First bites: Happy Family Vegetarian Cuisine

I had been wanting to try Happy Family Vegetarian Cuisine (2150 S. Waterman Ave.) in San Bernardino for a while now. Not that I’m a vegetarian, mind you. Not that I’m a total carnivore, either. I’m somewhere in-between.

But I’m seriously fascinated by faux-meat vegetarian dishes, like those found at Veggie Era in Upland, and also at Happy Family.

I finally went there last week and was impressed. It’s in the same small strip mall as Jackpot Thai & Chinese Food, and I was expecting a similar experience.

They’re as different as night and day.

Jackpot caters mostly to take-out orders and has a few tables in its sparse dining area. Happy Family is a beautifully decorated sit-down restaurant. I was a bit surprised to learn that when I walked in.

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John Weeks goes veggie

Inland Emperor John Weeks has taken time out from his busy schedule to inform us all of some of his favorite vegetarian eateries.

His proclamation can be found here.

It’s a pretty good primer if you, like me, occasionally like to dip a toe into the veggie food pool.

So far, I’ve only been to a pair of the restaurants on his list, though — Veggie Era in Upland and the Patio Pantry at Loma Linda Market.

I’d also recommend Native Foods in Palm Springs or Rancho Mirage.

Most of these eateries offer meat substitutes that, if you didn’t know what you were eating, you would swear you were eating meat. Veggie Era, for instance, has a delicious lemongrass chicken…that’s chicken-free, of course.

So, carnivores, don’t be afraid to step out and go veggie today.

Celebrate Earth Day at the Farm

Farm Artisan Foods in Redlands is celebrating Earth Day with a five-course Vegan meal at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 20.

The five courses are:

  • Beet salad with local greens
  • Sweet pea and marjoram cold soup
  • Garlic sauteed broccoli over whole grain spelt
  • Stuffed zucchini blossoms
  • Berries Napoleon

Mmmm…I can’t get enough whole grain spelt!

The cost is $49, $10 of which will go directly to the Redlands Conservancy’s Emerald Necklace Program, which is a system for preserving many of Redlands’ unique and
defining environments.

Reservations are required. The Farm is at 22 E. State St.

The Redlands Daily Facts has written an article that can be found here.

For more information, contact the Farm at (909) 792-1162.

Isn’t ‘vegetarian meatballs’ an oxymoron?

This week, Elaine Lehman went had a nice spaghetti lunch at Angelo’s in Loma Linda.

Loma Linda being what it is, of course, there are vegetarian options.
But vegetarian meatballs?
That makes absolutely no sense to me.
They could call them vegballs or veatballs or…anything besides vegetarian meatballs.
Or maybe I just need to lay off the caffeine for a while.
Elaine’s lunch review can be found here.

The Mexican Grill Showdown

Chipotle vs Qdoba

This is a grilled vegetable burrito smackdown. Now this is not a
McDonalds (Chipotle) vs Jack in the Box (Qdoba) thing. If the burrito
scale goes from 1 to 10… The 10 goes to… drum roll… Chipotle! I would
hold Qdoba’s burrito at an 8.5. The devil is in the details. The said
details are the type of vegetables that are grilled, the hot sauce and
rice. Chipotle’s grilled veggies are mostly onions and peppers and
Qdoba’s are mostly squashes. The hot sauces are a side extra but make a
big difference to me. Chipotle uses the Tabasco Brand Chipotle Pepper
Sauce and Qdoba sports the wood topped Cholula brand Hot Sauce.

Lastly, the rice seemed just a bit fluffier at Chipotle. Both burritos
are the best the I.E. has to offer so enjoy either if one is close to
your lunch plans.

Veggie Bites – Vegetarian selections in the IE

I often find that being a vegetarian is becoming less and less difficult each year due to the choices offered in area eateries. Although there are not a large variety of exclusive veggie stops in the in the 909, there is often that one thing I can have wherever I may stop. A list of menu items that are vegetarian from various restaurants that aren’t. Hopefully there is usually at least one thing we can eat when going out to lunch with friends.

Follow the jump to see the list…
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