What I Ate: South Florida VegFest Edition (Green Juice, Burgers, and Scrambles, Oh My!)

At the beginning of December, I used my very last vacation day to jet-set off to Fort Lauderdale with a friend and fellow VegFest planner for the South Florida VegFest.  If you can't use your vacation for amazing vegan food, then what's the point? 

I woke up in the middle of the night and made my way to the airport to catch my 5:55 am flight on Southwest.  (Gotta love an airline that offers round-trip tickets for under $150 AND still allows free bags.  Unlike Frontier, they don't skimp on every other thing, either.)  I was exhausted but so glad to have such an early flight time.  That way, I'd arrive in Ft Lauderdale just in time for breakfast.  First stop, Holi Vegan Kitchen in North Miami Beach.

After my flight, I was craving a green juice, so that was the first thing I ordered.  I requested the Live Juice No. 2, which contains cucumber, pineapple, green apple, and mint.  It was incredibly refreshing and a great way to welcome myself to the beach.  For breakfast, I had the tofu scramble and whole grain toast.  They mix cashew cheese in with their scramble, and it is divine.  I've never done that, but I'm going to start.  Holy cow!  My friend ordered the roasted tofu veggie tacos, which looked and smelled amazing.  Those got a thumbs-up as well.  Basically, everything we had was delicious.  The décor of the place is very pleasant, too.  From the bright dining area with industrial lighting, to the octopus coat hanger and art in the restroom, the vibe flowed very nicely.  It was a lovely way to start the weekend, and I will definitely go back the next time I find myself in the Miami area.

After breakfast, we cruised around Miami for a bit taking in the gorgeous architecture and the interesting people.  There was a HUGE art festival going on that weekend, so the city was busier than usual.  Traffic was a nightmare, but luckily, we weren't in a hurry.  We stopped in at Under the Mango Tree in the Art Deco district for another green juice, because one is never enough.  I had the Pure Green.  It's a combo of kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, ginger, and orange, and I loved it, of course.  It wasn't a sweet juice like the first one I had that day, but it was quite nourishing and a great way to get a boost of energy.

Saw this awesome message permanently placed in the sidewalk of 6th Street on the same block as Under the Mango Tree.  Spreading the word!

We got our juice to go and headed north.  After checking in to my hotel, spending some time with my toes in the sand, and getting refreshed, it was time to consider what was on the menu for dinner.  Since I was in a hot climate, I was pretty excited to eat some raw food, and there was a great option about 20 minutes away:  The Green Wave Café.

The Green Wave Café is an all plant-based and raw restaurant in Plantation, FL.  It's a cozy little spot with a few tables and a long bar that allows you to visit with the staff while they make your food.  I love a restaurant where I can make friends while I eat.  I had a great conversation with a few staff members that evening.  They were preparing for the South Florida VegFest the following day, and the place smelled incredible from all of the food being made.  The menu at Green Wave is quite large, so it was difficult to choose which amazing meal to have, but I decided to order their signature dish:  The raw vegan cheeseburger.  Yes, that's a thing.  And you guys, it was insane!  I've never tasted anything like it.  It was quite possibly the best thing I've ever had from a raw restaurant, and I've been to New York City! 

The bread, the dehydrated burger, the veggies, and OMG! that cheese.  I can't even convey how delicious is was.  You just have to try it to know.  The side was a shaved green bean and carrot salad of some sort which was very creative. I've never had green beans that way.  It also came with a side salad, so it was a great amount of food for $14.50, I thought. 

A lovely start to my meal:  a green salad with sprouted lentils and red pepper dressing.

Being that I was at a raw restaurant, I HAD to have dessert.  Anyone who knows me knows I can't pass up raw dessert.  I have an addiction.  First step is admitting it, right?  By the front door was a large drink cooler filled with decadent healthy treats, and it was SO hard to choose which one to get, but after much deliberation, I settled on the turtles.  Caramely, chocolately goodness for the win!  They were gooey, sweet, and rich.  Definitely hit the spot. 

