Sound Foods

I recently spent a lovely evening at Sound Foods on Vashon Island enjoying the music of the Riptide Ramblers and eating a delicious meal.

Three generations playing together

The menu at Sound Foods is small and focused on local high quality ingredients, which is something that I appreciate as long as there is a reaosnable vegetarian option, which there was. I believe it was called something like the "Tower of Vegetables," and that was a pretty accurate description of what I got.

The mainpart of the meal was a pile of grilled veggies, including peppers, squashes, eggplant, and a big slab of portobello mushroom. Accompanything this was a hearty scoop of beautiful black rice, and a salad with mixed greens and a variety of delicious pretty extras like edible flowers, chives and hierloom cherry tomatoes.

The best part about this plate was the exquisite sauces. The chef was most definitely a master of sauces and both the salad dressing and the sauce for the veggies was so fantasticaly delicious. THey were pungent without being overwhelming, savory without being overly salty, rich without being too oily. Just really good.

The meat eaters all seemed to order the fancy free range bacon burgers, with the exception of one salmon.


We topped the meal off with a really amazing (and giant) slice of homemade banana cream pie. The banana pudding was just salty enough to really explode in delicious flavor, and the chocolate cookie crust was good enough to eat by itself.


There has been a little bit of confusion about whether Sound Foods is open or closed: some time ago they closed down but have since undergone a change of hands and are most definitely open and kicking at this point!

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!!

Fado Irish Pub

Was recently downtown looking for a lunch spot that could deliver a sandwich and a beer (per the particular cravings of my very hungry dining companion). We were kindly directed to Fado Irish Pub, which I've seen a zillion times and never been to.
We didn't have picture taking capabilities, but there was an unusual vegetarian item on the menu that is worth mentioning: a boxty quesadilla. Turns out a "boxty" is essentially a griddle cooked Irish potato pancake, and Fado uses them in place of a tortilla in both a meat and a vegetarian quesadilla.

The vegetarian one was delightful. It was filled with grilled caramelized onions, artichoke hearts and pepper jack cheese, and then drizzled in sour cream, really tasty marinated cherry tomatoes, a pile of very finely sliced cabbage and one fresh jalapeno ring. I found this to be a delicious use of a potato pancake. My only complaint is that I could have enjoyed a lot more fresh jalapeno to eat with it all.

The menu wasn't particularly vegetarian friendly ratio wise, but there were a few other vegetarian items including a caprese baguette sandwich, a tomato mozzarella flat bread, and a few salads. Vegans would likely be hard pressed to get a satisfying meal.

There was also a dessert that was especially intriguing (but we didn't order it this time): Brown Bread Ice Cream, which involved vanilla ice cream, caramelized brown bread, caramel sauce and whipped cream.

Felt a little spendy (never helps to add a $5.50 beer to lunch), but over all it hit the spot.

Both Ways Cafe

I don't tend to go out for breakfast very often because simply, I don't generally have much interest in breakfast foods. I don't really eat eggs, certainly not on their own, and I dislike the gross feeling I get after eating a pile of sugary pancakes or breakfast pastries in the morning. Of course I love to eat at breakfast time, but I'd rather eat real food, the same sorts of things I'd eat for lunch or dinner.

And this is why I enjoy Both Ways Catering Co. which is in the Columbia City/Seward Park/Mt. Baker area. They have all of the normal egg variants and standard breakfast/brunch items, but then they have the slightly misleadingly named "Tofu Scramble," which is without a doubt my favorite restaurant breakfast so far.

For starters, it isn't really a "scramble." Rather it is a savory, delicious stir fry of tofu and veggies in a tangy, ginger sauce. Then, it comes with two standard breakfast items that I DO love: skillet potatoes and a big fluffy, flaky, slightly sweet, tender on the steamy inside, crusty on the outside biscuit (there is also the theoretical choice of toast instead, which I'd imagine would make this a vegan breakfast.)

I also appreciate that, in a time when going out to breakfast can easily cost as much as going out to dinner (at least on the scale that I tend to eat on), Both Ways has managed to keep their breakfast prices in the $7, 8, 9 range.

Hot Mama's Pizza

Hot Mama's Pizza, which is open late, is located a few blocks west of Broadway on Pine and is thus especially well suited to satisfy late night, drunken hunger.

The shop is small, and after you order your slices (about $2.25 each), you can either take them on a paper plate out into the action of the street or stand inside at a crowded standing-only bar. The ambiance isn't really the point.

