Dining Out in Boston - Dorado

Spicy Portabella Mushroom & Grilled Zucchini & Red Peppers Taco Plate
with Black Beans, Seasoned Rice and a Charred Jalapeño - Dorado

Spicy Portabella Mushroom Taco - Dorado

Dorado is a hipster Mexican food joint in Brookline that opened in 2009 and recently made it to the big leagues with a location in New York City. Named after a fish, their speciality is the fish taco, but they offer a wide variety of traditional Mexican fare - tacos, quesadillas, elote, chips with salsa or guacamole, salads, and a Mexican sandwich known as a cemita. If you're thirsty you can enjoy Mexican beers, sangria, or agua frescas (refreshing fruit juice). They also now serve brunch on the weekends!

There are two veggie taco options, both can be made vegan if you request without cheese. The Grilled Zucchini and Red Peppers taco comes with roasted tomato-habañero salsa and guacamole. The Spicy Portabello Mushroom taco has marinated chile and garlic, avocado, and salsa fresca. To make it a satisfying and very affordable meal order the taco plate to get sides of black beans, seasoned rice, and a charred jalapeño.

Grilled Zucchini & Red Peppers Taco - Dorado

The Brookline location, mid-way between Coolidge Corner and the bustling Harvard Ave. of Allston, is fairly small but does offer indoor and outdoor seating. You place your order, take a number, and your food will be brought to you. I've never experienced any service issues and the food is always fresh and tasty. I expect more locations to pop up in the future.

Dorado - Brookline Location

Dorado

401 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02446

Dorado Website
  

Dining In - Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Raspberries - Chloe's Vegan Desserts

I veered away from my typical baked goods that usually include frosting, chocolate, and lots of sugar to try something a bit more gourmet and grown-up. I made this for a dinner at my friend's house and everyone enjoyed it. What's unique and oh-so-tasty about this recipe is the use of olive oil, lemon (in three ways), and maple syrup instead of granulated sugar. Just a warning - It uses quite a bit of maple syrup, which can get expensive! I finally put good use to the Bundt cake pan that was hidden in the back of my cabinet. The cake was very moist and full of flavor. To sweeten and to garnish, add powdered sugar and serve alongside some berries. You can find the full recipe in Chloe's Vegan Desserts (buy your copy here) or on her website. 

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons lemon zest

Powdered sugar, for garnish
Fresh raspberries, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a cooking spray to lightly grease a Bundt pan. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. In a separate, medium bowl whisk together olive oil, maple syrup, water, lemon juice, extract and zest. 

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir together, but avoid over-mixing the batter. 

Pour into prepared Bundt pan so it's distributed evenly and bake for about 30 minutes. Check the cake with a toothpick to make sure it's done. Let cool, then flip the pan to remove cake. 

Serve with powdered sugar sprinkled on top and raspberries on the side. 

Lemon Olive Oil Cake - Chloe's Vegan Desserts 

Dining In - Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Baked Macaroni & Cheese - The Almost Vegan

It's another Pinterest-inspired quick dinner recipe! The ooey, gooey, cheesy look of this baked mac 'n' cheese convinced me to try it. I've made quite a few vegan mac 'n' cheese recipes at this point (here's my favorite), but I'm always up for a trying a new one that has slight variations. This one incorporates shredded cheese into the dish and as a topping, so you get a creamier, cheesier sauce. My one issue with this recipe was the overpowering mustard flavor. This could easily be fixed by reducing to 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard or using a more mild variety. Otherwise I really enjoyed the thick sauce and of course the breaded-cheese topping is hard to resist. This was a pretty simple recipe, but did involve a stove-top, blender, and oven. I might serve this as a side dish for a future meal, since I felt like I needed to eat a few servings to feel full! You can find the full recipe on the blog The Almost Vegan (don't worry, this recipe is completely vegan!) - see it here.

10 oz. pasta (I used gluten-free shells)
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup plain almond milk
1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked overnight or boil for 10 minutes)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (See comments above, I recommend using less)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon paprika, use more if desired

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup vegan shredded mozzarella (now available at Trader Joe's!), divided
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch square pan.

Boiling Raw Cashews

Boil cashews for about 10 minutes and then drain and set aside. 

Cook pasta according to directions on package, rinse, drain and set aside. 

In a large saucepan, melt the margarine and add onions with a dash of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, until onions soften and start to brown. Add in garlic and flour. Stir until it starts to thicken. 

Add almond milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, mustard, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and pinch of cayenne. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring throughout. 

Sauce Before Blending

Carefully pour mixture into a blender. Blend until well combined and creamy. 

Pour pasta into prepared pan. Add about half of the sauce to the pan with the pasta and mix together. Add 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese and stir again. Top dish with remainder of sauce, followed by remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheese and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle with dash of paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until crispy on top! 

Dig in!

Dining Out in Boston - Clover Food Lab

BBQ Seitan Sandwich - Clover Food Lab

Chickpea Fritter Sandwich - Clover Food Lab

Food truck turned brick and mortar restaurant! I like when that happens, it's inspiring. Clover Food Lab, originally a vegetarian food truck that started at MIT and spread to multiple locations around Boston, now has restaurants (four and counting..). For whatever reason there was never a truck near my office so I missed out on Clover's yummy vegan lunch options. I tried the food once when I happened to be on vacation and spotted a truck when wandering the city. I was impressed. Serving local and often organic food, I felt good about my choices there. They have some delicious beverages, too. When I learned a restaurant was opening up close to where I live in Brookline, I was thrilled! 

BBQ Seitan - Vegan Version

So far I have taste-tested two sandwiches, rosemary fries, and iced coffee. The Chickpea Fritter sandwich is essentially a falafel in a pita, but it's fresher-tasting than most Mediterranean joints. It comes with a handful of chickpea fritters, a generous helping of hummus, diced cucumber and tomato, shredded carrots and red cabbage, pickles, and tahini sauce in a warmed pita pocket. The seasoning in the chickpea balls is a tad different than falafel, but certainly not in a bad way. The other sandwich I've enjoyed here is the BBQ Seitan sandwich. This one comes with cheese and mayo so make sure you request it without, to make it vegan! It also comes with romaine lettuce and sliced tomato (you can tell how fresh the produce is by the bright colors!). I'm a fan of seitan on occasion for its high protein. This sandwich did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the sweet BBQ sauce and although it was lacking a couple ingredients, it felt like a complete sandwich to me. 

Give this place a try! Whether it's by truck or restaurant, Clover seems to be in a growth stage with good changes coming. I just saw a new sandwich on the menu - the Pepper Relish, I'm not sure how I feel about that one, but it's nice to see them experimenting and expanding!

Clover Food Lab

6 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02445

Clover Food Lab Website