Best Corn - Antojitos Mexicanos

There are many emerging intriguing culinary delights at the "Othello Swap Meet" parking lot at the Othello lightrail station at MLK and Othello, including Antojitos Mexicanos, AKA "Best Corn" shack that sells elote (roasted corn on the cob sprinkled with various delicious things), and esquitas (roasted corn off the cob).

On one cold recent evening I bought myself a large sized order of esquitas and it was quite the treat. I ordered mine with everything but the mayonnaise (mayo seems to be a standard part of the dish), and what I received was a big cup full of freshly roasted, freshly decobbed corn layered with butter, lime juice, cheese, chili powder and chili sauce. It was super delicious, and the buttery, corn-y, lime-y cheesy, spicy liquid that remains once the kernals are gone is a treat in itself.

This would be a great snack to munch on while waiting for the lightrail... all the tastyness of a well-dressed elote, but with the tidyness of a spoon.

CP Thai

I was recently in Georgetown tasked with the responsibility of bringing home lunch, preferably of Asian persuasian, to a group with vegan preference. I decided to give CP Thai (in the little strip mall that holds my home-Kinkos) a try. The waitress was skeptical of my special requests (no fish sauce, unfried tofu), insisting that the food would have "no taste." I persisted, and unfortunately, she was right.
Can't say what the food would have been like with meat or fishsauce or fried tofu, but we ordered Garlic Tofu, Ginger Tofu, and Rard Nah (wide rice noodles with some veggies and tofu in a cornstarch thick gravy), and the vegan versions of these were more or less bland and greasy.

Eh, now I know I guess.

Chelsea Deli

The Chelsea Deli is the relatively new deli in Columbia City, and I am sheepish to admit that the first time I visited I left without ordering anything because I thought the two obviously vegetarian options looked unappealing to me. I WAS VERY MUCH MISTAKEN, and missing some critical info: Field Roast can be subbed for meat on just about any of the otherwise enticing sandwiches. YES!

There is some personnel connection between the Chelsea Deli and the Other Coast sandwich shop up in Ballard, and the sandwich I ordered is very similar to the Ragin' Cajun I've had in Ballard: toasted whole wheat baguette, field roast slices, tomatoes, red onion, chipotle aioli, broiled pepper jack cheese. Greasy, flavorful, filling and delicious!

In an interesting take, the Chelsea Deli also sells jumbo sized baked goods, including this rice crispie treat (I munched on it for days), and brownies that seem to be about quarter pan size. Nice.
Another nice vegetarian-friendly food option in Columbia City!

Marutas

For years I had heard about Maruta's Japanese grocery store/to-go Sushi case/Chinese take out window in Georgetown and only recently had a famished lunchtime visit. I started in the store, where the pre-made sushi sits in refrigerated cases, and was disappointed to find that the only vegan options were cucumber rolls and inari. So I bought a bag of seaweed flavored chips and a package of melon chews and walked next door to the take out window to test my luck there.

Photo courtesy: http://livinginseattle.wordpress.com

Unfortunately the take-out area was no better. The only vegetarian option here was a sad looking tray of greasy veggies. There were many *almost* vegetarian options: MaPo Tofu with pork, fried rice with pork, noodles with chicken. Dang. Ended up leaving with nothing but my chips and candy, and it turned out that even my chips had both shrimp and bonito in them.

A Casa Que Pasa

I love going into a burrito shop in a college town like Bellingham because I know that the vegetarians are going to be well taken care of!

The burritos at Casa Que Pasa are large (about 2 meals worth for me) and delicious. There are many vegetarian and vegan options, and on the day of my meal I ordered vegetarian daily special: flour tortilla, spicy black beans, deep fried potatoes, guacamole, sour cream, cabbage and green salsa. It was quite the burrito!
And as with any Mexican restaurant worth its salt, Casa Que Pasa has a nice little salsa bar with a variety of red and green homemade salsas and spicy pickled carrots. All were tasty, none were especially spicy to my palate.

Reminds me that I should spend more time in Bellingham!

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!

Broadway New American Grill

I recently had a lovely happy hour at the Broadway Grill, where well drinks are $2.50 and food is about $5. There is a decent selection of junky vegetarian options (fried pickles, garlic fries, truffle fries), and one healthy type of vegetarian option: white bean puree with pita.

We ordered the white bean spread and it was decent, certainly good enough compliment the stream of well-rum and gingers that flowed down our gullets!