With the explosion in the growth of the meat alternatives industry, I was happy to accept an offer to try a few products from Ruth’s Vegetarian Gourmet. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘vegetarian’
Ruth’s Vegetarian Gourmet
Sunday, March 7th, 2021Bowl of Heaven
Sunday, January 15th, 2017I finally got around to visiting the Hilldale location of Bowl of Heaven, which serves acai bowls, smoothies and fresh-squeezed juice. Basically, you’re coming here to get your daily dose of fruits and vegetables in a sweeter, more palatable way.
Acai berries are rich in antioxidents. At Bowl of Heaven, they are frozen and blended with other fruits to make a frozen yogurt-like base for the bowls that are then layered with other ingredients. The bowls come in regular and large sizes, and you should be plenty full after a regular-sized serving.
The Sunset Bowl ($7.50/$9.50) has a blend of pineapple, mango, strawberries, unsweetened coconut milk and MAQ 7 (“a unique blend of nature’s most powerful and exotic superfruits around the world,” according to Bowl of Heaven) and is topped with flax seed granola, shaved coconut, strawberries, kiwis and honey. Obviously, your mouth will experience a breadth of flavors in every bite–for example, the mango brings brightness, and the coconut lingers in your mouth–yet they all harmonize very well.
Meanwhile, you could easily detect the density of the peanut butter bowl ($7.99/$9.99). If you like peanut butter and bananas, the two predominant flavors, you’ll probably enjoy this, but I’m not sure how anyone could eat a large bowl of this. Personally, I would have liked more honey on this bowl, as there were only a few drops of it.
A special bowl for Madison is the UW Badger Bowl ($7.99/$9.99), which is topped with strawberries in a pattern resembling the Union Terrace chairs. For all bowls, you can add “boosts” such as fresh mint or fresh ginger.
Juices include orange juice ($4.99/$6.99) and beet juice ($6.99/$8.99). If you can get past the murky brown color of the Hulk-n-ator ($6.99/$8.99), you may be pleasantly surprised that the lemon and carrots help mask the parsley, kale and spinach flavors. The liquid was thinner than expected, which also made it easier to consume.
If you’re in a hurry, Bowl of Heaven also offers grab-and-go items, such as salads ($5.99) and Paleo treats ($4.50).
Bowl of Heaven is open every day during lunch and dinner times, plus weekday mornings.
Everly
Saturday, January 7th, 2017
One part of Bluephies became Miko Poke, and the other part is now Everly, a California-inspired restaurant that leans heavy on vegetables and grains. Food Fight did a commendable job of making clever, unique restaurants that are worthy of regular visits.
The bright space of Everly includes a full bar, though there are currently no plans for happy hour or nightly drink specials, according to a bartender. I look forward to the summer, when a full-service outdoor eating area will open.
Everly’s menu is robust, so I did my best to try a cross-section of it, starting with the “Vegetables” section. The serving size of the yellow curry eggplant ($7) dish was much smaller than expected. The eggplant was perfectly tender, and the chiles added some welcomed heat, but the curry sauce itself was bland.
The best way to describe the Tuna Conserva Sandwich ($12) is fresh. Everything from the ample tuna to the cucumbers and roasted red peppers exuded freshness. The lemon caper aioli provided the flavor for this sandwich, which was held firmly together by toasted bread. You’ll also find a burger ($12) and a roasted chicken sandwich ($12) among the sandwiches.
“Things on Toast” is actually a section of the menu, and I ordered the seasonal mushroom toast ($11). It’s a minor point, but I liked that the semi-sour, (marrow) buttery toast had slits cut into it to make it easier to pull apart and eat. The abundance of mushrooms, which included shiitake and crimini, captured the flavors of the garlic and herbs with which they were sauteed.
Among the pastas, I chose the Buckwheat Bolognese ($16). The ground Heritage pork, which I look forward to eating at every restaurant in which it’s served, was dry and flavorless, and the buckwheat fettuccine was under-cooked (too al dente for this dish). Fortunately, they were saved by the deep, complex Bolognese sauce, which must’ve absorbed all of the flavor from the pork.
The only sections I missed were salads (I already had enough veggies here) and big/small plates. The latter includes buttermilk fried chicken ($9) and pork + white corn grits ($16). Brunch is served on the weekends.
Everly is open for lunch on weekdays, dinner every day and brunch on weekends.
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