December and January are the busiest times at my office. We are finalizing details, packing and traveling to our location. We spend at least 8 days in a different city for the conference. This year (2020) was San Diego, California.
All of this means, in an office that celebrates EVERYTHING, we celebrate Christmas in February. Last year we went to Craft Love. This year we went to Merchant’s Restaurant and Grill. Kristine informed me that everyone would eat from the bistro menu, but restaurant knew there was one vegan. This was very kind of her to do. This also meant I would not have to settle for salad and french fries. I had looked over all 3 menus and did not see many vegan options.
At the restaurant, I requested Strawberry Lemonade and some how ended up with strawberries and lemonade. I am still not sure how that happened, but they were both sweet and delicious.
I settled on the Cauliflower Au Poivre from the dinner menu. The manager came and spoke with me regarding the dish. She would make it as usual, sans the Au Poivre sauce. It was a Mushroom Peppercorn Cream. Sounds delicious, but not vegan. She added chimichurri in place of the sauce. It was also served with a kale salad. The kale was steamed to perfection and tossed with a sweet honey dressing (I eat honey, so be mindful of this if you don’t) and toasted almonds.
As it usually happens when I eat with non-vegans at a non-vegan restaurant, my food looks the best. Today was no exception. Not only did it look the best, but I truly believed it tasted the best. I was practically the only one that finished.
She so kindly came and checked on me as I was finishing my last few bites. I told her it was awful and would like another plate. We both laughed. IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!
By no means does Merchant’s have a large vegan menu. But with a few adjustments you can have something delicious.
xoxo,
Tracy Deanne
blackberrysmomdotcom.wordpress.com 
Great post 😁
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