The pizza is pretty good in the sense that it tends to be thin, hot and cheesy with a nice crisp crust. They tend to have many vegetarian pizzas going earlier in the evening (mixed veggie, pesto, etc), but my experience has been that plain cheese dominates in the later hours. Far as I can tell, there is nothing suitable for a vegan.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it is the best pizza in the city, or even Capital Hill, and the quality of the slice varies pretty significantly depending upon whether it has been sitting or is fresh from the oven, BUT it has many of the qualities I like in pizza: a thin crust that is crisp but not crackery, plentyful but not oozing or overwhelming amounts of bubbled lightly browned cheese, and interesting toppings (hot peppers, fresh basil, etc). Hot Mama's manages to squarely hit the "after dinner" hunger and a couple of slices is a mighty fine nightcap.

Thanks K for yet another outstanding job as phone photographer.

Long Provincial

I recently went to Long Provincial Vietnamese Restaurant and Jelly Bar, the sister venture of the Tamarind Tree folks. Upon first entrance, it was very clear that the location was meant to be somewhat hip and upscale. The restaurant was dark and ornate and had modern fire pits and an aquarium wall full of jellyfish that divided the bar from the restaurant.

We had a large party and got a reasonable sampling of the menu (most were meat eaters). I think the general consensus was that the food was similar to, exactly the same as, or a little bit less good than Tamarind Tree. And similar to the Tamarind Tree, the huge menu seemed to contain quite a few vegetarian/vegan options (considerately marked with a symbol for easy locating.)

The table started with a couple of orders of the vegetarian spring rolls, and they were really delicious. I tend to really like it when spring rolls include a little bit of something crunchy and deep fried in the roll, and these were a great execution of that. I also really really appreciate a vegan dipping sauce that is savory instead of sweet, and that detail was also well done.
I ordered the Lemongrass Tofu noodle bowl, and it was fine. The fresh tofu had a good grilled flavor, but could have used some time in a marinade given the quantity of tofu (lots). It definitely required more sauce (which was, in a similar way to Tamarind Tree, vegan and really really tasty) than what initially came with it, but the waitress anticipated this and offered before I could ask.
The other vegetarian also ordered a noodle bowl, but he ordered the first class version that included shitake mushrooms, okra, fake shrimp, eggrolls, etc piled on top of the noodles and vegetables. He said the mushrooms were especially delicious, but that the shrimp weren't all that interesting. I wonder if the growing popularity of the somewhat weird but beautiful realistically painted fake shrimp is reinforcing itself based upon flashy restaurant ego rather than on actual deliciousness or customer enjoyment.
Overall, I'd say that the food didn't especially stand out, but it certainly wasn't bad. The meat eaters did comment that their beef dish was really delicious, and I did appreciate the plentiful vegetarian options. The atmosphere was definitely "downtown," which might be a useful attribute in certain company.

Tom Yum Koong

I was recently in West Seattle looking for a Thai restaurant open past 9pm, and came upon Tom Yum Koong on California Ave.

The waitress was friendly and patiently went through the menu with me, interfacing with the kitchen, trying to find something vegetarian (or vegan, as I tend to eat in Asian restaurants). Unfortunately (but not uncommonly), many of the dishes (curries, anything with peanut sauce, soups, etc) already had some sort of non-veggie item included. We ended up with what appeared to be the three dishes that can be vegan: Phad Kee Mao with tofu, Green Beans with tofu, and Tofu salad. Two of these were relative duds, and the third was a great shining star.

The Phad Kee Mao was edible but not spectacular. Probably would have been significantly enhanced by the presence of some non-vegan flavoring.

The green beans, unfortunately, were definitely of the fishy persuasion and I didn't eat them. (Meat eating dining companions didn't complain).

The surprise of the evening was the spectacular Tofu Salad. It came in a huge iceberg lettuce bowl and contained crunchy chopped iceberg, fresh herbs, onion, and tiny rectangles of deep fried tofu that exploded in the the most exquisite bursts of intense salty lime flavor. I had never had anything quite like this before and it was so incredibly delicious.

Some restaurants, like the fantastic Tawan Thai in Fremont, are really set up for vegan cooking, and know how to include and enhance the flavors of Thai cooking without using meat products, but most Thai restaurants simply omit the meat flavors at a vegan request and the result is an oily bland blah. Tom Yum Koong just isn't set up for the vegan/vegetarian crowd, can't really fault them for that.

One small thing I can fault them for is giving us the much dreaded table side spice assessment. We ordered 3 out of 4 stars, and the food came without any detectable spice at all. I'd imagine the kitchen played it safe because of all of my vegan requests. Fortunately they had the standard (I get a warm and loving feeling thinking about it) spice trays with ground dried chili, chili paste, and jalapenos soaked in fish sauce, and the meal was salvaged with these.