St. Dames

I recently went to St. Dames, the new vegetarian restaurant in Columbia city, to celebrate my birthday. This means I was poised to order everything from drinks to dessert and I had my expectations set high. Upon entering the restaurant, I was excited to see that the owners had done a pleasing job of creating a cozy, stylish, hip ambiance with plenty of booths, art, and careful lightening, none of which was a given considering the location in the somewhat characterless new mixed-use buildings just north of the Columbia City Light Rail station.

We started with drinks, and I ordered the St. Cinnamon, one of many tasty sounding specialty cocktails offered in addition to a full bar. It was made with muddled pear, bourbon, and cinnamon infused simple syrup, and was just the sort of slightly spicy, slightly fruity cocktail that I love. And for a fancy bar drink, it was reasonably priced too at $8.

If you're a vegetarian or vegan, you are probably aware of the rarity of looking at a menu on which every item is actually available to you. The need to *choose* something off of a menu is an unaccustomed pleasure, and I scratched my head for a good long while as I debated the merits of just about every delicious looking item offered. I ended up choosing a butternut squash gnocchi with a side of braised kale, and my dining companion ordered a portobello cheese steak sandwich on homemade baguette. Both were delicious, wholesome and beautiful. YES.

Gnocchi with grilled vegetables, toasted hazelnuts and feta cheese along side a huge delicious mound of lightly braised, wonderfully seasoned kale.

Just about every item on the menu is either vegan, or can be made vegan. Many items are gluten free. They bake all of their own (deliciously gluten-filled) bread. They allow you to substitute side dishes however you desire, which is pretty exciting because I want to try just about every one of them: braised kale, whipped veggies, french fries, roasted vegetables, etc. AND, they are doing everything with an eye towards sustainability.

Marinated portobellos, grilled peppers and onions, melted provolone and lettuce on a fresh homemade baguette, along side fries and what tasted like homemade ketchup.

The gals running the place were so friendly and hard working it made me love it all even more. I get the feeling they are still refining aspects the menu and service, but they were completely sweetly accommodating to my requests (for example, butter for my bread).

Chocolate mousse pie (vegan, I think), with a nice optional dollop of real whipped cream.

I can't say enough good things about this place. The last time I got my hopes up for a new vegetarian restaurant was for Plum, which was so dissapointing on my visit I've not given it a second chance. The fact that St. Dames is in my own neighborhood is just icing on the cake.

When people ask me "What do vegetarians eat?" I'd like to steer them right on over to St. Dames, where the dishes are composed to stand on their own as complete, delicious, and not based around re-creating meat dishes with manufactured meat substitutes. It's the kind of food I would cook at home if I had endless time and skill to put into it, and I am absolutely thrilled to have these gals willing and able to do it for me!

I really really wish success for this place, go there and eat and let me know what you think.

ChuMinh Tofu & Veggie Deli

I have finally located the antidote for Maruta's and other vegan un-friendly Asian delis all over Seattle: the ChuMinh deli at 12th and Jackson where the staff is lovely and everything is animal-free!
The vegan deli has a well stocked hot case full of various curries, veggies and tofu dishes. There is also an impressive selection of various deep fried things and both sweet and savory rice flour pastries. The prices were inexpensive and my dining companion and I tried a bunch of different dishes:
In the above picture we have stewed greens and tofu (with two different types of greens- this was my favorite!), some kind of fresh, lightly steamed veggie and tofu, an egg roll, an interesting and delicious shishkabob with grilled pineapple and various savory sweet and sour flavors, and a coconut bamboo shoot curry.

We also ordered a bahn mi and it was large, fresh and spicy!
It was such a treat to be able to order freely from the plentiful options and not worry too hard about the potential for meat/fish ingredients. My only complaint is that all of the tofu had been fried, while I would have preferred it to have been steamed, and as a result the various dishes all felt a little greasy.

Sutra

A dear friend recently moved back to the United States after many years away. To celebrate, we went to Sutra, a newish vegetarian restaurant in Wallingford.

There are quite a few things about Sutra that make it special:

1. It is prix fix
2. The menu changes frequently (maybe ~weekly?)
3. There are 2 seatings a night
4. The restaurant is very small, perhaps able to seat only 25 or so at the communal tables per seating, and the kitchen is located in the same room as the dining (which makes for bit of a noisy experience)

In addition to beer and wine, there is an impressive and changing list of non-alcoholic drinks ($3) to start with. I ordered a fresh peach and butterscotch melon juice, and she ordered ginger limeade with basil. They came in pretty glasses and were an enjoyable way to start the meal process.

