mugshots

2100 fairmount avenue
philadelphia, pa
(215) 514 7145




110 cotton street
philadelphia, pa
(215) 482 3964

www.mugshotscoffeehouse.com

this adorable coffee house and juice bar, located across from the eastern state penitentiary, not only has the most brilliant name and laid back college campus feel, but also serves a variety of vegan sweets and treats. my first visit followed an intake of some janet cardiff and linda brenner (ghost cats!) installations in the cell blocks over yonder. i chowed down on a faux chicken salad wrap, a chewy molasses sugar cookie and an iced oregan chai with vanilla soy milk. the wrap was very pleasing, with finely shredded soy mixed up with what tasted like a vegan mayo with dill, lots of lettuce, tomato and red onion. tasty, but it'll leave you with a killer onion aftertaste. the cookie was pretty good too. luca ordered the hummus with raw veggies plate, a generous serving of well-tahinied garbanzo pate, served with thick warm pita and some carrot, celery and bell pepper sticks. samara's three grilled cheese looked fabulous.

subsequent visits to mugshots confirmed for me how lovely this place is. one time i sipped an acai recovery shake and munched on a vegan blt while watching wal-mart: the high cost of low price on their big white sheet. great vibe, great food. for dessert it was a sinfully delicious brownie from vegan treats, fudgy and moist, with white drizzle on top of slivered almonds. the chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips are fairly good, but nuthin' compared to those brownies. enormous whoopie pies taste exactly the way they look - light, fluffy and without any nutritional value whatsoever. recently, mugshots has started making their desserts in-house, instead of ordering them from the vegan treats bakery. here is a look at their dessert case:



and here is a picture of a slice of their strawberry shortcake, once i got it home:



i was actually quite pleased with the new cake. it definitely tasted more home-baked than their vegan treats counterparts, and less commercially slick. they probably use more wholesome ingredients, too. the cake itself is moist and the icing is super sweet. unfortunately, the artistry is not as developed, so the visual appeal of the cakes is minimal. the brownies also look positively grody in comparison with danielle's (vegan treats owner).

non-dessert meals i've also tried at mugshots include "the slammer", a vegan sausage wrap with salsa, guacamole and lettuce that was mediocre, the vegan chain gang, a lovely, smoky wrap with a mixture of hummus and baba ganoush, cucumber, red onion, lettuce and tomato, their tempeh reuben - dry, overpriced and blah - and the jailhouse rock, sweet and melty peanut butter, honey and banana on multi-grain toast.

the smoothies at the manayunk site seem to be better than their fairmount sister. they used to be awful - i remember ordering a grasshopper soy smoothie that was so abysmal i actually gave it back in exchange for a mango recovery shake. that, as well as the pina colada recovery shake, was very delicious, but made from a smoothie mix that contains those insidious "natural flavors". why not just use real fruit?) the pb&j shake was also inexcusable. i think they actually put jelly in the shake, rather than fresh strawberries. i could be wrong, but it tasted thin, mild and artificial. yick! however, on a recent visit i got a mango momma smoothie that was delightful. it tasted fresh, the consistency was spot-on and the blend of flavors worked really well.



their manayunk location, on the other hand, serves up consistently killer smoothies! i really like the champ, a combo of chocolate syrup, soy milk, bananas and organic peanut butter. it is perfect for when you're thirsty but also craving something sweet. the consistency was more like a creamy milkshake than a smoothie. venice island is a nice choice too if you're in the mood for something fruity. it's made with strawberries, bananas, orange juice and soy milk. here are some bonus photos of me and luca drinking mushots smoothies in the car before going to see inception at the main street theater:





both mugshots locations are great coffee shops for relaxing with a book or writing. and according to their website, the manayunk branch has extended their hours! i was always frustrated that they closed at 4, so that makes me very happy.

adobe cafe

4550 mitchell street
philadelphia, pa
(215) 483 3947
www.adobecafephilly.com

type of cuisine: mexican
culinary excellence: 5
vegan friendliness: 8

lisa and i were on the verge of foregoing dinner together on account of there being no vegetarian restaurants in chestnut hill, but then we remembered the adobe cafe! located just outside of manayunk (conveniently en route to both west philly and the main line), this tex-mex tavern in the bright orange stucco building was just the thing. after a handful of dry and bland tritone chips with spicy salsa (don't get guacamole cause it's too creamy and smoky), i dug into my old standbies - seitan tips and a margharita. these are always a safe bet. the tips consist of a crunchy tortilla bowl full of wonderfully flavorful grilled seitan, with soft flour tortillas, an unnecessarily large heap of shredded lettuce and some kickin' soy aioli for wrapping:



you can also get this in the form of a sandwich on a generous bun with fries on the side, or kabob-style on smoky skewers with onions and peppers. the one time i ordered seitan enchiladas, i was very displeased. first of all, the soy cheese they used at the time was not vegan so i had to go cheeseless and the non-dairy sour cream was pretty gross. on another visit, i left the vast majority of my marinated portabello salad behind, finding the heavily balsamic shrooms atop a bed of iceberg lettuce and raw carrots, celery and onions rather inedible. drinks at adobe are also a bit inconsistent. the margharitas are good in a cheap-tasting way and i have liked the pina and peach coladas but their mojito's are not happening at all. avoid the stoli punch. the sangria is fine, but nothing better than what you would get in a box at your local wine store:



so i have somewhat mixed feelings about the adobe cafe. all in all, the seitan tips more than make up for the other clunkers. and their vegan dishes do appear to be getting better with time. recently, i enjoyed an order of vegetable quesadillas, this time made with totally vegan cheese:



i enjoyed the thin crisp tortillas and the combination of roasted peppers, mushrooms and spinach. i'm not sure what brand of soy cheese they use, but it was good and melty. the tofu sour cream on the top didn't add to or detract from the taste, it just made for a pretty decorative touch. in the center of the plate was a salad of shredded lettuce (they seem to love that stuff), pico de gallo and guacamole.

another nice appetizer or side are the french fried yams, topped with a smattering of tangy tomatillo salsa and melted soy cheese:



adobe cafe is a very easy place to go for dinner. the servers are really nice, you know that the seitan tips are gonna be amazing and in the warmer months, you can eat in their lovely garden: