*Casie Here*
Finally, after months and months of waiting, we got to taste what Omaha's very own vegan restaurant, Modern Love, had to offer! They have not officially opened yet (next week, August 5th and we will be there that night too ~ they are already booked up for like 2-3 weeks out on Open Table), but we got in on a sneak tasting with our Vegan Omaha Meetup group tonight!
Happy Birthday (a day late) to me! Let's celebrate!!
I matched her colors (on purpose). ;)
Some of the restaurant crew! Isa, the owner of the restaurant is on the far right with her back to me.
Rosemary Lemonade. Delish!
We had assigned seating and we were placed next to this very nice couple! Danielle and Scott. We had a very enjoyable time talking with them throughout dinner!
We got one dish of each thing to share amongst the 4 of us. They put up with all my picture taking and were very patient with me!
We each got to have our own "shot". It was like a cold soup. It tasted like corn on the cob. I don't know what it was made out of, but it was yummy! *UPDATE* I found out what it was! Corn milk with chili oil, lime and cilantro flowers on top! Fun, different and yummy! Felt like I was at a swanky upscale restaurant....oh wait, we were!!!
This was Farmer's Hummus Plate. Roasted garlic hummus served with overnight tomatoes, roasted radishes, rainbow carrots, cucumber, and flatbread.
These pickled radishes were tangy and seasoned perfectly!
I loved the rainbow carrots. So beautiful!
The flatbread was flaky and soft. Yummy!!!
These were Jalapeño Corn Fritters over tomato jam, arugula and fresh basil. I am not a fan of spicy hot, but even though these have jalapanos in them, since they were roasted, it cut the heat and they had just the right amount of kick. Soft and tasty! Really good!
Isa talking with our waitress.
This was her take on a Cesar Salad. It had quinoa and pine nuts, tempeh 'croutons' and bacon eggplant. The whole salad and dressing were delicious and the bacon eggplant pieces were very good. They did have a smokey flavor, just like bacon!
This dish was called Mac N Shews. Isa's take on macaroni and cheese, but made with cashew cream cheese and a bunch of other yummy spices. It came along side a pecan crusted tofu, BBQ cauliflower and braised, garlicy kale.
The BBQ Cauliflower had a smoky, tangy kick sauce on it. They were different and wonderful. Everyone liked it!
The tofu or like I like to say "vegan pork chop" was extremely good. Great texture, not rubbery or dry, it was fabulous.
This dish was the Seitan Marsala. It tasted like Mushroom Stroganoff. This was a root vegetable mash on the bottom, mushrooms, fresh herbs and micro green sprouts. The sprouts gave it such a fresh, earthy taste. The Seitan had grill marks and tasted very good, rich and 'meaty'. This was Vernon's favorite dish of the night. Everyone in the place was raving about this dish. Definitely a comfort food!
This is John. He is the head of the Vegan Meetup group, Vegan Omaha fb and has his own blog, The Laziest Vegan in the World, and he's Isa's boyfriend. I had to take his pict, because he is not in very many himself. He is always behind the camera! Such a nice guy. He does so much for the local vegan peeps!
This was the Vanilla Bean Peach Pie. It was supposed to come with Ginger Ice Cream, but ours did not. We got the luckiest plate in the joint. It had a vegan marshmallow ice cream on it.
Lets just get a better look at this, shall we? After every bite, I was trying to get right back to that creamy, chunky, fluffy scoop of Heaven before Vernon could get to it (hee hee hee). That was MINE. There were huge chunks of VEGAN marshmallows and cashew pieces in it surrounded by fluffy, airy (weirdly ~ did not seem very cold) ice cream with chewy, candied ginger curls on top. Oh. My. GOD. Seriously people, this was THE best ice cream vegan or non vegan that I have EVER had in my entire life. What was Casie's favorite thing of the night? Hands down, no doubt this little scoop of creamy goodness. But everything really was delicious. I am so excited for the rest of Omaha to taste how freaking good eating vegan can be!
The walls look like they have wall paper on them, but it all was hand painted with stencils! Very detailed work and very 'modern'!
I had to get a pict. with my celebrity chef, Ms. Isa herself! Vernon's lucky I didn't bust out my 'Isa Does It' cookbook to have her sign it right then and there! It was wonderful of her to bring this exciting all vegan restaurant to OMAHA of all places! Thank you Isa! Dinner was fabulous! We can't wait to be back EVERY month to try the new monthly menus with seasonal veggies / produce! You rock!!!
Still finishing up the outside sign painting!
We had such a fun night with great food and meeting new friends. We can't wait to go back next week on opening night! How exciting!!! Book your table today on Open Table. Let's get the word out that Vegan food can taste fabulous and support her awesome restaurant!!!