Spicy ginger lime basil, and frothy peach melon

Before the first course was served, the cook rang a gong to quiet our chatter, and proceeded to say a few words about being thankful for all of the steps that your food takes to get to you. Then he brought out the first course, which was a patty pan squash stuffed with the most delicious almond and roasted chili mixture in a smoked tomato sauce with fresh basil. I think that of all the fantastic things I tasted during this meal, this stuffing was the most spectacular.
The next dish that came was a salad of lightly wilted arugula, cucumber, heirloom cherry tomatoes and arame in a spicy wasabe sesame dressing. With the exception of the arame, which we both had to choke down due to its rather pronounced ocean flavour, the salad was excellent. It took us a few bites to realize the heat was coming from the wasabe and not from exceptionally spicy arugula, and the compliment of spice from the two was wonderful.
The main course tonight was tricky, as it was a combination of my two least favorite common vegetarian main dishes: eggplant and portabello. Luckily, the cooks are able to accommodate the occasional dislike if you call ahead of time to give them ample notice. So for me, they substituted in squash for the other two vegetables. It came battered in coconut, then served in a beautiful stack with steamed basil spinach. On the plate there was a big scoop of carrot leaf sauce, almost like soup, then a swirl of what tasted like reduced raspberry balsamic.
The savory coconut crust was an amazing combination of light, rich and crunchy, and the basil spinach was delicious. I really was impressed with all of the flavors in the main dish. It was beautifully presented too.

For dessert, we had a fantastic blueberry, ginger lime tarte with a homemade graham cracker crust. It was served with a sweet swirl of vanilla bean infused mirin.
We were really impressed with this place. The experience of a prix fixe meal is one a vegetarian doesn't often get to indulge in, and it was so fun and luxurious to get to partake. The food was absolutely created by somebody who views cooking as an art, and each dish was an expert combination of flavours, textures and colors.

We also loved the way the place worked: the fact that there were just two seatings and one menu a night kept the restaurant waste to virtually none. They change the menu with the seasons and the whims of the chefs, so produce is highlighted when it is most delicious. While we were there, a couple large flats of tiny hot peppers were delivered straight from an organic farm, and they were whisked away by the ecstatic chef who was excited to dry them and use them through out the winter.

If there was a downside to the place, it would be that the love for the food and process might be a bit overwhelming to the diner looking to have a private dinner without the inturuption of the chef coming by to have you smell a delicious melon or a whif of their freshly roasted coffee beans. But somehow those details didn't bother us too much, perhaps because it was clear that the slight theatrics were clearly, truly heartfelt.

Sutra is indeed the result of much culinary love and awareness and respect for food and the earth. The dining room/kitchen is small, and it felt almost like being at a very tasty dinner party of some highly passionate and well skilled friends.

Excellent new addition to the world of Seattle restaurants!

Sutra
1605 N 45th St
Seattle, WA 98103
206-547-1348
http://www.sutraseattle.com

Bamboo Garden

The Bamboo Garden is a vegan Szechuan restaurant near the Seattle Center, and I recently visited with a friend who had just returned from the Szechuan region of China jonesing for some dry cooked green beans.

The Bamboo Garden rendition was spicy, tender crisp and tasty, but unfortunately lacking the scrumptious blistered skin of the beans my friend had eaten in China.

We also ordered the Hot and Spicy Fried Bean Curd Braised with Bell Peppers, Broccoli and Cauliflower (special ordered with fresh tofu).

And the Pan-Fried Rice Noodles with Mixed Vegetables in Hot Spicy Szechwan Sauce.

Both dishes were spicy, savory, and fantastically vegan, but weren't quite the flavors my buddy remembered from his trip. That said, I still tend to be thrilled with any delicious Szechaun meal, (authentic or Americanized) that is clearly vegan friendly, and for this reason the Bamboo Garden holds a place dear to my heart!

Vegan Garden, v2

I went back to Vegan Garden to give it another try after a first visit where I had very specific expectations and they weren't quite met (duh), and thus didn't feel a representative assessment.

The second visit was excellent and my tongue is already watering thinking about going back.

