As 2015 comes to a close, I couldn’t leave it behind without making a list of some of my most awesome food experiences the year brought my way. From tacos to empanadas and French toast to Ethiopian cuisine, Central Florida showed me just how diverse and amazing it can be when it comes to vegetarian and vegan options. Without further ado, and in no particular order, I present my list of awesomeness! (Be sure to click the titles for more information.)
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.
Cinco de Mayo 2015 will go down as the very first time that I took part in the celebration. I will admit that my celebration of the day, that at the time I had completely no idea what it represented, was a mistake. How does one celebrate Cinco de Mayo by mistake? Well, in an attempt to schedule a much needed drink outing with a friend on a dead night in downtown Orlando, I, ironically, scheduled our outing on what is probably one of the most rowdiest days in the year. Before I could even think of rescheduling, I received an email from Ethos Vegan Kitchen alerting me to their special Cinco de Mayo menu, and the rest, as they say, was vegan history.
A few weeks ago, a follower of my Facebook page reached out to me and asked if we could meet up and have a chat at one of my favorite restaurants. Sure! I responded. That was the easy part. Selecting the restaurant was the hard part, because whatever place I chose would either confirm my prowess as a foodie or completely invalidate this idea that I have of myself (and that I hope others have of me). There were so many unanswered questions: would I take her to a vegan restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant, or to a regular restaurant with vegan and/or vegetarian dishes? Would we go for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner? Whatever place I chose, it had to be a great representative of me. It took some time for me to come to my senses, but when I did, Ethos Vegan Kitchen was waiting right there for me, right under my nose.
BBQ pulled chicken sandwich, sausage roll, mac & cheese — these are a few of my favorite things. The best part is that at Ethos it’s all VEGAN!