Post Punk Kitchen Forum

To drink:
I don’t drink much but when I do I hit either Two Fools (British pub) or Kelly’s (they brew their own). Not a lot of food options for vegans, but really good sweet potato fries! They are also right down the street from each other in Nob Hill. I avoid downtown, it gets a little rowdy. As in, the mounted police and fire trucks are there when the bars let out on Friday and Saturday nights. I’m too old for that shiitake.

To eat:
Mint Tulip: An all-vegan café right across from the college (it replaced Twenty Carrots), it just opened a few months ago. Salads, wraps, sandwiches, juices, and soft serve. Really, really good. I am a fan of their buffalo ranch wrap, their BLT, the frito pie dog, and chocolate peanut butter shakes. Teese is their cheese of choice and the dogs are made with Smart Dogs. They are xgfx friendly as well. I really love this place and I’m thrilled a vegan restaurant replaced Twenty Carrots (though I was sad to see them go). I go here several times a week.

Annapurnas: Ayurvedic cuisine and chai house, all vegetarian, most can be made vegan. Big portions, tons of vegan options, reasonable prices, and service has gotten much better over the past few years. A lot of it is Indian themed, but there are also pot pies, BLTs, and a variety of vegan desserts as well (though I have to admit I haven’t liked many of their desserts). There are several locations.

Fei: Chinese food, fairly limited menu. I am a big eater and the portions were too small for me, but it was fairly priced for what you got. All vegan.

India Kitchen: They have tofu and tempeh to be subbed into pretty much any dish, the produce is always fresh, and they know what vegan means. Small, family place so service can be a little slow, but every meal I have had here has been fantastic. Best Indian food in town, no question.

Thai Vegan: I’ve actually never been here, but with a name like that I’ll have to give it a try. It’s just on the wrong side of town from me.

Thai Cuisine II: They are VERY vegan friendly and have faux chicken, beef, fish, and shrimp as well as a full vegan appetizer list. The faux meat can be swapped in any dish. Small place, good food. Not the best Thai food I’ve ever had (that would be Thai Orchid, across the street), but definitely the most options.

Flying Star/Satellite: This is a coffee shop chain that makes a great soy latte (though they serve it in a glass so it burns the hell out of my hand every time). They also have several vegan items on the menu, including a yummy tofu scramble. Sadly, none of their pastry case is vegan.

To buy groceries:
We have a Whole Foods on the north side of town as well as two Trader Joes, one on the north side and one on the south side. There a bunch of Sunflowers, which have just about anything you could want. We also have a decent network of farmer’s markets. Also, in the late summer and early fall people roast chiles on pretty much every corner.

To adopt pets:
Watermelon Ranch! (http://www.wmranch.org/) It’s the largest no-kill shelter in the state. Not where my cats came from, but I’ve only heard great things about these guys.

To do:
Hiking, skiing, whitewater rafting, running, biking, museums (http://www.itsatrip.org/media/media-kit/museums.aspx), pop up to Santa Fe (Georgia O’Keefe museum!), desert camping, Acoma Pueblo, visit me, hot air ballooning (http://www.balloonfiesta.com/)

I love Mint Tulip! Vegan soft serve, milkshakes, sundaes and cones! I wanted to try their buffalo ranch wrap; Maybe next time! Their barbeque sandwich, slaw, reuben, and potato salad were pretty good. They are going to be serving dinner on Friday nights with a new dinner menu! I hope they are still around when I visit again.

Both of the Whole Foods locations have vegan donuts from Mighty O. When I visited, the one on Wyoming had a larger selection. Also, I noticed vegan labels (and organic vegetables) on the hot bar and salad bar items, though the vegan hot bar selection was almost non-existent (at Wyoming location). Whatever! They had donuts and I brought some back to Atlanta with me!

Annapurnas had a large vegan selection. I tried the shephard's pie (huge portions), since I am not a big fan of the sweet and savory combinations in Indian food. Unfortunately, I did not care for it either. They had vegan desserts, but they seemed to have gotten a lot of mixed reviews, so I stayed away. The table tops were really cool, though!

