PHOENIX: True Food Kitchen

I was in Phoenix a little while ago and was looking for a nice place to have dinner out. I was recommended some awesome veg/vegan joints over Twitter, but unfortunately those were all a ways from where I was staying. Pretty close to my hotel though, was the original location of True Food Kitchen. While this place is not entirely veg/vegan, it does have plenty of options for us. There's been a lot of press surrounding this place in my neighborhood since they just opened their second location at beatuiful Fashion Island Newport Beach, just a short drive from my place, so I had been dying to try it anyways. TFK is a concept by Dr. Andrew Weil, who overall advocates a pretty healthy diet that does include some fish but no other animal proteins.

After looking over the innovative drink menu, I settled on a cucumber and organic tequila based concoction that was absolutely divine. The refreshing cucumber and the bite of the tequila balanced each other perfectly, and the agave used to sweeten the beverage made it simply delectible. A+ on my drink selection for sure.

To start, both my Mom and I ordered a bowl of soup. She got the miso soup and I ordered the seasonal gazpacho. Gazpacho when done well is without a doubt one of my favorite things in the world, and this one was not a letdown at all. It was light, refreshing, perfectly chilled, and you could tell only the ripest tomatoes were used in the making of it. I like to top my gazpacho with freshly cracked black pepper which made this soup all the better. The miso was also delicious, pefectly salted (I hate it when miso soups are way too salty) and the mushrooms gave it a little more of a hearty feeling than the typical miso. I would recommend both soups as neither gave me anything to complain about.

My next item up was the Tuscan kale salad. Kale is my favorite green so I try to order it anytime I get a chance and I often cook it at home with a little olive oil, fresh garlic and red onion. Veggie Grill makes some amazing kale, so that is usually my side there. The kale salad at True Food comes with parmesean on the menu, so make sure you ask for it without that, the dish is otherwise vegan. Another impressive dish, the kale was perfectly cooked, nicely dressed and not bitter at all.

Finally, after some amazing appetizers, it was time for my entree. I was in the mood for pizza and TFK came through with a pizza that starts vegan on the menu, no need to ask for cheeseless or anything like that. It was a super duper basic pie, with just tomato sauce and olive oil on a multigrain crust. What's funny is anytime I go to a gourmet Italian place I usually end up getting a pizza that looks exactly like this, but after having to ask for half of the ingredients to be removed. This one came simple and vegan straight off the menu, and while it is as basic as a pizza gets, it was still absolutely delicious and fresh.

After getting pretty stuffed on all the previously mentioned items, the waitress came to the table to ask if we were interested in dessert. I was full, but Mom was paying so I blurted out "Tell me what ya got that's vegan!" The waitress recommended the vegan maple ice cream, which couldn't have been more up my alley if I had personally created the menu. I love all things maple, and freshly made vegan ice cream is always to die for. This non-dairy dessert was rich, creamy, and perfectly sweetened... BLISS!!!

All in all, I had a great time at True Food Kitchen and would definitely recommend it to vegans and omnivoires alike. It's a great place for food with friends or family, in an upscale but not too hoity toity setting. It's awesome that they clarify which dishes on the menu come veg/vegan and the super friendly staff can help you identify other dishes which can be veganized. Now that I'm back home for a while, I think I'll have to try the TFK at Fashion Island for some more tasty morsels.

Click here to visit the True Food Kitchen website.