There are times in your life that you know good things are about to happen. After the lunch we had earlier I though that's gonna be tough to beat. After driving around checking out the sites and finding our hotel I was completely amazed with how awesome the climate is is southern Cali. We peddled around Coronado Island for a bit checking out the bay and deciding on dinner.
We had googled up the Native Food Cafe back home and the wife already had a menu printed out, but online warned us to get there early has the get very busy especially on a Friday night. It was 35 min drive from where we were I thought no problem, ha ha ha it took us almost a hour and a half to get there. The whole drive I was read the menu over and over again, I was excepted a lot from this place from the reviews that people had left they said were unreal.
We found this place tucked into strip plaza next to Ralph's grocery store so there was ample parking as a long as you didn't mind walking a bit for it. As soon as you walk in and see the huge place all lit up with bright lights it was almost like walking through the pearly gates, I was expecting doves to flying out. Now I knew what I was getting even before I even got off the airplane, before I was vegan I would drag my family on 12 hour round trip to NYC just for me to get a Reuben sandwich at the world famous Katz Deli. For those who don't know of Katz well let me tell you that it is hands down the bestest non-vegan sandwich that I have ever eaten in my life, you will never find a flavor like that anywhere in the coastal US trust me I have searched. After becoming a vegan I understood there were certain foods that I will never eat again and I was ok with it because of the medical and moral choices that I have made. Now here I am staring a menu the has the words VEGAN REUBEN on it I was speechless and a little skeptical. We made our order to the friendly man behind the counter who hooked us up with a free dessert for it being our first time there, which we will discuss those in a bit.
The drinks are made-from-scratch daily from Chef’s original recipes.
Lavender Lemonade
French lavender steeped with fresh lemons. Sweetened with organic sugar.
Watermelon Fresca
Fresh watermelon and a touch of mint. Sweetened with organic agave.
Native Iced Tea
Organic hibiscus and wild berry tea. Sweetened with organic agave.
Wow are these drinks out of this world good at home I am a straight water and black coffee with a daily juices blend so being able to have these drinks with dinner was a real treat. We mixed and matched the drinks to find the best possible combo, mine was all 3 mixed together and the wife stuck with the watermelon fresca. The free refills were awesome and they will even give you a to-go cup when you are leaving.
It only took our order less than 10 minutes to come to the table, and there it was right in front of me a Classic Deli Reuben Thinly-sliced, deli-style Native Reuben Seitan piled high on grilled marble rye. Topped with homemade sauerkraut, Native Horseradish Cheese and a slather of Russian dressing for $9.95. There is no known words to describe what I was feeling that given moment in time, it was almost like someone told you will never see sun again and there I was sitting in the sunshine. It was a perfectly made sandwich made with lots of love. To be able to find any way tell you about how close this seitan to real meat is very difficult it had perfect taste, texture, and smell to corn-beef. This might have been the best 10 dollars that I have ever spent in my life. Every bite that I took the wife could see it in my face it was paradise for me it was truly excellence.
Now the wife ordered the Super Italian Meatball Sub it was
Native Sausage Seitan meatballs, marinara sauce, caramelized onions, roasted sweet peppers, pumpkin seed pesto, ranch dressing and Native Parmesan on a warm grilled baguette for $7.95. As I was consumed with greatness on my side of the table I look over to the the massive sandwich in front of the wife. Now I have been searching for a perfect vegan meatball to make a home I can only hope to learn this recipe. Every aspect of this sandwich was perfect from the meatball its self to the perfectly toasted baguette everything works in the masterpeice of this sandwich. Now their fries are thinly cut and perfectly cooked, they are a awesome addition to this or any sandwich. Now the wife ordered the Super Italian Meatball Sub it was
After a couple of days of touring around the San Diego area I was looking forward to returning to this place to try more items on the menu. All I truly wanted was the same sandwich that I had before but I forced myself to order new items, man I am sure glad I did. I went with the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger their thinly sliced Native Original Seitan, melted cheddar, caramelized onions, and crispy Native Bacon on a bun slathered with BBQ sauce and ranch dressing, romaine, carrots, onions, and tomato. Topped with crunchy battered dill pickle chips for $9.95. The wife went with the Chicken Run Ranch Burger Crispy battered Native Chicken, ranch dressing, romaine, carrots, and onions. What everyone would eat if chickens ran the ranch for $9.95. My sandwich did not disappoint me at all the seitan was out of this world awesome, the only thing to say is I think that its should be more considered a brisket sandwich instead of a burger. The thinly sliced seitan was perfectly cover coated with the BBQ sauce (which was great sauce) and it reminded me more of a brisket. The battered pickle chips could of been a meal on their own but were a tremendous topping to have. The chicken sandwich was cooked to perfection, I challenge any meat eater to try this sandwich and tell me that it is not better than any chicken sandwich they can find! They won't be able to and maybe we will get a few more vegans out of it.
Now the desserts were on a whole new level for me, on the menu are 7 different desserts and in two visits we sampled 4 of them. Now I could search the net looking for big words that would try to describe how awesome these desserts are but that would be a complete waste of time. The only words you need to hear are out of this world good. Now our favorite was the Oatmeal creme pie I will be making these when I get home doubt about it.
Native Pumpkin Pie Cheese Cake- This was their special that night, it's not on their regular menu.
Zucchini Date Cake
A light and moist cake made with fresh orange juice, dates and swirled with zucchini ribbons. Served with coconut caramel sauce.
Oatmeal Creme Pie
Whipped vanilla creme sandwiched between two soft baked oatmeal cookies.
Peanut Butter Parfait
Creamy whipped peanut butter filling layered between Boogie Bar crumbles and chocolate chips. Agave sweetened.
This place had some of the best service I have ever seen, they maybe a chain restaurant but the have not lost any compassion when it come to the food or the cleanliness of their restaurant. I am sure not matter what city you are if there is a Native Food Cafe any where close by make the trip you will happy you did.
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