When traveling, I spend an embarrassing amount of time doing Google searches and reading Yelp reviews to determine the most interesting places for a vegan to eat. None of that, “Oh, an iceberg salad is fine” for me. I want to get a good meal – and also support the establishments that care enough about the environmental, health and/or animals rights reasons to offer veg food.
The ChocolaTree’s garden courtyard
In Sedona, the clear choice was the ChocolaTree Organic Eatery. We hoped to score one of the fire tables – yes, real fire on the table tops — but those were taken. Still, we got a two-top in the courtyard garden with a good view of the giant Buddha head.
Vegan saag paneer featuring macadamia nut “cheese”
The menu was full of interesting stuff, but I quickly chose the vegan saag paneer. Instead of dairy cheese, this paneer was made with macadamia nuts and chipotle and served with cooked spinach over rice. It was even better than I expected.
Gideon got the mushroom fantasy, which is sautéed crimini mushrooms in garlic almond crème sauce. It’s served over wild rice and finished with fresh parsley. He also ordered the adaptogenic tea. This is made from chaga, reishi and red-belted polypore mushrooms, goji and schizandra berries. It tasted even worse than it sounds, not that I know what most of those ingredients are supposed to taste like. But Gideon has a lot of faith in the medicinal benefits of drinks that taste like dirt, so he was satisfied.
The drink menu is fun to read, offering everything from ginger lemonade with elderberry, to almond milk and turmeric, to lassis made with coconut kefir. Superfoods reign supreme at the ChocolaTree. You can also get biodynamic wines, beer and creative cocktails.
ChocolaTree is also known, not surprisingly, for its chocolates. If you visit, be sure to peruse the dessert case. There’s an on-site shop that churns out vegan, raw, superfood chocolates. They also make baked goods, coconut-based ice cream, raw cheesecakes and Se’donuts.
The soundtrack included reggae and mantra. When we left, a crowd was watching fire dancers in the parking lot.
I wish somewhere in Portland would make a vegan saag paneer like that!
