Green Bliss- the Cafe is located in my adopted hometown of Fullerton, CA. It's a vegetarian cafe (with lots of vegan options!) focusing on using organic and local foods and reducing their carbon footprint (you can see their mantra above). Not only do they compost every scrap of food leaving the building, but they hold sustainability meetings monthly to hash out ideas for making the earth a better place. I like people who back up what they believe, and Green Bliss and owner Rita can definitely back it up.
The atmosphere is cute, eco-driven, and inviting. Full of bright colors, living plants, tons of wood, and recycled materials, this place screams 'cozy'. They already have a steady stream of regulars, and every cup of coffee is a precise science. They buy & brew only from fair-trade, local roasters and have a real knowledge of the flavors accentuating each cup. 
The menu rotates seasonally, always offering up a range of paninis, flatbreads, and salads to keep even the pickiest palette satisfied. 
Not much of a coffee person, I regualarly order the kale ginger smoothie or munch from the tray of vegan cupcakes and cookies always staring at me from the bakery case. 

Since the holiday season is fast approaching, the baristas at Green Bliss have been prepping their seasonal coffee beverages. They'll be offering three different drinks: a Pumpkin Pie Latte, a Minty Mocha, and a Spiced Apple Cider. 
And the best part? Each of their three holiday drinks (when made with soymilk) are 
100% VEGAN and ORGANIC!
The Pumpkin Pie Latte, pictured above, is made from a base of organic pumpkin purée, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, agave and brown sugar, mixed with a shot of espresso and steamed soymilk. 
It literally tastes like gooey, warm pumpkin pie. Sweet, with hints of vanilla and nutmeg in every sip!

The minty mocha is made with the house chocolate syrup (organic cocoa powder, turbinado sugar, hot water) and organic peppermint extract, mixed with a shot of espresso and steamed milk.
I tried the minty mocha hot chocolate with soymilk...oh man. It was SO good. Like I had melted a real peppermint stick into a rich cup of melted dark chocolate. Absolutely amazing!

The apple cider is simply organic pressed apple juice simmered in a slow cooker with mulling spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and fresh orange peel. Its the warmest, coziest winter drink I can imagine. It reminds me of fall in Maine; picking fresh apples, grinding them to a pulp, extracting the juice, making cider. 
It compliments any meal, and is best enjoyed all day long. 
I love that unlike coffe giants like Starbucks and Coffee Bean, Green Bliss is committed not to using fake flavors, dyes, preservatives or excess sugar! Its simple, organic holiday goodness at its best. 
And, if you bring your own reusable cup or mug for your drink, you get a discount!
Definitely check out this place soon if you're in the Orange County area, its worth it. Especially for a great, guilt-free pumpkin latte!!

Green Bliss the Cafe
http://www.green-bliss.com/
305 North Harbor Boulevard #103, Fullerton, CA 92832
(714) 773-0018

Last weekend, we finally made our way to the very-well praised Gypsy Den Cafe in Santa Ana. It was totally by accident. We were originally traveling down the 55 freeway heading towards Irvine to stop in at Phoney Baloney's for a vegan Elvis, but traffic was a killer. We hadn't moved more than 30 feet in 10 minutes, so we decided to get off the freeway and see what Santa Ana had to offer. 
We had heard of the Gypsy Den & their Sunday morning vegan brunch before, but hadn't had a reason or opportunity to drive there really. And while on this trip we still missed brunch, they did have several other delicious vegan options available that we were happy to  chow down on!

The atmosphere is very hippie eclectic. Colorful glass bottles catching the light, tapestries and patterned scarves covering the windows; the ceilings are high, the tall walls covered with framed art and elaborate rugs.
Its adorable, and awesome. 
Here are some shots of the restaurant:

The mismatched tables & chairs added to the coziness of the place. It was dimly lit, with sun streaming through the upper windows- a wonderful place for a laid-back lunch.On the menu, they clearly point out all of the vegan options; it is SO nice, and way more convenient!
We started with an order of the (vegan friendly) roasted red pepper hummus and pita bread. It was so, so good. The hummus was the perfect amount of spicy, the pita the perfect amount of warm and soft.

 Alex ordered the (also vegan) mushroom bacon burger: a vegan patty with lettuce, tomato and vegenaise on a grilled wheat bun with bacon, pepper jack cheese, and sauteed mushrooms. It was surprisingly flavorful, and the cheese was seriously convincing. He clearly enjoyed it!

