sui "swayzilla" w.'s Profile

Searching for a burrito (my first burrito in months!) in this snowy northeastern French-Canadian city, I walked furiously towards my target, Burritoville, only to find that it was closed. (What's up with that, restful Canadians? Why do you have so much more vacation time than your southern neighbor? Why are Americans so overworked and unhappy? But I digress...)

Hungry and going slightly crazy, I turned the corner onto Maisonneuve, dejected but still going at a restless pace.

I walk by countless restaurants but none of them appeal.

Suddenly, I pass one called Amir. Huh, I think to myself. I see a photographic rendition of not one but two vegetarian options. I'm intrigued.

I'm about to keep on walking to search for a Commensal (where I've eaten almost every single time when I'm searching for food downtown) because I'm confused as to the entrance. I see the window, I don't know if they're even open, but-- a-ha! A glass door lurks from a few steps down.

I enter and I'm greeted warmly with a "hello" and English. I ask about the vegetarian options and choose to get the house plate. As one worker helps prepare my plate, another rings me up and asks-- "Do you need a fork?"

I say no, I have one. She looks at my tray and sees there's no fork. "But I don't see one..."

"I bring my own."

"Everywhere? Why?"

"To save plastic."

She looked at me and said, "Wow! You're the best!" She turns to her coworker: "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah," he replies, "there was one guy who brought in his own plate, too, once."

The plates are plastic. If I come back, I'll bring my own as well. She rings me up-- 8.88$, three lucky numbers in Chinese culture-- and I sit down with a smile.

I begin my plate and it's delicious. I try to eat slowly, but I'm also hungry and it's delicious. Falafel, hummus, salad, eggplant, cauliflower, and roast potatoes in a way I'd never experienced before.

Delicious.

Wonderful service and wonderful food. (Apparently it's Lebanese, so that's the first time I've tried it!)

Recommended.

I don't know why Tau is under "Bridal" on Yelp, but no matter.

Tau is the closest thing to a Whole Foods in the U.S. that you'll get in the Montreal area. I was actually pleasantly surprised at the selection-- it was actually the first place I bought chia seeds. They have a lot of raw vegan foods and other natural foods. They even have vegan pate! (Only in Quebec...)

Awesome selection, but a little pricey since they're ~*natural*~ foods. Still, worth checking out, and pretty much the only place in town you can get lots of natural healthy foods!

I'm making my way out of the dark cave of another Yelp hiatus to review this favorite of favoritest Mexican place of mine the day before I move away from San Diego.

Before Vallarta's I have never wanted to go eat at one place so consistently, or eat one thing (veggie burrito, no cheese or sour cream, yes guacamole, pinto beans instead of black, and no styrofoam please-- alternatively, on a taco) so consistently. But if you look at all the places I've eaten in the past year, I bet Vallarta's makes up the majority of my list.

The workers are friendly and patient, even as they handle like five orders at once, from the drive-thru and from eating-in customers.

The food is delicious and really... they serve the only veggie burrito I've encountered with actual VEGGIES in it-- onions, mushrooms, squash, peppers, oh my!-- not just beans, lettuce, and rice/cheese.

This is my favorite Mexican place in San Diego EVER (and since there's a billion, that's saying something), and is remarkably vegetarian/vegan-friendly, AND more delicious than pretty much all the "veg*n-friendly" Mexican places (cough cough Lucha Libre) in San Diego.

And of course, it's, from what I've heard, awesomely delicious for the animal-eaters as well.

I take a burrito to go before each time I leave San Diego.

I also made culinary history the other night when, after eyeing my carnivorous friend's pollo asado fries earlier that day, asked for the contents of a veggie burrito (including guacamole) to be placed on a huge bed of french fries.

Ladies and gentlement, the vegan equivalent of carne asada fries. Or "Super Fries," as Vallarta's calls them.

(Perhaps they should be called Super Sui fries. Hehehe...)

You're welcome. ;)

(Even if you're by no means veg*n, you should try it out. It's delicious for all sorts of omnivores.)

I love a good vegan place. I appreciate that there are even vegan places around, one with raw options at that. But after my experience today, it's safe to say I won't go back to Evolution again.

The first time I came here, I got the mushroom swiss burger with the bean patty, and fries. It was good but it wasn't "fast". It seemed like only one person was working there... on a Saturday night?... and my burger took 30, 40 minutes. So much for "fast" food.

