Green - Tempe/Scotsdale, AZ

I've been to Green a couple of times in the last few years. It has come a long way since the first time we dined on Soynami's and vegan pizza. Green has expanded into the store front next door and is now constantly filled with diners. The atmosphere is relaxed and artie with the customer demographic ranging from tattooed vegans to older hippie vegans. They've also recently added a small vegan shop which sells vegan whipped cream and other rarities. The menu ranges from asian veggie stirfry bowls to pizza and sandwiches.

On this particular visit my mom opted for my usual order, greenza pizza. It's a medium sized pizza with pesto and vegan cheese. She added mushrooms and artichoke hearts for a tasty, filling pizza. The pesto could have a bit more salt but overall I enjoyed it. She also tried the fruit salad and while she liked it, she complained that the dressing had too much vinegar.

My sister choose the sweet and sour bowl with tofu. She's not a fan of fake meat in general so she avoids it at Green. The tofu was well cooked, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, but I wanted more sweet and sour sauce in the bowl. I found it a little bland.

I decided to try the meatball po boy with fries. The thyme fries were crispy shoestring fries with a hint of thyme at most. Even without the seasoning they were perfectly cooked and I couldn't stop eating them. My sister also ordered the chili fries for appetizer because she says they're very flavorful and she likes the curry after taste. I tried them and found that the fries were a little mushy under the chili and I wanted more flavor from the chili but perhaps this was not the best batch she's had. The meatball po boy was messy and hard to eat but worth it. The fake meatballs had the composition and flavor of real meat. I would definitely order it again.

And now to my favorite part of Green, the Soynami. Green's answer to the Dairy Queen Blizzard, the Soynami is vanilla vegan soft serve ice cream with any combination of fruit, nuts, or sweets to create delicious ice cream desserts that any vegan with a sweet tooth would love. There's a whole list of fruit combos as well as sweeter ones. Jacki went for the Chunky Munkey which is banana, pecans, and chocolate syrup. Unfortunately they were out of bananas on this particular visit but we've had it in the past and it's good. She then chose the Almond Oy vey! which is almonds, coconut, and chocolate syrup. Very yummy. I had the Rocky Road which was walnuts, chocolate chips, marshmallow, and chocolate syrup. It was one of the best Soynamis I've had.

I would recommend Green to all my friends, vegan or not, and will definitely be dining there again.

Phoenix, day 2

I arrived in Phoenix Tuesday (8/19) night after a long day of mailing boxes, packing, throwing things out, and pulling out my hair. In the end I only left behind one thing I really wanted to take (plus the dress and bra I forgot about in the dryer) and I'll just have to come back to Beantown and pick that up later.

Yesterday I hung out with my mom in Goodyear. We got some Mexican food for lunch (I'm trying to stock up on good Mexican because I know this will be hard to come by in Europe), went grocery shopping, and to the bank. We then went swimming in her fantastic pool. She even let me turn on the waterfall and slide! We shared the goggles to swim laps and then while we were having a hand stand contest I stepped on something. Upon closer inspection I discovered that I had in fact stepped on a scorpion! It was at the bottom of the pool so of course it was dead but I was still freaked out. Afterwards we got cleaned up and headed into Phoenix to meet Jacki and her boy for some vegan food at Green and then Project Runway viewing. I was exhausted when we finally got back to Goodyear and so thankful that I got to slip into the guest room with the new Queen mattress.

Today we ran more errands and I got: a quick dry towel, a watch, a camera card, a birthday present for the best sister ever, and some sushi. Now mom is cleaning the pool and I'm going to join her. I could get used to this Phoenix thing.

2 days left in Boston

It is now 1:35 AM on Sunday. I have two full days left in Boston before I leave for good. I've been so busy the past week that I haven't really been able to enjoy my last days in this wonderful city. I'm sad to be leaving. I came to Boston without knowing a soul and I leave 7 years later with many wonderful friends and as a new person. I would never be as outgoing as I am if I hadn't taken such a huge leap by choosing Boston as the city where I'd become an adult.

That said, I am excited to have all the stress of packing, selling things, and disposing of things no one wants over. I can't wait to ride bikes with my sister through the lazy streets of downtown Phoenix and walk the lakes with my mom. And after a few days of desert I'll be off to Europe and who knows what. Something huge is about to happen. I think I'm ready.