Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wonder what it would be like to crack open a coconut,and drink the juice right from it?” Well if you have (and if you haven’t, I know you are now thinking about how amazing that would be) I have just the place for you!
If you can spare not being the person who actually breaks open/drills a little hole in the coconut, By Chloe is where you need to go for some good coconut water. And this isn’t coconut water with added sugars and flavors. This is all natural. Not only is it delicious but it also has numerous health benefits: coconut water has properties that help lower cholesterol, rehydrate the body, and provide electrolytes.
The water was absolutely delicious. It was refreshing, had great flavor, but was not too overwhelming flavor-wise. After drinking all the water, we (I went with a friend because food is always more enjoyable when you have a friend to share the excitement with!) asked the man at the counter if he could crack open the whole thing so we could see what was inside. When he returned, he presented to us our coconut, broken down the middle into two large pieces. After scanning the room for fellow coconut drinkers, we saw a woman taking a spoon to the milky white, slime-looking substance covering the inside of the coconut. After gently lifting the coconut meat (that same milky white, slime-looking substance I was talking about) off of the shell, she ate it.
Now I am not a picky eater, but when I put the coconut meat in my mouth I immediately regretted it. It was so slippery I could barely get a handle on it to chew it. It was like eating slime covered jello. The flavor was fine, but in no way compensated for the texture.
For my meal, I got the Quinoa Taco Salad. Some of the many toppings included seitan chorizo (which, if you have never tried, tastes almost exactly like real chorizo), half a fresh avocado, and an agave-lime dressing. Generally, when I order a salad I am nervous that it won’t actually fill me up, being mostly made up of some kind of lettuce. However, when I finished my meal I was pleasantly surprised to be full!
There is a common misconception that vegan food is dull and flavorless. But I am here to tell you, as someone who isn’t vegan, that is completely false. Yes, there are fewer ingredients that you can use, and yes it can be harder to be creative in the kitchen. But there are so many vegan substitute foods that are absolutely delicious, and By Chloe, a 100% vegan restaurant, is honestly one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in the last couple weeks. Their menu is creative and vibrant, and I would try every single item based on the meal I just had.