Restaurant Review: The Pulse Cafe

On Earth Day we ate out at The Pulse Cafe in Somerville, MA. The food is all vegan, diner-style fare, and we definitely pigged out!

We started with a double
order of nachos, which
came piled high with
chili and nut-cheese. We
added extra guacamole
on top. The kids were
anticipating really liking
these, but I think there
were just too many
flavours happening at once, and the chili and cheese were not their preferred tastes. I think they're just accustomed to my own chili at home.

The buffalo tofu bites on
the other hand were
AMAZING. Our server
was concerned they'd be
too spicy for the kids, but
they loved them! They
came with celery and a
dip. Next time we'll
definitely be ordering more
of this superb treat!

While waiting for our entrees I browsed the vegan literature from the Boston Vegan Association, and various animal rights organizations. This restaurant is quite family friendly, with a decent bathroom and plenty of dining space. There was a queue developing for tables as our meal progressed!

Another nifty thing about The Pulse Cafe is that it serves breakfast all day (despite not being open at breakfast time, LOL). AJ wanted to try the scrambled tofu with toast. The servings here are HUGE, and we all shared some AND brought leftovers home which 3 of us split the next day!





















All the kids had their first-ever root beer floats! And Ryan insisted on ordering a bowl of black bean soup--it was delicious! I ordered the "Bacon Cheeseburger" after seeing a recommendation from a customer on The Pulse Cafe's Facebook page. The bun was tasty, the burger a little plain, but the melted Daiya cheddar and the smoked tempeh strips and condiments were yummy.
My husband ordered the "Philly Cheese Steak". I later heard the whole wheat roll was an experiment--usually they use a white roll--and we thought it was fantastic. This giant seitan sandwich was a major win with us all, and we'll be hard-pressed not to order it again on our next visit! Super!
Despite being extremely
stuffed, we shared one
slice of the Silk Mint Pie,
one of the day's dessert
specials. I'm not a big pie
eater, but everyone
seemed to like it.

We will definitely be
returning to The Pulse
Cafe in the future! It
may rival the kids'
favourite sushi after their quarterly haircut visit in Cambridge.

The Pulse Cafe is located
at 195 Elm Street, Somerville,
MA, about half way between
the Davis Sq. and Porter Sq.
T stops on the Red Line (but
technically still in Davis Sq.).
They are closed mondays.
Call 617-625-1730 for more
info.

Restaurant Review: Prana Cafe

***July 2011 update -
Restaurant has closed***

Prana Cafe is the newest
raw vegan restaurant in
the Boston area. I was ready
for a treat while eating only
raw foods, but most decent
restaurants (not to mention
raw restaurants) aren't very
kid-friendly. Not Prana Cafe!

I didn't get any photos of the
outside of the restaurant
because it was POURING rain
the sunday evening we went. There were quite a few customers despite the weather, many with one child. In we walked with four! They had to push two tables together, but other than that, the play area accommodated everyone. Yep, a play area! At a raw vegan restaurant! And they have a kids menu! And vegan wine for the grownups! Score.













There were nice toys, mostly
wooden, puzzles, chalkboard,
and bean bag chairs and kid arm-
chair in front of a flat screen tv
playing kid-friendly dvds. Yes,
I actually got to enjoy my 1/2
glass of Australian white wine!

The dark evening and chasing
after Maia resulted in poor photos of the restaurant interior as well as the food...which I never seemed to get a picture of until it was at least half eaten. We ordered a lot of food, but for 6 people $100 isn't bad for a raw vegan mostly organic meal with raw ice cream and pudding for dessert! You can take a look at the menu here...notice "The Hello Kitty: Pasta" on the kids menu!






















Each of the kids had different preferences. Ryan, who usually likes most anything, was rather particular; besides dessert, he only cared for "The Best Salad Ever", pictured above with what remained after he attacked it, LOL. He took one sheet of nori and made a wrap with the lettuce, then proceeded to pick out all of the avocado and raw croutons, leaving me with just some lettuce & nori. Thanks, kid.

