Native Foods

I think my cooking is going to be very, very different after dining at Native Foods in Costa Mesa, California. Native Foods is one of five locations of this all-vegan restaurant, and I have to say that I have never seen vegan food presented in a such a fun, playful way; all their dishes are so colorful and full of texture!

A week ago, I wasn't quite sure where I would be dining when my family arrived in California for our vacation, but I did know that vegan fare is plentiful in California and was not too worried about starving. One thing I love to do on the internet is read menus of vegan restaurants in faraway cities that I would love to visit, and the Native Foods menu is one I had looked at online many times prior to my visit. If you read VegNews Magazine, you have probably also seen Native Foods advertisements, with pictures of crazy-looking entrees with skewers poking every which way.



Upon arriving in the parking lot, I found this:



I was very happy. This, along with the built-up anticipation of finally being able to try another famous 100-percent-vegan restaurant, led me to literally run screaming to the door of Native Foods. I was so excited! But I had to stop for a few pictures, first.





Isn't it adorable? It looks like a little tin hut! The interior was just as impressive.



After a quick scan of the menu to refresh my memory, it didn't take long to decide what to order.



I have to be honest, I was really disappointed with some of my family members at this point of the trip. As much as I would love for everyone to be enthusiastic about vegan food and trying new things, my little sister is not adventurous in the least when it comes to these things. She's actually very close-minded, and the only vegan things she will try are my cookies and waffles. And she won't eat any of my baked goods if they have nuts or "warm" fruit (she only likes fruit cold). So basically, only chocolate and/or sugar are good with her. It's impossible to get her to touch a vegan entree, so needless to say, she sat at the table and ordered nothing. So frustrating! My mom disappointed me a little too; I know she is entitled to her tastes, and she can eat meat and cheese if she chooses... But she almost always likes everything she tries and always has a raging appetite, but she said she "wasn't hungry" when we got to the restaurant and would only order an appetizer for herself, which turned out to be "Save the Chicken" Wings: fake-meat chicken strips with ranch dressing.



She actually ended up liking them and said they really tasted like meat. So why eat meat when you have a cruelty-free substitute? That's my philosophy, and all the better if it tastes good. She gave me one and another half of her strips, and they tasted okay to me. They tasted like the kind of thing I would order from the kids' menu at TGI Fridays or something like that. They tasted meaty but not in a scary way, and they had kind of a dry-ish taste. They tasted like the kind of meat I didn't enjoy eating as a kid, but I think that is the kind of meat my mom does like the taste of. Anyway...



My dad ordered the Bongo Congo, a warm bowl of steamed vegetables, brown rice, banana yam garnish, a curried sauce, and grilled "Save the Chicken" spears. The presentation was absolutely gorgeous -- I love how they use the skewers. Eating an entree like this is so exciting; it's like an adventure! He really liked it, and I was happy that he got in a meal with whole grains, vegetables, and cruelty-free protein. Yesss!



I've had a reuben fetish lately, so ordering the Native Reuben was a no-brainer for me. Served with a side of light and refreshing Thai cole slaw, the reuben came with blackened tempeh, sauerkraut, Thousand island dressing, Native "cheese," lettuce, carrot, and red onions -- all served open-faced on an organic sprouted brown rice and wheat ciabatta.







The ciabatta bread was soft and delicious, and the sauerkraut added a ton of flavor to the sandwich. (But duh, I know, a reuben isn't a reuben without sauerkraut.) Truthfully, I completely forgot about the "cheese" while I was eating and I don't even remember tasting it. So score there -- at least it wasn't off-putting! I loved my sandwich and gobbled it up entirely too fast. I definitely could have gone for more veggies, but I chose something else to fill me up...





Native Foods' Peanut Butter Parfait is supposed to be legendary, so I didn't hesitate to order it for dessert. A creamy blend of peanut butter and Tofutti soy cream cheese, this dessert certainly hit the spot. It was completely satisfying and cool; it tasted kind of like peanut butter cheesecake in spoonable form, and the parfait was dotted with big chocolate chips and crumbled Boogie bars (keep reading to find out about those!). My mom and dad both enjoyed their tastes of my dessert, and I polished it off by myself, as my sister was completely uninterested in going near a tofu-laden dessert. Her loss. Vegans dine well at this place, my friends.



So this little visit wasn't quite enough for Ruby Red. I had to go back for a second round before my plane took off back to Texas yesterday! After keeping the paper menu in my purse for a couple days and reading it cover to cover, I entered the doors of Native Foods, ready for a Gandhi bowl.



Similar to the Bongo Congo entree my dad had ordered on our last visit, the Gandhi holds skewers of blackened tempeh supported by a slice of banana squash (which tasted just like a mango), nested with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, yams, kale, and crisp cabbage along with hot brown and jasmine rice. The whole thing was served topped with wild curry sauce and dried cranberries.


(Deskewered)

This meal was certainly a fiesta for the eyes, and it was a party in my mouth too, with all the interesting flavors and textures! It also kept me nice and full all day, because it was full of whole foods and yummy nutrients. I could eat this meal and many variations of it again and again, and this particular bowl of food is what makes me think that my cooking is going to go in a very different direction from here on out. My parents bought me a copy of the Native Foods restaurant cookbook, and I can't wait to recreate many dishes straight from their menu! I definitely need to buy some skewers to play with more creative presentations of tempeh, seitan, and tofu in the future.



I forgot to mention that Native Foods makes their own tempeh, with their own starter culture and everything! Homemade tempeh really makes a difference, and it wasn't bitter in the least. I feel a tempeh addiction coming on...



I saved my Boogie bar for a snack at the airport. It was seriously wonderful and reminded me of something I've had before, only it was a hundred times yummier than this mystery memory! The bar was moist and had the perfect amount of banana taste balanced with studs of chocolate chips: This wondrous Boogie bar contains slivered almonds, wheat flour, bananas, oats, coconut, chocolate chips, and vanilla, and better yet, I have the recipe for them in my newly acquired cookbook. And the best part is that they weren't sugar-crash inducing either. Yee-haw for Native Foods! I love that place.



I wanted to dedicate this entire post to my Native Foods adventures, but my other California adventures will be in my next post, so stay tuned!