this lovely dinner!

17 North Roadside Kitchen

By: Susan McKellar

Nobody puts us vegans in the corner!

When I first became vegan going out to eat in Charleston usually meant a salad and french fries.  Despite the lack of dining out variety, I knew being vegan was the only choice for me and hoped for a brighter day in Charleston’s restaurant scene.  A lot has changed since then- thank goodness!  These days vegan cuisine can be found at almost every restaurant, and most kitchens lacking items on their menu are happy to accommodate you with advance notice. Now vegan dining has reached a new height in Charleston with a monthly vegan dinner series at 17 North Roadside Kitchen.  

On Sunday March 22, I was fortunate enough to attend the second dinner in this series.  I was immediately intrigued by the radical Chef Brett McKee who decided tackle all vegan dinners after receiving encouragement from several yogi friends.  Chef McKee is incredibly charismatic and truly makes you feel at home on his amazing backyard patio.  He admits he enjoys the challenge of learning to cook vegan, and he also sees this as wonderful opportunity to educate his staff on how to do so.   60 people attended this wonderful celebration of compassion, and Chef McKee hopes to see 100 people at the next event on May 8.  I believe we can make it happen Charleston!  Let’s show our support for this amazing forward-thinking chef.  You certainly don’t have to be vegan to come and enjoy this evening of smiling faces, great food and live music.  Just come and see what vegans are all about.  We already love you no matter what your food choices are and would simply be thrilled to share our way of life with you.  You never know what will happen.  You might learn something new about yourself or maybe you’ll be part of building the foundation for Charleston’s first all vegan restaurant!  Can you imagine it?  I can!

First Course: Vegan Spring Roll served with White Truffle Ponzu Sauce.  These vibrant rolls were light and full of flavor.  Filled with julianne cut yellow squash, zucchini, red onion, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, mung bean sprouts, avocado, red bean soba noodles, mint, cilantro, basil

rolled in a Japanese rice paper.  The sauce was a gluten-free soy sauce with the zests and juices of lemons , limes and oranges, grapefruit juice, sesame oil, truffle oil, pickled ginger and juice with a touch rice wine vinegar.  It had an incredible citrus taste.

Second Course:  Baby Spinach Salad with Fresh Strawberries, Mango, Candied Pecans and Raspberry Vinaigrette.  This was the perfect sweet summer salad.  The slightly sweet taste of fresh baby spinach was perfectly paired with the fresh fruit and candied pecans.  I also enjoyed the color contrast of the deep green leaves and the bright pink raspberry vinaigrette.

Third Course: Wild Mushroom Ratatouille served with a Creamy Basil Pesto & Smoked Tomato Polenta.  This was good but could have had more spice for me.  The polenta overpowered the flavor of the wild mushrooms, pesto and smoked tomato leaving the dish a bit on the bland side for my taste.  Nutritional yeast would have been a nice addition to the polenta.

Fourth Course: Vegan Chocolate Cake prepared by Andrea Boyd, co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga Charleston.  Wow!!!  Purely decadent but not sinful since it’s vegan!  This delicious cake is rich and moist- pure chocolate heaven.  You can taste the love and care in which Andrea makes it.

A special thank you to Chef Brett McKee for being willing to try something new.  I humbly offer my gratitude to you. Om Shantih- Susan



Megan, Chef Brett McKee and Susan



Happy Vegans!



Mellow Mushroom

Mega Veggie with Daiya Cheese AND my recycled napkin!

Mellow Mushroom has VEGAN CHEESE!  End of story..done...go there!  :)

Mellow Mushroom has very yummy pizza.  They have the best crust and a huge variety of toppings.  To "top" it off, he he, they have Daiya Vegan Cheese as an option at no extra charge!

Daiya cheese is tapioca based and completely made out of plant based ingredients.  It melts and taste just like mozzarella and can be found in any health food store...and at your local Mellow Mushroom!

http://www.daiyafoods.com/

Try any veggie topped pizza with some yummy vegan cheese! 

Check out Mellow Mushroom of Charleston



Guest Post by Jennifer Knowles!

The beautiful yogi, Jen Knowles has written a blog about her most recent meal at the restaurant BLU.  Jen and her husband, Mark are joyful vegans and know all the great spots to eat in Charleston!  Jen is a  massage therapist in the area and Mark is a Jivamukti Yoga teacher.  They are one talented couple!  Enjoy her blog about their amazing vegan dinner!

BLU  By: Jennifer Knowles



Blu is a beachfront restaurant located within the newly remodeled Holiday Inn on Folly Beach.  You'll have a great meal no matter what time of year you go, but the outside Tiki bar is definitely worth checking out in the warmer months.  The menu has almost nothing vegan, but when you call ahead Chef Jon Cropf will amaze you with what he can come up with.  And word to the wise, they get their veggie shipment on Fridays and almost everything you eat on that day is from Kennerdy Farm, local and delicious! 

Salad

We started with an heirloom tomato soup with micro basil.  The salad entree was baby beets (red and golden), arugula, macadamia nuts, truffled baby peaches, with an olive oil and sea salt dressing.  Between salad and main entree they gave us a "snack" of pickled baby peach drizzled with a fig vincotto on grilled baguette. 



"Snack"





Entree



The entree was cracked barley with N.C. apples, fennel, peanuts with a cider foam finish.  We ALSO were treated with a dessert of peanut butter and oat cookies and fresh berries.  Every dish is a piece of art and incredibly delish.  Another great thing about this meal is the price.  For this entire dinner, a starter, 3 courses and dessert, we paid only $30.00 a person.

