Thursday Thirteen #4

Thirteen Restaurants I Love.

1. Millenium in San Francisco. Can someone please fly me to SF just so I can eat here? Luckily, I ate there a lot in 2005-2006 when I had several business trips to this city. My number one favorite restaurant. Organic, seasonal, vegan gourmet food. Oh, so good. Drool.

2. Blossoming Lotus in Portland (there is one in Kauai, Hawaii as well, but I haven't been to that one. Yet.). I'd eat here weekly if I could. Unfortunately, because it is SO good, I end up spending a lot of money and gorging on the food. Fortunately, it is very reasonably priced. I never leave without some Live Fudge and Flax Seed Crackers. Yum.

3. Sublime in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Okay, I've only had 2 meals there but they were incredible enough to leave a lasting impression on me. I'd love to go back.

4. Bay Leaf in Portland. A bit more on the spendy side but I always stuff myself with their amazing vegan food. I'd go more often if they got a liquor license!

5. Laughing Planet in Portland. They actually have several locations now. Good, relatively cheap wholesome food in an ecclectic setting.

6. Real Food Daily in West Hollywood and Santa Monica, California. I went to the one in West Hollywood many times while on business trips. I went with my cousin Barbara once and Teri Hatcher was eating there as well!

7. Hawthorne Fish and Chips in Portland. Once in a while I have a hankering for the grease, and this is the place to go. Mike declares that they have the best fish and chips he's ever had, and that's significant coming from a native Alaskan. You can choose from 8 different types of fish, and they use rice bran flour and rice oil to cook their fish and fries, so it's a nice break from all the wheat and gluten for those who need it.

8. Peanut Butter and Ellies in Portland. Honestly, the food here is okay. What is awesome is that it is very close to my house (about a mile away) and it is a place where we can eat and Jake can run around and play. Sometimes you just don't want to cook, yet going out to eat with a toddler can be challenging. This place solves both those problems.

9. Kalga Kafe in Portland. This is where I go when I am craving pizza. They make wonderful pizza with a delicious vegan cheese. So good.

10. Wildwood in Portland. They are famous for using local, seasonal, northwest oriented food. And their food is delicious. I have eaten fish there but I have also had them make me a vegan dish and the results are always wonderful.

11. Chez Jose Terwilliger in Portland. A local favorite of mine. It's close to our house, and they serve chips with 2 kinds of salsa (one mild enough for children, and my favorite) right away, so Jake is happy to start eating and doesn't get down from the high chair and run around. Good Mexican food.

12. Bear Tooth in Anchorage, Alaska. I recently got to eat there again, and yum, I forgot how good it is! They have lots of veggie and fish choices on the menu, and Mike and I had a hard time deciding what to get. We weren't disappointed.

13. Whole Foods Market. Okay, I know that this is not a restaurant, but they do have an amazing selection of ready-to-eat foods. Whole Foods has been my restaurant of choice during many business trips, a place for me to go get organic, vegan food when there is nowhere else to go that is close by or convienent. I have visited Whole Foods in Denver, Boulder, Princeton NJ, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, NYC, and Phoenix.