Tag Archives: vegan

May25

Veggie Galaxy, Central Sq

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Where: Veggie Galaxy – 450 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139
When: May, 2012

After seeing Veggie Galaxy reviewed on one of Boston’s food shows and having heard that they serve breakfast all day long I was eager to get down there and try them out.

Veggie Galaxy is all vegetarian food although everyone I know who has gone there has assured me that us meatatarians won’t miss the meat at all. Alright, bring it.

I like the atmosphere at Veggie Galaxy, its laid back and old school dineresque. (I was very tempted to write “old skool” just then) They have an open kitchen, hightops and a lot of chrome. All good with me.

We decided to split two of their burgers: 1) The Harvard Square Tarragon Basil Pesto Burger which comes with red cabbage slaw, and sweet corn mash. We got this one with the mushroom chickpea burger patty. 2) The Kendall Square Burger which comes with roasted red pepper puree, beer battered onion rings, roasted garlic mayo, and baby arugula. We got this one with the Chipotle black bean burger patty. They were both very different and very good. I did want fries instead of salad but they said they couldn’t do substitutions which I was confused by. In retrospect I could have gotten a side of fries but didn’t think about it.

I started with the Harvard Square Tarragon Basil Pesto Burger as it seemed a little milder in flavors. It was very good with the sweetness of the mash and earthiness of the mushroom patty. The burger patty could have been a little firmer for my likely but the flavor was very good.

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The Kendall Square Burger was a little more gluttonous than the first, with deep fried onion rings right on top – yes. The roasted garlic mayo was one of my favorite parts (you know I love my aiolis).  I think we both may have preferred this burger patty to the first.

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For dessert we split the Sweet Potato Carrot Cake, which is made in-house. The flavors were good but the cake wasn’t very moist. Its likely from having been refrigerated but it just was cold and dry. Not memorable.

Overall, I liked it. I wasn’t knocked off my high booth but it was all good (minus the cake). The service was great and burgers were worth coming back for. I’d recommend it for groups, breakfast, and dinner with friends. Its far from romantic but who needs that all the time anyways, right?

How did Veggie Galaxy measure up? 3 Spoons!

Veggie Galaxy on Urbanspoon

Mar10

Life Alive, Central Sq

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Where: Life Alive – 764 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA
When: Februar, 2012

I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about Life Alive since it opened so was thrilled when an old friend and colleague, Jackie, moved back to town and suggested it to Daniela and I. The plan was lunch but since we pinned down a date I had booked a flight for a mini holiday so we moved it to brunch.

Daniela and I got there a few minutes before Jackie did so we grabbed a table and started scooping out the menu. We didn’t recognize a lot of the sauces so had a hard time distinguishing what was what and hence were no closer to a decision when Jackie arrived. After a few minutes of catching up we re-focused on the menu until we had our choices.

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I got the The Green Goddess: “Our Ginger Nama Shoyu Sauce enhanced by flax oil and garlic, empowering avocado (seasonal), broccoli, dark greens, and tofu. All are served over short-grain brown rice.” I got mine in a salad format (instead of a wrap). It was really filling and full of healthy and earthy ingredients with a zesty tangyness from the dressing. It felt really healthy, like I was doing a really nice thing for my body. It was also very garlicky. Don’t get me wrong, I love garlic but I just couldn’t get over how garlicky it was (I think I must have said “Wow, this is garlicky!” six times). It must have had 12 cloves of garlic in it. I felt bad for whoever was sitting next to me on my 3 hour flight. Yikes!

20120229-165757.jpgDaniela got the The Adventurer: “Our Sesame Ginger Nama Sauce combines with a colorful mix of corn, beets, broccoli, dark greens, shredded cheddar, tofu & tamari
almonds over quinoa & short grain brown rice.” This was recommended by one of the staff members when she asked for a suggestion. He said this is their most popular item on their menu.

20120229-165746.jpgJackie got The Explorer: “Our scrumdelyishus homemade lowfat Red Lentil Hummus, paired with sesame crunches, sundried tomatoes, cucumber, corn, spring mix and a sprinkle of shredded carrots and beets all traveling together with our fantastic honey wasabi vinaigrette. A dreamy destination!” What a description!

Both Daniela and Jackie said they liked their wraps a lot and both took half home as they were so filling (I ate all of mine, ahem).

Overall, I think Life Alive is a great bite place. They don’t have table service so the feel is very casual, more like a cafe, but comfortable. I think its a great alternative to grabbing a burrito or something a little less healthy when you need a quick lunch. I’d definitely go back when I want to grab a quick healthy, filling bite.

How did Life Alive measure up? 3.75 Spoons!

Life Alive on Urbanspoon