Organic and vegan options on your next Yellowstone vacation to Jackson Hole

On our visit to Yellowstone Park this summer, we stayed in nearby Jackson, Wyoming. If you haven't been there, it's a great place to visit. Very quaint and cozy. A little expensive, but you get what you pay for, and it was well worth it. We would definitely go back, so plan a trip if you haven't been there. Jackson is located on the south end of the Yellowstone Park entrance, and it was where we flew into, before heading to the park.

There are many great places to visit and eat in town, but one place we ate twice, the Lotus Café. They offer fresh organic and natural meats, vegetarian, vegan, and raw choices. Their dishes are from around the world including American, Asian, Indian, Thai, and Latin. They prepare everything in house from scratch including all sauces, dressings, curries, soups, dumplings, breads, pitas, kimchi, sauerkraut, chai tea, coffee syrups, juices and more. They also organically grow greens, herbs, and sprouts. They offer vegan and gluten-free options, and most of their selection is vegetarian. 

For breakfast, I had the "2, 2, and 2", which was a tofu scramble with toast, handmade veggie patties, strawberry jam and roasted "zesty" potatoes. It was delicious, and a healthy way to start our trip. My wife has the "Flap Jackson", which was eggs, veggie patty between two blue corn griddlecakes, served with organic maple syrup. The griddlecakes were amazing! I also had a fresh extracted juice, made from parsley, celery, beets, green apples, and carrots.

We stayed in Jackson at the end of our trip, so we went back for dinner. I ordered an appetizer, the bison wontons, that came with sesame-tamari and korean BBQ sauce. I've never had them before, but it was really good! I also tried the Snake River OB-1 (Organic Beer Number 1), and my wife ordered the Snake River Lager. It's nice to have an organic beer choice for a change.

On a side note about organic beers, on our way back from Jackson, we had a layover in Denver, and ate at the New Belgium restaurant. I was saddened to hear that they will no longer be making the organic Mothership Wit beer. Better stock up at your local grocery store, if you like it. Read more about this story >>

For dinner, my wife ordered the gluten-free Bombay Bowl, which was steamed brown basmati coconut rice, broccoli, red pepper, zucchini, red onion, spinach, and carrots. The tikka sauce was made from grapeseed oil, lemon, cinnamon and ginger. I ordered the Indian gluten-free dish, Chicken Tikka Masala, made with grapeseed oil, lemon, cinnamon, ginger, tomatoes and spices. Both dishes were large helpings that we couldn't finish (and I can eat a lot of food)!

If you want to support a great local restaurant that minimizes their impact on the environment, this is the place to go.Visit their website to view the full menu at http://www.tetonlotuscafe.com

Starlite Lounge in San Diego

When you first walk through the odd-shaped entrance, you are immediately hit with the uniqueness of this restaurant. We had definitely never been in a restaurant that looked like this. Very cool! Supposedly it is based upon the Alfred Hitchcock movie 'North by Northwest' (which I've seen ironically, since I've hardly seen any classic movies). It is dark like a lounge, but perfect for a date, or a night out with friends.



It was busy when we arrived on a Friday night, so we decided to eat at the bar. No problem, it was just the two of us, so it worked out great! We were also dressed pretty casual, but they have a no dress code policy, so we didn't feel obligated to dress up. However, if you and your date want to walk in with a tuxedo and evening dress, that would not be too formal for this place.



We ordered an organic beer and cider from Samuel Smith, which was excellent. I hadn't heard of them before, but I intend to look for them more in the future. They originate out of England, but have distribution out of Washington state. The food is made with local and/or organic ingredients as much as possible, and they support good sustainable practices, which you hope all restaurants are doing by now.

I ordered the steak, which was an 8 oz. prime flat iron, asparagus, organic potatoes, and nasturtium flower butter. I try to minimize the amount of beef I eat, so usually only when I eat out at a nice place do I allow myself to go for beef. It tasted great. My wife ordered the burger (also a rarity for her), which was an all natural Brandt beef patty, Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions served on a
brioche bun with dijonaise, house made pickles & fries. She also enjoyed her meal (and I helped her finish it off).

The only major problem we had was the location. It was a little ways from many other restaurants and stores, so unless you live nearby, you probably want to drive (safer due to its proximity to I-5 and the amount of traffic you encounter). When you get there, you have to park in a residential area a couple blocks away (on a busy night). Not much they can do to control that, so I won't dock them any points.

You can look at their menu here: Starlite Menu

If you're in the San Diego area, and are looking for a cool place to eat organic food, Starlite is definitely the place for you. Visit their website at: StarliteSanDiego.com for more information.

Hurricane Wings and Grill - Eco-friendly Surprise

We weren't planning to find a very environmentally-friendly restaurant when we went to Hurricane Wings and Grill in Indian Harbour Beach, FL, but were plesantly surprised when we read the menu.

"We use all natural chicken, premium fresh beef that is certified Angus and our produce is sourced directly from premium growers. We are also very proud of the fact that our beverage cups are made from 100% corn, environmentally sustainable and 100% compostable. In addition, we continue to strive to use packaging supplies and paper products that are made from renewable resources and are recyclable. Our cooking oils contain no trans fats and a percentage of the oil is recycled into the making of bio-diesel fuel."

Now I realize that doesn't make it the best "green" restaurant out there, but at least they're making a serious effort, and that's all I ask, especially from a major Florida restaurant chain.

We ordered the wing sampler, which is 20 wings with your choice of 4 different sauces. Since they have 36 sauces to choose from, ranging from "Mild & Sweet" to "Seek Shelter". View all their sauces >>>

Overall, we had a good eating experience. The sauces were great with the large-sized wings, and we felt good about supporting a chain restaurant that is headed in the right direction.