I was in the mood for some spicy soup but wasn't quite in the mood for the oral MSG bath of Than Brothers (satisfying as it is), and ordered #53, Spicy Tofu Noodle Soup Bowl. This soup usually come with "various [vegetarian] hams," but it was no problem to special order it with soft tofu instead.
It was just about everything I could have wanted... fat rice noodles and cubes of silky tofu in a spicy and fragrant (but not sweet) broth, garnished with chopped green onion, and served with a plate of shredded cabbage, sprouts, lettuce, mint leaves, basil leaves, limes and jalapenos to add on top. I gave mine one more scoop of chili sauce and a good sprinkle of black pepper and it was incredibly satisfying.
My dining companion ordered a Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli bowl, and it was really good as well. I don't tend to like fake meats all that much, but the texture of the "Beef" was actually quite pleasing... not too tough, but still with a meaty resistance.
This is the kind of place that makes me a little bit nervous, like it is too good to be true and is going to disappear. I'm really eager to go back!

Vegan Garden

1228 S Jackson St
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 726-8669
http://vegangardenrestaurant.com/

Vashon Saturday Market

Vashon Island has a wonderful summertime Saturday market located at the Village Green. In addition to various crafts and art and fresh fruits and veggies, there are often at least two excellent options for buying hot cooked-to-order food.

One booth makes made to order omelets with local farm fresh eggs, a veggie lasagna, a tofu scramble and other interesting fully vegetarian (and some vegan) options, and the other booth is sort of Asian themed and makes (in addition to some non-vegetarian dumplings and hum bow and smoked salmon sushi) a vegetarian curry and a bowl of thin noodles in a vegetarian mushroom broth with green onion and pickled daikon.

I was unfortunately not super hungry, and the bowl of noodles was all my appetite really desired. They were simple and tasty and $3.

Noodles and Lazy Jane Slippers

I'll know next time to go with a bigger appetite because some of the tofu options looked fantastic!

Vashon Island Saturday Market

Jhanjay Thai

After a recent morning of trying on wedding dresses (don't get excited, I was the oppinionator not the bride to be!) a friend and I wandered down 45th St in Wallingford in search of a good lunch. I was rather excited to see the magic words, "Vegetarian Thai Cuisine," and our decision was settled: Jhanjay Vegetarian Thai.

Jhanjay endeared itself to me right off the bat by making tofu (fresh or fried) the default protein, and charging extra for the substitution of fake meat (many vegetarian restaurants do this the opposite way). It is such a pleasure to go into a restaurant and have full menu access, and it was really hard to choose between the Green Papaya salad (no fish sauce!), the Tom Yum and Tom Kah soups (no fish sauce or meat broth!), the curries (no shrimp paste!) or the variety of delicious savory noodles, veggies, rice and other dishes.

Little bowl of glistening soup to greet us

We ended up ordering a red curry and the "Garlic Pepper" stirfry to share. Both were outstanding: savory, spicy, complex, fresh and packed with deliciousness, but without the enjoyment-reducing stress of wondering if they were truly vegetarian (vegan in this case).

Nice size bowl of red curry packed with tender crisp veggies

The tofu was my favorite kind: slick, gelatinous and very fresh.

It is really exciting to find a source of vegan Thai curries, and I am happy to report that this is a great option. It seems a bit unbalanced that Wallingford/Fremont has multiple good vegan curry opportunities while the rest of the city seems to have none, but c'est la vie!

Squid and Ink

1128 S. Albro St
Seattle, WA 98108
(206) 763-2696

http://www.myspace.com/squid_and_ink

Squid and Ink is a vegan restaurant a little bit out of the 9lb through Georgetown Liquor company Georgetown stretch, but is close by and well worth a trip. The decor of the place is kind of artsy punk, with cushy vinyl booths and slightly sticky tables. The art on the wall was of the spraypaint/stencil variety when I was there but probably changes. The waiter was a friendly guy and explained to the lady sitting behind us that no matter what it says on the menu (cheez, chick'n, fish, etc) absolutely everything that they serve is indeed vegan.

The menu was full of really interesting dishes, many of which I'd always coveted and wished I could try in the meat world. Amongst these was poutine, the Canadian comfort food of fries covered with cheese curds and gravy, which I very much wanted to try but wasn't quite hungry enough to order as an appetizer, and not quite drunk enough to order as dinner.

