{"id":79672,"date":"2023-11-14T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?post_type=newspack_nl_cpt&p=79672"},"modified":"2023-11-13T17:25:37","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T01:25:37","slug":"vegan-burgers-poke-and-a-week-of-good-eatin","status":"publish","type":"newspack_nl_cpt","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/newsletter\/vegan-burgers-poke-and-a-week-of-good-eatin","title":{"rendered":"Vegan burgers, poke and a week of good eatin\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Long Beach Eats<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Weekly tips from the Long Beach Post’s food reporter on what to eat and where to score sweet deals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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FOOD<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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MUSIC<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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ART<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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INSTAGRAM<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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YOUTUBE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m pleased to say I was an absolute glutton last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m lucky to have a dear friend, Jolene, who has lived in Long Beach her whole life. When she invited me over to spend some much-needed time together, I deferred to her to show me one of her favorite spots and she, as always, did not disappoint. Poke & More<\/strong> is a tiny but mighty shop with one of the best poke burritos I\u2019ve had in a while.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A fresh ginger salmon poke burrito with avocado, cucumber, rice and more. Photo by Caitlin Antonios.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The menu is huge. You can grab poke by the pound, poke bowls, appetizers like macaroni salad, grilled marinated meats like chicken or pork, all-day breakfast and more. But we were on a mission to get their poke burritos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I opted for a regular (they have jumbo) ginger salmon burrito<\/strong> ($14.99) with white rice, avocado, cucumber, seaweed salad, wonton chips and sushi ginger. Since my salmon was already marinated with ginger, I decided to leave out the sushi ginger. The burrito comes with a side of wonton chips as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a great joint for customization, if you\u2019re not a fan of the ingredients it comes with, you can ask them to remove them because it\u2019s made on the spot. The burrito was filling, but not heavy and the furikake<\/strong> (dry, Japanese condiment to flavor plain items like rice) added a perfect amount of saltiness without being overbearing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard to pick just one thing I would try for next time, but you can guarantee I\u2019ll be back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poke & More is at 2292 E. Carson Street. <\/em>Directions<\/em><\/a> | <\/em>Website<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also visited Hart N\u2019 Soul Vegan Cafe <\/strong>with a few of my coworkers. We all grabbed different items which meant I could sample a bit of everything \u2014 like I said, glutton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went with the nuggets, made of mushrooms and tater tots ($16). The nuggets were a bit salty but truly did not taste like a mushroom if you\u2019re averse to those. The tater tots were wonderfully crispy with a soft, cushiony inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My coworker, Jake, got the hamburger ($18) and I have to be honest, I got order envy<\/strong>. His burger was definitely my favorite thing that I tried. It was delicious and topped with lettuce, onion, pickles, avocado, beans, sliced tomato, chili cheese, ketchup, mustard and mayo on a brioche bun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vegan hamburger with tomato, lettuce, beans, ketchup and more. Photo by Caitlin Antonios. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The beans may seem like a bizarre choice, but if you\u2019re into chili dogs<\/strong>, the beans on the burger with the chili cheese are fantastic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackie Rae also picked up lunch, going with a chickpea tuna sandwich <\/strong>($15). The filling was wonderfully creamy and the chickpeas were soft so it didn\u2019t feel like you were biting into a sandwich stuffed with, well, chickpeas. As a non-vegan, it was a wonderful lunch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out a video of our visit here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hart N\u2019 Soul Vegan Cafe is at 3418 Long Beach Blvd. <\/em>Directions<\/em><\/a> | <\/em>Website<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dishes on my to-try list<\/h2>\n\n\n\n