The portobello "steak" was just a marinated mushroom with a nutty topping which I quite enjoyed, but my husband who usually likes mushrooms quite a bit did not. What I really loved was the parsnip mash on the side! But then I like parsnips. On the same plate was a heap of marinated broccoli, which constituted the bulk of Nate's dinner; I only got a few bites of the broccoli, but man was it good!

The other thing I really loved was the onion flatbread with olive tapenade. However there were not nearly enough pieces of "bread" (more like chips really) to consume all of the tapenade...and I was really heaping it on! So I brought it home, along with the extra parsnip mash, and ate it for breakfast with my own raw flax crackers.

Probably the least favourite among the kids oddly enough was "The Ariel Pizza-Pizza" off the kids menu. I think a lot of it had to do with expectations, because it just didn't taste anything like any of the pizzas they're used to. Maia was the one who ate the most of it.

My favourite, which only Maia also loved, was the winter squash ravioli with citrus cream sauce. The portion was again rather
small, but had a really delicate
citrus flavour. I'd have liked
more of some sort of sauce, as
there was only the smallest
dab on top of each triangle
ravioli piece.

What I failed miserably that
night to capture was the
artistry of the food and the
beautiful decor of the
restaurant. The presentation
of each dish was exquisite.
And as I always say...the
first bite is with the eye!


I definitely can't wait to
return for another meal.
The service was excellent,
the atmosphere lovely,
and there are so many
desserts (like the coconut
cream pie!!) among other
items that I'm dying to try!



Prana Cafe is located at 292 Centre Street, Newton Corner, MA
617-527-7726
They have recently expanded to offer dinner hours (hence why we made it there!).

Breakfast & Lunch every day except Tuesday: 9am - 4pm
Dinner Sun/Mon/Wed/Thurs: 5pm - 9pm
Dinner Fri/Sat: 5pm - 10pm
Closed Tuesdays

review: Verrill Farm

Verrill Farm, Concord, MA

Concord, MA--home to the
Concord Grape--is a lovely
rural suburb that I should
really spend more time
getting to know. Despite
lacking farmer's markets
and CSAs, the area has a
lot of outdoor activities and
local farmstands. While my
husband and older boys
had been here before, this
was my first trip. The 3
year old class at our kids'
preschool always visits
in the fall.




The pumpkin harvest
has been poor all over
New England this year,
so pumpkins were
brought in from else-
where to appease the Halloween jack-o'-lantern seekers. But there was still lots of other fresh local produce to be had.

The farm's large store and
cafe, recently rebuilt after
a fire a couple of years ago,
is bright and welcoming.
There is lots of produce
for sale, along with plenty
of fresh bread, flowers,












packaged foods, deli
items, and bakery items
baked on the premises.

I liked their cute hummus
and raw veggie to-go
containers. And I was
tempted to buy little
dark chocolate turkeys for the boys.

There is a seating area
inside, and lots of parking
all around the main
building. While we were
there for a field trip, that
is not something they
normally do (one of the
teachers happens to be
friends with the farmer,
lucky us!). But everyone
there seemed very friendly
and eager to please. Since
there were no pumpkins
to be picked, we took a
hay ride out to the fields
and the kids all picked
carrots and brussels
sprouts. Afterwards they brought out apple cider and cookies (we'd brought along some vegan cookies though).

I definitely want to go back and browse some more. I was impressed by their offering of local cookbooks and book-signings by local authors. They also offer catering, and cooking classes for both adults and children. It's great to see local places like this thriving. I think the morning coffee and good location gets people coming in, but they've really got a lot to offer...something for everyone.












Verrill Farm is located at 11 Wheeler Road in Concord, MA, at the corner of Wheeler & Sudbury Road, just north of the intersection with route 117 (Fitchburg Turnpike). 978-369-4494 They are open daily from 9am-7pm (except for a 5pm closing time on sundays during Jan., Feb, & Mar.).