I ended up ordering a version of Chicken Fried Steak that was made of a lightly fried seitan steak covered with gloppy but good vegetarian gravy, and came served with a pile of exquisitely browned thick cut seasoned french fries (a deep brown/orange color on the outside, but still soft and potato-y inside), and some well seasoned pan-fried vegis. The whole meal came on a large flat plate and the ample quantity was beautifully presented. I was pleased that the food wasn't overly salted... I was part-way expecting the usually-with-meat recipes to coax me into loving them with extra salt, but it didn't seem that they needed to employ that trick.

My dining partner ordered something and only after the meal did we realize that he was served and had eaten the wrong dish altogether. No bother, what he had was good too. I don't know what it would have been called, but consisted of a bed of tomato-y Mexican rice with some fake chicken triangles on top drizzled with what seemed like chipotle sour cream (or course, not really cream), a pile of the pan fried vegis, and a little spinach salad dressed with the same creamy sauce. It too was all beautifully presented and completely filling.

An appealing detail inside the restaurant is a condiment table loaded with the usual ketchup and Tabasco, but also an impressive selection of other hot sauces to take back to your table and use.

Dinner was filling and satisfying, and we decided to try to keep the good times going with dessert. The two choices were a big slice of chocolate cake, or a slice of peanut butter chocolate cheesecake with a hint of banana. Unfortunately I went into the mode that my sister describes as "always making the grossest choice available", and ordered the cheesecake. As could be expected, it left something to be desired... I am a serious cheesecake (genuine, with cream cheese and cream) lover to the degree that I don't even like to have it adulterated with strawberries, and had unrealistic expectations for this slice. In reality it seemed to be made along the lines of mashed tofu bound with peanut butter and banana and drizzled with a thin and sweet and fruity (not in a good way) chocolate sauce, and I shouldn't have expected anything similar to the real deal. I bet the chocolate cake was good though, a real vegan chocolate cake is plausible and their slice was tall and frosted high.

I've heard people complain about the service... that it takes too long to get their food and that the service was inattentive. I found the service to be plenty friendly and attentive, and the wait for the food felt like what I'd expect for a fresh cooked meal. It the restaurant was busier, I could indeed see the wait possibly getting long, but so what... just go in there prepared to relax, drink a tallboy PBR, and remember that there is probably a small kitchen and that the wait for a delicious and unusual vegan meal is worth it.

The Squid and Ink breakfast menu looks awesome... good looking tofu scrambles and french toast and all of the wonderful breakfast treats. I look forward to trying it out sometime.

It sounds like they have live music shows some evenings... mostly punk bands but that they are experimenting with other types of music too.

Araya's

Arayas, which recently moved from its long time location on the Ave in the University district to a nearby location on 45th, is fantastic, sure to please both the vegan/vegetarian (who will be extatic at the amount of amazing choices avaialble) and their meat-loving friends (who may just forget about their desire for meat while they slurp down this awesome food that doesn't seem to lack anything) with their huge variety of delicious, fresh, spicy, saucy, noodle-y vegan dishes.

A perk of Arayas is that they do a great lunch buffet, for about $6-7, i think, during which you are allowed to graze amidst plates and plates of wonderful entrees and try all of the items. they also have really delicious tom yum soup.

This just might be my favorite restaurant in seattle, and I highly recommend it to anybody, vegetarian or otherwise!

Loving Hut

After a long remodel, my beloved international district mainstay, the Vegan Garden, has been transformed into one of the sensuously named "Loving Hut" chain of vegan (Supreme Master based) restaurants.

Off the bat, I found the menu to be a little bit less appealing than the Vegan Garden's. The Loving Hut menu is composed largely of fake meats shaped like real meat parts, and has lots of deep fried morsels that look delicious but not particularly healthful. I was pleased to see that the lemongrass tofu vermicelli bowl still exists, as does a spicy soup. My dining companion ordered the soup, and was disappointed to find it came with a variety of fake meats instead of tofu. Good to know that a tofu specification needs to be made next time!


I ordered the "Guru's Curry," specially made with with soft tofu instead of vegan meat nuggets (they are willing to do this all over the menu) and found it to be fantastic. The ample plate consisted of cubes of silky custardy tofu, broccoli and cabbage drenched in a most delicious, slightly spicy, very savory yellow curry. I don't know how they make that stuff taste so good but it was addictive. I can imagine going to the Loving Hut with specific cravings for this dish.

