Rachel Widome
Reviews written by Rachel Widome
Ahhh, the legendary Soul Vegetarian East! So, this is THE BEST food I have ever eaten. And everyone who I have been there with agrees that it's great (even the meat-eaters.) It is absolutely amazing what they can do, I actually don't know where to start. I loooove the BBQ twist. They have soft serve vegan ice cream that is amazing. Even the salad dressing will blow you away. Creamy cucumber or garlic, both delicious. If you go on Sunday you don't get to order off the menu, they usually just have one platter. But don't worry, its always awesome and pretty filling too. If I could eat here everyday I would, no doubt. And its rather inexpensive too. Its very cozy and it has a real nice community vibe. SVE may be the answer to all the world's problems.
Ah, that feeling of being able to read the whole menu. C'mon you know what I mean, usually us vegetarians just scan for the 2 things we can eat, but here at Blind Faith, you gotta read the whole darn menu. Me, I'm partial to the lemon seitan and the bi bim bop (but I always substitute jasmine rice for the brown rice.) Get some bancha tea with honey too. The portions are large, the atmosphere is homey. Oftten there is a wait at dinner but its never that long. This restaurant is slightly above average price-wise. One way to save is by eating in the self-serve section where you bus your own food. You don't need to leave a tip in this section and there's usually no wait. I hear the desserts are great, some good vegan options. Oh yeah, there's a juice bar too.
This is my absolute favorite falafel. Its perfect! They make the pita there so its always fresh and delicious. Get some iced tea (its mint! yum.) The hummous is great, and they put a little pool of olive oil on top -- perfect. I very much enjoy the atmosphere, its so festive. There aren't a whole lot of menu items, just your basic middle eastern stuff, but they do it so well! And this place has to be the cheapest vegetarian meal in Chicago.
Barbette has the best fries in town. There's no contest, this is just the truth. (And the portion of fries you get is huge, plenty for 3 people to split.) Barbette also gets major points from me for being open so late and having such a delightful atmosphere. True, the vegetarian selection could be bigger, but there's some winners on the menu. If you go after 10pm on weekdays, (10:30 Friday or Saturday) the late nite menu kicks in. This menu is way cheaper than the dinner menu. My favorite vegetarian menu item is the croque madame sandwich. (Though it's not vegan.) Salads are good too as are crepes and appetizers.
One complaint. They switched chefs about a year ago and I like the old chef's croque madame slightly better. (Not sure that the Ty guy referred to in the description is the new chef or the onld one. I think he might be the old one.) Also, I'm not vegan so I don't look at places with a vegan point of view. Not sure how much stuff would be vegan friendly.
I just remembered how much I absolutely looooooove this place when I went there last night with friends. Aw man, if only it were in Minneapolis I think I'd try to go everyday. Cheng Heng is one of those places where you just can't decide whether to try something new that sounds delicious or just stick with your regular delicious favorites. I love the rice noodle dish Loth Cha (spelling?). The noodles are like wonderful, chewy little larva. (No, really, it's awesome.) One of my dining companions ordered a soup with "clear broth" rather than "chicken broth" which I didn't even know was possible. And who doesn't love drinking coconut milk right out of a young coconut. I love you Cheng Heng!
Now, when we were there last night (a Friday) it was super busy. Although we were seated right away it took a while for our food to come. And the last entree arrived like 15 minutes after the 1st. But really, I don't even care about this. The food is so good, it still gets a 10 in my book.
Common Roots has the best bagels I've had in the Midwest. They only have basic varieties (no cinnamon-asiago-blueberry -chocolate chip bagel but who cares). I'm blown away by their commitment to principals. The tables are made from reclaimed wood from a Minnesota barn. The counter is made out of recycled cardboard. There is no trash can, only a compost bin. (They mostly use washable silverware but the also have those corn-made compostable tubs for cream cheese and compostable straws for beverages.) When I was there I had a salad that was nothing more than heirloom tomatoes, arugula, sea salt and olive oil but oh my gosh it was so good! The tomatoes and arugula were sooooooo fresh! Wireless is free, as is reserving the community room. The patio is cute. The inside is lovely -- high ceilings and brick walls, totally different than Soba's (which used to be in this location. I would feel very comfortable coming to this cafe to work for a whole afternoon. Common Roots is one of those places that makes me feel happy to live in Minnesota.
