Dave Rolsky
Reviews written by Dave Rolsky
I was in Palo Alto for business and ate a number of meals here. The food ranged from average to good, and the desserts I tried were very good. It's nothing exceptional, but I was glad it was here, since Palo Alto doesn't have a huge number of vegan options.
The service was quite good on all of my trips, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
When I went, my friend and I were the only non-Indian people there when we walked in, which I figured was a good sign.
The lack of descriptions on the menu was a little initimidating, but the guy at the counter who took our order was friendly, and helpful when we asked for a recommendation on a dairy-free dish.
The food was excellent, and I look forward to returning on my next visit to Palo Alto.
I'd give the appetizers an 8 and the entree I had a 6. We tried the dumplings, taro rolls, and the scallion pancakes, and I liked all of them, though the taro rolls didn't contain any taro as far as I could tell. They also gave us small cups of their hot and sour soup for free. It was good, with a fair bit of actual sourness.
The entree I had was the curry chicken, which was okay but definitely on the bland side. My friend tried the beef with broccoli, which was also fairly bland.
The service was notable for the frequency of water refills, which was nice. The servers were very attentive without being intrusive.
They have a good selection of authentic Szechuan food, which is cool, though a few of the dishes are a bit Americanized, like the Dan Dan Noodles, which seem to be made with American-style peanut butter. I wish they had more vegan options.
The lettuce wraps with tofu were quite good, but the panang curry was too mild and sweet. The service was good and they knew what vegan meant. It'd be nice if they had more vegetarian options to choose from.
This was really good stuff. My favorite was the turmeric curry chicken rice. The curry sauce was quite tasty. The dumplings were also really good, as was the steamed chicken rice rolls, which is made of rice flour wrappers around mock chicken. The fried tofu skin was a bit boring, as it was just tofu skin without much additional flavor.
The prices are quite reasonable. We ate here with four people and got a sizable amount of food for $47 with tax and tip.
The food we had was quite bland and uninteresting. I suspect we would've had better food by going to a non-veg restaurant and just getting some vegan dishes.
Wow, I cannot believe how much I ate there. They have a huge selection of vegan stuff and the waffle banana split I had was delicious, though perhaps excessive at 4 scoops of ice cream.
I tried the tofu mole and it was pretty good. I'd have liked it a bit better if the tofu had been cooked a bit longer, but it was pretty tasty. The salsa that comes with the chips is pretty good too.
Definitely worth a trip if you like Mexican food since vegan-friendly Mexican is not all that common, especially where I live (Minneapolis).
This place is a lot of fun, and the late hours are definitely a bonus. I had a vegan burger with grilled onions, and some delicious steak fries. The best part, however, was the vegan nachos. I also had the tofu chocolate pie for dessert, which was quite tasty.
It's not the best food I've ever had, but getting vegan junk food is always fun, and it wins bonus points for being open late and having a fun atmosphere.
The food here was good, but I'm not sure it was good enough to justify it's cost. I'd probably go back, but it's not a "must visit" place for me on my next trip to Chicago.
I went with a six other folks and was able to try a lot of different things. All of the appetizers and entrees, were excellent, though the cake I had for dessert was not quite at the same level.
I really enjoyed the BBQ skewer appetizer, and taco salad was quite tasty as well. I had the meatloaf entree for dinner, and it was really good. For dessert, I had the double chocolate cake. It was good, but the cake was a little dry, and the icing could've had less oil and more chocolate, in my opinion.
The service was generally good, though not amazing.
I'd definitely come back here in the future, but as far as upscale vegan food goes, I still think Counter and Candle 79 in NYC are the best.
This place is quite expensive and the food just isn't worth it. I really loved the bread they served, dark pumpernickel with onion on the crust. However, the rest of the food I had was okay at best. My appetizer, the zucchini and eggplant, was decent, though the eggplant was cooked with some sort of too-sweet sauce on it.
My main dish, however, was the totally bland. It was a big pile of stewed vegetables with barely any spices. Maybe I just don't like Russian food.
This is one of my all time favorite restaurants. The food is fantastic, it's incredibly cheap, and the service is always friendly. Everything is good, but make sure to check out the onion rings, protein tidbits, and if you get a chance to go there for breakfast, do it.
