WEST COAST TOUR PART TWO {SEATTLE} : Cafe Flora, Elm Coffee Roasters, and Lola

Cafe Flora: I read amazing things about Cafe Flora, so decided to give it a try! Cafe Flora is tucked away in the quiet neighborhood of Madison Park. If you're vegan or vegetarian, this spot most defiantly the place for you. If you're not vegan or vegetarian, this is still the spot for you. The food here is delicious, the service is amazing, and the ambiance is beautiful. 

Elm Coffee Roasters: Absolutely amazing espresso drinks. I sampled their latte with house made hazelnut milk. Great tasting coffee with a very clean and fresh aesthetic. The coffee shop is  beautifully and minimally decorated and gets amazing natural light. By far, Elms Coffee Roasters was the best coffee shop I sampled while in Seattle. I left with two ground bags of their espresso!! 

Lola: I read a lot of things about Lola as well, so we decided to grab breakfast their before heading to the airport. The wait was about an hour and a half, but it was totally worth it! We ordered the garlic smashed potatoes and pancakes. Both were delicious! 

WEST COAST TOUR PART ONE {SEATTLE}: Top Pot Doughnuts, Cafe Turko, and The London Plane

Next stop, SEATTLE! I’m such a coffee {latte/espresso} snob, so this stop was extra exciting for me! So while in Seattle, we ate, we drank {coffee}, and we toured!

Top Pot Doughnuts: Basically, I came in for one doughnut and walked out with a dozen. I’m pretty sure I ordered one of each, which ranged from a classic glazed doughnut to an apple fritter doughnut. All of which were amazing! Not too sweet and not too thick! The space is pretty sweet; it's two stories, with walls covered in shelves and books. There are many tables for people to sit, eat, and work at. The front of the store has floor to ceiling windows, making the place seem so open and refreshing, even with the heavy smell of donuts in the air. There were windows that you could look through on the first floor and it gave a view of their very large kitchen.

Café Turko: Turkish coffee and outstanding halal food, couldn't really ask for more. There is nothing I enjoy more than finding a locally owned, family run restaurant. This truly felt like a snippet of Turkey itself. The food was truly authentic! The menu had many meat dishes for meat lovers, vegetarian dishes for vegetable lovers, and vegan/gluten free dishes for those who have intolerance to gluten or dairy. 

The London Plane: Great experience for Breakfast. Great coffee, great service, and great food. I had the house made granola with almond milk. My sister had the beet salad. Both of which were super tasty and full of flavor. Everything here is pretty much made in house, including the granola and almond milk. I also loved the open-air atmosphere of the restaurant. Overall, it’s a great place to stop by for brunch!

WEST COAST TOUR {Portland}

My family and I decided to take a road trip down the west coast beginning in Portland. We've already visited many major cities on the east coast and decided that it was time we visited major cities on the west coast, outside of California. The cities we decided to visit were Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria. While in each city, I decided to take some photos of the foods I ate/enjoyed to share with you all! My phone was acting up throughout the trip so unfortunately I couldn't take photos of everything I ate! EEK!

Unfortunately for Portland, I didn't get to take many photos! Below are two places I tried and LOVED. I'll also list some other places for you guys to try while in Portland!

Side Note: PORTLAND is BEAUTIFUL! It was a small green city with small streets, filled with tons of cute cafes, and filled with genuinely nice people.

Salt& Straw Ice Cream: We were lucky that we got in line before it got really busy on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. They had an eclectic menu of ice cream flavors, pairing mostly sweet with savory flavors. I went with the Lavender and Honey flavor, which had the perfect balance of the two flavors- one flavor was not overpowering the other. I've never been very impressed with any ice cream shop and especially not interested in waiting in line( I've heard the lines can be crazy), but Salt & Straw lives up to the hype and was well worth the wait. 

Mothers Bistro& Bar:  You can't visit Portland without getting breakfast at Mother's! Breakfast was really good! A very long wait but worth it. Such a cute restaurant, the interior is decorated with chandeliers, pictures, and coffee mugs that say "call your mother" on them. The menu has your typical egg dishes, pancakes, waffles, French toast. I had the peach waffle! It was light, fluffy, and was topped with fresh peaches and home made whipped cream! 




Other Places: Blue Star Donuts, Tasty n Alder, Heart, Barista, and Bijou Cafe. 

Vegan Banana Date Muffins {No Sugar Added}

4 Ripe Bananas 

1 Flax Egg

1/3 C. Vegetable Oil 

1/2 C. Honey

1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 C. Flour(I used gluten free flour) 

1 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon

1 Tsp. Baking Soda

1 Tsp. Baking Power

1 Tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar 

1/2 Tsp. Salt

1/2 C. Walnuts 

1/2 C. Dates(pitted) 

1/4 C. Chia Seeds 

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix the bananas, flax egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla together until the mixture is smooth.  In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Add the apple cider vinegar.  Fold in walnuts, dates, and chia seeds. Pour batter into muffin tins. Top the muffins off with chia seeds. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-35 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Beignets

1 package of dry active yeast
1/4 cup of warm water
1 cup of evaporated milk
1/2 cup of melted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
1 room temperature egg
4 1/2 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon(optional)
Oil (for frying)
Powdered sugar


Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes. In another bowl, combine the egg, salt, melted butter, cinnamon, and evaporated milk together. Add the flour and slowly combine in the yeast mixture. Knead the dough until smooth. Spray a clean bowl, place the dough into the bowl(cover), and let it rise in a warm place for two hours.

Once the dough is ready, preheat oil in a sauce pan to 350 degrees F. While the oil is heating up, place the dough on a floured surface. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch in thickness and cut it into squares. Deep fry each square of dough until they become golden in color. Once all of the beignets are fried, place them onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar..


Enjoy!