Phoenix Blog

The Breadfruit's "Vegan Special" will be Jamaican your mouth water.

The Valley isn't exactly known for its Jamaican culture.

Truth be told, there's a grand total of two restaurants around these parts that serve up cuisine straight from the tiny Caribbean isle that birthed Bob Marley and the Rastafari religion.

It's quite a shame, frankly, because after taking just one bite of the irie edibles available at The Breadfruit, you'll wish we had Jamaican restaurants on every single street corner. Flavorful doesn't even begin to describe the quality of the eats available at the downtown Phoenix ethnic eatery, which was opened last year by Jamaican-raised restaurateur Dwayne Allen.

The place is also a boon to Valley vegetarians and vegan, since Allen and his hipster-looking kitchen staff offers almost a dozen different entrees and appetizers that made sans animal products. Be sure to thank Jah for this, as its due to the fact that a portion Rastafarians adhere to stringent dietary rules forbidding them from feasting on any living creatures.

Better make sure you're hungry before ordering Eden's Grill's Vegetarian Dish.

This isn't exactly a shocking revelation, but you can't always believe what you read on the Internet sometimes.

Like, say, if you were doing some online reconnoitering of Eden's Grill (13843 North Tatum Boulevard, 602-996-5149) before making the trek to the north Phoenix to sup on the Mediterranean bistro's succulent offerings. After reading this review (or perhaps this one as well) you might surmise that the proprietors dish out some of the best Middle Eastern cuisine in the Valley, albeit with a certain amount of rudeness and poor service.

Despite these negative online critiques, Eden's Grill owners Marcus and Shalem Narsa aren't the second coming of the Soup Nazi. Not even close.

During our recent visit, the Iraqi expat promptly provided us with a veritable smorgasbord of vegetarian delights prepared by his wife with nary a bit of attitude. And what a feast it was.

The vegan black bean burro a la Votichenko.

Alex Votichenko is completely dialed in to Phoenix's downtown art scene. When he's not working various jobs at the Great Arizona Puppet Theatre, the 35-year-old artist and turntablist can often be found at CenPho drinkeries like The Ruby Room or Bikini Lounge spinning up his expansive and eclectic record collection as Djentification. Or perhaps he's busy creating fliers and signs in his signature graf art style, spreading the word about the evils of loftification of downtown, or any number of creative tasks in support of the scene.

Votichenko's also got a yen for whipping up some flavorful vegan bean burros which are available at funky Evans Churchill coffeehouse Conspire (901 North Fifth Street, 602-237-5446), or at one of his DJ gigs. (He's even known to occasionally peddle bags of burros on the street or at various get-togethers around the art scene).

A platter filled with Ethiopian entrees, as served by Cafe Lalibela in Tempe.

We hate to sound like a nagging mother, but it might be a good idea to make sure you've scrubbed up good and proper before sitting down to eat at Cafe Lalibela (849 West University Drive in Tempe, 480-829-1939). It's only because the Ethiopian restaurant requires a more of a hands-on approach to dining, literally.

For those who've never eaten at Cafe Lalibela before, here's how it works: With Ethiopian restaurants, most entrees are served communal-style on a largish platter with a big basket of injera (a spongy, crepe-like bread made from teff flour that's native to the country) served alongside. To eat, you're encouraged to tear off large chunks of the bread and use them to shovel food into your craw in lieu of silverware (think Fritos Scoops, but with an east African flair).

Wrapped in warm cornmeal dough and packed with such delicious fillings as cheese and chile peppers, tamales have long been the staple of many a Christmastime dinner table. Even for those who aren't of Hispanic origin, chances are they'll be polishing a tamale or two sometime over the next 48 hours or so.

It results in big business for many local Hispanic restaurants, who'll advertise they have Christmas tamales for sale (including a couple eateries in my neighborhood that have hung colorful banners on their buildings proclaiming such).

The folks at Molly's Tamales (8806 North 43rd Avenue in Glendale, 623-937-1060) have been plenty busy grinding out their corn husk-wrapped creations. Owner Molly Sedlmeier has been using her family's recipes to cook up tamales for almost a decade.

Vegetarians and vegans (as well as health nuts in general) will dig the fact she uses nary a speck of lard or animal shortening in her recipes and sells five different meat-free versions for guilt-free consumption. (For you carnivores, she also offers such gourmet fillings as grilled salmon, as well as the more-traditional shredded pork and green chile kinds.)

Spend Christmas Day feasting on the golden chicken and other vegetarian Asian delights at Fresh Mint in Scottsdale.

Christmas Day dining options can be quite slim, considering the fact most restaurateurs and food workers would rather toast the yuletide with their nearest and dearest than sling hash to the hungry masses.

For vegetarians and vegans, however, the choices are even slimmer. Green's gonna be closed, as will Fate, Carly's, and all seven Pita Jungle locations.

All hope is not lost for the meat-free crowd, and a handful of veggie-friendly eateries and establishments will be serving with style during the holiday.

Taryn Schaal, mistress of the Vegan Oven.

The holidays are huge time for baked goods, whether you're munching on Christmas cookies made by co-workers or having your mom's spectacular rum cake.

And thanks to the efforts of Taryn Schaal, local vegans and vegetarians can nosh on cupcakes that are just as tasty as the stuff you'd find at your neighboorhood bakery.

For the past six months, the 25-year-old social worker (and occasional amateur pin-up model) has been cooking up a sweet selection of cookies, doughnuts, and other baked delights from scratch that are made without any animal products whatsoever. She's dubbed her operation "The Vegan Oven" and has been baking up orders both for local customers and to ship across the country.

You won't be able to resist La Grande Orange's vegetarian sandwich.

Local vegetarians have described it as "the best they've ever tasted." It's gotten lauded by gourmands across the Internet. And it's something that we're certain even the most die-hard of meat lovers will enjoy.

And the particular "it" in question? The vegetarian sandwich at La Grande Orange (4410 N. 40th St.), which is quite possibly the best of its kind in Phoenix.

By Benjamin Leatherman

A spectacular view of the crystal blue Caribbean Sea from Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula (photo by Jenna Leatherman).

Despite having an ultra-hectic schedule these days, I was fortunate enough to be able to slip off to Cancun with friends and family a few weeks ago for a nice little vacay. Since my sojourn was during the resort town's fall off-season, the hotels and beaches were free of the usual douchebags who flock there during Spring Break and the summertime. As such, we were able to soak up the sun and lounge on the white sands without getting distracted by drunken frat boy antics.

I also brought along my camera and snagged some photos of the some of meat-free dining options I enjoyed while south of the border. (I'm sure I confused the locals when I started photographing my food instead of the usual sand and surf stuff). Here's some food porn-like shots of what I saw (and ate) during my vacay:

By Benjamin Leatherman

The best falafel I've ever tasted. No seriously, this time I mean it...really.

Last month I sang the praises of Phoenicia Cafe in Tempe, particularly about the joint’s falafel. After supping on its version of the Middle Eastern favorite of gound chickpeas and eggplant fashioned into silver dollar-sized medallions and deep fried, I foolishly declared it to be the best I’d ever tasted.

Man, was I ever wrong.