My wife and I both loved the chive dumplings, which were large freshly made dumplings with a thick outer layer of rice flour dough around a filling almost entirely of fresh chives.
Given how expensive it was, I really wasn't too thrilled, especially given that they use butter in their rice. The food was tasty, but for the price I'd want something really impressive, as it's about 25% more than comparable restaurants I've eaten at elsewhere.
When I corresponded with Barb, one of the owners, before our visit, she was very helpful and assured me that they could accommodate vegans.
My wife and I stayed in the Carriage House suite for 2 nights at the end of August. The suite was very nice, with a separate living room and a large bathroom with a whirlpool tub. I really like the fact that it was very private and quiet.
The first morning we had vegan french toast with hash browns and the second morning vegan apple pancakes with apple compote, walnuts, and cranberries, along with another potato dish.
Both the breakfasts were quite good, though I've had better vegan breakfast at places specializing in that sort of thing.
I'd definitely return, though it's not cheap ($166 per night with the mid-week discount). If you're willing to spend the money, though, it's well worth it.
It's like the other Luce's, but this one also offers some decent vegan Mexican food. I really liked the quesadilla I had.
I really liked the food we had here. The tomatoes with citrus greens and herb oil was quite good, with nice ripe tomato. The baked tofu I ordered was really delicious, some of the best tofu I've had. My wife's soba noodles were also excellent.
So why a 7? One thing, the prices. These are basically New York City restaurant prices, and for that much money I expect either the best food ever or a little more of it. My wife and I were both hungry within a few hours, and we spent nearly $50 on food and ice tea.
So it's worth going, but it doesn't quite justify the very high prices.
I had the Lemongrass Mock Duck and my wife had Tofu Veggie Fried Rice. The fried rice was quite good and my mock duck was tasty. It wasn't anything amazing but given the fact that it was very cheap (about $7 for each dish) and the portions were generous, it was an excellent deal. I'd definitely go back there on a future trip to Duluth.
The food is quite good here, but you're definitely paying a "hipness" surcharge. Many of the same dishes are available at Thahn Do (which has the same owners) for slightly lower prices.
They do have the draw of being open late at night, when vegan choices are slim, so that's a big winner in my book.
While they don't offer a very large selection, it's pretty darn cool to find a soul food place offering anything vegan at all.
I tried the BBQ tofu, and it was quite good. It came with a side of corn, peppers, and onions that was really tasty as well. My wife got the jambalaya and that was also quite good.
Both of these dishes normally come with a choice of bread, but none of them (cornbread, biscuits, etc.) are vegan, and they don't do any substitutions.
The staff was really helpful, and even came out to tell us that the french fries we ordered were cooked in the same deep fryer as animal products, to see if we minded. The fact that they actually paid that much attention really impressed me.
I'll definitely be going back in the future.
I ate here last night with my wife, and we tried three different entrees, all of which were quite good. We had the mock fish w/ broccoli, szechuan tofu (aka ma po tofu), and the tofu with brown sauce.
All three were very tasty, and we were really impressed with the mock fish, which is hand-made by the chef. I don't usually like most mock meats, but this one was very good.
The food is ridiculously cheap, at $4.75 for a plate with a big scoop of rice and an entree. The owners are also really nice, and helpful in figuring out what was vegan, as the mock beef has egg whites.
There are two things that would make this a more attractive place to eat. One would be a larger selection of entrees. Right now they just have ten different things to choose from. Second, they didn't have any vegan baked goods. The owner told us that they occasionally do, but it's not a regular thing.
I probably wouldn't go out of my way to go here, but if you're in the neighborhood, it's a nice place to stop for a meal or a snack. The tamale I had was tasty, as was the banana bread, though it could have been moister. The prices are quite reasonable, and the space is pleasant.
The food here is pretty good, but not consistently amazing. I did really love the Tom Yum Noodle Soup, which was really intense. Their vegan hot and sour soup is also great.
I've also had curry tofu, which could've used more curry, and their stuffed tofu, which wasn't bad.
I would definitely eat here if I were in the area, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to come here, especially when I could go to Evergreen or Lotus To Go Go for Chinese or Vietnamese, respectively.
