When invited to Oasis Cafe for lunch, I had no idea that we were about to be treated like vegan royalty. Don’t be fooled by the unassuming location, this place is anything but reserved when it comes to quality vegan and vegetarian food.
So…of course I am partial to my Orange County..but this place makes the drive out to the I.E. absolutely worth it. Oasis Cafe is a family run establishment and the love that goes into this food definitely shows.
Although under some menu reconstruction, I am going to do my best to showcase the incredible food this place has to offer.
We started with a ‘steak’ wrap which about knocked me over, it was that good. The same goes for the steak burger. This ‘steak’ isn’t what you are used to when it comes to faux meat. That chewy, contrived texture isn’t there which really lets you enjoy what you’re eating. The steak may be so good because it is one of the many things made in house at Oasis. The people behind the scenes at the cafe create the faux meat by washing the starch out of gluten, leaving only the protein to cook, season and shape.
Although the steak was my favorite - how often do you hear a vegan say that by the way ;)- the Pupusas are not to be ignored. They are a grilled corn masa filled with beans and mozzarella Daiya in the middle, so good. The last entre we tried was the portabella wrap which was again, so good. I was pretty disappointed in myself that I was out of room to keep eating part way through it!
The nice thing about the entres at Oasis is that each meal has its own tastes. So often I find that all the dishes at a vegan restaurant will look different, and have different names, but taste really similar to each other. Everything I tried here had a different taste as well as texture.
Lastly I have to note the desserts. After seeing the carrot cake and tiramasu we made sure we had a little room left to try them. All good, and of course all vegan.
After dining here I was sure I had found the IE’s hidden gem, the holy grail of vegan and vegetarian food to go. Turns out my little secret wasn’t a secret at all. Google Oasis and you will find endless positive Yelp reviews, Facebook check ins and likes, and an overall love for this little cafe.
With future plans of opening locations in Orange County, San Diego and Los Angeles, Oasis is certainly on its way up. I have my fingers crossed that the OC location is the next to open, because I for sure would be a regular.
If you ever find yourself on the 91 headed east, make the trip to Oasis and see what I am raving about for yourself!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/OasisVegetarianCafe
WWW.OasisVegetarian.com (Website will be up and running soon)
What a great review! You’re commentary is spot on and now I really want to try their pupusas now!
Wow, I’m so excited to try this place! Do they have an idea of when an Orange County location will open? The Pupusas sounds delicious, and I really want to try the portabella wrap. Thanks for letting everyone know about this awesome place to eat!
Not sure yet, but you better believe I’ll spread the word when they do.
Oh please some to Orange County soon Oasis! This food looks and sounds delicious! I love that they prepare their own Vegan meats in-house and put in the TLC –this is unique. All too often at restaurants I know I am over-paying for a “Morningstar” patty of some sort. If I’m going to pay to eat out I want to taste something different than whats in my freezer, y’know? YUM I want one of those steak wraps now… do you deliver to Anaheim ??
We should’ve tried the Vegan Tamale (okay Michelle, shut about the vegan tamale’s already…I get it.) HAHA!
The most awesome part of the steak burger was that mayo stuff. I forget how they said they made it but I (nor could my meat eating boyfriend) couldn’t tell the difference. It seriously tastes like mayo.
Joia you should give them the BLT bacon recipe so I can order whatever they can put that in too!