Dining with the Deities. Gokul's on Page. Vegan Indian Eats in St. Louis.

Ganesh overlooks the buffet.
Gokul's on Page is our favorite Indian joint in town.  And both locations have "Vegan Night" every single Monday Now!!!!  Guess the "every other Monday" was so popular that they expanded it! Vegans Rule!! Gokul's Website.

Delmar [KOSHER]

6101 Delmar Blvd

St. Louis, MO 63112

314-721-1888
My Post on Delmar Location "BlissFul Vegan BollyWood Eats"

Page Avenue (this post is about the PAGE location!)

10633/B Page Avenue

St. Louis, MO 63132

314-428-8888

They have buffet all the time.......which is a major turn-off to some, but heaven to others.  Since they generally have a lot of vegan choices any day of the week, we always choose buffet.  But there are lots that go & order off the menu because Gokul's offers up some mean "chaat" (savory Indian Snacks) items & other great Indian eats.  

Hanuman.

On Vegan night, everything is vegan.  Meaning all the "milk" dishes are made with either coconut or soymilk.  The Korma is wonderful & love it when there are huge pieces of sweet potato.  This is part of the "Snacky Snack" bar, which I don't frequent.  Lots of Papadums (my fave, but usually has some wheat & not free from a fair amount of oil), fruit salad (which can be hit or miss depending on if the fruit is ripe), onions (which I have learned to adore raw, on almost any Indian dish), Rice Puddings, and more.  Lots of "Crunchy Crunch" stuff.  Fried flour.  Delicious I am sure, but think, Indian Potato Chips or Indian Chex Mix, kind of.  I think it's addictive because it seems like a fair amount of people spend more time at the "Snacky Chaat" bar than the actual "Bean" bar.  

Chutneys (mint & tamarind) and more snacky snacks-fried flour!

Potato Palace.  My hubby loves all things potatoes and Indian Cuisine does it right.  And Cauliflower (Gobi).  

This night they had a "Veg Manchurian".  Sometimes they infuse a bit of Indo-China in their food.  And the dishes vary.  They usually have a Sambar, potato dish, Chana Masala,  two types of "dals", the naan, etc...but often the 2 dishes on the left (mains) will change.  Sometimes all zucchini based, or sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, basically whatever was in season or on sale. Oh, and often Saturdays have Dosas.  The most delightful Rice & Lentil Crepe, nice and thin, with a spicy potato filling.  I fight for these.  If the Dosa spot is empty, we simply have to wait until a few more arrive, and then it's a mad rush between the true Dosa Lovers, and this Dosa Dame usually gets at least part of her fix.......Anupy's New "Vegan Indian" book had better include a few dosas, because I truly go through withdrawl.  They are "my chaat". Also Love the eggplant dishes, but eggplant kind of absorbs the oil bigtime and I personally am just not that big of a fan of oil.

I am a big fan of the deities however.

This is where my hubby and dad are just bad.  They get those pakoras (breaded & fried veggies that are amazingly spiced) and then they go and get more pakoras.  And Fried Rice instead no rice or just the plain rice.  Very bad.......

More fried yumminess.  I never know what is inside any of the fried stuff, plus that varies as well.  Hubby usually has some of all of it.  Since we never have fried or breaded anything, he just can't resist any crispy type of Indian spiced type of anything. I think the legume in the front is a pigeon pea, but not sure. It's another "staple". 

Love how they have "Farina".  And Naan.  Usually Naan at Indian joints is NOT vegan.  And same with this one.  Unless you go on "Vegan Night", their Naan is only vegetarian.  However, no matter when you go, they will offer you (if they know you are vegan) some Vegan Naan.  Just let them know!

Their Channa Masala tends to be pretty good.  Always different, but generally quite yummy.  Sometimes very rich in ginger, other times high in the chili department.  A big fan.  Channa Masala is kind the of the "steak & potatoes" of an Indian place to me.  It's the standard thing they have (in addition to dal) in pretty  much every Indian restaurant in the States.  Rajma on the other hand, not so much.  I adore Rajma.  Rajma is "kidney bean".  And the dish Rajma is an incredible, and for lack of a better way to describe it, "Indian Chili".  I guess "Chili" because American Chili uses Kidney beans and can be heavily spiced.  Anupy's book (The Indian Slow Cooker) has 2 great Rajma recipes and my fave of all time is "Dad's Rajma".  Gokul Rajma is plenty good too.  And also not always the typical buffet dish everywhere.  Gokul's also frequently has Dal Makhani-the black lentil dish, which is divine.