You must try the Chha Kroeng (with tofu), which is stir-fry of tofu, onions, green bell peppers, in a strong gingery/garlicy/curry sauce with crushed peanuts. Yum!
For the (overly) picky, it's worth noting that if you order vegetarian spring rolls, they're probably taking pre-made spring rolls with shrimp, pulling the shrimp out, and serving it to you. This doesn't bother me much, except when a little piece of shrimp shell is left in. But if this is something that would freak you out, skip the spring rolls.
If you order a young coconut to drink, you get a coconut with one end hacked off, along with a straw to drink the juice, and a spoon to scrape out the soft insides. This is quite a treat if you've never had coconut juice before. It is not at all like the coconut flavors found in things like western-style cakes or candy bars, as it's much lighter and less sweet.
They also have some vegan desserts, including one made from sticky rice, coconut milk and dried fruit.
I thought the food here was incredibly bland. One of the dishes we ordered (the veg one with yellow split peas) tasted basically tasted like yellow paste with a little salt. I'd recommend Kilimanjaro or Fasika instead.
Pure, unaldulterated sugar and grease bombs, just the way Homer likes them! Yummy.
This place is interesting, as some of the dishes are fantastic, and some are a little weird. My favorites are the appetizers, including the salt and pepper bean curd rolls, which are deep fried tofu rolls of tofu skin with basil, salt, and pepper.
I also really like the black pepper sauce tofu, though it is incredibly strong in black pepper flavor, and may turn some folks off. The udon noodle soup is a good dish as well. Other dishes are a little weird to my tastes, or just too light, like the basil sauce dishes.
The tabouli is indeed fantastic here, but the hummus is grainy and somewhat bland, and the other vegetarian selections basically amount to rice and beans, which isn't too exciting.
The food here is consistently good, and they have a great selection of dishes. Nepalese food is fairly similar to Indian food, and the Nepalese curry dishes on the menu are all delicious. The momo (steamed dumplings) are great appetizers, as are the samosas. They also offer a Tibetan stir-fried noodle dish that is quite tasty as well. The lunch buffet is a great deal, given how vegan-friendly it is.
I love this place!
They have a great selection of vegan items, including vegan egg rolls (indeed!), vegan wonton soup, lots of mock meat dishes, and a number of vegetable, tofu, noodle and wheat gluten selections.
The owners are incredibly nice, they go out of their way to make sure you get what you want, and are more than happy to accommodate special requests. On one past visit, one of our party ordered a dish that came out too spicy for her. The chef noticed that she wasn't really eating it, and insisted on making her another dish.
The visit before that, they made everyone in our group a special vegan "pearl (soy)milk bubble tea", which is tea mixed with soy milk and then shaken so it has bubbles, and then tapioca pearls are added.
Among the many delicious things on the menu which I would recommend, some of the best are the vegetarian egg rolls, the vegetarian chicken nuggets, tofu with mushrooms and soy sauce, tofu with vegetables in spicy sauce, wheat gluten with pickles, sesame paste noodles (no peanut better, just sesame), wonton soup, noodles with vegetables and satay sauce and Taiwanese style stir-fried noodles.
The rather over-the-top claims they make for this product cause me to be extremely skeptical of it. In particular, feeding cats a vegan diet is not known to be 100% safe, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
I ordered a pizza and a small greek salad for dinner tonight. When they say small, they're not kidding. It was more of a micro-salad! Frankly, at $3.95 it's a ripoff, organic or not. And even worse, they forgot to put any dressing on it (I asked them to substitute their vinagrette for the non-vegan Greek dressing).
The pizza was decent, but the vegan cheese they use cools off and congeals incredibly quickly. It tastes pretty good when it's hot and still a bit runny, but it's not nearly as appealing once it's cooled down a bit. I think Luce's rinotta is better. It's not really like cheese, but it just tastes great on its own. This stuff was like cheese, but it wasn't really close enough to be worth getting.
The crust was thin and crispy, and the sauce is tasty. I think next time I'd skip the cheese altogether (and hopefully they'd cut the price).
This is one of the best veg*n-friendly Chinese places in the Twin Cities. My wife, who is Taiwanese, concurs, which is a good recommendation, especially given my wife's love of food.