Make sure you ask for the NEW menu. (It is about six pages and is tied with yarn.) It has more dishes and better descriptions.
I've always felt that Figlio is rather ho hum. But it's open late. Still, if I were stuck at the corner of Chicago and Lake at 11pm hungry I'd choose Chino Latino or Chaing Mai Thai first.
The Gopher Express West Bank just re-opened this semester and it's great! For one it's way more bright and cheery than it used to be. But most importantly they now have vegetarian and vegan food like Gopher Express East Bank. Not sure if it's an identical selection but I was impressed how much space they devoted to healthy & veg-friendly food since it is just small campus store (the type of place I would usually expect to see only Peperoni flavor Combos and Snickers bars.) When I was in Gopher Express West this week they had Amy's burritos and pockets, Annie Chun's noodle kits, Thai Ktichen, Holy Land, Silk soy milks + shakes + smoothies + yogurts, lots of dried fruit, lots of energy bars, veggie jerky, etc. You could definitely grab food for a good veg lunch there. In fact I did that twice this past week.
Just went there for the 1st time tonight and it was excellent!! I got the salty tofu appetizer and the vegetarian crepe. Both outstanding. The food is way better and the prices are cheaper than AZIA across the street. Very nice trendy decor. The menu is very different from Jasmine Deli/ Jasmine Orchid (also owner by the same family) so no need to worry that you are just getting the same food for a higher price. When we were there they said they would be expanding the menu in September. I thought even the current menu has a good selection of veg options. Yum, I will def. be frequenting this place.
Jasmine Deli is great! It's true they can make almost everything vegetarian. AND the woman who owns the restaurant told me just this past weekend (3/23/03) that she is working on a new menu with even more vegetarian dishes. I highly recommend the broken rice dish. I loved the spring rolls. And I've heard the sandwich is awesome. Its a very tidy yet cozy place, and VERY cheap. It feels good to be there and tastes great. I highly recommend it!
Lotus To Go-Go was one of the things in Minneapolis that made me excited about moving here! Yum, so delicious, inexpensive, and fast. The people that run Lotus are so nice and really know their customers. I like mock duck and broccoli, soups, noodles and spring rolls. They are really nice about customizing dishes (for instance I always say extra broc in my noodle dishes). Do not confuse this with the other area Lotus restaurants, they are not related. In my opinion, none of the other Lotuses are nearly as delicious.
This is a really good sandwich. It's a hot (melted) sandwich with delicious spicing. And the vegetarian sandwich is only $4.95! For dessert there's strawberries and cream, flan, Mexican hot chocolate, yum! As of writing this Manny's started having late night hours until 3am on Friday and Saturday.
Oh my goodness, I'm so glad Marla's has come to town. This is the best Indian restaurant in the Twin Cities in my opinion. (Not counting Udupi, South Indian is a different category.) I love the palak dishes, there's a great non-dairy eggplant dish. The owners are so nice. It's a yummy, cozy place to go.
I've only been there once, but what I got was really good... the udon kitsune soup. Its so nice to be able to order soups with vegetarian broth. Other items on the menu looked very temping, I can't wait to try them!
I can't imagine that you could find a better cheesecake in the Twin Cities. I've tried one vegan flavor (I'm not vegan myself, just vegetarian) and it was yummy! In fact next time I go back I'll prob order vegan.
I just went to Namaste for the 1st time last night and my dish was really good -- I got the tofu and eggplant coconut curry dish. I'd prob give them a higher score, but since I've only been there once, I'm being a bit conservative right now. I'm not vegan myself but I asked if the vegetarian items were vegan and they said most were and that they planned to come out with a new menu that marks vegan items. You can check out the menu on their web site. Nice atmosphere and nice people working there too. The chai menu looked great but it was too late for me to drink caffeine so I didn't try any. I'll def be going back there!
