December 30, 2008

Boba House and other updates.

I have missed my web log. The flu (zomg vegans are so unhealthy) and travel (three cancelled flights!) have made it tough to update. But I am back, and boy oh boy do I have some porn for you.

Danny and I got stuck in Greensboro, North Carolina when our flight home was cancelled, so we made the best of it by getting a cheap hotel, a teensy little rental car, and searching Happy Cow. Boba House was the only vegetarian place listed in Greensboro, and the reviews were great so we gave it a go. 

It was so good. Let me show you:

Vegan bubble tea, in Lycee.


Lettuce wraps with vegan chicken. Awesome seasoning and dipping sauce. Messy and fun.



Mixed bowl with grilled chicken, which you can't see, but was excellent.


Seared tuna. This was amazing. It had skin! And tuna texture! And tuna flavor! And the sauce was great.


Kahlua cake. So delicious. Danny doesn't even like chocolate cake (I know, right?), and he was scraping the plate.


I would like to take this opportunity to talk about mock meats. Someone recently asked me why I even bother with them. "If you don't like to eat meat, what's the point? If you want a meat-like food, why not just eat meat?" I know a few people that have gone veg because they dislike the taste of meat, but I think that ethics, environment, and health are probably (by far) the biggest reasons that people choose not to eat meat.

Ethics and environment are the two most important reasons that I went vegan. The grossness of meat was barely a factor. I am grossed out by thinking about where meat comes from, but I think that falls under ethics. The bottom line is that I liked the taste of some meats, especially fish, and am always psyched to find a good substitute. The tuna at Boba House is an amazing substitute, and I am on a mission to find out how to get it here.

So to answer the questions above, I like the taste of meat, but it's cruel and environmentally irresponsible to eat it, so I don't. I like to have a distinct, toothsome protein at most meals, and mock meats, home made or store bought, fit this niche.

I am curious to hear what other vegans and vegetarian think about mock meats. Be sure to send me a link if you post on this.

4 comments:

  1. I am a raw foodist (vegan), but in general, I think that mock meats are HEALTHIER than meat, but not healthy. They are highly processed, usually with isolated soy protein, salty, and are commonly cooked in many oils.

    That said, however, ethically, I don't see an issue with them if they are vegan (don't contain eggs, egg whites, dairy).

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  2. Is Danny eating chocolate and drinking tea now?

    Everything looks very yummy. I LOVE boba tea. They have one in Tampa right next to USF that i used to stop by after class. Oh PS! I decided to stop eating shellfish (last thing to ween out). Officially an ovo-lacto vegetarian now. Woot! And I think we're going to only have organic eggs and dairy until we can cut that out too.

    I love mock meats though. It satisfies any cravings i may have. It can be tough when I'm watching a restaurant commercial and the cheesburgers and cold beer just look so good, I just don't know if i could resist without having TVP and veggie burgers in existance. Also it has made it easier for me and the hubs to transition to vegetarianism - from the omni mindset its hard to think of balanced meals without having a meat involoved, so being able to sub in mock meats allows us to make our favorite meals that we know by memory, but in a healther and more ethically and enviornmentally responsible way.

    Hearts! Glad you finally made it home.
    XO

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  3. Woo! Congrats! If I locate this tuna I will ship you some you can celebrate with. The mock shrimp is supposed to be amazing as well.

    Danny has been veg for less than a year, and fish was really the only meat he ate before going veg, so I know that it's not just that I haven't had it in forever. You would not believe this stuff.

    See you in a few weeks! <3

    Oh! And that chocolate and caffeine thing was very short lived. Not eating chocolate is equivalent to liking food, dating wise, if you know what I'm saying.

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  4. I have never liked the taste of meat and when I realized I could be vegan and never have to eat it again I was so happy. I came across veganism however because of the environmental and ethical issues of raising livestock--so I went vegan due to ethics and health choices but am so happy not to eat things that look or taste remotely of meat. I don't have a problem with people who do like mock meats though =)

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