A couple weeks ago I came back and ordered the raw burger; my partner got the mushroom swiss with the regular patty. We also got a shake which was kind of weird. My partner wasn't impressed since the regular patty seems to be a frozen, store-bought one. Also... I got really sleepy and felt kind of sick after eating my burger. It was too nutty, saucy, and not enough raw vegetables for a raw burger.

Today, we happened to be in the area, so my partner got chili cheese fries and I got soft serve, and then a carob date shake. Things were fine until the shake. I asked for no lid or straw; 5 minutes later, the person working there handed me the shake with a lid and a straw.

I took a sip, and crunched down on... a tiny piece of a date pit.

Not just that, but the entire shake was filled with pieces of date pit. For an $8+ smoothie, I was a little horrified. I went back and asked, "Did you pit these dates?"

She looked at me blankly and then had to go to the back to... check? Then she came back and said, "Uh, yeah, these dates weren't pitted. But it won't kill you... if you *really* want, I can remake it..."

Since I don't like wasting food and I didn't want two shakes, I said no thanks. But really? No apology? "It won't kill you"? What if I chipped a tooth? What if I choked on a piece of a pit? What if I got a shake because I can't chew or take solid foods or I had no teeth or I was giving it to my child and she choked on these "it won't kill you" date pits that were *blended into a smoothie*???

I spent the rest of the afternoon pausing to spit out more pieces of dates, ranging in size from miniscule and deadly to huge and just-as-deadly. (And later, I experienced a sugar crash and an unpleasant feeling in my stomach. I eat raw and vegan for MORE energy, not less.)

I'm giving 2 stars because I'd hate to see one fewer vegan place in San Diego, but really, Evolution probably deserves 1... or 0.

@#$%!?ing inedible-pit-shake!

I don't like the vibe of this Farmer's Market. It seems less about the farmers and the market, and more like a street fair. Which is okay, but I go to the market for the fresh produce. Not the microwavable socks "like you've seen on TV" that you "need" to keep warm in the harsh winters of Sunny Sandy Eggo.

REALLY long lines! I wonder why. The food was good but not great. Worth an hourlong wait? Maybe not.

I got the Zen Breakfast which was a terribly small portion considering it was one of the more expensive items. I finished it in about 1/10 of the time my fellow brunch companions went through their meal. My partner got the soyrizo burrito, which he was pretty satisfied with.

Service was friendly, and honest. Note to vegans: The potatoes are NOT vegan! My server was kind enough to tell me that there's whey in the margarine used to cook the potatoes. Sucks for me, because I was craving potatoes on this particular morning, and there weren't a lot of options for me once you nix the potatoes.

Not as vegan-friendly as touted, basically. :|

And it's ironic that they give you biodegradable take-out boxes ... in a plastic bag! Whut.

SOULEY VEGAN IS SOULEY AMAZING.

Or so(ul) amazing.

Was that corny?

Anyway, weeks after I've already left my chilldhood home in the East Bay, I'm still dreaming of the day I came here and devoured the everything plate with my partner.

Great service (slow sometimes, because they're BUSY!), great food, and VEGAN to boot! Awesome.

This auto repair place has THE nicest workers I've ever met! I came here a few months ago to replace a headlight and get my engine light checked. They did it in a snap & the work was inexpensive.

Today, I went back in because something was hanging off from the bottom of my car (loose/missing screw?). They fixed it in 5 minutes and then DIDN'T CHARGE ME. That completely brightened my day and I would recommend Advantec to anyone :)

I don't eat chicken but this place is awesome... partly because the staff is so great. The veggie w/ guac tostada salad is a surprisingly great vegan option (as long as you ask for no dairy!) and there are other veggie options here. Minimal waste & super-friendly people working here :)

A-sah-yee whut?

I got the infamous acai bowl... it was watery. Soupy, even. Not much granola and the fruit didn't seem fresh. All in all, it didn't feel worth the price.

The ubiquity of styrofoam in this place also bothers me. For a place that seems to tout "healthy" & all that, why is everything packed in toxin-leaching plastics? I talked to someone working there who referred me to whom I can only assume was the manager, and asked him if he ever considered using biodegradable/compostable utensils & containers. He looked at me & said flatly, "No."

Woo-hoo for listening to your customers.