I ate here the a few nights ago and really liked it. I got the Japanese pan seared tofu (be sure to order w/out egg if you are vegan) and it was yum!! They say on the menu that their tofu and mock duck are homemade and I believe it -- it was such good tofu. There aren't too many places where you can get homemade tofu in MSP. My husband really enjoyed his non-veg noodle dish too. The waitstaff was nice and the service fast. We'll be back many times I'm sure.
Also as an update on Dave's comment... I drink *A LOT* of water and it was very crowded when I was there and my water was never more than 1/3 empty.
I really like this place. The ingredients are awsome! Great tangy sauce. Excellent fresh crust that slightly salty. Perfection! If you like to do things a little sloppy, order your pizza wet. Here's a hot tip: they are usually quite busy and don't take reservations but you can call ahead before you leave and put your name on the list.
Yes, this is a very good restaurant. They can make many, many of the menu items vegetarian, even the ones that seem totally meat-based in the description. I'd recommend asking for tofu specifically if you want it, just saying "vegetarian" won't always guarantee it. Also this is a pretty spicey place so say "mild' if you are tender tongued. I was there on 3/30/03 and the Ethiopian tea they were experimenting with was very good. The owners are soo nice too. What a wonderful fusion of flavors, check it out!
The food is always very good. And it just feels good eating here. You are supporting a good cause and eating healthy. The menu isn't too extensive, just sandwiches and salads but it's very tastey. Its priced right too. St. Martin's table is a nice, yummy, casual luch spot. You'll leave happy.
I went to Tanpopo for the first time this week after hearing rave reviews for a while. It is def. one of my favorite Japanese places in the Twin Cities. The food is made with love and care. Simple and high quality. My dish was totally yummy! Their new space is really nice and peaceful. A cool thing about Tanpopo is that it doesn't hurt your pocketbook as much as other Japanese places in town -- a typical soup is about $8.
I just went here for the first time over the weekend and it was really good. I asked them to make the "double fried noodles with chicken" with tofu instead and they had no problem with that. Someone I was with ordered a vegetarian soup which they did even though it wasn't specifically on the menu. The potato stick things and the green vegetable were also great.
I just feel like this place has almost none of the advantages of a diner. The food isn't that great (and yes, I do typically love diner food). And the prices always seem high to me (for diner food).
The only diner advantage it has is that in the past few years they expanded their hours so that they're open late on weekends (might even be 24 hours on the weekends now). So if you are hungry and it's late (weekends only) and you are in Uptown, stop by for some okay, somewhat overpriced diner food.
I had a good vegetarian hotdog here. They actually have 4 different vegetarian hotdogs to choose from (although only 1 is vegan.) There's a veggie burger here too.
You won't like this place if:
1.) You are bothered by dirtiness. (I'm not especially.)
2.) You don't like things that are EXTREMELY greasy. (They threw my veg brat in the fry basket.)
3.) You would be turned off at the idea of your veg dog swimming in frying juices that meat hotdogs have also bathed in. (I'm assuming that they use the same basket and grease for all their hotdogs but I could be wrong.)
Yum, delicious! If you happen to be in Crown Heights, stop by. Def. get the BBQ fake pork. I tried to get 2 of my 4 items to be the BBQ pork and they told me this wasn't allowed cause everyone would do it.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, so good! It is wonderful to eat Dim Sum again. And its good. And its priced right (Five of us went for dinner and ate A LOT and it came to just $27.) And NYC Chinatown is so cool. Def, I recommend. I wanna go back!
Jul 30 03
I've heard a lot of different opinions about Amitable. I'll admit it, at first I didn't like it. But then when I went back and changed my mindset a bit, I warmed up. And now I definitely do like it. Its healthy and wholesome. Put yourself in a mellow state of mind and enjoy.