There is definitely a "Supreme Master" bend to the place; propaganda videos play on a big TV, there are pamphlets and books to take and buy, and the fortune cookies spread Supreme Master wisdom. None of this bothers me though. I'm not sure if Supreme Master is leader of a cult, a religion, or just a state of mind, but as far as her message is understood to me, it is that being vegan is kind to the planet and fellow life, which is an idea that I generally agree with. If there is a darker or more manipulative side to the videos and messages, I'm not picking up on it (nor am I on the look out for it).

The sweet waitress brought us multiple samples of vegan baked goods through out the meal.

Supreme Master or not, chain restaurant or not, it feels really good to go to a restaurant where the entire ideology is based on veganism, and if the change-over is what needed to occur to keep this location in business, I'm happy that it happened.

Georgetown Liquor Company

I'm going to take a moment here and say, again, how much I enjoy the Georgetown Liquor Company (I've written about it before, here). Every time I go I am thrilled with the breadth and deliciousness of the vegetarian (and very vegan friendly) menu.

On a recent trip, I ordered a Lowell Sandwich, which was a complete delight of vegetarian "ham", green chilies, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, baby greens and chipotle veganaise on a toasted whole wheat hoagie roll. I had a choice of sides: soup, salad, or chips and salsa, and chose the salad, which was large and perfectly dressed with homemade vinaigrette and shaves of Parmesan.
My dining companion ordered the Portobello Salad, which was the biggest salad I've ever seen in a restaurant. It was a beautiful, enormous pile of baby greens, gouda, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and delicious marinated slices of portobello mushroom. I don't generally like mushrooms, and portobellos are no exception, but here they were so perfectly seasoned and marinated that even I enjoyed a taste.
The ambiance of the Georgetown Liquor Company is a little brooding, with black walls and dark themed art, and is the sort of place where I might be initially skeptical about the state of the kitchen. But I have been completely consistently impressed with the food that they make, and would even go so far as to say it's just as good as any other vegetarian restaurant I've been to in Seattle.

I love the Georgetown Liquor Company!

Cafe Flora

I love Cafe Flora. I think it is one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Seattle, and it has long been one of my favorite places to go for a special (read: slightly pricey) meal. And so it was with great joy that I recently received an unexpected Cafe Flora gift certificate from some friends for whom I had done a favour a while back.

D and I decided to use it on a recent stormy evening. We were seated in a portion of the restaurant that feels like a greenhouse; the room has plants, a waterfall, slate floors, and 3 walls covered in wood-trimmed windows overlooking bamboo and other pretty foliage. Of course on this night all we saw from the windows was the wash of rain and and the occasional leaf, lit by the streetlights, blowing past. No matter the outside conditions, this room feels peaceful and like a clean version of nature.

We decided to order more lavishly than usual, and started with a salad and an appetizer. We began with a Cesar salad with vegan dressing. I've recently discovered the joys of Cesar salad, and this one was spectacular with homemade croutons, fresh Parmesan cheese, and the kicker: fried capers. I am not well acquainted with anchovies, but I think that these delectable fried capers added a similar intrigue to the flavour of the salad.
For our appetizer, we ordered coconut battered tofu. It came with a big pile of lettuce and herbs, and the tofu was meant to be wrapped in the lettuce, packed with herbs, then dipped into sweet chili sauce.
As we waited for our main courses, the waitress offered a couple slices of bread to snack on while we waited. I actually appreciated that there were just two slices. Just enough to keep us busy and help ward of the hunger, but not enough to allow us to gorge before the rest of the food arrived.
For dinner, I eschewed my usual Cafe Flora favorite (Oaxaca tacos), for a seasonal option: Sage polenta with port soaked plums and a sautee of green beans, onions, and Parmesan (original dish had Blue Cheese, but they were willing to substitute in Parmesan).

It can be tough to successfully meld sweet fruit with vegetarian dishes because it is the rare vegetarian item that can stand the sweetness and remain well balanced (in the way that some meat can). But this dish did a pretty dang good job. The savory sage polenta with the nutty Parmesan was deliciously complemented with the sweet rich port plums, and the rest of the veggies were enhanced by the occasional sweet tang from the sauce. It was only at the very end of the dish that I became a bit overwhelmed by the fruitiness.

D also ordered a seasonal item: lemon pepper linguine with a pistachio mint pesto sauce, cooked with green beans, seared peaches, cherry tomatoes, and some delicious savory greens.

Don't be alarmed by the tiny looking portion- the plate itself was huge.

