The main purpose of the trip was actually to visit the Natural Gourmet Institute. That was first on my list of activities. I headed over there on Friday afternoon and met with a woman in the admission department. We talked about curriculum, goals, tuition, etc. Then I got a tour. Unfortunately the classes had ended for the day, so I could peek in on them, but I did get to see students prepping for the Friday Night Dinner. It looked great!

The visit was fantastic - every class that was described to me sounded like something I could really get excited about. I basically decided then and there that I'm going to apply. I'm a little bit in shock, but I feel really good about it.

Once that was over, I got a chance to kick back and hang out with some friends. Of course many of the highlights of the weekend involved great vegan food.

The first place I tried was Kate's Joint where I met Matt, Susan, and Leslie. We had the buffalo unchicken wings first (amazing!), then I had the Mixed Barbeque dinner, and it was fantastic! I would never have thought to put barbequed seitan, tofu, and tempeh all in one dish, but it was great. It came with mashed potatoes, collard greens, and sweet potaotes. I ate way too much, but it was totally worth it.

On Saturday Matt and I headed over to Foodswings. This is probably vegan fast food at its finest. We started with some mock nuggets, which were very similar to Chicken McNuggets. They even had the same shapes! The only difference I could discern is that I think Foodswings' mock nuggets have a more meat-like consistency. No joke. Then I had the Tempeh Rubenesque, and Matt had the Filet of Soul. Yum.

That night I met up with Susan, Leslie, and Jenny for dinner at Bliss Cafe. This was probably the healthiest place I went, which was nice. All of the entrees looked great, but I finally decided on the Orange Citrus Sensation because I've been craving orange sauce. It was light, but full of vegetables and the seitan was very good. I also tried a bit of the Bliss Bowl (their specialty) and had quite a bit of Susan's lentil salad. We finished the meal with a slice of chocolate ginger cake. It was little dry, but the flavor was amazing. And the frosting was great, too. :)

On Sunday, Matt, Nicole, Dan, and I ate dinner at Vegetarian Palate, a Chinese place. We ordered SO much food: crispy nuggets, the roll sampler, and a tofu salad to start, then I had the Vegetarian Lemon Duck, Matt had Beef Curry with Potatoes, Nicole had the Mongolian Pepper Steak, and Dan had General Tso's Chicken (I think. I'm not totally sure). I got to try a little of everything and it was all good. My fake duck was nothing like duck, but it was pretty tasty and the sauce and vegetables were good. The menu is huge, so I'll have to make a point of going back and trying more stuff when I'm there again.

Overall, I think the trip was a success. I'm not sure when I'll be able to visit again, but I may be moving there sooner rather than later for school anyway, so I'll have all the time I need to discover more yummy vegan treats!