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I live by the mantra "Be the change you wish to see in the world..."  
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I wish that I could post blogs as quickly as I eat!!! I have no issues eating and photographing the occasions, but getting them up here is another story… maybe it’s all the digesting? So… Latitude Eight Thai Grill – YUM! I absolutely ADORE Thai food and was so excited to find this gem on one of my afternoon beach cruise rides. Yes, I know, I live in Arizona so what beach am I cruising? Let’s just not get caught up in semantics… Latitude Eight is located in Historic Downtown Chandler. It’s a great little area full of cute shops and fabulous eats. There is a local Farmer’s Market that sets up shop every Thursday afternoon which would be a great time to come on over and check out this restaurant for dinner.
When eating Thai food I’m all about “family style” actually I’m all about it no matter what type of food! Everyone orders something with the full intention of sharing “their” dish with everyone else. It’s the BEST way to eat anything as far as I’m concerned. You get to try EVERYTHING that way. The grand finale was Sweet Rice with Mango coconut and sesame sticky rice, with sweet mango! When one talks about this dish I feel like there should be the sounds of Angels singing in the background and thunderous applause once the plate is set in front of you. Words can not express the happiness I feel when thinking about or eating Sweet Rice with Mango. That is all I can say for fear of over exciting myself right now, I’m at a 10 and I need to be at about a 2… breathe Michon. (Note – this dish should NEVER be served “family style” there is not ever enough to share and if eating with me please don’t ask for a bite.) Whether you LOVE Thai food, or have never tried it I would most surely suggest making Latitude Eight Thai Grill a definite on your list of restaurants to get to as soon as possible! Latitude Eight Thai Grill – 11 West Boston St. #5 – Chandler, AZ 85225 What can I say, I’m a sucker for Tostada Pizza. For the most part I’m the first to choose a locally owned original restaurant, but sometimes you have to give in to the large eating establishments. There are SO many chain restaurants!!! California Pizza Kitchen is one I end up at least once or twice a month. This write up is actually two separate visits to said CPK. (within 2 weeks of each other!) Visit #1:
Visit #2: Would you consider it a problem to be craving something daily for 2 weeks? Since my first visit to CPK I craved on a daily basis the Tostada Pizza. After attending a movie near the very CPK I went to on Visit #1 I suggested to my friends, “Why don’t we go to CPK, its so close!” My stomach had been looking for a way to justify going back there in such a short amount of time and this was the perfect in! Oh Happy Day!!! Luckily they agreed. These, my fellow veggie friends, were in fact the very couple that had introduced me to the Tostada Pizza at CPK a few years earlier. I found this truly fitting as I wouldn’t be dealing with this addiction if it weren’t for them. I guess you don’t really need to guess what we ordered. Two Tostada Pizzas for the table and we were in heaven! What is a Tostada Pizza you ask? Southwestern black beans, sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses topped with chilled shredded lettuce, homemade roasted tomato salsa, green onions and crispy tortilla strips with our herb ranch dressing. You really should also ask for the bottle of Cholula upon ordering so you don’t waste any time once the pizza arrives at your table. Need I say more? There were NO leftovers…
La Grande Orange is a Grocery Store, Restaurant, Bake Shop, and at 4pm it magically turns into a Pizza Parlor! They have a wonderful menu that has many options for Vegetarians, Vegan’s and Gluten Free folks. As stated before I was there Saturday morning so opted for something off of the breakfast selection. My eyes and stomach wanted to order one of everything (meat free that is). *Disclaimer – I have a strange and somewhat disturbing affinity for and obsession with crepes. On the menu they have Famous French Pancakes with honey, fresh fruit and creme fraiche. They were calling out to me, I had a little internal argument about trying new things and getting out of my crepe OCD so opted for The Venice Beach Burrito – it’s a whole wheat tortilla filled with tofu “chorizo”, corn, spinach, potato, egg whites w/charred tomato salsa. The cost was $7.50 which I found to be totally reasonable for the fun atmosphere and quality ingredients. The burrito was really fresh and completely filling. The blend of ingredients was really quite good with a wonderful consistency. There was a sweet taste while eating it that I wasn’t expecting, I’m not sure if it was the corn or the whole wheat tortilla. The charred tomato salsa balanced the sweetness and made it perfect! I must say I should have ordered the crepes as well. I was coveting my table neighbors plate of them, so decided to strike up a conversation with her about said Famous French Pancakes when she caught me staring at her half eaten plate while waiting for my own breakfast. She was really understanding and did a wonderful job making me feel less weird about the whole thing. I will definitely be ordering the crepes on my next visit and most likely ordering a Venice Beach Burrito to bring for a snack in between breakfast and lunch. :) I had a Soy, Adam’s Chai Latte to drink that was exceptional. (I’m a self proclaimed Chai Late connoisseur) and it was ready in record time. They make the Chai there themselves! The cup it was served in caught my attention so much that I rinsed it out and brought it home! It’s a paper cup (made of recycled fibers) that is constructed so that you don’t have to have a sleeve to hold it without your hands burning, hence less paper waste. I don’t normally like to use paper or plastic cups, but was without my mug this time and broke down.