Good vegan choices include vegetarian dumplings (real fresh-made wrappers with no eggs), mock goose (fried tofu skin and mushrooms in a wine sauce), tofu/mock duck with black bean sauce, and tofu skins with Chinese greens. There are a number of other vegan choices on the menu as well.
Hard Times makes some really good vegan desserts. The non-dessert food isn't too exciting but it's pretty cheap. I like the fact that it's open very late, too. A perfect place for late night dessert and tea.
I think the key to getting good vegan food here is to speak Chinese. When I go with my wife (who does speak Chinese) it's always good. When I go without her the results have not been so stellar (and sometimes not vegan).
I'd recommend the batter-fried tofu, the Singapore rice noodles (ask for no meat or seafood), and the "rice cakes" (not the puffy kind, more like thick chewy noodles), again ask for no meat.
An ice cream shop that actually makes their own non-dairy ice cream is a cool thing. The flavors I've tried always have a great texture and richness, though sometimes the flavor itself could be a bit stronger. The blueberry and spiced apple were both really good though.
The spring rolls are filled with rice noodles, herbs, mock duck, and sauteed onion, and were fresh and tasty. The sauce they come with is also good, and is not sickly sweet, something I often find at Vietnamese restaurants.
The noodle soup was also quite good. It's a large bowl of light shallot-base broth with rice noodles, bok choy, cilantro, scallions, and your choice of tofu (fresh or fried) or mock duck. It comes with bean sprouts, lime wedges, and fresh hot peppers which can be added to taste.
The rice and noodle dishes are basically the same ingredients, with rice or noodles, but are fresh and tasty. The veggie sandwich is delicious, and the bread is excellent. Recently, they made stir-fried rice noodles for us, and hopefully that will be added to the menu soon.
Update: it turns out the noodles they used were egg noodles. Yuck.
Basically everything vegan here is good, except for the rather awful vegetarian curry dinner. I'd especiialy recommend the vegetarian kibby, the hummus, and the falafel. If you want to try everything, the vegetarian platter is a good option. It's a lot of food, so you might want to get this and an appetizer and share it if you're not a big eater.
The buffet is a fantastic deal. I've been twice and both times it's been the same things, but they're good. Everything on the buffet is vegan except for cream cheese wontons.
I really appreciate that they use good rice on the buffet, jasmine rice in this case. At $4.99 per person it's ridiculously cheap. On my most recent visit the owner mentioned that the buffet would include soup in the future, which will make my wife happy.
This is my old review, pre buffet:
I just ate here for lunch and the food is cheap and tasty, and the service is good. The veg selections are slim at present, but the owner has said that he's interested in expanding the veg section of the menu.
The spring rolls were especially good. They have a combination of noodles, bean sprouts, lightly pickled carrot and mushroom, and tofu & mock duck cooked with black pepper.
The mango smoothie I had was also good, though a bit on the sweet side for my tastes. It's just flavor and ice, so it's vegan.
The food was pretty good, a fairly standard mix of lentil and vegetable dishes. It'd be nice if they had more vegan appetizers or soups, like Addis Ababa does.
When we went it was late on a Friday night, and the music was very loud, which isn't all that surprising given that it is also a bar. It would've been nicer if it was quieter, though.
I really only go here for one thing, which is the mock duck with potatoes. Normally it has oyster sauce, but they'll make it without that on request. It's basically a giant plate of hot fresh potato chips with mock duck. The sauce they use is a bit too sweet, but I love fried stuff.
Their spring rolls are okay, but the dishes come out in rather large portions, so I usually skip them.
For any other Vietnamese dish, I generally prefer Lotus To Go Go.
This place is pretty veg-friendly as far as Korean restaurants go, which is to say they have 4-5 veg entrees, as opposed to 1. The trick to having a good experience here seems to be to get the right server.
The tall young woman (the owner's daughter, IIRC), is really good about making sure the vegetarian stuff has no seafood, no eggs, and serving you only veg side dishes too. The other server I've had there, a not-quite-as-tall young man, brought me a dish full of shrimp and oysters.
Anyway, about the food ... I really like the Tofu Jorim, which is about a pound of tofu fried with onions, scallions, and shredded carrots, topped with a nice spicy sauce. I love tofu! The Soon Do Bo (tofu stew) is also really good, but make sure to request it vegetarian (no seafood).
