Last week I went to San Francisco for a work related trip. I managed to travel a bit on my free time, and I also was able to try a few vegan eateries.
In San Francisco I stayed in the East Bay in a hotel called Hyatt House. The hotel is a adequate hotel located in Emreyville, California, right next door (literally) to the train station. The premise of the hotel is to be your home away from home with a kitchen and everything which meant that there wasn't a need for room service. What they had however, was the "H Bar Sip + Savor".
In the "H Bar Sip + Savor" there was a wide selection of comfort foods. Vegan wise, there was sort of one item.
What they offer vegan wise is the "H Bar Fries". The "H Bar Fries" is a chipotle seasoned french fry that came with a mayo chipotle "ketchup".
On one brutal night when I came home at 9:30 pm and crumbled at the idea of going out again for dinner, I ordered this as my meal. The french fries were good, I was just disappointed that the ketchup was a joke.
The first vegan meal was a failure.
I was feeling a bit down about not getting what I thought I was getting. Northern California was always considered to be the haven for vegan health. It was the hippy nation, so why wasn't I able to get a dish? I had began working for a couple of days having to omit lunch and breakfast, and having catered plain salads for dinner. My goal of finding Northern Californian vegan meals were not happening.
That was the case until I got to have Shangri-La Vegan.
After one night of my jobs I was allowed to go home early. Since I was staying in Emreyville I looked up vegan foods on yelp. About six or so miles away from the hotel there was a place called Shangri-La Vegan.
Shangri-La Vegan is a organic vegan only hideaway located at 4001 Linden St, Oakland, CA 94608. It is a relatively big building situated in a residential district of Oakland.
Inside, the decor has a semi-Asian esthetic. The chairs and tables are plain, but there are some tapestries on the door and some pictures of Asia. There is a big counter in the front where you can order your food, and a nice little man waiting for your order.
Truth be told I can't tell you what I ordered. There seems to have had a massive communication error between us because by the time I came to order, the man already did it for me. The only thing I can tell you is there are two size options, medium (which is massive) and large (which could probably feed a family of six).
The meal is what I believe vegan meals should be however. As much as I love comfort food I have a hard time seeing the point of eating fake meat. If you want to be a advocate for animals, why subjugate yourself into eating fake meat? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?
This meal is a concoction of vegetables to create an erotic surge of health and flavor in your mouth. The meal is that sort of meal where you feel satisfied with your life right after. It has the feeling of a salad without having to EXPERIENCE a salad.
So far I was successful with one meal.
There was a place I went to which I never took a picture of. It was a great example though of the level of vegan acceptance San Francisco has.
At the Westfield Mall on Market Street there is a Loving Hut. Loving Hut is a vegan franchised fast food industry all over the world. I have been to a couple when I used to live in Korea, so I was excited to see one in San Francisco.
The Loving Hut is not a fancy place, but not a lot of the places I've went to were fancy either. However, Loving Hut is a place to go to when you want cheap, easy, comfort food. For the size of a small child you pay around $8.00 for food.
I enjoyed Loving Hut so much that I had it twice. It really offered a substantial amount of food for a reasonable price.
I should mention that throughout this whole trip I had to rely on one major company as a large provider of food source for me...
That's right. Trader Joe's was right next door to the Emeryville Hyatt House. As much as I have a hard time with Trader Joe's I had to put my prejudices aside and accept that I had a place that could provide me vegan options.
What I relied a lot on was the Trader Joe's Veggie Wrap. Even though earlier this year Trader Joe's had a massive hummus recall, the wrap was good. I also had almond milk, onion ring chips, guacamole, and vegan cookies. When I needed something, I had trader Joe's to rely on.
While Trader Joe's might have a hypocritical premise, it does provide cheap options for food diets and health. While in Emeryville I have to say that Trader Joe's was my go to place.
Near the end of my trip I managed to make it to one place that was a normal/vegan hybrid.
Super Duper seems to be on Mission and Market. It seems to be a comfortable burger/sandwich joint.
I ordered their veggie burger and it was ok, just ok. It was a rice-ish burger with bits of corn and onion inside. I omitted the thousand island dressing and cheese and put in a mashed avocado. The flavor was alright, but not powerful. I feel like at home I can make a better burger. New article perhaps?
However the atmosphere was great. It had a real bustling crowd with a soft sound of music. It was a good place to kill time and people watch.
Food wise I have to say I wasn't astonished with the grub but I think I have come to a conclusion. There is no denying that San Francisco/ East Bay is a very liberal area. It has been since it was established. While in Los Angeles the vegan diet has been glamorized to a beautiful delicacy, in San Francisco/ East Bay it is as average as white bread. The vegan lifestyle has been in the San Francisco/ East Bay life forever so it isn't as magical as it is in Los Angeles. They have elite vegan, fast food vegan, good vegan, and crap vegan. While I wasn't impressed by the food here, I have to say that coming here I never dealt with any major issues with my lifestyle.
Trip wise, my experience in San Francisco/ East Bay was different than what I expected. Truth be told I wasn't on vacation so I feel like I can't be so critical. However I did have some moments that I felt I should address.
One of the major things I think you should not bring or rent is a car. If you are planning to do both San Francisco/ East Bay then you will probably need the car for the East Bay, but in San Francisco cars are so pointless they should be banned.
Most of the people in San Francisco are so (I assume) tired that they should not drive. In one day I witnessed five people drive through red lights. I saw one man cut off me and another man just to block us. Driving is insane and is nearly impossible for a town like this.
Even my Siri was going insane...
San Francisco seems to have changed a lot since its flower power persona in the 1960s. Hippies as well as the homeless (which in truth is basically the same thing) are mean and aggressive. I've seen several homeless people get into fights with others, including me, on the street, and I had one hippy try to shoot me, while I was driving, with a Nerf gun. Maybe because the weather is so cold, but the people here are mean.
However in the end I got to go home. I had dealt with a week of San Francisco/ East Bay. Even though I it wasn't so bad, I felt had conquered a big hurdle.
