Vegan Salad Roll: So Easy You Can Make At Home!

By Jessica Michael

This little caterpillar-looking roll is a vegan salad roll available at many fine sushi restaurants (and Publix stores!).  These are my new favorite, I can’t get enough of them and at only about 130-180 calories for two rolls, they are a great snack or addition to any meal.  I actually had them for a pre-lunch snack and then proceeded to snarf down a 10 piece-brown rice veggie roll which topped out at around 400 calories for both (it was a huge meal for so little calories).

Publix offers their salad rolls with a duck sauce but I’m partial to ordinary-ol’ soy sauce.  This wrap is vegan and gluten-free because it’s made of tapioca; a sticky, thin wrap around slices of just-ripe avocado, red cabbage, carrots, cucumber and lettuce.  You can certainly make them at home fairly easily and bring them to work with you or have as a late night snack (this is a no-cheat wonder).  *Note that there is a warning that some tapioca wraps are mixed with wheat so please check ingredients before buying.

I wish I had a better picture for you but my Nikon is hanging on the back of the bedroom closet door waiting for batteries that I keep forgetting to buy.

The only downside to this little wonder is that it’s a bit pricey at $5 for just vegetables but again, you can probably make twenty of them at home for the same price (although I don’t think they will keep that long).  I found some online and it seems that you can probably find the wrappers at an Asian grocery somewhere in your neighborhood.  If you want to buy them online, here is a link to Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Spring-wrappers-paper-Erawan-brand/dp/B000F3NQKS.

POC Sushi Buffet, Weston

By Jessica Michael

At the risk of exposing this secret hideaway, I’d love to tell you about this amazing Sushi Buffet a friend took me to this weekend.  It’s quaint and looks like it’s not open but if you round the corner, you’ll find bamboo, tables and a “we’re open” sign.

The special part of coming here is that the sushi is crisp and delicious – it was the best sushi I’ve had in a long time and it didn’t have just avocado and cucumber!  Plus your take-home is by the pound; two rolls (for my husband) of smoked salmon was only $8.79!  That’s 16 pieces and I had also added two sashimi!  Those prices are unheard of unless you know a great local dive.

We came for the buffet which was “unlimited” sushi bar/buffet, Miso soup, Hibachi Veggies and dessert ($12.75).  The service is very good and extremely helpful.  Overall, this place is a “must-try” for any sushi enthusiast.

For more information on POC, go to http://www.pocbuffet.com/en/.  They have locations in Weston and Coral Gables.

Hibachi Grilled Vegetables

Miso Soup

Veggie Salad Sushi

Visit the Cinebistro at Dolphin Mall for a Royal Vegetarian Experience

A special thanks again to Chef Justin of the Cinebistro at Dolphin Mall (Miami, FL) for the amazing vegetarian spread. We recently reviewed Cinebistro for their amazing cuisine and exceptional customer service (see our reviews here and here), and Chef Justin invited us back for an amazing custom vegetarian meal. We were excited to meet the man behind the great cuisine, as well. He is just as down to earth and friendly in person as he was over e-mail, giving his time to speak with us and experiment with some of his vegetarian ideas. Ashley loved the meaty portabello mushroom over Asian noodles, while Jessica thought the caramel-banana cream puffs were divine. We both think all dishes were more than worthy of spots on Cinebistro’s menu. Who knew such creativity would hide behind the kitchen walls of a movie theatre?!

Here are some photos of the amazing meal that Chef Justin prepared for us, we have only praise to give him and his colleagues for the wonderful restaurant experience they have created inside Cinebistro.

Tomato-Jalapeño Ceviche

Vegetable Sushi

Portabello Asian Noodles

Caramel Banana Cream Puffs

Jessica, Chef Justin and Ashley

A Taste of Thai Café: Miami Lakes, FL

by Ashley Morgan

Today I told Jessica I had a craving for something different, so we thought and thought, finally remembering one of our favorite little places right in the heart of Miami Lakes. Outside the restaurant is a charming street filled with jewelry shops, imported clothing and several boutiques and restaurants. Within the restaurant, warm lighting and décor are accented by Bombay-style ceiling fans. The staff is always extremely friendly, as well as the owners (whom I’ve never met, but have seen on the local South Florida show “Check, please! South Florida” starring chef Michelle Bernstein).

Wanting something a little more satisfying than veggie sushi, I opted for the vegetable fried rice and cup of miso soup. I’d never had the fried rice here, but knowing how much I love Vietnamese style fried rice, I was hoping the Thai version would be just as tasty. My first course of miso soup was wonderful. The miso soup here is freshly made, which is a nice change from several “Americanized” sushi, Thai and Japanese restaurants around, and the flavor profile of the tofu, nori and fresh broth was amazing. My main course, the vegetable fried rice, was not quite as tasty as I expected, but still good. It would have been nice to have more fresh vegetables, fried onions and other seasonings. There was a ton of rice! But for the price and location, this is still one of my favorite restaurants lining Main Street and for a $10 lunch of this quality, we will certainly be back.

Cinebistro at Dolphin Mall has a Secret Weapon: Chef Justin

by Ashley Morgan

Jessica and I have a taste for the finer things in life: food, wine and movie theatres that are not only 21+ (to keep the rifraff kids out) but also provide plush seating with waiter service. While these things all come at a premium, who really can put a price on comfort?  And Cobb Cinebistro at the Dolphin Mall in Miami, FL certainly knows it. Paying double the normal movie ticket price will bring you not only a movie sans crying babies, but also uniformed servers at your beckoning call, bringing you foodie delights from wonderful Chef Justin and his crew, along with great bar service. “But Ashley,” you say, “there aren’t any real vegan or vegetarian options on the menu!” To that, my dear friends, I send you to Chef Justin.

As head chef at the Cinebistro in the Dolphin Mall, all he needs is a short e-mail requesting an item for your diet and he’ll promise to whip you up something special while you’re visiting. Now, I’m not sure that he really wants me posting his e-mail out there in cyberspace for all the spammers to get ahold of, therefore I leave you with the contact form to Cinebistro (which is how I found him originally anyway) and they will forward it to him right away. Click here to send them an e-mail.

For $10.00 (a steal!) Chef Justin specially made me a veggie sushi roll, each piece enormous enough for three bites. I was starving, so I also ordered a hummus appetizer (on Jessica’s recommendation – I told you she likes the finer things in life, she comes here all the time). The sushi roll was so fresh and delicious, better than any other vegetable sushi I’ve ever had. The hummus is also amazing, so much so that I ordered extra pita to eat every last drop that was on my plate. I’m a salt-a-holic, so the saltiness of the olives they use as a garnish really make the dish spectacular.

Next time you are looking for a great date spot or girl’s night out, Cinebistro is certainly the place to be.