Eating Out Meat Free – Nicole Eats and Travels

Eating Meat Free, Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Vegan

Vegan Chicken and Waffles… Need I say more?

Chicken and waffles. I can’t say that I am a connoisseur of the dish, but I can certainly say that I’ve traveled a distance to try some of the more popular renditions, along with conducting important business of course. In Atlanta, there was Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles and, in LA, there was Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. (Not that this matters, but I crowned Gladys Knight’s the winner.) Since jumping to the other side, I have been on the lookout for a meat-free edition of the dish. After years of looking, I finally stumbled across Daya‘s Chicken (Seitan) and Waffles brunch item, and yes, it was so worth the wait.

Eating Meat Free, Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Vegan

Introducing Central Florida’s Newest Vegan Restaurant: Daya!

There’s a new vegan restaurant in town, and it is so good! I am both happy and excited to introduce to you Daya, which is described as “an upscale, 100% plant based restaurant.” Located in the city of Winter Park, I can tell you that Daya is definitely different from your ordinary vegan restaurant. From the beautiful layout and design of the restaurant to the attention paid to the plating of the food, I am quite excited to see Daya flourish into Central Florida’s new “it” place for meat-free dining.

Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Vegan

Pancakes, Sausage Patties, & Home Fries: Ethos Answers My Vegan Breakfast Dreams

Here I am, once again, writing about another one of my experiences at Ethos Vegan Kitchen. I can’t help it. Ethos is just really good at what they do, which for me is making food that reminds me of my meat-eating days and also reminds me why a meat-free lifestyle can be just as tasty.

Although I frequent Ethos a lot, I’m pretty good at being intentional about trying something new each time I go. On my most recent visit, I went all out and had a completely new experience, and I’m quite glad that I did. Since it was the time of year for all things pumpkin, I dove in head first and had my very first experience eating pumpkin pancakes. Let’s just say, I will definitely start trying more things made with pumpkin.

Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free

I Attended Orlando’s Latin Food & Wine Festival; Here’s What I Ate

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando has been hosting thousands of Orlando residents and visitors at its annual Latin Food & Wine Festival event for years. I am sad yet happy to say that after missing the event by days for a whole bunch of years, this year I finally caught it early enough to put it on my schedule and attend!

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Video: Inside Central Florida’s VegFest

Each year, Vegetarians of Central Florida hosts VegFest, which has become one the biggest and best vegetarian festivals in the country! Going into its 10th year, VegFest offers something fun for everyone. There are great speakers, hands-on food demonstrations, an animal haven, live music, and they even have a “veggie kids zone.” This year’s event will be held on Saturday, October 24, at Orlando Festival Park from 10 am to 6 pm.

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Video: Monthly Vegan Potluck with Vegetarians of Central Florida

On the first Monday of each month, the group Vegetarians of Central Florida hosts its very popular vegan potluck at the First Unitarian Church of Orlando. Attendees are asked to bring one of their favorite vegan dishes along with a complete ingredient list to share amongst the group. For the non-cooks, a $10 donation is requested.

This is no small event. The event that I recently attended had at least 50 people. So, there were a lot of great dishes! The best part is that everyone is invited. You do not need to be a member of the Vegetarians of Central Florida to take part in the monthly event.

If you are new to the area, new to meat-free eating, want to experience something new in the city, or want to meet a few new people, I invite you to participate in this monthly event.

Be sure to check out the video to see an inside peek into the vegan potluck!

Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Vegan

VESPR Offers Great Coffee and Even Better Vegan Treats

On a recent rainy Friday afternoon, I paid a visit to one of Orlando’s newest coffee shops, VESPR Coffeebar. Not only did I experience a great cup of coffee, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they served some top-notch, made in-house, vegan treats, as well.

Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Nicole on Real Iron Dad Radio

Listen to my Favorite Places to Eat Meat Free in Central Florida on Real Iron Dad Radio!

Each week, I share my favorite vegan dishes from restaurants around Central Florida on Orlando’s own Real Iron Dad Radio.

Last week I shared with you that IronDAD offered me a great opportunity to add my recommendations for eating out meat free in Orlando to his weekly podcast. I am happy to share the first edition of my addition to the IronDAD weekly podcast with you! Not only do you get to hear me give a quick blurb about one of my favorite vegan dishes at Black Bean Deli, but you also get to hear IronDAD‘s 10 tips on how to begin a healthy lifestyle. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Be sure to check out my recent post on Black Bean Deli for pictures!

Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Vegan

Winter Garden’s New Plant Street Market Offers a Great Vegan Option in Press’d Juice Bar & Kitchen

From my house to the nearest vegan eatery is more miles than I would like to travel on a lazy weekend afternoon. Living on the west side of Central Florida, this has been one of my most recent food struggles. This may not sound like a struggle per se, but finding the energy to drive for at least 30 minutes to get, what I admit is awesome, food is just way too much for my mind and body to take on a non-work day. But as you have [hopefully] read, I continue to find the energy to do such a thing weekend after weekend. Well, except for a recent weekend when, instead of venturing to the Winter Park, east, or downtown parts of town, I went just a little bit down the road to visit Winter Garden’s newly and much lauded Plant Street Market. Among the many eateries, bakeries, coffee shops, and knick knack shops, was Press’d a.k.a the answer to my close-to-home-vegan dreams. It is where I would quench my appetite for a meal that I didn’t even know I missed until I had it again—the remixed version, of course.

Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Vegetarian

Teak Neighborhood Grill Delivers on Your Ordinary Salty, Greasy Bar Food–Vegetarian Style

The rainy Saturday that I found myself walking into Teak Neighborhood Grill was quite unexpected. Minutes before I pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, I was only a few miles away sitting in the parking lot of a medium-sized shopping center. I was there for Mediterranean food, but after about 10 minutes of searching, it finally dawned on me that maybe the restaurant forgot to inform Foursquare that they were, in fact, no longer at that location — or probably any location. Usually never out of ideas, I was stumped on what I should eat. I had no desire to drive very far, which for a foodie like me is a problem because my part of town doesn’t offer many great choices outside of the regular chain restaurants. But thankfully, Foursquare didn’t fail me again when it directed me to Teak Neighborhood Grill. It wasn’t the healthiest of food outings, but it sure served up some great vegetarian bar food.

Eating Out Meat Free, Nicole Eats Video Series

Video: My Visit to Artichoke Red, Central Florida’s Only Vegan Market

Every weekend you can find me at my favorite Whole Foods location in Central Florida, but when I am in need of my favorite jar of Victoria’s Vegan Alfredo Sauce, or my new favorite, vegan “twinkies,” Artichoke Red Vegan Market is the only place I can go to pickup these items.

Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Vegan

Plant-based Food,10 People, $20-Three-Course Meal: Basal Eatery is a Nice Welcome to the Vegan-scape of Central Florida

My introduction to what I now know as the awesomeness of Basal Eatery started with a simple request from a friend: “Hey, let’s go to this dinner next Monday.” Vegan, plant-based food. Only 10 people. $20 for a three course meal + wine. An opportunity to have an extraordinary evening on an otherwise ordinary weekday. It wasn’t a hard sell. I was in, and I remained excited all the way to the time… well, honestly, even after having already “done the do,” I remain excited about this new addition to the vegan-scape of Central Florida.

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Video: Vegetarian Eating at Orlando’s Marlow’s Tavern

I was recently invited to try a few vegetarian items at Orlando’s newest Marlow’s Tavern location in Waterford Lakes. I’m not usually one for chain restaurants, but Marlow’s chef driven menu makes it a spot for some top notch eats. During my visit, I sampled the amazing asparagus fries and the house-made black bean veggie burger. Both are great options for vegetarians who want a cool place to grab drinks and chill with friends. For more details about my visit to Marlow’s Tavern, be sure to read my recent blog post.

Eating My City, Eating Out Meat Free, Vegetarian

Marlow’s Tavern Waterford Lakes Offers Great Vegetarian Options With Its Asparagus Fries and Black Bean Burger

My recent visit to the newly opened Marlow’s Tavern Waterford Lakes had all the makings of a “disappointing restaurant visit.” There was the fact that it is part of a chain AND that it reminded me very much of a sports bar. If it weren’t for the invitation to try a few of the items on the menu gratis and meet a few local food bloggers, I’m not sure I would have ever found my way inside of Marlow’s. But thankfully, the media and blogger tasting event gave me an opportunity to see how _____________ (I’ll let you fill in the blank) I was being. I left Marlow’s with a tummy full of really great vegetarian-friendly food and a reminder of the whole “judging a book by its cover” thing.

Eating Out Meat Free, Nicole Eats Video Series

Video: Khasiyat Indian Restaurant Shows Me How to Make Vegan Chole Bhature

I had an amazing time at Khasiyat Indian Vegetarian Restaurant cooking and eating vegan Chole Bhature, which is a customer favorite and turned out to be my favorite too! The chickpea and curry mixture paired perfectly with the bhature, which is a type of fried bread. Check out the video to see how we did it!

Map Attribution: By India_sex_ratio_map_en.svg: User:Planemad (usurped) derivative work: Amirki (India_sex_ratio_map_en.svg) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…)], via Wikimedia Commons

Eating Out Meat Free, Nicole Eats Video Series

Video: Khasiyat Indian Restaurant Shows Me How to Make a Great Vegan Samosa

I had an amazing time at Khasiyat Indian Vegetarian Restaurant cooking and eating vegan samosas, a customer favorite. We stuffed the homemade shells with a chunky potato mixture then fried them to perfection. Check out the video to see how we did it!

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