Eating at La Grande Orange is an experience everyone should have. The food is amazing, atmosphere is fun and eccentric and the people watching is fabulous. It will be a destination location for me as much as possible. There are many things on the menu I NEED to eat and can’t wait to try the pizza after 4pm! La Grande Orange – 4410 N. 40th St. – Phoenix, AZ 85018
To start we had Pakawra, thin layers of potatoes covered in a light batter & deep fried (I have also seen these as eggplant). They were AMAZING to say the least, there was a chutney sauce to dip them in and I kept what was left of the sauce to slather on something in the future and/or take intravenously.
The main entrees come with a garden salad and house dressing that was bursting with flavor! A little spice to it which worked great to offset the flavor of the chutney with the Pakawra’s. One of my dinner companions also ordered the Shirazi Salad, Diced tomatoes, sweet onions, cucumber and mint mixed with special dressing. I’ve decided there is a type of crack in the “special dressing” because I also wanted to shoot this directly into my veins after tasting! Disclaimer: this is odd as I’m vegetarian, but; I abhor tomatoes and onions in their raw or normal state/form, I didn’t eat them with this salad, but the cucumber and mint was exquisite! My friend also ordered another starter, a cup of the Mashawa, Lentil soup w/beans, wheat, rice, mung beans, herbs and spices topped with a sour cream mix. I’ve always been a fan of lentil soup, but Mashawa is like no lentil soup I’ve had before, it’s on a whole new level and is a must have every time I visit Sultan Palace from now on! (Said friend was gracious enough to share a taste, but was concerned after seeing the look in my eyes after one bite)
On to the main course, I had Chalaw, a bed or white basmati rice served with two side dishes of my choice. I chose Mixed Vegetables, carrots, green beans, zucchini, peas and cauliflower cooked in tomato sauce and spices and Kadu Buranee, pumpkin cooked with tomatoes, onion and spices; topped with a sour cream mix. Being of Filipino heritage anything with rice is one of my favs! The spices in the sauce give the veggies a fabulous taste, and the pumpkin is something I think about often. If you ever catch me day dreaming it’s a good chance I’m contemplating how to get back to Sultan Palace as soon as possible to partake in some Kadu Buranee! I love pumpkin in all of it’s forms, but this was one of the most exciting styles I’ve tried and I was not let down! Finished off the meal with Baklava, layers of pastry held together by sugar, honey and nuts. I eat Baklava as often as I can, I’m not a self claimed connoisseur, but have eaten enough to say this one is by far the best I’ve had! I would HIGHLY recommend visiting Sultan Palace if you are looking to try something new that won’t let you down. There are LOTS of options for the carnivores as well, (more than for the veggies, but the veggie options are superb). You and anyone you go with will not be let down! Sultan Palace – 943 E. University Blvd. – Tucson, AZ 85719
I’ve been toying back and forth with creating a separate blog for my Vegetarian food Adventures, but have decided to include said adventures into my MichonJavelosa.com blog. Working with personal development, business people, non-profits and social entrepreneurs is my main passion, but coming in at a close second is FOOD! I LOVE eating and have an almost disturbing relationship with it and food in general. This blog is who I am and my love of food and eating is part of me! For those of you reading who are not wanting to hear about my Vegetarian food Adventures I apologize, please just pass these posts on by as I will always be adding content pertinent towards my personal development, business philanthropy and social entrepreneurship topics. Happy eating!
What is your passion? How can you use your gifts to give back to the world? My friend Jordan Adler wrote a wonderful book called Beach Money, if you are in or around network marketing this is a MUST read! It has been recommended by a host of successful people such as Ivan Misner – founder of BNI, Loral Langemeier – bestselling author and financial guru and Bob Burg – bestselling author of The Go Giver to name a few! What you will gain from this read is fabulous, but the BEST part is that all of the profits go to KIVA. KIVA is an amazing organization that works through micro finance to help entrepreneurs all over the world! |
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So… back to 
The dishes that were family styled at this outing were… Spicy Eggplant Stir Fry tofu, eggplant, onion, pumpkin, carrot, red bell pepper, thai basil and chili. 
