After a week of saving money on home-cooked meals a la plan, I opted to splurge for the weekend. Lazy me.
I was working though, so it was my treat.
I snacked on chex and chocolate crunchfuls. The crunchfuls are made with pea protein. I got them in a sample pack a long time ago. I reviewed the plain ones here. The chocolate ones are better but still have a definite pea flavor going on. I could get used to it (and didn’t really mind it that much), but if you’re looking for a cereal that’s got high protein that’s disguised in the flavor, this is not that.
For breakfast I had the extra pancakes from this batch.
These were banana pancakes (I finally branched out from the raspberry studded ones). And I’m happy to say these were enticing enough to keep me from venturing downstairs to buy the cafeteria french toast.
[Full disclosure: I got a pre-op lung transplant patient on Saturday morning which meant everything was go-go-go until the patient went to the OR, so I really didn’t have a spare second to hit up the caf]
Such a day. Moving on. Dinner.
Takeout from The Veggie Grill. Hooray! I used LAbite.com (it’s the only company that works with VG) and it was pretty cool to track my order through each and every step. I saw them receive it & process it. It told me when the driver arrived at the restaurant & left the restaurant. And then it showed me the driver’s route on a map…right to my doorstep.
VG has new items on the menu, so as much as I wanted my standard order, I branched out and got something new. I decided to try one of their home-style plates, which are combo platters of comfort food.
This is the “Crispy Chickin’ Plate” which comes with fried chickin’, cauliflower-mashed potatoes, porcini mushroom gravy with fresh rosemary, and steamin’ kale.
I transferred it to a plate, poured on the gravy and the dressing and went to town.
Good gravy, I was in love. The potatoes were awesome and the mushroom gravy was wonderful. I added more after taste testing it (since my previous gravy experience from RFD wasn’t as pleasant).
The fried chickin’ was exactly what it looks like. Breaded outside, fake meat inside…total vegan comfort food. But that’s what I was in the mood for. I don’t crave these things very often, but it’s nice to have a healthy(ish) meatless option for such instances. This would be a great dish for someone new to veganism, too, because it’s a great transition option. Vegan food can be fun too!
In my head, the steamin’ kale salad balanced out the greasy nature of the meal. It had a ginger-miso dressing with roasted sesame seeds and basically tasted just like a seaweed salad.
On the side I got mac ‘n cheese (as did Kyle), which I saved for later because I was too full from my combo plate at the time.
It’s impossible not to get the mac ‘n cheese at VG, but to be honest, the quality of the dish has kinda fallen in the past year.
The sauce wasn’t uniformly mixed throughout the noodles, so some were totally dry and then randomly I’d get a big saucy section. I had to add my extra mushroom gravy to it because some of the sauce-less parts were really bland. I’m not gonna lie, this disappointed me and I’m hoping they straighten the problem out soon because I don’t want to stop ordering this dish, but I will if I get another batch like this.
We also split an order of the Sweetheart Fries. Usually I adore sweet potato fries, but these were so-so. They were a little soggy and needed salt. I had some, but Kyle had most of them. I didn’t really like the chipotle ranch they came with either.
For Kyle’s dinner he got the Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ burger.
I love Veggie Grill. It’s definitely one of my favorite quick eateries for vegans.
For work the next day, I had Yogi Granola Crisps on the way to the hospital (blueberry flax for the win).
Cereal for breakfast. And the All Hail Kale salad for lunch.
As per usual, I added blackened tempeh.
It was so nice having this to look forward to for the whole start of the shift. I freakin’ adore this salad.
After work I came home to make the easiest thing I could manage.
Toast, avocado, WF tempeh salad, lettuce, tomato.
Course two was a hummus + avocado + tomato spread that I heaped into lettuce cups. I used roasted red pepper hummus for this and added a dash of salt, and boy was it delish. With some carrots on the side, it was the perfect way to close out the day.
Weekend done and done.
My stomach just growled when I looked at the Chickin’ Platter. OMG I want that right now, for breakfast!
YUM! The chickin’, kale and potatoes all look awesome! So does the tempeh stew in the previous post!
oh my gosh what delicious eats! i wish we had a veggie grill…sigh. 🙂 I’m craving pancakes for lunch now! haha
when i had lunch with kevin (one of the veggie grill founders) i told him to add some cranberry sauce to that chicken dish so it’d taste like thanksgiving! he texted his chef, so fingers crossed!
that kale salad looks delicious! As do the sweet potato fries, too bad they weren’t good!
your pancakes look perfect! no one needs cafeteria food with those!
That steamin kale salad is sooo good! I had it on tuesday when I was in Portland for the day and needed veggies asap after camping for 3 weeks. The other items from the Veggie Grill look good too, though!
You have the best places to eat out at there. Amazing.
Vegan food can totally be fun too, agreed.
The kale with the dressing looks outstanding, as does everything else!
it was stellar.
ps can i please volunteer to be a recipe tester?!?!
thanks jill!
they are growing quite a bit…so maybe NYC is next??
i remember that! i bet theyll do it for november. it sounds awesome.
next time im gonna have to tell TK to see whats up with the mac n cheese because this one was a miss.
ah but if you only saw the cafeteria’s french toast. i know there’s a stigma about both hospital food and cafeteria food, but this is LA and the brunch menu is no joke. my work weekends need some kinda of special thing 🙂 pancakes, waffles, or french toast…anything different will do!
Do you mean it?! If so, can you fill out this form? I need it for my records! http://jlgoesvegan.com/all-is-revealed-part-2-new-book-recipe-testers-needed/ Thank you, doll!
Oh how i love the veggie grill! I think it was you who mentioned one opening right outside of Portland,OR and now its a common go to. The all hale kale salad is hands down my favorite thing on the menu; it’s hard to ever order anything else! I can’t eat their mac & cheese because I’ve been spoiled by tasting the best vegan version ever! If you find yourself in Portland visit Papa G’s and get the mac. Don’t be too mad when you won’t eat any other kind again. ;D
What?! VG delivers?? This is dangerous information…
I almost alwaaaays order the All Hail Kale with blackened tempeh (and no walnuts). It’s just too delicious! I can’t get enough. I’m happy to hear that you were happy with the Crispy Chick’n Plate though. Maybe I’ll branch out next time…
And when it comes to their Sweet-Heart Fries, I’ve found that they’re MUCH better when eaten there. They’re crispy and more flavorful. Anytime I’ve ordered them to-go they’ve gotten soggy right away.
Oh well…VG still has me coming back for more (:
can we talk about the fact that you ate five pancakes for breakfast? also, the fact that you are the ONLY person besides me that can pack away carbs like you’re preparing for the apocalypse. obviously, we were separated at birth. xoxo
lovee yogi granola crips!! I’ve never tried the blueberry flavor, but the strawberry is amazing!!
you act as if 5 is some great feat. ive tackled 10 no problem….5 is amateur. hahaha.
i know…im going again this friday too…this time in person so maybe ill give the fries another shot.
i live and die by good vegan cheese, so papa g’s in p-town will be hit up the second i make my way up to OR next!!!
i liked strawberry but i think blueberry is even better!
Ahk! Yes! Please send them to nyc!!! I’ll sign the petition! I am so horribly jealous every time i read your posts about them…