Day 1

Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches

I strive to eat healthily and be as environmentally friendly as possible in my daily life. Therefore I love scouting out restaurants that both serve healthy options and aim to lower their carbon footprint. Homegrown Sandwiches is a recent foodie discovery that not only serves delicious, healthy eats but is committed to being environmentally responsible. I joke that they are the superhero of food because that is what it is! Check out their mission statement:

“We’re so often asked, “what’s a sustainable sandwich?” And we get it, on the surface, it’s just a sandwich! But we believe that something as simple as a sandwich can do big things in the world.

Our idea is that if we thoughtfully curate every little thing about the sandwich - where the grains for the bread come from, how the animals behind our meats and cheeses are raised, what chemicals we’re keeping off our fruits and vegetables - each sandwich will be a little bit healthier for the planet and for the people who enjoy eating them. And when you multiply that effect by all the sustainable sandwiches we sell every day, you can really start to envision the positive change we can have on the food system, even by rallying behind something as simple as a sandwich.

We know it sounds silly, but we call this idea Sandwich Environmentalism, and it’s delicious!”

My team and I pretty much ordered the whole store and even worse we spent hours shooting the food until it got cold. Such typical bloggers. But despite that, the food was STILL DELICIOUS!

Here is a list of things I focused on eating lol (I am mainly vegetarian):

TLT (baked tofu, spinach, cherry tomatoes and roasted garlic aioli):

The sandwich was so delicious, and I was surprised by how filling it was! The tofu was meaty, the bread was perfectly toasty, and the roasted garlic aioli was yummmmmmmmmmmy!

CAPRESE (fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes & pesto):

Hands down the best Caprese I’ve ever had! The bread is something else, guys! And the flavoring of the Caprese was just perfect. Calling all Caprese enthusiast everywhere, you must try this damn sandwich.

QUINOA, SPINACH, SWEET POTATO BOWL (warm quinoa, avocado, steamed spinach, skillet sweet potatoes, roasted tomatoes, pipettes & side of hot sauce bowl):

Light, flavorful, and tasty! I probably wouldn’t get full just eating this bowl alone. I’d recommend getting a half sandwich on the side (I'm also a fatty). Sweet potato is the most dominant flavor, while the other elements serve as great complementary additions.

TOMATO BISQUE:

This soup was yummy but not memorable in my opinion; I’ve had better tomato bisque elsewhere. By no means was it bad, it’s just the other dishes were so good it overshadowed this one ;). I also drank it cold like a vampire.

Day 2

Serious Pie

One of my best friends recommended us to check out Serious Pie. We ended up at the Capitol Hill location where Serious Pie and Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room shared the same housing. And on a Saturday afternoon, I was surprised by how quickly the host seated us. A popular eatery like Serious Pie on an LA weekend would be jam packed with people.

We ordered the special of the day (a vegetarian pizza with olives and squash), roasted seasonal mushrooms, truffle cheese pizza and the smoked prosciutto, local greens, pecorino Sardo pizza. The crust was amazing; it’s a combination of chewy, flaky, and crispy. And the toppings were delicious and flavorful but not overpowering. I was most excited about the roasted seasonal mushrooms, truffle cheese pizza but I found myself picking out half of the thick and meaty mushrooms. Good news for mushroom lovers, so-so news for Sharon. The subtle hint of truffle flavoring was exciting, however. My favorite pizza ended up being the special of the day; the toppings were so scrumptious and balanced. The saltiness of the olives brought out the blandness of the squash.

Overall, this is a fantastic restaurant that serves high-quality pizza. I’d rate it 4.5/5 only because it didn’t beat my all time favorite pizza places: Shakey’s Pizza and Gjelina in Venice, CA. But pretty darn close and worth the visit.

Espresso Vivace

Espresso Vivace serves delicious, high-quality coffee. I ordered the vanilla soy latte (my go to coffee). I am very picky about my coffees, and they made it just right! It was the perfect vanilla soy latte, creamy and flavorful, the perfect amount of sweet ( I am not a fan of super sweet coffee and prefer it on the neutral side) I loved the spacious interior and relaxed atmosphere, it's a great coffee shop to hang out or work.

Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream

If you’re in town, you must cross Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream off your list. It’s easily one of the best Ice Cream’s I've ever tasted. I ordered the lavender honey in a freshly made waffle cone, and it was delicious, rich, and creamy! It was a great balance of honey and lavender, not one flavor overpowering the other.

La Cocina Oaxaquena (not pictured)

I ordered the Vegan tacos and the chips and salsa! The vegan tacos were unexpectedly delicious as they are not a vegan/vegetarian restaurant. But they nailed it with their juicy and flavorful veggie filling, wrapped together with their fluffy tortilla. The chips were also crispy and delish! However, I was not impressed by their salsa bar, salsa.

I wanted to go for round two on the tacos but had to tie myself to a "restraint chair," mentally. But I'll be back tacos, I'll be back..

Day 3

Pike Place Chowder

If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, this may not be your place as they pretty much only have one vegan option aside from salads. I wasn’t a fan of their vegan lime and coconut chowder as the lime flavor was a bit too much for me. I also made the mistake of getting it in a sourdough bread bowl. So the lime and the sour flavor did not mix well. I am willing to try it again without the interference of the sourdough taste.

But for you other guys out there, this is a fantastic place to chow down on some chowder! The New England Clam Chowder was pretty delicious and keep in mind that I am not a big fan of seafood or meat. We also ordered the smoked salmon chowder and the Maine lobster roll. I didn’t eat those, but my team who, loved it.

The Chocolate Market Seattle’s Vintage Candy Boutique (not pictured)

The Chocolate Market Seattle’s Vintage Candy Boutique was an accidental discovery; I was trying to seek shelter from the cold. When I walked in and saw a bunch of chocolate bars I was like “ahh, I need to get one.” I got the marshmallow chocolate bar. IT WAS DELICIOUS and gone way too soon. Rip, marshmallow chocolate bar.