ROTI ROLLS

Roti Rolls is an international food truck!  They came by our office park today and fed us some amazing food!  Find them on facebook here  and Twitter here.

They are a local company that uses only the freshest and local foods they can get their hands on.  They have a different menu all the time depending on what they have available.  A "roti roll" is an Indian or Pakistani flat bread made from stoneground flour. This is the base of Roti Rolls dishes!

Today they had two options on the menu; one meat option and one veggie option. 

The veggie option was called the funky farmer and it was very yummy.  You must love spices to eat at Roti Rolls because it was HOTTTT! 

The Funky Farmer had - Beer braised Collards, Curried Turnip & Potato and Pickled J Fields Veggies!

Be on the lookout for Roti Rolls to come to your neighborhood.  Make sure you follow them on Facebook or Twitter.  It is always great to have vegan food delivered to your place of business!! 

To be extra eco friendly, bring your own plate and reusable napkin so that your meal is waste free!! 

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

Taco Spot

Dear Charlestonians,

If you are looking for the best vegetarian tacos and burritos, I have found the place...

TACO SPOT in West Ashley on Ashley River Road!

Taco Spot is a cool little restaurant tucked away in the Carriage Lane Shops.  When you walk in, you are greeted by friendly staff and a huge menu!  There are many options on the menu that are vegetarian and vegan!  Not only is the food great, they are very Eco friendly.  Each dish is served on a reusable plate, they use real silverware AND they recycle!

I ordered the VEG BURRITO (sans cheese).  It came with black beans, Spanish rice, lettuce and the kicker...tomato-cucumber pico!!  The last ingredient is what made the burrito.  It tasted fresh with just the right amount of spice!  They have many sauces to choose from on the bar.  I used the banana curry sauce which was amazing with the burrito.

Sauces

Me enjoying my burrito!

Next time I go, I am told to try the Spicy Ginger Wrap!  This includes warm green tomato chow-chow, Spanish rice, green peas, pico and lettuce.  This is tossed in a spicy ginger cucumber dressing..And guess what...?  The chef said the dressing is vegan!  Yuuummm!

Definitely check out Taco Spot for a yummy, fresh, healthy and affordable breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack! 

Moe's

"WELCOME TO MOE'S"- VEGAN STYLE!

Moe's is a fast, fresh and veg friendly place to eat.  Since you can make your own dish, you can customize to meet your needs.

I order the Art Vandalay which is a vegetarian dish.  Then I build it myself. 

First I start with a whole wheat tortilla.  Then I add rice, black beans and peppers and onions.  Next I slop on the guacamole and salsa and call it a wrap!  :)

It is filling, satisfying and tasty without the meat, cheese and sour cream! 

The VEGAN ART VANADALY contains 600 calories and 13 grams of fat. It also brings 18 grams of protein and 29 grams of fiber!!

Compare that to a "Homewrecker" with meat, cheese, queso, sour cream, guacamole and salsa:  1051 calories and 49 grams of fat.  46 grams of protein and only 20 grams of fiber.

For less calories, order the compassionate choice with no meat or animal products!

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. 

Fast and French

Gaulart & Maliclet French Cafe  AKA: Fast and French

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Charleston.  They are a perfect lunch spot because the food is wonderful, the people are great and the prices are so affordable. 

This is a quaint little place located on Broad Street in downtown Charleston.  It is a small restaurant that is always hopping! 

Fast and French has vegetarian options on the menu as well as the specials.  They have lots of veggie sandwiches and vegetarian soups and gazpachos.  Their vegetarian sandwiches do tend to come with cheeses melted over them.  Vegan options are available just by telling your server that you are vegan.  My server's girlfriend was vegan, so he had lots of suggestions!!!

I order the cold vegetable sandwich.  It came with mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce.  It also came with a creamy dijon sauce that I substituted oil and vinegar for (thanks to my server) and it was very good! I have never been disappointed when I eat here.  The options seem to be endless.  Usually they have a lot of soup options too.



While eating there, I met a man who has been vegetarian for 30 years and has eaten at Fast and French for 15 years!  He has never been disappointed either.  It was neat to hear how he has benefited from eating vegetarian for that long.  He also spoke of how much more difficult it was to eat this way 30 years ago.  We should all be thankful for all the choices we have these days.  I can't wait to say that I have been vegan for 30 years! 

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!