It’s time for another What Vegans Eat post. In this series, I share what I ate on a single day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
In all of my previous WVE posts, I’ve stuck solely with home-cooked meals. But in today’s post, I also venture out to a new pizza place with arcade.
Breakfast:
After a couple of busy weekends in a row, David and I had a very relaxed weekend. We slept in on Sunday and had bagels with coffee for breakfast.
We are a house divided when it comes to bagels. I’m all about the vegan breakfast sandwich. David likes everything separate.
Mine consisted of an onion bagel, eggy tofu, a slice of Follow Your Heart pepperjack, and Upton’s Naturals seitan bacon. On the side, slices of blood orange. Got to love that color!
David topped his sesame seed bagel with non-dairy cream cheese. On the side, seitan bacon and tofu that was seasoned with Slap Ya Mama seasoning salt*.
*No mamas were harmed in the making of this tofu.
Lunch:
I have really been craving Brussels sprouts lately. So for lunch, I made bowls with roasted sprouts and Great Northern beans on top of creamy polenta.
To make the beans, I sautéed some garlic and onions, added the drained beans, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper.
It was really easy to prepare, because while the sprouts roasted, I had plenty of time to make the beans and polenta. The whole thing was ready in about 25 minutes.
(You can read more about how I make creamy polenta in my What Vegans Eat post from October.)
Dinner:
For dinner, we ventured out to a new restaurant. The Quarter Barrel is a barcade (a bar and arcade combo) that opened a few months ago in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
It’s a non-vegan restaurant, but I’d heard that they had good vegan options.
The large space includes a bar and lots of old school arcade games and pinball machines (my personal favorite). I asked our waiter about possible vegan options, and he went back to get the chef to speak with us.
The chef was very helpful and laid out the many possibilities. He said that the owners are a husband and wife team, and that the husband is vegetarian. So they made sure to include some interesting plant-based options.
(I was hoping he’d say that the donut holes on the menu were vegan, but sadly, no luck.)
We ordered the vegan onion rings to start. When I saw the generous pile of them, I thought there was no way we’d finish them with only two people. However, that was totally not a problem. Crisis averted.
The beer-brined shoestring onion rings typically come with ranch dressing, but we subbed ketchup for a vegan option. They were perfectly crisp with a fresh basil garnish.
For other vegan starters, they also have a hummus appetizer that is vegan by default, and a house salad that is vegan if ordered with either of their vinaigrettes.
For the main event, we ordered the roasted fennel and sausage pizza without cheese and substituting seitan sausage.
Currently, they are using Upton’s Italian sausage; however, the chef said they’re planning to make their own house-made seitan sometime in the future.
It was topped with cumin garlic oil, chickpeas, and red onion. Then there was a fresh layer of arugula tossed in a blood orange vinaigrette and crisp strips of apple.
I’m often not a fan of arugula, but it worked well here tossed with the sweet vinaigrette and apple to mute some of arugula’s inherent bitterness.
The roasted fennel added something special, and I liked that there was also crushed fennel seed on the pizza to amp up the sausage flavor.
The pizza was fantastically good, and I found myself dipping the crust in the remnants of cumin garlic oil left on the pan. We ordered one pizza for two of us, and including the appetizer, that was more than enough.
I love seeing interesting vegan options in restaurants, especially in the middle of the country where that’s not as prevalent. As a customer, it makes me feel welcome, and it makes me more inclined to dine out. I look forward to going back and trying more from their menu.
(Read more in this post about what restaurants gain by labeling vegan options.)
Heather
The Sa- Squash sounds so good!
Other than pancakes breakfast sammies are the perfect weekend breakfast 🙂
Cadry
Yes, I’m really intrigued by the sa-squash. I think that’s the one I’ll try next.
Shauna
Holy Buckets! Everything in this post is amazing. I too am a big fan of the bagel sammich…but every now and again I’ll do it separately. Polenta = awesome. Brussels = awesome. And I am DEFINITELY trying that pizza place the next time I roll through Iowa City. Blueberry BBQ?? Beer caramelized onions! YES PLEASE.
