Vegan in Rochester, Emphasis on the "Non-Fanatic," III

Saturday was a repeat of the pathetic Holiday Inn breakfast. They can’t all be winners, right? We spent the day on a tour of cemeteries, and between Holy Sepulchre and Mount Hope cemeteries, we stopped for lunch at the Olive Garden. This was arguably my grandmother’s favorite meal of the visit, but I did not not go hungry. A huge, colorful plate of capellini pomodoro was satisfying and delicious. Don’t hate on the Olive Garden. There’s a reason they’re everywhere. But, I have to say, dinner was better than lunch. My aunt has less patience with my grandmother’s culinary apprehension, and took us to Aja Noodle. While my grandmother struggled to find something appealing, I was trying to decide between 5 different dishes. After promising each other a taste of our various choices, I settled on the the Peanut Noodle Salad, my cousin Lindsey’s favorite. This was the realization of my dream of a deep bowl piled with “tofu, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, red peppers, green onions, bean sprouts and noodles tossed in a thai peanut dressing garnished with peanuts, rice sticks, and green onions.” I stole several bites of my sister’s Chinese Black Bean rice noodles, and my mom’s Japanese yakiudon noodles, and wished I was a cow with multiple stomachs. We ended the day with treats from Eco Bella Bakery, a newish gluten-free vegan bakery. I had the chance to chat with the owner who is deeply passionate about giving his customers a high quality, delicious, and compassionate product. We shared the chocolate frosted brownie, german chocolate square, peanut butter oatmeal bar, and the key lime tart. Key lime pie is one of my favorite things and this tart inspired me to work on my own vegan key lime pie recipe.