The Lemon Tree - St. Catharines

A1-395 Ontario Street
St. Catharines, ON

Phone: 289-362-4000

My first thought is just to say "wow". This little gem has been in this location for 2-1/2 years, and somehow, I had never ventured in. I'm so glad that I finally did.

The Lemon Tree is a Mediterranean bistro with a decidedly Greek leaning. Greek salad, hummus, tzatziki, pita bread. All kinds of deliciousness. Check out their menu.

I started off sharing the bruschetta and really enjoyed it.  I don't know the brand of mozzarella that was used, but it was delicious; no chemical aftertaste. For my main entree, I had the veggie skewers. They were perfectly caramelized on the grill and especially tasty when I dipped them in the tzatziki sauce. The meal also came with roasted lemon potatoes (my favourite), and steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower).

The lunch options were even more plentiful:

Apps:
Bruschetta, cheese platter, hummus dip, tzatziki dip, and Mediterranean pizza.
Salads, Soups, and Fries:
Soup of the day, Caesar salad, Greek salad, Garden salad, fries, poutine.
Lunch:
Vegan wrap, Chick'n wrap, Open chick'n sub, vegan burger.

The service was great (thanks Nicole), just the right tempo.

We didn't stay for coffee and dessert, but they do offer soy milk if you want.

Washrooms were ample and clean. Parking is mall parking, free and plentiful.

They also have takeout (phone as above) and delivery as well.

Hours:
Sunday to Thursday - 11am to 9 pm
Friday & Saturday - 11am to 10 pm

How to Connect:
Facebook
Website
Instagram

Root 8 - Beamsville

5041 King Street
Beamsville, ON

905-563-1155

I was super excited to hear about an all vegan restaurant coming to Beamsville and Root 8 did not disappoint. The restaurant has a real cafe feel to it with its turquoise distressed wood decor.

The menu consisted of salads, wraps, bowls, chili, panini, and little dishes of mac and cheese, and tofu nuggets.  There is also a smoothie and juice menu, along with daily specials that included a hummus tray, french onion soup, and a burger with all the fixin's on the day that I went.

I ordered the panini with sweet peppers, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, spicy mayo, and mozza cheese (cashew cheese). I also enjoyed a chocolate, almond butter 'muffin' for dessert. Loved them both. I ordered take-out so I cannot speak to the wait-staff's attentiveness, but I was thoroughly charmed by the person who took my order. She was informative about the menu items and friendly without being intrusive while I waited.

Panini with sweet peppers, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, spicy mayo, and cashew mozza cheese.

Chocolate, almond butter 'muffins'

Plus, in keeping with their environmentally friendly philosophy - I received this lovely take-out bag and will, in future, receive $1 off my meal if I bring it in. Great idea.

$1 off my next meal if I remember to bring it in

Parking is free in this mall.

Hours:
Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 11am - 6om
Thursday, Friday: 11am - 7pm
Sunday, Monday: Closed

Hours will be extended in the summer.

How To Connect:
Facebook
905-563-1155

6 Ways to Use Aquafaba

If you haven't heard about all of the fabulous uses for aquafaba, you might be surprised at all of the cool things that you can do with it. First of all, what is this stuff? Well, literally it translates to water bean. Not so literally it is the thick liquid that is leftover from cooking beans. I must admit with some embarrassment, that I have always rinsed away this gold mine thinking that I was doing a good thing by reducing the sodium. I have recently reconsidered.


Soup:
When making soup, don't rinse those beans. Dump the entire can in (or the beans and the cooking water if you're doing it old school). The aquafaba adds great body to a broth soup making it taste and feel that much more decadent.  Bianca's Kitchen has a yummy-looking vegetable soup recipe.

Breading:
When making your favourite eggplant parm, dip the eggplant (or any other veggies) into the aquafaba prior to breading for a crispy result. Don't have your own recipe? No worries, head on over to Veginspired.

Whipped cream:
Super easy: aquafaba + cream of tartar + vanilla + sugar = whipped cream. Check out Peta's recipe here and start enjoying more desserts.

Binding:
When I first switched to a vegan diet, I have to admit that making veggie patties was a real adjustment. I couldn't get the egg substitutes to work well for me. Step in aquafaba and suddenly it's easy. Use 3 tablespoons of aquafaba for every egg that you wanted subbed. Glue and Glitter has a great-sounding squash patty recipe here.