The Goon Mandu dumplings are good as well, and the tall woman says they have no eggs. They have a lunch special of six dumplings for some ridiculously low price like $3.50. Some dumplings, rice, and side dishes would make for a delicious ultra-cheap lunch, though I haven't had a chance to try that yet.
It's no Hangawi or Franchia, but if you're curious about Korean cuisine but you've been frightened off because of its veg-unfriendliness, this is your best bet in the Twin Cities.
The food here is pretty good, and very cheap. The service is fantastic. They are very accommodating about making dishes vegan, and the four brother who are sons of the owners are all amazingly friendly.
I particularly like the mock duck and potatoes. Normally it is made with oyster sauce but they're happy to substitute garlic sauce instead. The potatoes are very thinly sliced and deep-fried. Delicious!
They also make pretty good spring rolls.
I've eaten here quite a number of times in the past few weeks and really enjoyed it. They have a good selection of veg food on the menu, and they are happy to accommodate vegans, making dairy-free versions of their vegetarian items. Marla and her husband, the owners, are very friendly and helpful.
I've enjoyed everything I've had here, but my favorites include the lentil soup, garlic naan, and chana masala. I also liked the Caribbean roti I had.
Some friends ordered a vegan chocolate cheesecake as a birthday gift, and it is fantastic. It's not the best dessert I've ever had as a vegan (Millenium's chocolate midnight cake and Counter's chocolate torte are both better) but it's still delicious, and probably the best vegan dessert I've found in the Twin Cities.
When we went to pick it up, they also had a vegan lemon cheesecake available for purchase by the slice, so I'm sure I'll be going to there again in the future.
When I wrote my original review, I was still on the fence about this place. Now I'm downgrading my rating to a 4, based on more recent experiences.
The past 3-4 times I've been there, the food has been consistently bland, which is a sin for all cuisines, but twice the sin for Indian food. And it's really pricey, and the host/server gave us a really weird attitude when were there last time.
Go to The Vegetarian, which is consistently fantastic. I won't be going back to Mysore.
I have liked everything I've had here quite a bit. They have a great selection of chais, and they can make them with (organic) soy milk. They seem kind of expensive ($3 each) but they come in a huge glass, so it's not a bad deal.
The service is very friendly, and I really like the decor. It's a house converted to be a restaurant, so it's a change from the usual restaurant interior.
The food here isn't bad, but it tends to be on the sweet side. I think Royal Orchid is better, and given a choice between the two I'd head there. This one is in a cooler location, though.
Although I had a good experience on my first visit, my second visit was a disaster.
On the first trip, our waiter was very helpful in determining what was vegan, which was great.
On the second, we had a different waiter who when told we don't eat animal products, said that all Malaysian food used chicken broth as its base, and he didn't know what we could get. He said he would ask them to make the dishes vegan, but that if there was something not vegan in it we should tell him and he would have them re-make it. I appreciated his earnestness, but the thought that what we got might have random meat or seafood products in it was not reassuring.
And once again, like my first visit, they were unable to keep my water glass filled at all. In addition, my wife ordered a drink on the second visit that didn't come until after all our food was finished.
At this point, I don't think I'd go back any time soon.
I'd give it a higher rating except the spinach dish in the veggie combo was made with frozen spinach and tasted rather foul because of it. Otherwise the food was pretty good but nothing too amazing.
I'd give this place a higher rating if they were cheaper, but as it is they have only a few vegan items which aren't that much different in quality from what I could get at Jasmine Deli for much less. Basically the only difference is that at Rice Paper they come artistically arranged on the plate.
This place wants to be August Moon, but the difference is that at August Moon the food is more interesting, and worth the extra money.
In my original review, I said that this was the best Thai in the Twin Cities, but I think that designation now belongs to True Thai. Most Thai food in the area seems to be too oily and too sweet. Royal Orchid has neither problem, and instead the food is rich without being overpowering, and full of flavors and spices. However, the quality of the food is not always consistent, and some visits have been better than others.
Every time I've eaten here I've felt a bit ill within one to two hours because the food is so incredibly oily. I swore off returning quite a while back.
