Roy's BBQ

This post is long overdue! Roy's BBQ in Columbia City is one of those rare gems that serves both BBQ *and* nice sides for the vegetarians. They also serve what is rumored to be an excellent fish taco made with fish that they smoke themselves (there isn't a deep fryer in the restaurant).

For the vegetarian who doesn't eat fish, there is the option of a fish taco with beans substituted for the fish, which is really tasty, but my usual preference is to instead order a couple of their delicious (and cheap!) sides.

On my most recent trip I was with a friend who was also eating vegetarian. She got an order of their mac and cheese, and a side of coleslaw. Generally, I've found that restaurant mac and cheese, while delicious, has a bit of a fat bomb bend. The mac and cheese at Roy's tastes homemade: it is cheesy and good, but does not feel over the top unhealthy

I ordered the vegetarian red beans and rice with a side of coleslaw. The beans and rice vary a bit... sometimes really tasty, sometimes with bits of veggies in them, sometimes not quite salty enough (though I appreciate under salting to over salting!), but always decent and filling and I love that they have a vegetarian version (you can have sausage added for an additional cost).

The coleslaw is made without mayonnaise, and has the cute addition of poppy seeds.

One of my favorite details is that these guys have a nice large hot sauce selection, so it is easy to doctor up whatever you order with a little more salt/vinegar/heat.

Roy's is staffed by the owner, which is always a nice feature. They also use local products... bread from Columbia City Bakery, etc, which is an awesome thing to do.

The vegetarian meal here is simple, filling, satisfying, and priced really affordability. The total bill, for both of us, was under $10.

Villa Victoria

UPDATE: Villa Victoria has closed its doors. Here is a re-post of Premuim-T´s comment that alerted me to the fact:

Naomi of Villa Victoria has closed her storefront, but she still does fantastic catering. Last fall I attended a wine-tasting dinner that she catered and it was fantastic. She has a blog: http://seattlemexicanfoodblog.typepad.com/

(Thanks T for sharing the unfortunate news!)
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Villa Victoria is a cute little tamale shop in Columbia City. It is tiny- just barely enough room to walk in and peruse the case and order, and possibly, if the shop is void of other customers, to sit along the window at a narrow bar. But in general the place is suited for taking your food away.

Delectable glass case

They have plenty of vegetarian options, starting with jalepeno cheese tamales. They are tasty, but heavy on the masa and light on the filling. And as I write this, I just realized that I don't know whether they use meat juice/lard in their masa. Hmm. Going to have to find out.

Another standard item in the case are little cheese and onion enchiladas. They are made from corn tortillas and smothered in an authentic pepper sauce.
One also has the option of ordering outside of the case, which includes giant delicious looking burritos. We saw many being made as we ate, and they were huge and succulent. They have a tofu adobe burrito that I am looking forward to trying one of these days.

The sides at Villa Victoria are excellent. Each of their homemade salsas are delicious, as is their guacamole (both of which can be purchased in larger containers to take home). They also make some super good greens.
For dessert, they have some Mexican wedding cookies, which look good, and Chocolate Truffle Cookies. I bought a chocolate truffle cookie, and was a bit dissapointed to find it to be dry and cake-y and neither rich nor particularly chocolatly. With a name like "truffle cookie," and a deep coco brown color like it had, I would expect a serious chocolate encounter. Oh well. I know some people would prefer it this way.

Villa Victoria

(206) 329-1717

3829 S Edmunds St
Seattle, WA 98118
http://www.villa-victoria.net/

Island Soul

I just came from lunch at Island Soul, the new Caribbean restaurant in Columbia City, and I think I have found my new Columbia City favorite.

Island Soul is in the building that used to house the (now gone) Wellington, and the new owners (who used to own Casuelita's Island Soul in the Central District) have done a nice job changing the feel of the place. Instead of the sultry, dingy darkness that used to be the Wellington, the new place is full of light, and has cheery, clean bright feel.
The menu was surprisingly vegetarian friendly (was I dreaming it up?) and in my order I modified a BBQ tofu sandwich to be Jerk Tofu sandwich. As we waited for our food, the owner's wife came out of the kitchen to check in with me because their Jerk sauce is made with meat. She offered some other ideas, and we decided upon giving the tofu a vegetarian spice rub. With my sandwich, I had a choice of salad or Caribbean slaw, and chose the latter.

