Golden Lotus: A Gastronomic Love Story

Who: Editorial Assistant Abigail Wick
What: Golden Lotus
Where: Downtown Oakland, Calif.
When: Saturday, February 13, 2010
Why: The perfect mixture of Valentine's Eve, starving artist boyfriend, Supreme Master TV, and vegan avocado smoothies.

The Scoop: Let’s face it—San Franciscans look for every excuse to avoid schlepping to the East Bay. We spend our days in blissful seven-by-seven insularity, indifferent to the charms of Oakland, which could just as well be as far away as Shangri-la. But sometimes the mood to travel strikes—especially when the cupboards are bare, love is in the air, and your boyfriend starts hankering for Golden Lotus.

The completely veg restaurant is an unassuming operation—think vinyl booths and beige-tile floors. It serves primarily Vietnamese cuisine, with a healthy side of pan-Southeast Asian fare. Prominently featured Supreme Master slogans and iconography define the décor, and a flat-screen TV streams Supreme Master TV into the dining room. (Vietnamese-born Supreme Master Ching Hai is a media-savvy Buddhist activist, who promotes veganism and environmental stewardship.)

As at any Vietnamese eatery, I gravitate toward the country’s culinary hallmark, the fresh spring roll. The Golden Lotus doesn’t let me down: rice noodle, red lettuce, julienned carrot and daikon-radish, mint, shredded fried tofu, and succulent mock-chicken bits all come wrapped in a delicate rice-paper roll. A savory-sweet peanut dipping sauce rounds out the flavor.

Spring rolls so good you spring from your seat and shout, "More, please!"

The entrée selection is vast, including lemon chicken, broccoli beef, and ginger fish—all vegan, of course. Jason and I split the house special—spicy gourmet chicken—a delectable combination of fresh relish, zesty chilies, and flavorful mock-meat. Sweet-pickled zucchini, daikon radish, carrot, and hot pepper proved perfect bedfellows, and a bed of small-grain brown rice left my palate with a nutty finish.

Crispy, spicy, saucy...so naughty

At Golden Lotus it’s necessary to share the main course, lest your belly become too full to relish the array of after-dinner treats. Vegan carrot cupcakes, mocha chocolate cake, and caramel flan are just some of the options. We shared the avocado smoothie—two straws, please! With great glee we slurped-up and gulped-down the smoothie, which was delicate and not too-sweet. Sigh…

Jason's all dreamy over his creamy avocado smoothie.

The best pre-Valentine’s Day date ever? You bet!

Vegan V-Day Dance

Who: VegWebmistress Laura Beck

What: Vegan Valentine's Day Dance

Where: Brower Center, Berkeley, Calif.

When: February 12, 2010

Why: To drink, dance, and possibly get lucky!

The Scoop: I love to eat, dance, and sometimes get a little cheesy (all vegan, of course!). The perfect place to do that? The Vegan Valentine's Day Dance! The event took place last Friday, and it was my chance to transport back to high school, except this time with people I actually like. Being able to celebrate Valentine's Day surrounded by folks who share my love and compassion for animals? There's nothing more romantic than that! Awww. Now, let's talk about what really matters: the food.

The event, organized by the extremely talented vegan event planner, Karine Brighten, was filled with the best snacks a gal could imagine, including vegan taquitos. Yes, VEGAN TAQUITOS. Flacos provided the goods, and those suckers didn't last long. That might be partly because I ate all of them.

Hungry party-goers hit the snack table (photo by Cathryn Lovecraft).

For dessert? Cupcakes and cookies from Sugar Beat Sweets and baklava and raspberry bars from Fat Bottom Bakery. Hello sugar high, time to dance you off! And dance we did, especially with Lady Gaga in heavy rotation. More please! I feel like I'm still on a sugar high! Please help!

Cupcakes are the best fuel for dancing (photo by Cathryn Lovecraft)

The evening ended with a raffle filled with more prizes than I've ever seen in my life. I swear, my eyes lit up like Scrooge McDuck when I saw all the goodies. I bought about a million tickets and walked away with a Tofu Xpress, a $60 gift certificate to Vegan Essentials, and a bag filled with Sjaak's chocolates and Parma!

VegWebmistress Laura and her valentine, Jonas, show off their loot (photo by Cathryn Lovecraft).

Maybe I'm the greediest person alive, but I seriously love to win stuff. It's especially rewarding when you know all the money raised from the dance went to Vegan Outreach. I can't think of a better organization to shake your booty for, and look forward to this becoming an annual event. I'll see y'all next year for dancing, prizes, drinks, dancing, candy, dancing, making out, and more dancing—all in the name of a great cause. Ain't vegan life sweet? I told you I like to get cheesy.