Shauna
Okay I just saw that the barcade was in Cedar Rapids. Looks like we’ll be making a special trip!
Cadry
Yes, so many unusual options! I’m happy for a bell pepper/onion/olive typical pizza, but it’s also refreshing to see some things that are outside the box, especially where vegan options are concerned. Plus, I appreciate being able to order some specialty pizzas right off the menu with just one or two omissions/substitutions.
The Quarter Barrel isn’t deep into Cedar Rapids, luckily. So it won’t take quite as long to get there. It’s not far from NewBo City Market if you wanted to hit that while you’re there as well. (There’s not loads to do at NewBo so I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, though.)
Kris
Those pizzas sound amazing. I love seeing options in Iowa because this Dubuque girl just drove all the way across the state to eat at Modern Love!
Cadry
Oh, jealous!! Did you get there in time to get the reuben? If so, how was it? I had big plans to get there before the menu change, but it didn’t come to fruition. Now they’ve moved on to their spring menu, which doesn’t include the reuben. Of course, I’m sure that anything that is on it will still be fantastic.
Kris
No Rueben is gone ? but I tried Seitan wings, cauliflower steaks, enchiladas, and chickpea korma. Of course I topped it off with blueberry cheesecake which was perfection!
Cadry
Ah, that’s a bummer about the reuben. I was really hoping they’d keep it as a regular item. Still, everything else you ordered sounds amazing!
Bianca
These are my fave posts!! Love seeing what people eat in a day. I’m with you on bagel sandwiches! And that pizza sounds incredible (and I don’t even care for arugala either, but it does work well on some pizzas). ALSO, swoooooon for those onion rings!
Cadry
I’m so glad to hear that, Bianca!
Yes, I was pleasantly surprised by the arugula, since I’m typically not a fan. I like kale & collard greens a lot, but super bitter greens like arugula and dandelion greens don’t do it for me. I really liked the paper thin slice of the onion rings. I mean, I love hummus as much as the next vegan, but I can’t imagine when I’ll be ordering it over these rings! 🙂
cookeasyvegan
We went through a brussels sprouts craze not long ago, and I think we may have topped polenta at least once with them. I love roasted sprouts so much I (almost) never get tired of them. The pizza offerings at your new restaurant are so creative! The sa-squash sounds especially appealing to me. I’ve never had a pizza topped with squash. And, I don’t think we would have had any trouble finishing the onion rings. 🙂
Cadry
I’m the same way about Brussels sprouts. David actually got me a mug a few years ago that said, “I heart Brussels sprouts.” I didn’t realize I’d made a big deal about them, but he said he’d never met anyone who loved them more than I do.
I’m really interested in trying the sa-squash also. I think that will be next on my list. The butternut puree sounds really unusual and tasty, especially with the caramelized onions.
Susan
What great and original sounding pizzas! I love unique combinations.
Those onion rings looks great. I often find that I can only eat a few onion rings before they become to greasy and stodgy to me, but the way those are so fine and crispy I think I would prefer it.
Cadry
I was happy about the unique combinations too. I enjoy standard toppings as much as the next person, but it’s refreshing to see something outside of the ordinary. I’m sure you’re right that the fine-nature of the rings made them easier to scoop up by the finger-full as opposed to chunky onion rings that get heavy after a few.
Kittee Bee
Wow. Those blood oranges are gorgeous, and I’m glad no Mamas were injured. Also, the blueberry BBQ sauce sounds so good! Tell David, I’m in his bagel corner X100.
xo
kittee
Cadry
I’m glad to put your mind at ease regarding the Mamas. David was happy to hear that you’re in his bagel corner. He said he would never doubt your culinary expertise. xo
Becky Striepe
That roasted fennel pizza looks ah-mazing! And I love your Herbivore shirt – my favorite color!
Cadry
Yes, it’s double the fennel pleasure with both roasted fennel & fennel seeds. I don’t think I’d ever seen fennel bulb on a pizza before, but it was so good. That definitely needs to be repeated.
That shade of aqua/teal is my favorite color too! I have several Herbivore sweatshirts, including the elephant design in a different color/style. I live in them. They are so cozy.
