Day 18 - Sangri-La Tearoom and Drive-in Theater

Finally it's the weekend. Today we decided to start the weekend with eating out. One of the restaurants/cafes we wanted to try was Sangri-La Tearoom. Once we got there we were greeted by the nice staff and sat at one of the quaint tables in the yellow-green-orange painted room. Tom ran into a friend who was just picking up food for the band CAKE!!! Cake eats at Shangri-La!! How great to hear that a band was ordering food at the same place we were eating, I surely wished that they would have decided to dine in instead of having the girl who works at the venue, pick up their food. I don't believe that Shangri-La is all organic but it is vegetarian and healthy. Therefore the prices are decent and affordable for us. They have many good things on their menu just like: Pita sandwich, Hummus, Tabouli, Baba Ganouj, soups, Southwestern Wraps and many more. Shangri-La is famous for their good teas.

 We ordered a pot of Morrocan Mint Tea for only about $4, which came with tiny cups. We had to let it soak for at least three minutes indicated by the hourglass the staff provided us with.

Mint Moroccan Green Tea

It was really refreshing and minty. It became a little bitter after about an half hour but it was still drinkable. The tea was kept warm with a tea candle. This was really nice because we both were really hungry and the tea kept us sane while we were waiting for our dinner.

I ordered the Pita Sandwich (Dubliner Cheese, Hummus, spring greens, avocado, red pepper, cucumber and veganaise  on Pita bread). And Tom ordered a Southwestern Wrap (Black beans, corn, goat cheese, spring greens, tomato, cucumbers, mango-chile salsa on chile-tomato tortilla). It was so so good. We are still not used to small portions because we inhaled it just before the server could bring our glasses of water. 

We were still hungry and ordered Baba Ganouj with pita bread. I never had Baba Ganouj before and was intrigued. Baba Ganouj is a Lebanese dish of aubergine (eggplant) mashed and mixed with Virgin Olive Oil and various seasonings. It tasted like hummus. Tea, both meals, plus Baba Ganouj cost us $28 without tip. It's a little bit more than we wanted to spend, due to the somewhat small portions but super quality food. We enjoyed it a lot and are going to return one day. I think they even serve beer, would be nice if they have some quality wine, then you could hang out there and enjoy an evening drinking wine, with tea as an appetizer. Right after dinner we went to our favorite wine store, because they have wine tasting on Fridays. Even though the organic wine we purchased at the Co-op store was absolutely great, we will drink non-organic wine and get an organic wine once in a while. Wine is the only thing we are not going to change.

Baba Ganouj

Pita Sandwich

Southwestern Wrap

After that we headed to the Drive-in Theater and I wanted to make some snacks, but since we both felt full from the dinner at Shangri-La, so all we packed it some water, Chilli-Lime Almonds and the rest of the organic chocolate we had. During the movie I felt a little nauseous, a familiar feeling I know from the past. I haven't felt nauseous for over a month and am thinking that the organic diet is doing me good. I believe that the Almonds we brought along were just filled with things that my body is not used to anymore. I am going to research the ingredients and learn more about all the foreign ingredients. 

WISDOM OF THE DAY

What is Vegenaise? I personally can't eat mayonnaise, because I always get sick. I am not allergic to it or the eggs but nevertheless I always have to vomit 6-7 hours later. So, I only eat mayonnaise in very tiny portions and only if I have to. Yesterday on my Pita Sandwich was something called Vegenaise. I wanted to know more and here is what I have found: 

Vegenaise®, pronounced either Vegan-naise or with a soft g sound like vegetable, is a vegan spread similar in taste to mayonnaise. Mayonnaise requires eggs, so the company Follow Your Heart® created a new name for this mayonnaise substitute. With four different types available, Vegenaise® isn’t just for vegans. Folks allergic to eggs or or who want to cut their cholesterol intake slightly may also enjoy it. Follow Your Heart® is the company that produces the product, and it’s also the name of a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles which opened in 1971. The restaurant is located at the back of the Follow Your Heart® store.