A Vegetarian Christmas in Sedona

Among all our travels this year, Sedona has been the most peaceful and picturesque one for both of us. It is a rather small town sitting at the intersection of US Hwy 89 and State Route 179, but boy what a grandiose, impressive setting for this small town. Surrounded by towering red rocks on all sides, the views are simply spectacular. (There, I think I have exhausted my list of superlative adjectives.)

We were glad that we got a room with a small kitchenette, considering restaurants may be closed on Christmas day. But, in keeping with tradition, our first order of the trip was to visit a vegetarian restaurant. Not just a vegetarian restaurant, but D'lish Very Vegetarian restaurant. It is a small artsy cafe'-type place with boards advertising yoga classes and vortex tours. There was a young man playing the guitar entertaining the guests. You get the idea.

http://www.dlishsedona.com/

V ordered the "Heart Burger" with their homemade veggie burger, and pineapple. The size was fairly big and it came with a side of green salad. V thought the burger itself paled in comparison to our favorite burger place "Sunflower" in the Sacramento area in California.

I ordered the three scoop salad which came with a scoop each of hummus, tempeh salad and polish vegetable salad, and dense bread and greens. I found the meal pretty satisfying and different. We also ordered a glass of vegetable green juice, very healthy! The bill came to around $35 for both of us.

For the next few days, we were very creative with our meals. We discovered wasa bread which tastes awesome with peanut butter and doesn't get soggy; got fruits - apples, oranges, bananas at the nearby grocery store and managed quite nicely.

Another highlight of our visit as far as dining goes is the high-end Amara Resort. http://www.amararesort.com/gallery-on-oak-creek/

Eventhough the service on that particular day (Christmas Eve) was poor (and we got an apology for that), the food was awesome. Chef Ivan Flowers himself was bringing out the main dishes. We got the "Vegetarian Trilogy", which in classic European style consisted of three small dishes - Root vegetable gratin, Panis gateaux (not sure what panis means, but gateaux means cake) and tagliatelle pasta (with a touch of olive oil). All three were exceptional in presentation and taste. After our hike at the Boynton Canyon to the vortex site, the meal felt even more delicious. Since we didn't order any wine, the bill came to around $60 with tax and tip.

All in all, a satisfying vacation food-wise and soul-wise!