The sandwich came and was tasty. The tofu was hot and soft, just how I like it, and had a slightly piquant spice rub. The sandwich also had some raw onions and chopped tomato and garlicky mayonnaise-y sauce. It is hard not to compare a Caribbean style sandwich to the messy saucy delight that comes from Paseo, and with that in mind, I could have probably enjoyed a few more ingredients in the sandwich (maybe something like grilled onions and jalapenos).
The Caribbean style coleslaw was my favorite type of slaw: plenty of vinegar and no mayonnaise. It was a nice mix of both green and purple cabbage, carrots, tomato, peppers, and bits of other finely chopped veggies.
We also ordered a side of their Collard greens, which are vegan (!). They were the best greens I've had in a restaurant anywhere. They had plenty of flavour, but weren't over salted. They were meltingly tender, but still seemed fresh and structurally intact. And, they had bits of chopped carrots and peppers mixed in, which made them quite visually appealing.
The owner, who is also one of the cooks, came out to check up on our meal when we were done. He is a really friendly guy (in fact, the entire staff was exceptionally warm), and he told me that he had been raised a vegetarian, and his mother was quite the vegetarian cook growing up. He said he's got a mind full of delicious things to do with tofu.

Some other vegetarian items straight from the menu:

* An appetizer called, "Little Islands" that consists of little breads filled with savory black beans, feta and avocado
* BBQ Tofu sandwich
* Coconut cornbread
* Tamal Azteca (layered dish with tortillas, roasted vegetable, cheeses, and chipotles tomato sauce)
* Curried Tofu
* A dish of tofu with onions and peppers

And plenty more. I am so excited about this place! It is a moderately priced restaurant (sandwich was $7.50, most sides are $1-4, many dishes are in the $12-15 range, and there are a couple ranging up to about $19), which is a little more than I usually go for, but seems reasonable still. It's off to an exceptional start in my book, I am really stoked to go and try some more dishes.

Island Soul

(206) 329-1202

4869 Rainier Ave S
Seattle, WA 98118

Kingfish Cafe

The Kingfish Cafe
602 19th Avenue East
Seattle, Washington 98112
206.320.8757
http://www.thekingfishcafe.com/

Southern food tends to be a tempting but inaccessible genre for my tastes as a vegetarian- everything looks delicious... but meat and pork fat seem to be everywhere.

The Kingfish Cafe has taken southern food and given it enough newfangled influence to make it accessible for a vegetarian. Meat eaters will find delicious looking versions classics like pork chops, battered catfish and fried chicken, but there are some real gems nestled in for the vegetarians too.

I started the meal with an appetizer of Fried Green Tomatoes. They came to the table coated in a light and gritty herbed cornmeal batter, and drizzled with both garlic and chipotle aiolis . Arranged on top were three plump hushpuppies... dense and moist and a little bit sweet, they had a deep brown crust and were outstanding. The entire plate was sprinkled with chopped tomatoes and parsley.
Next came the main dish. I ordered the Hoppin' John Griddlecakes. I was thrilled when they arrived and the plate was huge and half covered in massive green salad. The griddle cakes were delicious- black eyes peas and rice and roasted veggies mashed into patties and deep fried until crusty, then garnished with salsa and sour cream.
I am easily seduced by a large salad, and this was no exception. I felt like a rabbit in an endless garden... plenty of wild greens, no need to ration or hoard. My one complaint was that it was slightly overdressed, and by the end of such a joyous salad orgy, my tongue was feeling ravaged from so much vinegary dressing. I would ask for the dressing on the side next time.

I enjoyed the atmosphere, which while still casual, had the slightly giddy buzz of people dressed with a little more effort than what you usually see around Seattle.

In addition, there was a visually appealing bar, and a delicious looking dessert menu.

The Kingfish Cafe is a wonderful restaurant to have in the arsenal of places to go with a mixed group and ensure an impressive and satisfying meal for both the meat eaters and the vegetarians alike.