Dianne
I’m so jealous of your vegan pizza options! We have nothing like that in suburbs – I’d have to venture into NYC if I wanted a good vegan pizza.
Cadry
I’m torn, Dianne. I’m surprised and bummed for you that the NJ suburbs don’t have much in the way of good vegan pizza. I would figure that there would be some kind of trickle effect. On the other hand, I’m jealous of YOU that you can take the subway into NYC for any number of vegan delicacies. What I’m basically saying is, I’m happy to trade! 🙂
Amey
I love these posts! <3 I have my first quiet weekend in a LONG time coming up this weekend and I can't wait! I want to eat bagels and onion rings and go out for pizza. Those onion rings look amazing and so thin and light. I've never seen onion rings like that! Also, I think I'm on team David with my bagel in separate parts. But the sandwich looks pretty fun too. Hmmm…
Cadry
Thanks, Amey! I hope your weekend is filled with carbs aplenty! 🙂 With you and Kittee on Team David, he’s getting pretty jazzed about his Bagel Line-Up.
KZ
Hi! I love that Herbivore sweatshirt! Bagels and coffee sounds like the nicest breakfast, I love a good bagel sandwich, but I also love to get a huge pumpernickel bagel with tofu cream cheese as a special treat. That bowl of white beans, brussels sprouts and polenta looks like my dreams, and oh! they have a Quarters Bar in my hometown in Massachusetts!
Cadry
Thank you! That sweatshirt is one of my favorites. I already had the elephant design in a different color, but when they came out with teal, David bought it for me again for Christmas. I wear it all the time. It’s so soft.
Oh, man. Your bagel with tofu cream cheese idea has me jonesing for an NYC bagel. The bagels we have here are fine when those are your only options, but they in no way compare to the real deal.
Shell
What a fun new pizza place! I have a confession to make: I’ve never eaten a Brussels sprout before. I saw them as an appetizer on a menu recently and couldn’t convince my group to try them. I want to try them at home, but will need to do some research before I am brave enough to try my luck.
Cadry
Shell, how is this possible??? You’ve never had a Brussels sprout? If you like cabbage, you’ll love Brussels sprouts. Plus, they are so cute!
The easiest and most delicious way to prepare them is by roasting. Set the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the hard ends off of the Brussels sprouts, and if they are large, slice them in half. If they are small, you can skip that. Then lightly drizzle them in oil, sprinkle a pinch of salt, and evenly put them across the baking sheet. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, stopping once halfway through to flip. You’ll know they’re done when you can easily pierce them with a fork. That’s it! Serve them as a side for any meal.
Here are two of my other favorite ways of eating them.
Roasted with apples and onions: http://cadryskitchen.com/2014/04/21/roasted-brussels-sprouts-apples-caramelized-onions-pistachios/
In fried rice: http://cadryskitchen.com/2015/07/08/brussels-sprouts-fried-rice-recipe/
Mae
I love the idea of the “What Vegans Eat” posts! I was just talking with someone about people go all out with vegan pizza. I’ve had several people ask me how I eat pizza without cheese. It can be hard to explain the magnitude that vegan pizza reaches, but it is often in a category of it’s own. There is an all-vegan pizza place in Seattle called Pizza Pi. They are pretty darn good 🙂 There’s also a barcade here in Tacoma called Dorky’s, and they have vegan pizza and Field Roast Sausages. PS – you inspired me to come up with my own “eggy” tofu recipe. I’ll report back to you and let you know how it turns out 🙂
Cadry
Yes, vegan pizza really is its own thing! Surprisingly, David was never into cheese on pizza, even before he went vegan. So we’d often get cheeseless pizzas when we were first dating. At first I was hesitant about it, because cheese seems like a major component of pizza. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much you actually taste the toppings when you don’t have cheese masking all of its flavor. Plus, I used to do a lot of blotting my non-vegan pizza with napkins because it was so oily. However, with vegan pizza, there’s none of that.
I’m going to Seattle this summer. I’ll have to look for Pizza Pi. Thanks for the tip! I’m looking forward to hearing about your eggy tofu recipe!