I had such a good time visiting New York, Austin, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and LA for The Kind Mama book tour. Here are some of the highlights from my travels:
New York: I always love New York! During my first trip I got take out from Souen  4 times! I ordered “Yuba” (fermented tofu dish), “Goma Ae” (steamed watercress in sesame sauce), veg tempura, and “Yasai Itame” (veggies and lotus root in a ginger sauce). I also tried the vegan sushi restaurant The Green Roll– all their sushi is so pretty and colorful looking, and tastes good. Since this trip was in the midst of the book launch, I was so busy hoping from one appearance to the next. Therefore, I didn’t really get an opportunity to walk around the city. Apart from eating delicious meals and sharing The Kind Mama, another highlight was getting to see my cousins who came to the Bookends signing in New Jersey. It was great to see them! The next day, for the plane ride back to LA, I got one of my favorite nori rolls from Pure Foods and Wine, the “Philly Roll of Avocado Kim Chee and Creamy Cashew Cheese.”

Hugs with my cousins
A few weeks later, I returned to tape the Dr. Oz show. After the show, signifying the end of a whirlwind busy month, I celebrated by adventuring on an eating escapade. I started on the lower east side and worked my way up- stopping at the 3 different places to eat: Butchers Daughter, Hampton Chutney, and Pure Food and Wine (but got to take a nap in-between to ensure optimal adventuring energy). It was fun to stop at my old stomping grounds and breathe in the beauty of the newly spring air. I loved walking through Washington Square and Madison Park and was lucky to catch the Cherry Blossoms flowering , so gorgeous!

Austin: It was so great to meet such warm people with really great questions at the signings. I walked around east 6th street which was nice and calm. I ate at Counter Culture and tried the artichoke dip, the reuben, mac and cheese, and “Pac Man” kale salad. All were so good! I also loved Casa La Cruz. It was amazing! I would eat there every day if I lived there. It had great vibes and was so yum and nourishing. Seriously, if you live in Austin, run there if you haven’t been!! I also got to eat at East Side Kings and had “Beet Home Fries” and “Brussels Sprout Salad”, both delicious. Other places I was interested in going to if there had been more time (thanks to all your suggestions!!) include The Vegan Yacht (freeto burrito looks nuts), Capital City Bakery (yum brownies and cupcakes), BBQ Revolution, and Red Rabbit Co-op (donuts look good!).
East Side Kings’ Beet Home Fries & Brussel Sprout Salad 

San Francisco: I loved eating at The Plant Cafe. It was so good! In addition to celebrating Earth day and meeting so many bay area kind lifers, Bear and Christopher were with me! We had a great time adventuring around the Bay and visiting Bear’s cousins. The waffles shown in the bag below are the protein waffles from The Kind Mama. They are great for travel!!
            Christopher and Bear in SF- protein waffles in hand!
Portland: I think I want to move here. Wow was it nice! I met so many fellow vegans and was in absolute distress over which amazing restaurant to choose since I was only there for such a short period of time. I had breakfast at a yoga studio cafe called Prasad that had delicious food and really nice groovy vibes. I ended up eating 4 meals there. It is soo great! If you haven’t been there go as fast as you can. I tried a variety of things from their menu and absolutely loved the “Lovejoy” smokey tempeh scramble and the “Dragon Bowl.” The “Dragon Bowl” is seriously the best macro bowl ever, it’s so tasty and fresh! I think of it often!!
Then, I went to Alberta Street and stumbled upon a cheese cart with vegan cheese tastings and vegan grilled cheese. I had the spinach and ‘feta’ grilled cheese, it was nice! Next, I went to the bakery Back to Eden and had the cashew tart and the amaranth bar. I also tried the almond butter fudge. All were off the charts yum! It is just the sweetest most awesome place. Everyone in there was so nice and warm, with good energy and ridiculously yum food. Some other restaurants I really wanted to eat at were: Natural Selection and Portobello. I can’t wait to come back and try out more of these amazing restaurants!
Water bottle filling station in Portland- so people don’t throw away the plastic bottles and re-fill them on the other side. SO wonderful. This should be in all airports!  Thank you Portland!
Back to Eden Desserts !!

Back to Eden super yum Cashew Tart
Seattle: Ate at Plum and had “Mac and Yease”- it was amazing!! Serious crazy yum madness. I wanted to make it to Chaco Canyon Cafe (the french toast and grain bowls look so tasty!) and Cafe Flora, but ran out of time. Another time!

Overall, despite it being a little exhausting bouncing around from place to place and being apart from Bear and Christopher (never for more than two days luckily since I made sure to go home in between)- it made my year (and more) getting to meet kind lifers from all over the U.S. I heard some of the most amazing stories and met some unbelievably inspiring people. It was so powerful and heart filling to say the least. In addition, you guys made so many excellent restaurant recommendations! I am so grateful for you all!
On top of getting to meet you all in person, I had the opportunity to share The Kind Mama with so many media outlets. Here are some press highlights from the tour that I also would love to share with you guys:
Talking with Nancy Mills of USA Today about The Kind Mama
Getting to see the beautiful Queen Latifah! Check out this behind the scenes interview.
Being The Chalkboard Mag’s April Guest Editor and sharing my shopping list!
Speaking with Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Access Hollywood.
Talk to AOL.com’s parenting expert Dr. Karen Latimer
Speaking with The New Potato about vegan misconceptions and kind words to live by.
Interviewing with Yoga Journal about the influence my prenatal yoga class had on me.
Talking about my inspiration for The Kind Mama with Amazon’s Omnivoracious Blog
Thank you all so much for supporting me through this amazing past month, so grateful for you all! I would love to hear from you! Did you enjoy the book signings? Have you read The Kind Mama? How has it helped you? What are some other restaurants I MUST try in these cities?
With Love,
Alicia