The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Trader Joes Organic Coffee
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
French Toast with Cocoa drizzle, syrup, bananas
Chocolate Waffle with Bananas, Chocolate Chips, Syrup
Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding in Cider Sauce
I am neither vegan nor vegetarian and the concept of tofu made into meat-like-product generally disgusts me, but with that said I do harbor a soft spot for high quality baked goods and breakfasts – vegan, veg, or otherwise – and perhaps as a result of limited ingredients and a need to innovate or perhaps simply because they use a lot of sugar, great produce, and top notch chocolate and maple syrup my experience over the course of much time and many cities has shown me that restaurants eschewing meats (and sometimes even butter and eggs) tend to produce some really excellent sweets; a fact that led me to Pura Vida for breakfast on Christmas Eve 2012.
Small, well off the strip, and homey/shabby in a pleasant way that is entirely anti-Vegas Chef Mayra’s Pura Vida Bakery and Bystro is billed as “Las Vegas’ First & Only 100% Cruelty Free Restaurant!” and with only one server plus Mayra herself running the small space it is certainly not a place to go for a quick bite as wait times for one of the twenty or so seats can top an hour and each dish can take up to an hour to emerge from the kitchen but those with patience (or time to spare) will certainly be rewarded with what I personally consider the best Vegan food I’ve ever tasted – and perhaps the best breakfast in Las Vegas outside of Bouchon.
Setting aside the anti-meat propaganda (an interesting way to spend your wait time) and focusing solely on the food and service every aspect of my nearly ninety minutes at Pura Vida was excellent – an appetizer of dense banana bread that was easily 50% banana coming first followed by three dishes emerging from the kitchen as they were prepared; the French Toast a bit less custardy than I generally prefer but light and not overly sweet while the chocolate waffle took an entirely different route by arriving entirely over the top; a crispy chocolate disc topped with dark chocolate, perfect bananas, and resting in a pool of maple syrup – a must order, but perhaps something best shared as it ranks amongst the most decadent breakfast dishes I’ve ever tasted.
Truly impressive and not only worth the reservation (or wait time) but also the hassle of getting there from The Strip Pura Vida is a restaurant that stands up for what it believes in and does those things very well. While Veganism may not be a lifestyle for everyone I’m confident to say that Mayra could satisfy any palate if given the chance while the small staff does everything they can for each guest, even going so far as to plate my bread pudding because she noticed I was taking pictures before boxing it up to go, the dense cinnamon bread soaked through with spicy cider and skin-on apple compote proving a perfect dessert after Lotus of Siam that afternoon.