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Taste of India, Charleston, SC, Teaches Us How To Make Bhindi Masala

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Jan 29, 2014 in Charleston, I-26, I-526, Indian, Vegan | 0 comments

This is a video shot by VegginOutAnd About! at the Taste of India Restaurant in Charleston, SC, on how to make Bhindi (Okra) Masala:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tablespoons high quality olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup freshly chopped tomatoes, plus a tablespoon for garnish
1 cup fried okra
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chili powder (you may use cayenne)
1/8 teaspoon cumin powder
1/8 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 cup onion sauce
chopped cilantro for garnish

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Veggin’ Out at Mooney’s Mediterranean Café in Winston-Salem, NC!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Jan 29, 2014 in I-40, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Winston-Salem | 0 comments

by Laura Blankenship

Step into Mooney’s off of fourth street in Winston-Salem and the first thing you’ll notice is the chic interior for such a quaint little café. Actually, if you’re there during the middle of lunch, like my dining partner and I, the first thing you’ll notice is that it’s jam-packed and you’ll worry about your chances of getting a table. Luckily we snagged one of two vacant ones in the house; business is bustling and turnover is fast during lunch, where mostly business people from downtown are on their lunch breaks.

Mooney’s Mediterranean Café In Winston-Salem, NC
Interior

During lunch, customers order at the counter from the menu above it written in chalk on a blackboard. With tons of options–vegan, vegetarian, and meaty, too–in small handwriting and the long line that was moving fast, I didn’t have long to deliberate and quickly picked something that sounded vegan and delicious: the Tempeh Pita.

Mooney’s Tempeh Pita

During my lengthy conversation with owner Ameen David, I learned that my wrap was developed by a strict vegan employee, Stephen (minus his consumption of two eggs a week per doctor’s orders, Ameen recalls). The Tempeh Pita isn’t the only menu item developed by his employees. Leah, one of Mooney’s servers, and her boyfriend, a chef at a neighboring downtown restaurant, suggested that Ameen start using olive oil rather than butter in the couscous when they became vegan. He listened. And every time his wife saw him, Ameen says, he was eating this sandwich that wasn’t on the menu. “What is that?” she asked. Thus the Falafel Burger, the brainchild of an employee named Scott, was born.

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Roti Video from Taste of India, Charleston

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Jan 6, 2014 in Charleston, Ethiopian, I-26, I-526, Indian, Vegan | 0 comments

by Danielle Bussone

In this video Taste of India Restaurant in Charleston, SC demonstrates how to make Roti in a Tandoori style oven.

Spicing It Up At Bombay Bazar and Restaurant, Charleston, SC

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Dec 9, 2013 in Charleston, I-26, Indian | 0 comments

by Danielle Bussone

You can feel fairly confident that a restaurant is worth visiting when it keeps popping up on vegan meet-up group websites. We first learned of Bombay Bazar from the consistent posts of the Charleston Veggie Meetup group. They seem to like it so well we had to make it part of our tour of restaurants when we visited Charleston, SC.

We love eating at Indian restaurants. Because of the long tradition of vegetarianism in the Indian culture, the food is a natural fit for vegan diners. There are many dishes to choose from, some vegan, some vegetarian, so you do have to pay attention if you are strictly vegan. Bombay Bazar and Restaurant was our first stop on this tour of Charleston’s eclectic cuisines.

Bombay Bazar Exterior

We are happy to report Bombay Bazar did not disappoint. Rich and I arrived in the late afternoon when we practically had the place to ourselves. As you walk in you’ll see the entrance to the restaurant on the left and the entrance to the Bazar, or market, on the right. (We’ll address the market in a separate post.)

The restaurant is divided into three rooms. The first section has booths hugging the wall with a divider and more booths on the opposite wall. The second room is where you’ll find tables bedecked with white tablecloths, napkins and place settings.

Bombay Bazar Vegetable Jalfrezi

Rich ordered the Vegetable Jalfrezi, a mix of vegetables and herbs in a delightful curry sauce. The vegetables consisted of tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, onions, green peppers and cilantro.($9.95).

Bombay Bazar Baingan Ka Bharta

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Natural Imports of Asheville, NC is the Go To Market for Authentic Japanese Culinary Fare

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Nov 19, 2013 in Asheville, NC, Features, Grocers, I-240, I-26, I-40, Living Plant-Strong! Profiles & Articles, Organic and/or Non-GMO | 0 comments

By Danielle Bussone

Once in a blue moon I’ll discover a truly unique gem of a resource that I simply feel duty bound to share with the world. Natural Imports of Asheville, NC, is one such discovery. Natural Imports is a purveyor of traditional Japanese culinary products of the highest caliber. Great care is taken to assure excellence, offering foods of a medicinal quality, prepared in time honored traditions by skilled Japanese craftsmen. Mass production and quicker, low-quality methods are threatening the livelihoods of these Japanese artisans, who prepare foods using the principal of Ishoku Dogen, “medicine and food have the same source.” You’ll find no mass market food and no arsenic laden Chinese seaweed here, only traditionally crafted products and sea vegetables grown in deep waters of Japan, protected for centuries with organic, sustainable practices.

Natural Imports Interior

Bruce MacDonald, now semi-retired, is the founder of Natural Imports. His daughter, Crystal, has been his partner and business manager since its inception in 1993, since she was 19 years old. Crystal speaks fluent Japanese and is a wealth of information about all aspects of how the seaweed is harvested, the medicinal and nutritional ingredients of every product, the sustainability practices of her suppliers and any glitch that effects the ecosystem and thereby affecting the quality of their products. She is a dynamic powerhouse who stays on top of all issues pertaining to Natural Imports.

Crystal MacDonald

Crystal essentially grew up in the business. Her parents divorced when she was young and she spent summers working at Commodities, a Japanese import store Bruce owned in New York City, where she learned about Japanese food. Bruce had previously worked for Erehwon in Boston, which was the original importer of natural foods in the US and subsequently for Erehwon West in California and later for Bread and Circus, which was sold to become the original Whole Foods Market.

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CO, A Vietnamese Gem in the Middle of Charleston, SC, Offers a Vegan Menu!

Posted by Danielle Bussone on Nov 17, 2013 in Asian, Charleston, I-26, Vietnamese | 0 comments

By Danielle Bussone

It is the second Sunday of the month, meaning King Street has been cordoned off for the day. Restaurants spill onto the curbs with tables and bright umbrellas in an air of camaraderie and joie de vivre. Waiters carry fragrant platters of myriad foodstuffs and drink to cheerful tourists. Dog walkers and young mothers pushing baby strollers maneuver around them and the city becomes alive with students, street musicians, Citadel cadets and sundry on-lookers, the young and wizened alike.

The first leg of our vegan trek through the historic city of Charleston, SC, takes us to CO, a charming Vietnamese restaurant located on King Street. It is nestled amid the lovely sunbathed pastel architecture indicative of Charleston, right in the heart of its busy shopping district near the intersection of George Street.

CO Exterior

Upstairs

We order our usual water with no ice and I ask Sam, our waitress, to point out the vegan items on the menu. She exchanges the menu in my hand with a vegan and gluten-free menu and the issue is immediately resolved. The name “CO” means “Feast” in Vietnamese, which certainly is appropriate for this restaurant which offers a wide range of choices. We spoke at length with Josh, the general manager. He explains the produce used in preparing CO’s food is locally sourced, though no great attention has been paid to the presence of GMO’s. After suffering, with patience and grace, through my lecture on the subject perhaps in the future that will change. One restaurant at a time is my policy! (He’ll be quizzed on the subject on our next visit.) 🙂

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