This is bog standard Americanized Chinese. It could be worse, but it could be better. If you can, go to Evergreen Chinese on Nicollet instead, as that is the best veg-friendly Chinese in town by a very, very wide margin.
The grape leaves, hummus, rice dishes, and soups are standouts in my memory. Also make sure to try some zater bread if you're there for the lunch buffet.
The vegan bakery items I've tried have all been good, and there are several to choose from. The owners are very nice and helpful in determining what is vegan.
Now that they've moved and consolidated to one restaurant, I think the food has gotten even better. The Captain's Curry is the best curry dish I've ever had, and I also love their Mee Goreng, Singapore Rice Noodles, and their spring rolls.
The owner is usually the one taking orders, and she knows what can be made vegan.
This is one of my favorites in the area. The food here is consistently amazing and flavorful. The combination of Malaysian and Ethiopian flavors produces some really amazing tastes, and I'd highly recommend asking them to prepare you a vegan version of the Asian/Ethio Spicy Lamb.
Also, for the record, I've seen the kitchen, and it's nice and clean.
The food is always simple but good, and the atmosphere is always pleasant. Even better, when you eat there, you're supporting a good community establishment, and worthwhile charities around the world.
The food here isn't amazing, but it's good, and the restaurant is about as veg-friendly as most Mexican places. I'd particularly recommend trying the taquitos, deep fried soft taco shells filled with spiced mashed potatoes, and the horchata, a mexican rice milk drink.
I love their teas, but I'd give it a higher rating if it was quieter. On the weekends, they often have a DJ, and it is so freaking loud that if I go their with friends I have to scream at them. As a consequence, I no longer go there on weekends.
Pretty good, though most of the vegetarian items are on the Americanized menu, which means you have to hunt a bit for more interesting items.
I'd still recommend going to Evergreen, which is more authentic (if you order the right things) and has many more vegetarian options.
I've found this place to be generally good, but there have been occasional flops. My wife once ordered the Singapore fried rice noodles and they were incredibly sweet and borderline inedible. However, almost everything else I've had there has been from good to excellent.
I went with a large group and we ordered one of everything vegan on the menu. Everything was good, though the tofu entrees and the momos were my favorite.
The lemon tea is not too exciting, as it is just Lipton with some lemon juice.
If you're a veg*n longing for bar/diner food, then this is for you. They have a lot of good sandwiches, including a veg*n Louisiana Po' Boy, as well as an Italian style "meatball" sub. Consider ordering the cook's revenge, which can often be surprisingly good. The breakfasts (weekends only) also offer a number of good veg*n options, my favorite being vegan pigs in a blanket.
The veggie spring rolls were dull, with not much to recommend them, but all was magic once the entrees arrived.
We ordered drunkard's noodles and green curry, and both dishes were fantastic, complexly flavored, with a wonderful balance of ingredients. I will definitely be going back.
The food is good, though not great. The service is pretty good, and they're good about telling you what is and is not vegan.
Udupi is not the greatest Indian restaurant in the world, but it's definitely the best in the Twin Cities area. I've been there many, many times and the food is consistently rich and flavorful, but not too greasy. The service is always attentive, though it sometimes veers towards pushy.
I've been to most of the Asian groceries in the Twin Cities area, and United Noodles is definitely the best. They have a huge selection of vegan food, and the quality is pretty consistent. The fresh vegetables can sometimes stay out a little long, however. I've never gotten anything there that was not actually usable, but sometimes I've had to throw out a small but signficant portion of a bag of vegetables.
It's hard to blame them for this, since a lot of these products are probably not available locally, and they almost certainly don't sell a high enough volume to justify fresh shipments daily.
The food I've had here was all pretty fantastic, and the service was quite good as well. The onion bhaji, which is basically Indian onion rings, was excellent. This is one of my favorite Indian dishes, though I've mostly seen it on the east coast. The samosas were also excellent, as was the pindi chana and aloo dum.
The service is pretty amazing. On my last visit I suggested that they get soy milk so they could make soy mango lassis. The waiter walked across the street to the Chinese restaurant, bought a few cans of soy milk, and made us lassis! And it was really cold that night too.