Unlike the Delmar location, this place doesn't get too insanely busy.  We went several times to their Loop location, but it just wasn't as low key as the Page location.  And the servers are just lovely!

Real Plates & Silverware.  A decade ago they were all about styrofoam, when they were more "chaat" and less "dinner".  I loathed the styrofoam!  But that era is over and Gokul's has real everything-simple, but it is real!  You can also usually get fresh coconut or vegan mano lassi (just tell them to make it with soy).

This location is also just "more Indian".  Decked out with deities, they have Indian music playing, Indian circulars & they celebrate Indian Holidays.  The Loop location is wonderful, but the last time we went it had CNN & no deities and no Indian music.  Maybe this has changed.  It was also packed (the Loop location), so packed that the buffet was running out of food.  The Page location is so much lower key, and even if it's packed, the vibe is just more relaxed.  They both have great food........the Page location is just much more relaxing, at least to us.  And it's next to SEEMA, an Indian Grocery, which you will need to go to as soon as you have Anupy Singla's book.

The outside doesn't do it justice!!  But the inside gives a different "vibe" than the outside suggests.  This place is so easy to "pass", even if you are looking for it!! It is next to one of those "check cashing" or something like this-places and there are no "big" signs right at the road.  So pay attention when driving!

And on the www.gatewaypets.com front:

Every rescue is different, but this is kind of standard.  They often involve Pj on her belly, crawling under something.  Often the homes are not actually occupied and standing and GPG was lucky enough that the owner of the house was so kind to allow GPG on the property and he even helped with Daiya's rescue.  All rescues are in East St. Louis (or Washington Park, Illinois).  Pj had just heard about Daiya cheeze because she was talking about foods her mum could eat.  Her mum is dealing with some heart issues so was letting her know that lots of peeps like Daiya and that it is cholesterol & dairy free.  She wanted me to spell it so she could look for it.  And a few days later, it was the first thing that popped into her head when Daiya had to have a name upon arrival to the vet!  So a dog named after vegan cheeze.  Daiya is a sweetheart and is still recovering, but will be available for adoption in a couple of months.

Cocoa V Chocolat in New York. Vegan Wine, Chocolate, and Cake. Please Foster RaRa.

Cocoa V Chocolate & Wine Bar

174 Ninth Ave. (Chelsea), Manhattan.

212.242.3339

Our trips to New York go like this:  Land.  Subway to Lower East Side.  Eat.  Walk.  Eat.  Walk.  Eat. You can see where/how this is going.  I am a big "Blossom" lover and wanted to check out this Vegan Chocolate & Wine Bar.  We were both drained but managed to suck down a bit of wine & a little chocolate.  I was truly hoping for Dr. Cow Raw Vegan Nut Cheese plate, but they were out of all the cool stuff when we went!

 It's a cozy little place, soft lighting.  Good for dark circles under the eyes.

 A nice selection of chocolate but I was kind of hoping for some sugar free or raw chocolates too, since that is all the "rage" now (and I don't "do" sugar generally".  Beautiful chocolate & cakes, but "traditional" style.

Many Sinful Delights.  I can't believe people still don't understand you can totally indulge & be animal free!  

Compassionate Truffles.

I wanted this but knew the "sugar" buzz would make me too crazy.  Since we already had espressos. (After downing dosas!)

This was beautiful.   While I have a personal preference for raw desserts, my favorite childhood cake is a lemon poppyseed Bundt cake.  Anything Bundt makes me want dark coffee & flour.

 Fully stocked with Vegan Cupcakes.

The wine was great after a long day of travel.  We didn't drink all of this.  Only about a dozen bottles.  Kidding.  My hubby could have done some damage, but he was already pretty zonked.

