Ballet

Had the recent pleasure of lunch out with my mom. She was craving some belly warming soup and we decided to forgo my usual Asian soup standbys (Vegan Garden, Moonlight Cafe, Pho Cyclo and Than Brothers) for a new experience. I had long seen the tempting words "Vegetarian" on the sign for Ballet Restaurant just east of Broadway on Pike, and we decided to give it a try.

Inside was simple and clean, and surprisingly busy in the middle of a weekday. The menu had an assortment of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian items, including no less than 4 varieties of vegetarian (meatless broth) pho.

We started with some salad rolls, which were large but otherwise not particularly remarkable.
My mom ordered the vegetarian Sate soup, which was a delicious idea (though a bit over salted for my taste). The soup contained tofu, tomatoes, cucumber, sprouts and roasted peanuts in a savory rich spicy coconut broth.
I ordered the most simple of the veggie pho options, which included broccoli, carrots and tofu. The more elaborate choices had various fake meats.
It was as could be expected. Nothing gross, but also nothing that made me rejoice in pleasure. They use fried tofu, which isn't my preference (but does seem to be the pho standard).

The prices were all very reasonable. My small pho was under $5, and her soup was just a bit more than that. The salad rolls were $1.50 a piece.

Thanks ma!

Daphne's Greek Cafe

Was recently down in the brand spankin' new mini-metropolis that has sprung up in North Renton, hungry, and not sure which of the many mid-price, not exactly "fast food" chain restaurants to visit. Eventually it was a giant advertisement on the side of Daphne's Greek Cafe offering a sandwich slathered in "fire feta" that drew me in.

Daphne's has a few good looking vegetarian options, including a falafel sandwich. The sandwich I was chasing had a garden burger patty between warm pita rounds and lettuce and tomato and a spicy feta mix (fire feta, duh), with choice of fries or rice pilaf and salad, for $5.99. Not bad.

Got it to go, and by time I got home things were cold and not quite all that inspiring. It wasn't gross by any stretch, but probably quite a bit better when it was warm and soft.

My dining companions ordered their sandwiches with fries, and per usual Greek restaurant tradition, they were pretty danged good, even cold and soggy at home. I sort of regretted ordering the rice/salad option. The salad was a standard simple Greek salad, while the rice pilaf was more or less just plain rice.

There was ample ketchup and yogurt sauce, even to go, which I appreciated.

It wasn't a negative dining experience, especially for the price, and all felt relatively healthy. However, the "to-go" experience probably wasn't worth repeating. In addition to the dimenishmet of deliciousness due to cooling, the meal generated a rather huge amount of garbage in the form of rigid plastic trays and lids.