Mayo:
I have yet to try this out, but it is definitely on my list. I have visions of adding in extra garlic or chipotle powder, maybe some onion powder (not all at the same time) and creating new versions. Foodal has a recipe for you here.

Butter:
I love the idea of making my own butter so I don't have to contribute to the hideousness of the palm oil industry. Nina's game changing vegan butter can be found here.

There are thousands of sites you can go to for further reference, but one of my favourites for beginners is Aquafaba FAQ. Check it out for explanations and recipes and directions to the facebook page where they talk about nothing but aquafaba. 

Hippocrates' Daughter - Grimsby

1 Mountain Street
Grimsby

289-235-8841

This little vegan gem recently (July 22, 2016) sprouted up in downtown Grimsby, thrilling the vegan and vegetarian community. The decor is eclectic and fun with mismatched tables and chairs, tables sawn in half and hung on the wall for decoration, and a huge window for people-watching.

On this Friday night, 10 people from the Niagara Vegan group met to enjoy the new menu. A menu that no longer contains any oil and covers everything from apps, bowls, and sammies to main salads, entrees and desserts. Check it out here.

 The first time I ate here, it was taco Tuesday. I had a pulled jackfruit taco and a fish taco. Both were amazing, but the fish taco (my first) made me into a lifetime fan. The portions were hardy, fresh, and delicious.

This time, I had the beanloaf with mashed sweet potato and spinach. The loaf was moist and held together well. It had a subtle sage and fennel flavouring, topped off with a ketchup glaze that added a nice sweetness and pop of tomato flavour. The mash was delicious and creamy.

The rest of the gang ordered the Kevin Fakin' Burger (black bean patty, cheese, portobello bacon), the mac and cheese (the recipe for which could not be pried out Aisha), and the Laughing Buddha bowl (chickpeas, avocado, sweet potatoes, spinach, marinated cabbage, and tofu fried rice topped with turmeric tahini dressing). When the food arrived, the noisy room silenced. Everyone was eating, concentrating on all of the flavours, and very happy.

For dessert, we were offered date squares, brownies, and an off-the-menu treat of chocolate chip bars. I tried the chocolate chip bars which had a real blondie feel to them, and they were amazing. Soft, chewy, full of vanilla and chocolate flavour. The date squares and brownies were also very moist and flavourful.

Hippocrates' Daughter is located in downtown Grimsby with street parking available, in addition to the mall parking across the street and the lot behind Giant Tiger. All easy to find and less than 5 minutes' walk.

Isn't licensed.

Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday - 12pm to 8 pm
Closed Sunday and Monday.

How to Connect:
Facebook
Website
Instagram
Twitter

Kully's Original Sports Bar - St. Catharines

223 St. Paul Street, St. Catharines
905-684-1771

Kully's Original Sports Bar

We wandered into Kully’s after our initial restaurant choice was discovered to be closed for lunch, so I hadn’t prepped and called ahead and mapped out a plan. That’s something I always like to do, given a chance. No worries though, Kully’s did not disappoint.

This was a just a quick lunch, and I noticed a veggie wrap on the menu that looked close to vegan. Though it listed goat cheese, I was assured that sans cheese, it was vegan. The wrap was pretty good, made with peppers, onions, roasted beets (nice unique touch), and a balsamic vinaigrette. I prefer my wraps to be warm, so I should have asked, as this is served cold. Still, it was delicious and filling. The fries were exceptionally good, obviously hand-cut, and cooked to perfection just slightly on the dark side.

Some of the other choices that could be made vegan:

Kully’s classic salad - romaine, iceberg, spring mix, cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers, balsamic dressing - $8.99 (ask for no croutons and cheese)
Stir-fry - peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli with rice and teriyaki sauce - $11.49
Veggie burger - black bean and veggie patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle (hold the Kully’s sauce) - $11.49
 - Additional burger toppings: grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, jalapeños, banana peppers, and avocado at $0.99 each

House-cut fries - $4.49
Kettle chips - $5.99
Sweet potato fries - $5.99
All three of these come with dips, but none of the dips in the restaurant are vegan. Ketchup or vinegar are probably your go-tos.

When I called it was also suggested that the white pizza could be made vegan by dropping the cheese option. A note to keep in mind is that the red sauce for the pasta and pizza both have parmesan cheese right in the sauce and so, obviously, are a no-go.

