CLOSED : Berry Ocean - Albuquerque Gelato!

Hi! I bet ya'll thought I'd dropped off the face of the earth! Nope, I'm here... It's just that sometimes, life gets in the way of everything else. :-)


You probably already know that the Empire Burritos that I had blogged about earlier is CLOSED. It's very sad; it was one of my husband's favorite places to eat. And as a strict Vegan, he's tough to please!


For the first business to be mentioned by me in my renewed interest in blogging, I am writing about Berry Ocean. I've blogged on Gelato before, and THIS place is a must for folks in the Albuquerque area. I have adopted this business as my family's "go-to" place for celebrations. Not everyone is a cake fan and dessert in a crowded noisy restaurant is not my idea of celebrating, but we can please the whole crowd with Gelato, they normally have seating for our whole gang, the owner doesn't mind our taking pictures and videos of our event, and it is peaceful.


Portion sizes range from "that is ridiculously small" [in my American opinion] to "Omm Nomm Nomm" [my term for wow that looks terrific!"], and there are usually 40+ flavors to choose from, in addition to Frozen Yogurt, Espresso drinks, and smoothies.

As their Key Concepts explain, "GELATO = less fat + no air added = rich creamier taste". You might never be able to tell that there is less fat in the products, but you sure will enjoy them. Of course, Vegans are concerned about animal-based ingredients. Not to worry, order the fruit flavors, they are water-based with no dairy.


For Diabetics, ask what flavors in stock are made Sugar-Free - they vary depending on the day.


Please patronize this great Gelato business, Berry Ocean. Keep their doors open!

Location:Corner of Wyoming and Montgomery, same Location as India Palace, Chuck E. Cheese, Yen Ching, Michael's, Just Muffin Around, etc.

4410 Wyoming Blvd # H Albuquerque NM 87111

Please call first to check the hours [these were listed on their website]

M-T : 10AM-10:00PM Fri,Sat: 10AM-10:30PM Sun:: 11AM-9:30PM

Tomato Cafe - Albuquerque. Vegan, Vegetarian, pleases everybody!

My husband can be very vindictive. There was a time in his work history where he would have to go in to work for meetings on his day off. Before his meetings, he'd always stop for lunch at Tomato Cafe and load up on the Garlic Green Beans. Just so he could breathe garlic all over his coworkers. Is that mean or what? I mean, if it were me, I'd just decline the meeting and tell everyone that I couldn't come in on my day off. Isn't that what you'd do?

I hear that the steamed broccoli has butter in it [Vegans beware!] - but the Garlic Green Beans more than make up for that! They have three pasta types, an awesome Marinara Sauce, a sweet little salad bar, and they can do a Vegetarian Pizza for you [omit the cheese if you're Vegan, and you're all set!]. Vegtetarians can top it all off with a Soft-serve Ice Cream with or without toppings. [If you aren't open to the Soft-serve, pop around the corner to Whole Foods and pick up a decadent vegetarian or vegan dessert.] All-You-Can-Eat can be quite daunting if you're a nibbler, but otherwise, you'll most likely leave a bit overindulged.

They're only open during Lunch and during Dinner, so beware if you're hungry between 2:30pm and 5pm:

Lunch (Monday - Friday) 11:15 - 2:00

Lunch (Saturday & Sunday) 11:30 - 2:30

Dinner 5:00 - 8:30 (Summer, June, July, August, open til 9PM)

Tomato Cafe

5901 Wyoming Blvd.

Albuquerque, NM 87109

505-821-9300

Sushi!

I sometimes enjoy a tasty lunch on workdays, as my little treat to myself. When I've just had enough at work, I always coast down the hill to Ichiban. It's a great place that's you'd never expect to find in a corner shopping center.

Vegetarian selections include:

Bean Curd Inari [these babies are really great as a starter]

Vegetable Roll

Edamame [a super choice that's low-cal and you don't have to worry about the glycemic index, like you do with the sticky rice offerings]

Vegetable Tempura

Vegetable Udon

Cucumber Roll

New Mexico Roll [Fried green chile roll] - Vegan if you ask for it without the spicy mayo. This is my absolute favorite! The green chile is Tempura fried, with avocado. Ommm Nomm nommm nommmmm!

Here's my lunch!:

Ichiban Japanese Restaurant

10701 Coors Boulvard N.W.

Albuquerque, NM 87114

Phone: (505) 899-0095

Check them out! :-)

Jason's Deli® - Albuquerque

Here's a 'drive-by' report on Jason's Deli®, brand new and ready to serve you.

I was surprised to hear of a 'newish' restaurant on the west side; it's surprising how a place just springs up - seemingly overnight. Jason's Deli® reminds me of a spacious, cleaner, brighter version of an back-east Deli.

The great thing about Jason's is that they are proud to announce [and print on their menus and also all over the walls and on signage] that "Everything! is FREE of artificial trans fats."

They are also gracious enough to mark their menu items with a Green V to designate vegetarian items. Some of those are: Tomato Basil soup, Vegetable soup, French Onion Soup [vegetarian F.O. soup?!! ohhh yeah!!!!], large and small fresh fruit plates with 'creamy liqueur dip', Spinach Veggie Wrap, Garden Po'boy, Grilled Portobello Wrapini®, Vegetarian Pasta, sides of Steamed Veggies, and 3 Bean Salad. They also offer a Salad Bar with gingerbread muffins and garlic toast.

I was pressed for time but lucky enough to get in before the lunch rush. I enjoyed the Garden Po’boy, with Baked Lays potato chips. The bread was lightly toasted Wheat French bread with Organic Greens, guacamole and pico, cucumbers, red & yellow bell peppers, asiago cheese and low fat balsamic vinaigrette.

It was great and I’ll be visiting quite often since it just down the hill from “the Borg” [sorry – inside joke for area residents of a certain profession]. Here’s the visual – I apologize for the quality but I promise I will get better at this!

Jason's Deli®
3410 State HWY 528 NM
Albuquerque, NM 87114
Phone: 505-897-2200
Fax: 505-897-9590

Hello Fellow Vegetarians, Vegans, New Mexico Residents, and Travellers!

Welcome to my Blog; where I attempt to inform friends and readers as to the availability, location, and menus of Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurants and markets around the State of New Mexico.
Having come to the conclusion, after a thorough search of the web, that there is not enough vegan/vegetarian dining information out there for me to even plan a day-trip [let alone a vacation] in this state I am going to attempt to compile the information - myself!
I hope this forum will allow me to provide comments, locations, photos of venues and offerings, and links.
Please stay tuned, and check back often to see how this develops.
Regards!Kimberly