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!

Sutra

I have written about the (vegetarian/vegan, prix fixe) Sutra experience before here, so shall spare the details but will say that I had the pleasure of recently visiting Sutra again with some lovely dining companions, and this is what we ate:

Nettle Miso Soup with a salad of Baby Tom Thumb Lettuce, Pickled Shunkyo Radish, Sea Beans and Goose Tongue (sea vegetable), with lime-ginger-tahini dressing and a sesame seed crisp.

Housemade buckwheat fettucini, roasted asparagus and truffled watercress, masa breaded fiddlehead fern and shiso with a tamari, yuzu leek broth.

Roasted Cauliflower, mung bean, cashew cheese, house smoked morel cake served atop sauteed chard and radish greens, an eggplant mousse and peppercress oil, finished with black lemon molasses reduction and parsnip chips.

Chocolate-coconut ice cream with mirin-blueberry coulis and cacao nib brittle.

King of Pho

I have some very excited news about the King of Pho in Auburn: They have a full new vegetarian menu!! I wrote about The King of Pho a couple of months ago, but in the meantime they've had a complete shift in vegetarian priorities. What fantastic news!

I was temped by many of the items on the vegetarian menu, but decided upon the lemongrass tofu vermicelli bowl, and oh my god, it was a good choice.

Their rendition of this dish (one of my Vietnamese favorites) rivaled any other I've ever eaten. The tofu was freshly fried and coated in a spicy, richly flavored lemongrass chili paste and tossed with stir fried onions. Half the bowl was full of vermicelli noodles, the other half was packed with lettuce, shredded cabbage, cucumbers, carrots and fresh herbs. The whole thing was covered in a generous blanket of dark roasted peanuts, and the small cup of sauce (meant to be poured over the bowl) was savory and unsweet, just how I like it.

I am so excited about this new development and will definitely be stopping here anytime I'm coming through Auburn hungry. Sitting here right now, looking at the picture of the dish, my mouth is watering so much I'd almost be tempted to drive to Auburn just for this meal.

(On a meat note, my meat eating dining companion said that his dish was outstanding.)

How wonderful! South side vegans and vegetarians (and heck, your meat eating friends too) go check it out!

(I posted a picture of the vegetarian menu on urbanspoon... you can find it by clicking below).

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.

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!

Ruffage Natural Foods

After a brisk early morning hike up Koko Crater (AKA Kohelepelepe, said to be the imprint left by the vagina of Pele's sister Kapo), an Oah'u friend and I chased down a restaurant that I had read about: Ruffage Natural Foods on Kuhio in Waikiki in Honolulu.

The place is part health food store, part juice bar, part restaurant, and I was stoked to see many concerted vegetarian and vegan choices (there were meat options as well) on the menu. He ordered a vegetarian burrito that came full of beans and avocado and smothered in vegan chili.

I ordered the vegetarian chili dog, which came on a soft bun with pickled jalapenos, vegan chili and cheddar cheese.
The food was a little bit pricey for the quantity, but I am always happy to find a healthy, vegan/vegetarian refuge. Thanks K for showing me around!

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.

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!

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.

Moonlight Cafe

I made a recent attempt to to go one of my favorites, the Vegan Garden, to find that it is still in the dysfunctional throws of a remodel. At this point, I was extremely focused on the spicy tofu soup I had intended to order, and after a brief moment of exaggerated hunger and angst, remembered the Moonlight Cafe about a mile up the hill on Jackson.

Moonlight Cafe is a run down looking restaurant that was once a smoky, karaoke palace with a surprising second menu that is entirely vegan. Now that the non-smoking laws are well established, I found the place to be completely tolerable inside, and was able to enjoy it in a way I wasn't before.

My dining companion and I sunk into a high backed booth and perused the extensive vegan version of the menu. My choice was easy: Spicy tofu soup, made with soft (they call it "white") tofu. He ordered lemongrass "chicken".

Spicy soup straight from the kitchen: mounded plate of lettuce, cabbage, sprouts, basil, mint, jalapenos and lime waiting to be added

My soup was an absolute delight. It came in a big bowl with silky white tofu blocks, fat chewy rice noodles, lots of veggies, tasty, spicy (no-MSG!) broth, and a huge plate of fresh shredded cabbage, lime wedges etc to add. What really made this soup stand apart from others similar to it was the quantity of stuff on the fresh plate. I loved the fact that just about every bite had something in it other than noodles.

Soup with all the goods mixed in

The lemongrass "chicken" was also outstanding. The fake meat didn't look particularly like chicken, but who cares, maybe it's better that it didn't. It did provide the savory deliciousness that I'd imagine one would get from sausage (cue my omnivorous sister's laugh at my imaginary meat authority), and I was amazed at how satisfying it was. I'd be hard pressed choosing what to order next time.

Lemongrass "chicken"

I am definitely a fan and look forward to a return visit. Thanks J for the company, I am so happy you're back!!

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

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

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