Middle Eats: Pita and Tabouleh!

The Chef: Sarah Smart

The Menu: Tasty two-bite pita bread topped with onion, lemon, thyme, and seared Gardein chick'n strips simmered in Middle Eastern spices which we covered with generous helpings of fresh tahini and spicy red pepper relish. Sarah paired these delicious, open-faced sandwiches with savory tabouleh brimming with diced tomato and cucumber, coated in a light, silky pesto dressing. A lovely romaine and kalamata olive salad dressed in an olive oil and lemon vinaigrette rounded out our Middle Eastern feast.

The Goods: Holy heck. We're officially in love with Chef Sarah Smart. Somehow, between balancing her day job as pastry chef at gourmet vegan destination Millennium Restaurant, booking events for her catering business Sarah Smart Catering, and making plans to open up a local ice cream truck called Rocket Ship Ice Cream, Sarah found time to prepare us an exceptionally stunning smorgasbord of food. Let's just say that we're ever so slightly impressed—but wait. There is somehow more great news. After finishing our spicy, satisfying meal, Sarah pulled out the big guns: scoops of chocolate brownie chunk and Thai tea homemade coconut-milk ice cream. From the perfectly silky texture to to-die-for taste, this was by far the best homemade ice cream we've ever had. But you know, no big deal. We recommend that if you need some dairy-free ice cream in your life, you contact Sarah asap. Yep, you probably should have done that yesterday.