Vegan Birthday

My favorite part about my birthday is being spoiled with vegan treats -- often by those who wouldn't otherwise cook or choose vegan. For my birthday a little over a week ago, my (non-vegan) friend Emily made me a beautiful cake that was also AMAZING. She totally improvised the recipe too, which not only proves that she's an awesome baker but that vegan baking is so easy and delicious!

Apple banana spice cake.

Apple banana spice cake. With a cinnamon spice glaze.

As if this wasn't enough decadence for one day, my family also took me out to dinner for my birthday. I left the restaurant selection up to my mom, I knew she'd find something both vegan-friendly for moi, and omnivore-approved for the rest of the fam...and she didn't disappoint! We ended up at the Hill Street Cafe on Pacific Coast Highway in Oceanside, and man, was I impressed. I never even knew this place existed before my birthday dinner, and I certainly had no idea that it was a hidden vegan gem of North County-- there's an entire vegan section in their menu, and a lot of their other items are easily veganized (salads, pasta, veggie burgers, etc). This is pretty impressive -- since the menu is only a modest two pages, it was surprising to see so many options in a restaurant that's not even vegetarian. Props to Hill Street Cafe! 

Hill Street is in a really cute, old two-story house that was turned into a coffee shop in the early '90s, and eventually into a full-on organic, environmentally sustainable restaurant. In addition to downstairs/outside seating, the upstairs bedrooms were converted into mini-dining rooms, which is where my family and I sat -- we had our own private room.

524 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA

Out in front they had information about their farm nearby, and fresh oranges and tangerines for sale. 

Wonderfully vegan-friendly.

There was so much to choose from! I pretty much never order pasta at restaurants...not much of a carb person. But I can never resist vegan pesto, so I went with the "Vegan pesto w/ roasted veggies".

Vegan pesto w/ roasted veggies and vegan garlic bread.

The pasta's sauce was much more like alfredo than pesto, but it was still enjoyable and super rich. And the garlic bread was a great touch. I couldn't finish the whole thing!

My mom also opted for pasta -- hers was vegan too. It wasn't on the specified vegan section of the menu though, I think it was a special.

Vegan pasta with basil, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes with vegan garlic bread.

I actually liked hers better! The sun-dried tomatoes were really different -- although the dish had a bit too much oil. Still good!

My sister (avid carnivore) surprisingly ordered from the vegan section as well, and hers was probably the best dish of all of ours.

Vegan Surf and Turf -- Grilled portabello mushroom, grilled tofu steak, stir-fry veggies and brown rice.

This thing was massive and perfectly cooked. I can't even explain the sauce they used on the tofu and portabello steak -- it was some kind of sweet/wasabi/herb concoction, all I can say is that it was GREAT. Next time I come to Hill Street Cafe I'll probably get this entree and share with someone. Or maybe the "Roasted yam w/ roasted veggies"... in other words, I'll definitely be back here.

They even brought me my own vegan dessert for my birthday and sang to me! It has to happen at least once every birthday, right? 

Vegan apple crisp.

The freshly-made apple crisp was warm and "buttery", perfect way to end the meal. Even though we were all way too full from our huge portions.

Leftovers for days.

I highly recommend this restaurant -- if you get a chance, order from the vegan section of their menu and show North County how much we need these kinds of vegan-friendly places!

In conclusion: vegan birthday success.