Not a bad way to end a Friday night.

Saturday morning, I got up, had some water, did a bit of stretching, and made my way to the venue 3 hours ahead of the vegfest to help set up.  I ended up directing vendors to their booths all morning and walked my booty off.  These types of events get me so pumped and excited.  When we did our vegfest last spring, I barely slept the night before (like 4 hours at most), but I was energized and upbeat all day.  There's just something about the energy and positivity when you get so many plant-based and health-conscious folks in one place.  It's palpable. 

Once the event began, I couldn't wait to make my way around and meet new people, try new products, and eat myself into a coma.  There were so many samples being given out that I didn't even eat breakfast, I just tried a little of this, a little of that.  I made a great new friend when I met Phil, a fellow volunteer.  There were so many interesting people there.  I had the opportunity to meet Jordan and Lena from Conscious Muscle, who I've been following on social media for a while, and bought one of their tank tops.  "Killing Workouts, Not Animals" seems to be my motto lately, so how perfect the shirt is for me. 

Not sure why I look half- creepy (good curl day, though), but they were so nice.  It's always good to meet people you look up to and find out they're not douche bags.

Once things were flowing well and I wasn't needed as much, I decided it was time to eat, or rather, my stomach decided for me.  It was hard to choose which amazing vendor to buy lunch from, but I finally settled on a burger from Gimme A Burger in Pembroke Pines.  The smell was so enticing that I couldn't pass them up.  I got mine fresh off the grill, and opted to have no toppings so that I could get the full flavor of the burger itself. 

One nice thing about having your vegfest in south Florida is that you can have people eat at picnic tables outside in December and not freeze to death.  So, a few of us took our burgers outside to eat in the sun.  And honestly, it was a damn good burger.  I'm very picky about my veggie burgers.  They usually fall apart or get mushy, but this one had a really nice "meaty" texture and lots of flavor.  Gimme A Burger actually offers three vegan burgers.  This one was the Veganator, but they offer a quinoa and a falafel burger, as well.  I'd love to try those, too.  I'll have to venture back to Florida very soon to eat all of the food I didn't get to try on this trip.

When we finished lunch, we made our way back inside to check out some of the new products we hadn't yet seen.  There were cookies, chocolates, protein bars, travel packs of pre-made oatmeal, crackers, chips, you name it.  So many awesome things.  One of the most unique items I saw was Sparkling Bitters drink.  I imagine some people more well versed in alcoholic beverages than I could make some fancy drinks with this stuff.  I liked it as it was, though.  It was refreshing.

Among the new products being showcased was my new favorite protein bar, Planet Protein. 

Planet Protein is a startup company that will be launching very soon. The bars are vegan, gluten-free, and non-GMO, featuring organic superfoods.  They spent a lot of time and money creating the bar they envisioned, and it shows.  My usual complaint with vegan protein bars is that they're too light, leaving me hungry 45 minutes later.  These, however, are very filling and stick with me for a while.  I had the pleasure of taking a few of these bars home with me and have used them as workout fuel a few times.  I can honestly say that they do their job.  And not only that, but they taste pretty darn great, too.  There's a cocoa peanut butter crunch and a cherry almond fudge flavor.  Both flavors are delicious, but peanut butter will always hold a special place in my heart.  Brenden, the founder, ended up having dinner with us, so we learned a lot about the journey to bring Planet Protein to the masses.  I can't wait for them to launch so everyone can try them.  It's a great product, for sure.

The vegfest was a huge success, and made for a very exciting day for me, but when it was done, I couldn't wait to have some more amazing vegan food.  We ended up at a local spot called Sublime in Ft Lauderdale.  Sublime is a very cool vegan restaurant with a great high-end vibe.  Luckily, there wasn't a dress code, cuz I was sporting my cutoff shorts, Conscious Muscle tank, and flip flops.  I wasn't really dressed for dinner out at a nice place.  Ha! 

