Gilroy Garlic Festival Adventure

Although I'd always heard about it, I'd never been to the Gilroy Garlic Festival until this year. Of course, it's famous for its garlic ice cream, which my non-veg friend Mrs. Peasy enjoyed immensely, but that's not an option if you're vegan. I wanted to check it out to see if there would be anything for me to eat, though, and I wasn't too disappointed.

I wouldn't describe the Garlic Festival as a vegan mecca, but there were options. Being festival food, it wasn't uber delicious (or healthy, with a notable exception or two), but it was enjoyable enough, and it's a fun outing if you're looking for a unique day trip idea while the festival is going on. Just bring sunscreen and remember to drink lots of liquids, 'cause it's HOT!

The first thing we snacked on was garlic fries (order without parmesan to make them vegan). This was probably my favorite thing all day, as they were so crispy and SO garlicky and delicious. They'll definitely give you garlic breath.

Next was garlic chips. I didn't like these, honestly. They were crispy, but tasted way overcooked, although there were a couple that were really nastily undercooked. They didn't leave a great impression.

I quickly started to overheat and get thirsty, so after the chips I went for the smoothies by Friz. They were kind of fun, as you basically go through this fruity assembly line to build your own smoothie. It was strawberry, banana and peach. Buy the souvenir cup and get discounted refills (and a cup!).

There were a few booths that were veg-aware. This one for The Tamale Factory had vegetarian options and said they could make something vegan, but it didn't appear to fit the garlic-theme, so I passed on it. I only have so much stomach, after all. Especially for hot food on a hot day.

 

Something I wished I'd looked into was the garlic edamame. I don't know if they were vegan, but I love edamame. I guess I'll just have to try to make these myself.

I finished off with this pizza from California Lavash, a business which was very vegan-aware and health-aware. They made me a special garlic pizza without cheese, complete with artichokes, tomatoes and spinach. It was pretty good, and the people working the booth were great. California Lavash is a 100% natural, non-GMO and sugar free establishment apparently, and they claim that many of their products are certified vegan. If I'm ever in Gilroy, whether for the Garlic Festival or not, I'll have to check them out.

Although I enjoyed myself, Gilroy is a little out of the way for a guy who lives in SoCal and works way too much, so I probably won't be going back to this festival for at least a few years. Someone let me know once they have vegan garlic ice cream, though, and I'll be there in a heartbeat!