>Just in under the wire after a day spent at our Cross Country League Finals. Believe it or not, I was blogging on the school bus so I could finish my post before bedtime tonight (which, I admit, is around 9:00).
Last night, Alan took me out to dinner for my birthday. I chose Native Foods in Palm Desert. It isn’t fancy by any means, but the food is really good and it’s so nice (and easy) to eat at a vegan restaurant where I can relax and order anything that strikes my fancy. Eating at a “regular” restaurant means dissecting the menu, grilling the server, who may or may not have a clue, and still not being totally sure of what I’m being served.
Plus, Native Foods is the only vegan restaurant east of Palm Springs.
We arrived fairly early, but there was a decent sized crowd at the restaurant. No waiting for a table, though, we were seated right away.
I had been dying to try the Nuevo Native Nachos. I’d seen them on the website and they looked awesome.
I also ordered another new dish, the Chimichurri Fajita Platter. Alan ordered the Baja Surf Tacos, which came with a cup of lemongrass soup.
I sipped a glass of wine as we waited for our appetizer. One of the servers came to our table and asked, “are you Debbie? We have something for you.”
That something was a Native Foods gift card, arranged for by my daughter-in-law. What a lovely surprise! I had mentioned earlier in the day where we were going for dinner. So wonderful. I still haven’t figured out how the server knew who I was. Or, let’s say, I’d like to hear how I was described, so well that I was picked out immediately.
Our nachos arrived and they were very good, although in my opinion they weren’t spicy enough to achieve true awesomeness. I like my nachos to bite back.
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| NUEVO Native Nachos Homemade corn tortilla chips covered in black beans, Native Taco Meat, Native Chipotle Crema, Native Cheese, salsa fresca, and guacamole. Topped with corn, green onions, and cilantro. 7.95 |
I had the same feeling about the fajitas. The seitan was a little blah, (for fajitas–it was delicious as leftovers added to my Subway veggie sandwich today). Don’t get me wrong, they were quite tasty, just not spicy enough. Alan enjoyed his Baja tacos.
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| Chimichurri Fajita PLATTER Our Native Mexican Seitan seared with roasted sweet peppers, onion, and pear tomatoes drizzled with chimichurri sauce. Served with grilled corn tortillas, brown rice, black beans and sliced avocado. Pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole garnish. 9.95 |
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| Baja Surf Tacos Our sea-friendly “fish taco.” Two grilled soft corn tortillas stuffed with Tanya’s crispy battered Tempeh, homemade surfer sauce, salsa fresca, shredded cabbage and guacamole. 7.95 |
The next cool thing was that we found out it was “Native Days.” Which meant that we each got a free dessert! I had the pumpkin pie, Alan had the pumpkin custard pie. They were both drizzled with a caramel sauce and both were delicious. As you can see, we couldn’t wait for the picture to take a bite.
Finally, the third surprise. Of course I used my Native Foods loyalty card when we paid for dinner and we were delighted to see that we saved $10 off our dinner. What a deal! Appetizer, two entrees, two desserts, one glass of wine, one glass of watermelon fresca. Total: $26. (including tax, plus tip). Wow! Happy Birthday to me!
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