Both items (along with much of the menu) could be made vegan. In addition, many of the dishes were made with local produce.

For dessert, we had a big slice of vegan German chocolate cake.
D and I had differing opinions of the cake. I am not a big cake eater, and tend to find most cake not worth the calories. This particular slice looked delicious, but had a problem that I've found in other vegan desserts: it looks and feels right, but just doesn't quite deliver in all dimensions. The frosting was goopy and had coconut in it, but I wasn't really detecting anything satisfying or rich or even flavorful about it. The cake was moist and reasonably textured, but again, I didn't get any of that mouth orgy blastoff that a dessert should provide. There were a handful of other excellent looking desserts, and I wish now that I had ordered something else.

D, on the other hand, is a cake lover and he thought this cake was pretty dang good, especially considering it was vegan. He said that it "didn't seem like some lame vegan cake." So there ya go. I am not the cake expert.

Overall, this was a fantastic meal in a lovely setting and it was such a pleasure to go into the meal with the luxury of a gift certificate. A big thanks to S and N for such a considerate gesture! You were the subjects of a long winded mental toast filled with hilarious jokes and loving words that I gave in my head before eating- you guys are awesome!

Cafe Flora

(206) 325-9100

2901 E Madison St
Seattle, WA 98112
www.cafeflora.com

Golden Era

Today I found my way to the Golden Era vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco. I had read on-line reviews that spoke wearily of the neighborhood, and as I walked there today by myself I initially thought that everybody was overreacting until eventually the ratio of me to people laying on the ground, mumbling, stumbling, talking/hollering to/at me became fantastically disfavorable. I probably wouldn't have wanted to do the same walk at night. It is always hard in an unfamiliar place to know how bad a place really is because everything has that "Is this even real?" feel to it. Anyhow, I made it and was strangely relieved to enter the dark below ground restaurant and be greeted by none other than the Supreme Master herself on a large TV. (The Supreme Master also has a presence at the Vegan Garden in Seattle).

The menu reminded quite a bit of the Vegan Garden, which is full of good looking dishes. I ordered the Jalapeno Tofu, which was described as "Best tofu with jalapenos, onions and bell peppers, served with steamed broccoli." Sounded perfect.

The meal arrived and was as described... soft tofu triangles with finely diced onions and bell pepper, and then succulent, lightly steamed slices of fresh jalapeno on top. Yum.


I thought that the Supreme Master connection was interesting... makes me wonder if there are followers all of the country (world?) who are starting up similar Chinese vegan restaurants in her vision? I'm not complaining.

Supreme master is a blond now

Golden Era
(415) 673-3136
Civic Center
572 O'Farrell St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Plum Bistro

Plum Bistro is a fancy, hip, vegan restaurant on Capital Hill. I had been really looking forward to eating here, though a bit daunted by the expense. Finally last night, with St Valentine paving the way, my dining companion and I went to have a meal.

I was almost shaking in excitement when I looked at the menu. Every dish looked absolutely delicious... Paella Stuffed Peppers, Spicy Thai Tempeh, Cajun Tempeh Ceasar Salad, a bunch of "burgers", Crispy Tofu this and that, etc. We ordered two dishes with the intent of splitting them both: A cornmeal crusted seitan steak with white mushroom gravy, sauteed chard and roasted potatoes, and the surprising pepper "Parmesan" crusted potatoes over linguine with lemon broccoli. I figured that any dish brave enough to put potatoes over pasta had to be interesting.

I guess there are some pretty heirloom tomatoes in there.

I was wrong. I don't know what magic I thought they might create with this dish but it didn't happen. Instead I got a bowl of slippery linguine in a plain and watery tomato sauce with a few pieces of broccoli, some incongruous potato rounds and a little sprinkle of vegan mozzarella. It wasn't gross, but left me scratching my head and feeling a little ache in my pocketbook.

The Seitan Steak was, and I've never said this before about any dish, a disaster. It was so obscenely salty that I could barely swallow the bite I took. It felt poisonously salty. My lips started to chap and my mouth started to burn. What the hell was that??? It was inedible.


The chard was oily but good, and there wasn't anything wrong with the potatoes.

I came into this restaurant with a complete excitement and optimism and during the course of the meal it took a 180. I'd like to think we just ordered poorly, but I am not completely convinced.

To add insult to injury, the portions left us hungry, and after the pillage of our funds we walked around the corner to Rancho Bravo and had tacos.