#73: Eat at Native Foods

Well, hello there. Long time no see... I don't think I've posted on here in about 3 months, but it feels good to be back.

This weekend was a busy list weekend for T and me, in addition to visiting the Long Beach Farmer's Market we managed to cross an additional item off of our list... Eating at Native Foods in Costa Mesa.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, Native Foods is an all vegan restaurant that first opened back in 1994. They have a lot of fusion dishes combining flavors from different regional cuisines as well as the veganization of some old favorites. Theresa has been in love with the place for a long while now, and has been dying to take me there.

Theresa had the Oklahoma Bacon Burger (which she is apparently unable to resist whenever she goes there), featuring seitan, BBQ sauce, tofu bacon an assortment of veggies and fried pickles. I opted for the Scorpion Burger: a blackened tempeh patty with chipotle sauce and avo. We also decided to split a side of sweet potato fries and a strawberry shortcake parfait. Everything was quite delectable... particularly the fried pickles. One of the things that I really enjoyed is that all of the "meats" are made in house, so the quality is much better than the standard Gardenburger.

I definitely recommend a stop by Native Foods if you find yourself in the area. (Even if you aren't veg, the food is still worth it. Their menu even points out items that are recommended for first time diners)

Until next time.

-Nick 

#5: Go to Farmer's Markets in 20 different cities

Farmers Market #1: 
Sunday, July 3rd 
Long Beach, California
Alamitos Bay Marina (Marina &2nd St.)

I love my home town's market because it is in our marina and includes a huge arts and crafts section. Here, Nick and I enjoyed sampling the local, seasonal produce- a lot of berries, plums, apricots, peaches, etcetera, the live music and a delicious fresh "very berry" scone from a local baker.  We purchased eggs from a local farm, locally produced vegan body lotion made from Bolivian cocoa, a bundle of fresh lavender, and a gorgeous bouquet of irises and mexican bush sage grown in Oxnard. And of course, it isn't a trip to the farmers market without some fresh (pomegranate) apple juice.

Thanks for reading :) Love, Theresa