We started with appetizers.  We were told that the Frito Misto was a must, so that was a no-brainer, and we also ordered the black bean sliders. 

Frito Misto:  a.k.a. sex on a plate.

The Frito Misto is crispy cauliflower in sweet chili sauce with sesame seeds.  It was insanely good.  Like, we all agreed that it was delectable and we could eat ourselves to death with this and die completely happy.  If you ever go to Sublime, you MUST try it.  Brenden even ordered it again as his meal!

The black bean burgers were good, but didn't hold a candle to the cauliflower.  I mean, it's not their fault, nothing can live up to those expectations. 

Dinner for me was the arugula flatbread, and I was a little disappointed.  I felt that there weren't enough toppings on it, and it was kind of bland.  The crust was more like a cracker than bread, and the sauce was all in the center.  I found myself wishing I'd ordered something else. 

Everything we had for dinner:  Flatbread, Frito Misto with rice, and lasagna.

Two of my dinner companions ordered the lasagna and gave it rave reviews.  I tasted it and yeah, it was pretty awesome.  We had a really nice time at dinner getting to know new people, especially vegan people.  The company was the highlight of the night.  Service was impeccable, too.  Never did our glasses go empty, and the food arrived in a timely manner.  Overall, I would say to definitely check out Sublime, but avoid the flatbread unless you're having an upset stomach and are out of saltines. 

Dessert was this decadent, rich, OH-so-good chocolate cake that we all shared.

The next day was a day for relaxation, so I woke up late, got in a good hour of yoga in my hotel room floor before heading out to grab brunch at a juice spot in Boca Raton.

We drove up the coast through all of the really expensive homes to find Raw Juce, an organic juice bar offering cold-pressed juices and lots of smoothie bowls.  I had the Cacao Protein Crunch Acai Bowl (without honey) and a Ginger Green juice.  The presentation of the bowl was gorgeous, and it was everything a good acai bowl should be.  Creamy, crunchy, fruity, chocolatey, nutty.  The juice was succulent, as well.  The shop itself has a really cool vibe, which made the experience even more enjoyable.  I've often dreamed of opening a juice bar/vegan restaurant, and this is exactly the kind of look I would go for.  Industrial but warm.  Lots of wood and steel.  I loved it!

That afternoon, I spend a few hours soaking up the beach, even though it was mostly overcast, because I had to fly home that night.  I even managed a little bit of beach yoga.

That evening, when it was almost time to head home, I decided to have one more vegan meal.  I found a restaurant close to the airport, Clovermint Café.  It was a small café in a strip mall, very unassuming, but quite lovely inside.  Housing an eclectic mix of art and knick-knacks for sale, Clovermint also serves as a market, and they have a coffee bar.  On Sundays, they offer brunch all day, so I (of course) opted for the tofu scramble.  I just can't say no to a good scramble.  Theirs comes with home fries mixed in, cashew cheese on top, and a drizzle of buffalo sauce.  This gal loves potatoes and buffalo sauce, so I was excited.  As a matter of fact, when I was pregnant, the only thing I ever really craved was buffalo sauce.  I would put it on everything!  So why not on tofu scramble?  And you know what?  It was the bomb.  Their scramble was every bit as good as Holi Kitchen, but just different.  It was a great way to bid farewell to a fabulous, whirlwind weekend with amazing food and people. 

At 8 pm that night, I boarded my plane for home, slightly sad to be leaving such a beautiful place, but grateful for the good times and new friends I'd made.  Since returning home, we've all kept in touch (Thank you, social media!), and I'm sure we'll all get together again soon.

If I ever have the opportunity, I will live in the Miami area.  I absolutely love it there.  I feel the ocean call to me.  The people are friendly, the sun shines most of the year, the humidity makes my curls perfect (huge plus!), there's vegan food everywhere, and juice on every corner.  I've been three times now, and each time it gets harder to leave.  There are so many vegan restaurants I've yet to try, so I'm looking forward to returning in 2017, and next time, it'll be for more than a weekend.