This is just low quality food. The only dish I really like is the five spice tofu. Everything else ranges from mediocre to downright awful. On one occasion, we were served some water spinach that was somehow cooked in a way that made it completely black and inedible. Gross! I haven't been back since.
The Wedge, while still vegan-friendly, has been getting progressively less so over the past couple years. In recent months, this seems to have accelerated. The deli now contains very few items, hot or cold, that are vegan. The few items that are vegan are generally not very good. The bakery too seems to have reduced its number of vegan options. The muffins and scones are still good, but most of the cakes, except the tofu cheesecake, range from mediocre to downright bad.
If the Wedge wants to become a yuppie paradise and ignore it's vegan customers, I see no reason that vegans shouldn't head over to Whole Foods, which only seems to be getting more vegan-friendly while the Wedge becomes less so.
I hate to say it, but Whole Foods now has better vegan deli and bakery items than the Wedge. The bakery has fewer items, but the ones I've tried have been much better, particularly the German chocolate and strawberry cakes. The deli, while not as good as Whole Foods that I've been to in other states, is still pretty good, plus there's a nice soup and salad bar.
The food here is delicious and incredibly cheap. They have a great selection of interesting appetizers. I really enjoyed the veggie puff and the samosas, and pretty much everything else I tried.
The food here is pretty good, and I had one of the best vegan desserts I've ever tasted here, peanut butter tofu "cheesecake".
The food at Blossom is really excellent, and the service was pretty good. I really enjoyed the Black-eyed Pea Cake appetizer, it was the best of the things we ordered. The Seitan Medallions were also excellent.
There were a couple things that kept them from getting a 10 from me. First, the dessert was good, but not great. I ordered the Chocolate Ganache Torte. The ganache itself was perfect, but the cake underneath it was too dry. It came with a scoop of chocolate ice cream, but the ice cream was mostly ice crystals. It tasted good but the texture was completely wrong.
Second, they pulled the old "would you like sparkling or flat water" trick, which seems to be a New York thing. No, I do not want a $7 bottle of water, I want some tap water, and keep it coming. The "keeping it coming" thing is the third flaw, which is that our server only filled our water glasses when asked.
In another city, Blossom would be the best vegan restaurant by far, but in Manhattan if you're looking for a gourmet vegan meal I'd recommend Counter or Candle 79 over Blossom.
I just ate here for the first time today and it was great. I had the black bean soup, seitan piccata with creamed spinach and mashed potatos, and the mexican chocolate cake for dessert.
The soup was very tasty, but the highlights were the seitan and the cake. The seitan was lightly fried and served with a delicious lemon-caper white sauce which was rich and tasty.
The cake was fantastic, served with chocolate ganache on top and a light coconut milk broth. The cake itself was perfectly moist, and very rich, with a strong cocoa flavor and a hint of cinnamon. The ganache was also very rich, but the coconut broth was light and not too sweet, which made for a nice contrast.
The service was excellent, attentive and friendly. I also liked the decor, and even though they played some Christmas music, it was Louis Armstrong, so it was ok.
I went for the lunch buffet. I can't complain too much for $5.95, but the food wasn't terribly flavorful, and only one of the three curries they had was vegan. It was okay, but given the number of vegetarian Indian places in the neighborhood, I'd be inclined to try a different one next time.
inah is right, the Ya Chae Cham Doo Boo is amazing. The tofu is really rich and creamy, quite unlike any other tofu I've had. We also got the leek pancake, which contains scallions, leeks, red pepper, and zucchini.
The food I had here was uniformly fantastic, particularly the spinach and shallot strudel appetizer, which was a roll of flaky phyllo-like dough around a center of sauteed spinach and shallots, served with a sweet chutney.
However, the most amazing part of the meal was the chocolate torte I had for dessert, which may be the single best vegan dessert I've ever had, even better than the chocolate almond midnight cake at Millenium.
Update: I went back just recently in May of 2005, and it was still fantastic. I had the paella as my entree, and it was great. I saw they had ramps on the menu in another dish, and asked if I could have some on the side, and they included them at no extra charge. They were also happy to let me sit and read for fifteen minutes before I ordered dessert, even though they were quite busy that night. I appreciated the lack of pressure to free up the table.
Counter is a really great restaurant, both in food and service, and I'm looking forward to returning.