Thai Vegan: I tried the tempura (ok), fresh rolls (pretty good), and the sweet and sour rice and vegetable dish with soy chicken (terrible). Le Thai, in Atlanta, has excellent vegan Thai food, so I think I am a bit spoiled, in that regard. They had some Americana food on the menu as well, though no one at my table tried it.

Flying Star: The menu on the website is a bit different than the actual locations. A couple of the dishes do not tout the vegan label in person, so watch out for that (Buddha bowl and something else). They have 3-4 vegan dishes. Call before you visit if you're heart is set on a particular dish, because they might be out of ingredients. Organic tofu scramble and potatoes were pretty good (comes with a lot of toast, butter, and GMO Smuckers shiitake). Cute restaurant! They strive to use local ingredients in a lot of the dishes, too.

Sunflower Farmers' Market is pretty cool. Some of the prices are amazingly good! I didn't get a chance to stop at the Vitamin Cottage, but it looked interesting. I think there is an outdoor farmers' market near Uptown on Saturdays, too.

I saw quite a few antique and flea markets, especially on Central, near Nob Hill. Maybe next time I will be able to do all the things!

I didn't know Whole Foods had Mighty-Os! Holy hell.

Thai Vegan is my favorite. Also, they seem to be doing very well. They were full to capacity the last few times I have been there. I especially like the prarams plate. Yum!

That's my favorite too! They are busy every time I go, which makes me happy. My boyfriend is moving across the street from them...this also makes me happy

The Family Face will be in Albuquerque tomorrow and for a few days! These places still around?

Really?! Yay! I'll be there this weekend. Go to Mint Tulip! Its awesome. Just open from 10-4, though.

Why you gotta go to my hood when I'm not there!

Thai Vegan, too! Yeah, all these places are open. What are you guys going to do? Do you need advice?

Can always use advice. We're going to see family. Not sure how much time we'll have to do our own thing.

Taking the tram to the top of Sandia is fun, if you haven't done it before. Old Town is BORING. There's a decent natural history museum. Also, it's above 100 degrees every day this week. So indoor fun is good, as is going to the top of a mountain.

We made sure to pack long-sleeve shirts for Carlsbad Caverns. (Not that that's Albuquerque.)

You're going all the way down there? Report back, I'm hoping to go for the first time later this summer.

I also enjoyed the tour of the Acoma Pueblo, it was an interesting history lesson.

Oh, it's awesome! You should definitely go to the caverns!

if I were to ~~theoretically~~ move to albuquerque, are there areas or neighborhoods I should avoid? areas or neighborhoods full of vegan stuff I should attempt to find a place in?
I don't have definite plans yet, but I'm reaalllyyy considering moving west! I'd love to hear your guys' opinions!

The city is divided into 4 quadrants: NE, NW, SE, SW. North/south is divided by Central and east/west is divided by the railroad tracks. It is not exactly divided by the two major freeways, but almost. Where the 4 quadrants meet is kind of between downtown and UNM. Nob Hill ("snob hill") is kind of by UNM and has more stuff to do and there are nicer parts and not as nice parts. Pretty much every region is like that, but here are some generalizations:

NE: nice, suburby (NE Heights is further NE and it is nicer and more suburby)
NW: ranchy, horses
SW: i think it is also ranchy, but i never go there
SE: international district (previously called the war zone by police), air force base, there are some nice parts of the SE as well

There are also the foothills, which are expensive, but super fancy, if you don't mind coyotes.

The best place to live as a vegan? It depends. The best might be to live by a nice vegan-friendly grocery store (Sunflower Market or Whole Foods). By UNM/Nob Hill there is Mint Tulip and Thai Vegan, and a nice but expensive co-op. If I were a millionaire, I would probably live with the coyotes in the foothills.

My house is in the SE, that area has become a very normal, safe area.