dandelion communitea cafe

My parents came to visit me for a few days this week. They helped me with some projects around the house and we went on some relaxing bike rides into both my town as well as one nearby. My mom and I also took an "adventure" as we called it into Orlando to have dinner at an organic vegan restaurant called the Dandelion Communitea Cafe. I have been wanting to visit it for a couple of years and after sharing the details about the place with my mom she was just as excited as I was and we made it a point to get there during this weeks time together. The cafe is located near downtown Orlando, but couldn't feel farther from the city with it's bright green paint and garden out front.


Everything on the menu looked so wonderful so we decided to choose a sampling of items and share them with each other. First was the quinoa native mama mix with curry dressing and a cup of vegetarian chili with blue corn chips...


and a "bean there done that" wrap that was so delicious with black beans, white beans, goat cheese, and raw veggies. To finish it all off we had a vanilla soygurt raspberry parfait over granola...


Everything was so yummy! And, the atmosphere was nice with customers reading, working on their computers, listening to music, and sitting in the garden out front. It really felt like a place for everyone in the community.


After leaving the Dandelion Communitea Cafe, I drove around a bit so my mom could see some of the neighborhood. We also drove by the Pom Pom's Teahouse and Sandwicheria, which has been one of my favorite restaurants in Orlando for quite some time. It is located very close to downtown as well and in a shopping center that might make you pass on by if you didn't know it was there. The locals are quite familiar with it, however, since it has a line out the door during lunchtime and a pretty constant flow of people in and out at all other hours as well. The staff is always super friendly, the atmosphere is laid back and cozy, and the food if fantastic! My favorite is the tuscan melt, which has sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, mozzarella, basil, black olives, and red onions. Since my mom and I had just eaten, we didn't plan on going in. But, I told her she might want to just take a peek inside so she could see the place which we would try on another "adventure." The staff immediately grabbed our attention and before you knew it we were eating a chocolate bread pudding washed down with green tea.


It was delicious as always!

I really enjoyed this time with my mom and it's always even more fun because she imparts so many interesting things about the food we're eating!