Very small "kitchen" in the back.

 A nice refuge from the cold & very quiet when we went.  My hubby rested a bit and I scheduled my Jivamukti classes online.  Nearly signed up for a "hula yoga" class but ended up with live music yoga instead.  Totally wussed out of the hula thing, AND I am a big fan of real music.

We split this chocolate concoction.........Figured a tiny sugar buzz would pair well with the wine.  I was right.  I love the concept of this place.  It is cozy.  It's a little pricey for not having more of a food menu.  But for sugar & wine, which are both pretty popular in NY, then it is fabulous.

I would probably just go across the street to Blossom next time, since I have to have "food" with wine and we adore Blossom.  The owners have a little ever changing vegan empire going on in this city.....with V Note, Blossom, Cocoa V, Blossom Du Jour, Cafe Blossom and apparently a new Blossom Bakery.  What I remember most about the original "Blossom" is that there were pictures of animals on the walls and they were unapologetically ethically vegan.  It made me feel warm & fuzzy on the inside while we paid the bill for artistically done seitan & a killer chocolate ganache.

And the dogs..............It is cold outside so riding along with Pj & www.gatewaypets.com to do the East St. Louis Feedings has been a little more difficult and the rescues have "felt" more urgent.  A few dogs have limps, either from arthritis aggravated by cold weather, or actual issues, and we still have a major shortage of foster homes.  Fosters don't have to provide money, just a place for the pup to stay & some love.  Even if you have a garage or a basement, call them if you would consider being a foster.


RaRa has waited patiently.  All I can do is post and hopefully this gets shared and hopefully a suitable foster in this area, is able to help save RaRa's life.

 This is Martha. A Cat Queen is fostering her, but she may still need a forever home.  Pj adored this kitty!

 And Knuckles.  Knuckles has a limp and Pj is keeping an eye on it.  He may have to be pulled soon because it may actually be something dislocated.   Check out the "home" behind him.  Once again, sort of a common backdrop for these kids.

 It is about 20 degrees or a bit less today.  This is when you sport the polartec leggings beneath the jeans.  And just be prepared because you never know if you are going to be climbing in a ditch or walking through the brush.

 Friends of GPG are going to start trapping & releasing these kids.  Of course, they are actually not "feral" because they let Pj pet them and always come for food.  So if anyone wants to foster them, they are up for grabs.  We just don't want them to keep growing, so it is great to try to reduce the population of future homeless animals.

 This guy is totally sociable and actually follows the car!  He needs a real home.  He is the friendliest, most normal of all the cats.

 I need a foster!

 This is "Horton's girl".  Several of the houses along our feeding route look like this.  Collapsing.  The dogs often find debris, old cushions, insulation, etc...to burrow in a bit.  She was shivering a little, either from the cold or from fear.  FYI, these dogs are all street dogs, living in East St. Louis.  In general, their trust must be earned through daily feedings or we must trap them in order to do rescues.  They will not just "hop" in the car, in general.  We always need fosters.

 This is Pj petting Horton.  The rest of Horton's pack has already been rescued.  Jonesy & Mischa (who took nearly forever to rescue because she would not cooperate) are at K-9 Carnival, learning how to be "regular dogs" before they go to their fosters.  Horton got lonely so took up with the "new girl".  Womba was rescued, but unfortunately, escaped from her foster within the first 24 hours and was last spotted near the Archgrounds/riverfront area.  We are still on the lookout for her.

 Horton.

This is RaRa.  RaRas was in our documentary several years ago.  She has lived her entire life on the streets but  for some reason no one has been knocking on our door to foster her.  We work on "triage" or if we have a foster ready.  So emergencies get pulled quickly and if we have a foster for a particular dog, we can pull them.  But sometimes, neither of those things happen, and a dog ends up living years on the streets.  It's like you see an entire continent starving to death, or thousands of children orphaned and you personally cannot take every single child into your home, or you personally do not have the financial means to support all of those people.  However, you do what you can.  You do not turn a blind eye on the suffering that exists simply because you cannot put a band-aid on all of it.  You help as many sentient beings as possible.  I still pray that someone will foster RaRa.