Kully’s is a typical sports bar - “Let’s raise a glass to the game.” Though the lunch crowd on Monday was moderate, I can imagine that game days in the city are hopping. If that’s your thing (or perhaps more poignantly, if that isn’t your thing), you might want to check the schedule of the local teams, especially the Ice Dogs, to see if there is a game or not before booking your reservation.

Kully’s decor is classic: deep rich woods accented by ebony chairs and fixtures. TVs abound so everyone in the bar gets a good view of the game. Walls are adorned with the smiling faces of athletes (Wayne Gretzky, Muhammad Ali, Joe Montana, and Michael Jordan, to name a few), plus a wall-sized chalkboard near the front windows shows what’s happening every night of the week. And something is always happening here.

Hopefully, you fill up on your entree because there is no dessert option there at the present that could be made vegan. Also, they did not have any non-dairy creamer or milk for coffee or tea.

Washrooms: Sorry, didn’t need to check them out here.
Parking: Street parking, pretty busy.

Hours:
Daily: 11am - 2am

How to Connect:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Phone: 905-684-1771

The Office, Tap & Grill - St. Catharines

22 James Street
St. Catharines

905-984-4440, Reservations recommended.

The Office, Tap & Grill

The Office is a casual, comfortable restaurant. Wooden booths, warm colours, soft lighting, and interesting art work. It has a hip vibe, but we saw customers that ran the gamut from toddlers to senior citizens, all appearing equally at home. If you are a vegan who may dine with an omnivore, the menu would have you both covered.

The vegan menu had some great-looking choices on it for both appetizers and entrees:

Frites and dip $6
Kale Caesar $12
Spinach Salad $12
Meze Platter $13
Buffalo Cauliflower $9
Quinoa Falafels $9

Veggie Burger $14
Penne Puttanesca $12
Zen Noodles $12
Tofu Caesar Wrap $14

I started with the buffalo cauliflower. It arrived on a slender platter with mixed greens in the middle and a thick drizzle of peanut sauce. The cauliflower pieces were a moderate size, easy to pick up with a fork, and lightly spicy. Dredged through the peanut sauce, they were delicious and addictive. With salad or fries, there was enough to make an entree.

For my main meal, I had the veggie burger. It was made with quinoa and lentils. The patty held together fairly well but was a little on the dry side. The burger was served with a corn cilantro salsa that was not memorable, but did add some needed moisture along with tomatoes and pickle. I had it with the fries which were also good, a nice crispiness and good flavour. All in all, both orders were a success.

To go along with your meal, they have some fun wine and beer options. You can bring your own wine for a corkage fee (Mon-Wed = free; Thurs = $5; weekends = $12) or choose from the wine list. They offer reds from California, Argentina, and the Niagara Region; whites from Ontario. Additionally, they offer ‘cheap and cheerful’ wines that they change up for $1/ounce. The beer is typically from micro breweries and runs $5.55 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

On the down side, they only offered dairy milk/creamer for the coffee and tea, though one of the proprietors (Greg Pearson) mentioned that “as the vegan menu rises in popularity, I'm sure it (a non-dairy option) is something we can add.” We were too full to order dessert and I didn’t think to check the menu, but Pearson mentioned that, “We currently have a vegan pumpkin pie on the menu with a cashew filling and rolled oat and date crust. It has yet to be added to the menu full time, but is getting very good reviews.” Sounds yummy.

The washrooms were decorated in a shabby chic style, leaning just slightly too far toward the shabby. The stalls were tight, requiring a bit of a gymnastic move to get out of the way of the door to close it. The taps were too small for the basin and barely stuck out far enough to get my hands under for washing. Having said that, the washroom was very clean and sported the coolest vanity top positioned under a large mirror; a perfect place to rest your purse for touchups, yet out of the way of the sink.

The Office is located in downtown St. Catharines a block up from the market and half a block from St. Paul Street. In addition to street parking, there is a paid parking lot directly across the street that still had many available spots when we left at 7pm on a Saturday night. Reservations are recommended, and by 6:00, the place was pretty much full. Would definitely recommend the food at The Office, but the lack of dairy substitute was a negative.

Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - 5pm to 12am
Thursday - 11:30am to 12am
Friday - 11:30 to 2am
Saturday - 5pm to 2am
Closed: Sundays, holidays