I ordered the chipotle & avocado vegan chicken wrap: soy 'chicken', chipotle cream, salsa, avocado, and spinach in a whole wheat wrap. It was okay. I hate to say that, because I wanted to love it, but I thought it was just average. It felt like they were pushing the soy-meat based meals for vegans, and that frustrates me. I'm a vegan, I usually don't want any meat- even soy, but I figured I'd give it a try. The flavor of the chipotle cream was wonderful, and the spinach was fresh and crisp, but there was just too much soy chicken. I was getting full mouth fulls of just that, and I wasn't really diggin' it.
My picky vegan brat rant aside, my roommate, who joined us for lunch, really enjoyed it. As a pretty big meat eater, I was really happy and impressed that he enjoyed it. He liked that the sandwich was aimed at people who probably aren't already strict vegans, and that made sense to me. Not everybody is a vegan blogger, and not everyone can make the transition as easily as others- for that, I'm really pleased that they had the wrap on the menu.

After lunch we checked out the dessert case- it was full of yummy looking goodies, and several were vegan! There was a cookies and cream bar of sorts, and a giant, delicious looking vegan lemon poppyseed cake. We bought a slice, and it was excellent! Totally made up for the wrap. 

Next time we head there for lunch though, I'll get what Alex got for sure. His burger was the highlight of the meal: so flavorful! Oh, and more cake...duh!
I've heard great things about the brunch, so we'll have to head back soon and give 'em a fair shake at breakfast foods! 

We love the stuff we do. Recently the Seabirds Food Truck came to our neighborhood and having heard rave reviews everywhere we looked, decided to head down and try what they had to offer...and man, were we impressed! 
In a world full of fusion kabobs, fancy cheese covered sliders, and bite size fried versions of everything breakfast, the organic, vegan menu of the Seabirds Food Truck carves a healthier path of its own. Owner and founder Stephanie Morgan opened the Seabirds Food Truck in June of 2010 with the goal to "...provide healthy, local food that's convenient and fairly priced". We think she's done a pretty good job! 
The lines to her truck are filled with veterans and newbies alike, and the girls working the truck are super friendly; couple that with the seriously yummy menu items and you have a recipe for food truck success!

We found the truck at a local elementary school fundraiser with about 5 other trucks. I was really glad to see that the fact that the truck was serving only vegan food wasn't deterring anyone. We hopped in line and decided on an order each of the beer-battered avocado tacos. The girl at the register was super helpful (and a fellow vegan!) and noticed my newly-purchased 'friend not food' pig shaped necklace, which led to us bombarding her with questions and her being friendly enough to put us in touch with Ms. Morgan herself! 
Before we contacted Stephanie though, we wanted to see just what those tacos were all about. We found a picnic table to squat on and took our first bites. The soft tortilla was filled with crunchy deep fried avocado, red onion, and cabbage slaw, drizzled with a jalapeño cilantro dressing. It was seriously mind-blowing. I would never even think to coat and deep fry avocado, but it really gives this awesome beer-battered flavor that is like nothing you've ever had before. 
After we each finished our two tacos we went back and got a third serving to bring to Alex's Mom so she could enjoy them as well...and enjoy them she did! She was hesitant when we said they were 100% vegan, but being a good sport she tried a big bite...and loved it! (I think her favorite part was the jalapeño cilantro dressing :) 

We got in touch with Stephanie to compliment her on a job well done and ask a few questions: 

Fettle Vegan: How long have you been vegan? What prompted you to start your own organic, vegan food truck?

Stephanie Morgan: I've been vegan for 5 years now. A few years ago, I was living in northern California and occasionally would order veggie burritos from a traditional food truck. I wondered if there was a vegan food truck around and googled it but found nothing. I was so disappointed. I figured if I wanted it to exist I would have to create it myself.

FV:  What's your favorite meal on the truck's menu?

SM:  Any dish using tanaka farms veggies really, but I especially like our Grilled Beets & Beet Greens with Chive dressing and our Truffled Cauliflower.

FV:  Most popular menu item on the truck?

SM:  Beer Battered Avocado Tacos

FV: Whats your long term dream for the truck? i.e., open more trucks, write a cookbook, convert more vegans?

SM: I wrote my first cookbook a few months ago (available on our website and in theiTunes store). Next is a restaurant in Downtown Santa Ana- hopefully open by Summer 2012. And of course I'm always trying to turn more people on to a healthier and more sustainable way of eating. 

We love that Stephanie has created a cruelty free, healthy option in a world generally targeted to carnivores. Her truck is absolutely worth a visit. Its creative and delicious, and surprisingly reasonably priced! 
Check out their day to day schedule at their website, seabirdstruck.com, or get their updates via twitter @SeabirdsTruck.