 
Go see Chef Jon at Blu anytime of the year for a spectacular meal and Thank You Mary for letting me share and keeping Charleston eating healthy!!

Below is Jennifer Knowles Contact information for much needed massage therapy!

Jennifer Knowles
Licensed Massage Therapist
Certified Thai Massage Therapist
JKnowles.massage@gmail.com
http://www.jenspa.net/
843.345.7370

Please also check out her husband Mark's website for yummy vegan recipes, restaurants, yoga classes, cooking classes and more.  Click on Bahama Yogi

Red Orchid's China Bistro

Red Orchid is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Charleston.  The menu reminds me of P.F. Changs and I LOVE PF Changs!   They have great vegetarian and vegan options.  Tofu is on the menu along with a lot of vegetables.  The food is great and the prices are great as well.  

Red Orchids is located in West Ashley on Sam Rittenburg Blvd.  Click here for the menu.

For starters, try the vegetarian lettuce wraps.  They are tofu and vegetables stir fried in peanut sauce and spicy sauce.  Then you spoon a bunch into a lettuce leaf and gobble it up.  They are so very good.  I can eat the mixture without the lettuce!

Here is a picture of my General TOFU!  It is cooked perfectly and taste great.  If you eat meat, you would never know it's not chicken.  I also got a spring roll.  I am not sure that their spring rolls are vegan.  (the wrapper may have egg in it?!)  Check with your server or pass on the sides. 

Five Loaves Cafe

Five Loaves is a place that I have eaten at many times and realized I needed to blog about it so that you can all know what a great restaurant it is. 

Five Loaves Cafe is located downtown on Cannon Street as well as in Mount Pleasant on Johnnie Dodds.

http://www.fiveloavescafe.com/

They are locally owned and operated and actually a sister company to Sesame Burger.  Click here to see that blog post.  Five Loaves makes their foods fresh and have a wide variety of veggie items and many that can be made vegan. 

I have had the Spicy Garden burger (sans melted cheddar and the yogurt sauce).  It comes cucumbers, lettuce, tomato and onions.  It is super!

I have also had the Fresh Vegetable Stir Fry with diced tofu, spicy hoisin sauce or thai peanut sauce, cilantro & a touch of coconut.  mmmmmmm good!

There are many more items off the menu that can be made vegan by substituting a few items. Click here for their menu to plan your next visit.  They also have daily specials and daily soups!  As always, you can tell your server that you are vegan and they will customize your dish!  You can't go wrong with Five Loaves! 

Dell'z Deli

Wall of signatures

Today was the 7th annual Louie's Kids Yoga Marathon!  We did 108 sun salutations in the Marion Square park downtown Charleston!  It was a lot of fun for a good cause.  All that yoga will build up quite an appetite!  So all the yogis headed to Dell'z Deli!  Dell is an amazing chef that has a cafe on the corner of King Street and Cannon Street!  It is crazy affordable and amazingly good! 

Dell and her crew are very friendly and personable.  They use the freshest ingredients and most dishes are vegan friendly.  It is great to eat a restaurant where there are so many choices, you don't know what to get! The only good option is to visit often and order as much as you can! :) 

I was told by a friend to try the SNOBBY JOES!  It is a wrap with vegan crumbles in sloppy joe mix with avocado, vegan cream cheese, sprouts, cucumber and more!  It was very good! (and very good for you) It came with tortilla chips and a strawberry!  

Others ordered a veggie pizza and vegan BLT with seitan "bacon".  Here is the pizza! (with vegan cream cheese on the side)

Great Food, Great Company, Great Times!!  Go see Dell! 


Me and Dell!



The Flying Biscuit

Vegan on the Road....

I was in Charlotte, NC and I ate at my all time favorite CHAIN restaurant, The Flying Biscuit. 

http://www.flyingbiscuit.com/

I love this restaurant because:

They have a lot of VEGAN options right on the menu and

They have organic ingredients

I have had many of the items.  They have tofu scrambles, black bean burgers, tofu BBQ wraps and more.  You can pretty much substitute tofu for eggs in any of the dishes.  They have sides of morning star soy items. 

I typically do not eat the "mock meats" but I was curious about the soy sausage.  In case you ever get a hankering for a sausage biscuit, definitely try their Morning star soysage. 

For breakfast, I had their Mexican wrap!  It is tofu (substituted at no extra charge for eggs), Peppers, onions, tomatoes in a wrap with a yummy tomato salsa on top.  I got it with a side of potatoes!  It is pretty spicy, but a perfect combination of flavors. 

GO TO THE FLYING BISCUIT!  So far, I have eaten at the ones in Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC.  We need one in Charleston for sure!

Long Point Grill

The Long Point Grill in Mt. Pleasant is a part of a local chain of restaurants. The others in the chain include; Mustard Seed, Uno Mas and Boulevard Diner.  They are all yummy and have an abundance of Vegetarian and Vegan options! 

Check them out at Dine with Sal

Every night at Long Point Grill, they offer different specials on a hand written board.  This is where you will usually find great options that can be altered to your preference.  I actually did not find anything on the menu that was vegan friendly.  I altered a great dish however and this is what I got!

This was a linguine with shrimp and Parmesan cheese.  I asked for the linguine without the shrimp and add extra veggies! 

The pasta had a lemon, garlic sauce topped with spinach, roasted tomatoes, asparagus and onions.  It was pretty and yummy!

Definitely give them a try as their menu changes often and they can adapt any dish to your liking!