MOFO - Day 11 - Restaurant Review - 24 Carrots

It's not a total chile-ful post today, but I did order an extra dish just so I would have something with chiles in it...so there!

Today Fred and I hit one of our new favorite places, 24 Carrots located at the NW corner of Chandler Blvd and Kyrene Road next to the Subway in Chandler.

Fred has been haunting this place for quite some time. He likes to stop in for a re-charging juice or smoothie to get him going after a good work out or for a quick pick me up at work. We both love this place for many reasons. They use local and organic ingredients whenever possible. The owner, Sasha, is a true food lover. She creates her recipes without tasting them. I asked her why she did this and she told me that she tends to over-spice things because she loves a ton of flavor. Instead she makes her creations and has others test the flavor. It seems to be a winning formula. Her passion is making healthy meals and snacks for our junk-food nation's inhabitants. They were originally a juice and smoothie joint but 24 Carrots has recently revamped their menu to include a slew of tasty and healthy food choices.

I was very excited to see they had VEGAN specials this fine day.

They are now offering a full breakfast menu. I don't have pictures of this, but you must try the Vegan Eggs Benedict. The garlic aoli is amazing! The avocados are fresh and plentiful. I never seem to make it in before 11am, but I plan on trying other selections like the Fruited Breakfast Quinoa and the vegan muffins.

Their lunch menu now boasts Salads, Wraps, Pita Pizzas, Sandwiches, Burgers and Raw Treats. There are always vegan options and very often gluten free options as well! he daily specials usually include vegan options as well. On our latest visit I finally remembered to bring my camera. I told Fred to strap the feedbag on because we were going to try lots of stuff!

First we checked out the appetizers. We started off with the Dolmas ($4.95). I don't often like a lot of dolmas because they are not executed well. These were delicious. They were flavorful and the filling was so creamy and delicious. The plate was garnished with fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes. We were planning on taking them home for a snack later, but they never made it out the door.

Next up we tried the Raw Papaya Noodle Bowl ($8.95). Fred had been wanting to try this for a while. We both adore kale, so we thought we'd give it a try. The kale was that beautiful emerald green and very fresh. It was a gorgeous looking salad. However out of everything we tried this was our least favorite. Part of the reason was just personal preference...neither of us is crazy about peanuts and this salad had peanuts as a garnish and it tasted like some in the dressing. The one thing we found odd was that the dressing was pretty warm. It just didn't work for me.

We moved on to the next adventure. We usually order different dishes and try each others' selections. Today was no exception and man was I glad! They offer two options for their burgers the Betty: served with just a deli dill pickle and the Veronica: served with organic tortilla chips or baby carrots, deli pickle and a choice of pineapple slaw or fresh garden salad. Because we were totally pigging out on so many other items, I got mine Betty style. I ordered the Wild Mushroom Tofu Burger ($6.95 Betty/$9.95 Veronica). I envisioned it coming with mushrooms and onions on top, but they were actually part of the patty. I thought it was very tasty. Like many of their burgers the patty is very delicate, so make sure to have napkins handy. My burger was grnished with a generous portion of fresh veggies. It was pretty as well as tasty. I have to put in a plug for the Veggie Masala burger I had on my last visit. It is a great Indian spiced option.

Fred's selection was the Vegan Egg Sandwich ($8.95). This is their version of an egg salad sandwich. The menu description doesn't tell you but it is speckled with dried cranberries, which I found to be a very nice addition. The sandwich is served on a delicious 9-grain bread it's soft and delicious. The sandwich came with a generous portion of avocado and tasty tomatoes. Fred opted for the combo with tortilla chops and a pickle. This is a generous portion for even the hungriest diner.

By now we were pretty darn stuffed. Fred had even tried to call for belly back up with no success. But because this is the month of the chile I had to order something with chiles in it. As luck would have it, the special of the day was Vegan Jambalaya. This was also a very generous portion and was served with a small house salad with house vinegarette. I asked what peppers were in it and she said they used chiles and serranos. She did not put a lot in because she was concerned most guests wouldn't like something too spicy. For us it was pretty mild (I could have used more pepper, maybe a splash of hot sauce), but pretty tasty! We were truly stuffed so we only had a few bites. But we both agreed it was pretty tasty. They were kind enough to bring us a box to take it home.

We always enjoy visting 24 Carrots. We usually run into some very nice diners when we are there. The staff is super friendly and the food is consistently fresh and tasty. One word of warning, this is not a run in and run out dining experience. Be prepared to take your time. Bring your laptop for some free WiFi if you are dining alone to kill a little time. The food is made to order in a very small kitchen and takes quite a while to appear at your table. We witnessed one customer come in for take out and leave before her food was ready. As long as you go in to the experience knowing and expecting this, you will be thrilled with this wonderful healthy little neighborhood gem.

24 Carrots
4140 W Chandler Blvd #2
Chandler, AZ 85226
480-753-4411

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