Carmelita @ Seattle

It was my Birthday ( Yeah, Happy B'day to me) and A took me to Carmelita for dinner. This is a lovely vegetarian restaurant in Greenwood, Seattle. It is one of those restaurants where the chefs can never go wrong in their preparation.The food is a fusion of everything on Earth and has a very distinct flavor that is tough to imitate.

Carmelita looks like a house that's apparently converted into a restaurant. Parking can be a little tricky, given that there are a lot of other restaurants nearby and Carmelita is packed even on weekdays!
They have a happy hour from 5 to 7pm at the bar. The bar menu is only $5.00 during HH. My recommendation is to get there just before the HH ends and order food from the bar menu and then move to a table for the main course.

I asked the bartender to make me a mocktail, and she made one with kumquat, lemon juice, pineapple juice et al.

We got the Spaghetti squash bonbons with red pepper rouille and fried Marcona almonds

It is a type of squash that's basically breaded and fried. The curry had a very asian flavor, like, Indian-Malaysian fusion or something. The toasted almonds were slightly salty and very crunchy. The portion was so small; we nibbled it off in two bites and were left craving for more.

Next, we ordered the Mini Pizza - Roasted sunchoke & white truffle puree, Hen of the Woods mushrooms, toasted pecans, roasted garlic, watercress salad, sunchoke chips.

The Pizza was fantastic. It was very thin crusted and crisp, and, at the same time the white truffle puree gave it a slightly soft texture. The roasted garlic, toasted pecans and the crispy sunchoke chips, made it one of a kind. Something I haven't had before. It was quite filling and a real bargain for $5.00.

It happened to be a bright and sunny day and they had their patio open.We moved to the patio for the main course.

It was getting slightly chilly and the waitress even brought out a blanket for me. We ordered the Sweet potato gnocchi, garlicky broccolini, Madeira-Shallot-Maple syrup sauce, crispy yams.

This was totally awesome. I can't find words to describe the actual flavor and taste. I highly recommend this entree. I have had Gnocchi before, but the sweet potato Gnocchi is a beautiful creation. The fusion adopted here is really brilliant. The creaminess of the Italian Gnocchi is replaced with Asian flavors. The crispy yams and the garlicky broccoli are wonderful sides to this dish. Oh god! I want some. Now!

And then, we ended the sublime dinner with the dessert of the day - Rose water crème brûlée with candied rose petals! It was like heaven on earth, in a cup :). It arrived at my table with a candle, to remind me am an year older.

It consisted of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel. The custard was rose water flavored. The pink pieces in the picture above are the candies rose petals. Another wonderful innovation. Once I dug into the hard caramel, this is how it looked inside-

The service was a little slow and the restaurant was kind of packed. But the food compensated for all the other teeny tiny complaints. They have a really unique menu. Will definitely be back some day to try something different.

Sublime @ Ft Lauderdale

We were in Florida for a week, exploring the atlantic coast, the gulf coast and Key West, and were enjoying the savor of the different cuisines. We were traveling the Bourdain way ;-). The very first evening we landed in Miami, we forayed to Sublime. We found this gem when we googled for vegetarian restaurants in Miami/Ft Lauderdale.

This restaurant has an amazing decor and the food is incredible! It is cholestrol-free, vegan and a fusion of everything you can find on earth!. The ingredients used are natural and organic! It all sums up to an upscale restaurant that stands out for its food and decor.

Talking about the decor, you will find cascading window waterfalls, skylights through which moonlight was streaming, Italian glass tiles, an open-hearth oven, and exotic trees reminiscent of a tropical rainforest.

The wait staff was quite knowledgable about the food and patiently answered our questions.The service was quick too.
We ordered the sublime ade to start with. It is a freshly squeezed lemonade. Very refreshing.

We were served a complimentary appetizer - pesto polenta. Basically, it was polenta marinated in pesto sauce, and the pesto was devoid of pine nuts.

We ordered the famous Frito Misto - crispy cauliflower tossed in sweet chili sauce, garnished with sesame seeds. It was outstanding!

For the main course, we got the Sublime Picatta - gardein cutlets, grilled asparagus, olive oil whipped potatoes and lemon caper sauce. The caper was sour and had a very interesting taste.Gardein is actually the "meat", a protein alternative made from transformed wheat and soy, floured and sauteed until a gentle crust forms, then combined with a well-balanced lemon caper sauce. It is something we have never had before and very outlandish!

And then for dessert, the Chocolate Nirvana - chocolate cake, Kahlua “butter creme”, dark chocolate ganache. It is dairy-free and I swear we would never have known the difference!

A: Can't believe this is vegan!
Me: I wish they gave the chocolate in a bowl, instead of making designs on the plate... Easier to lick it off, you know?

I was in heaven while drowning myself in every bite of this gorgeous looking dessert.

It came to $52 for the two of us with tax, but the experience was truly sublime. You can order anything of the menu and will never be disappointed. Nothing can ever go wrong at Sublime.

Tip - Follow them on twitter for some amazing coupons and deals!