The food here was quite delicious, though the main dish portion was a bit on the small side. This was okay, since I ordered several other items, but it all ended up being quite expensive.
I tried the combination pancakes, the spinach porridge, and tofu stone bowl rice (bi bim bop). All of the dishes were excellent, and the food was quite similar to what I've had at Hangawi, which is owned by the same people. The atmosphere was quite pleasant, and the service was very good, quite attentive.
Hangawi is a great place to go to in New York. It's a great contrast to the hectic pace of Manhattan, and the food is delicious.
Everything I've had there has been good, but I'd strongly recommend the porridge appetizers, as well as the mung bean pancakes.
The disco fries (aka poutine) were really delicious, and their various burgers, like the pizza and chili cheese burgers, are vegan junk food delights.
You might consider skipping the desserts, however. They're not bad, but there are better ones to be had nearby at Counter or Teany.
I tried the chicken parmigiana and it was pretty tasty. There were a number of other interesting looking items on the menu too, but I was there by myself for lunch. Oh well, next time.
The strawberry shortcake was delicious, as it well should be for $6 a slice. But I guess New Yorkers think this is reasonable.
The prices are a bit on the high side in my opinion, but the food is quite good and the tea I had was excellent. It wouldn't hurt them to turn the music down a bit. Yes, it's hip, but it's a small space and doesn't need to be quite so loud.
They don't have a huge vegan selection, but the dishes that are vegan are quite tasty. I also enjoyed the spreads they offer for the bread (a hummus-y spread and a red pepper ajvar-like spread), along with a nice selection of olives.
Wow, this place rocks. The dim sum are really wonderful, and they also have a full menu of entrees. The turnip cakes are the best I've ever had, and everything we tried there was delicious.
I tried an apple turnover and the almond biscotti. They were both good.
I went back for a second trip and got a number of other items, including the vegan cheesecake. The cheesecake was pretty mediocre, not very creamy, and too sweet. I also had a brownie which was decent. But overall I think the biscotti was the best thing I tried.
If you're in Manhattan, I wouldn't recommend running out to Flushing just to eat here, but if you're nearby, it's definitely worth the trip. The BBQ mock pork was pretty good, as was the mushroom, tofu, and basil special.
Delicious. I had brunch here and went back later that night for dessert. Everything I had was great. The service could have been better. They were polite but not very attentive, and I went most of my brunch water-less.
Le Commensal is a great option for a quick vegan meal, as long as you don't mind paying extra. I was attending a conference at 89 Chestnut, and this place was extremely close by, and made for a nice quick lunch option.
I tried quite a number of dishes, and everything ranged from good to excellent. I particularly liked the vegan leek quiche and the seitan bourguignon. I wish they had more vegan desserts, though the "soya cake" (tofu cheesecake) and carrot cake were both good.
I was excited to go here since I really love Vietnamese food, but there are so many places which are not vegan-friendly, and usually one's options are severely limited. I had one of the varieties of spring rolls, and the Vietnamese style crepe.
Both were well made but a bit bland. From what I could taste, they do not use garlic or onions, which is common in many Buddhist restaurants, but was a bit disappointing. The food was nice, but not exciting.
The fried banana dessert was quite good.
I'd actually like to give this place two ratings. For the dessert, I'd give them a 9 or 10. The chocolate fudge cake is easily one of the best vegan cakes I've had, and the apple fritters and vanilla "cheesecake" that others ordered were also quite excellent.
The rest of the food ranged from mediocre to good, but not exceptional. I went for two meals, and the Spicy Singapore Pasta I had on my second trip was particularly uninspired. Overcooked rice pasta with a sugary sweet sauce. The curry seitan I'd had the night before was definitely better. We tried most of the hot appetizers but none of them stood out, though none were bad either.
The service was good, and the food came fairly quickly.
I ate here twice on a recent visit to Portland, once for dinner and once for breakfast. Both meals were tasty and filling, and I enjoyed the salad bar. The prices are a bit high for what you get, especially the dinner, but they're not outrageous.
Holy crap, I had a whole bunch of Sweetpea baked goods at AR2007, and they all rock!
I tried the brownies, coffee cake, cookies 'n' cream cupcakes, and the double chocolate chip cookies. Everything was fantastic. The brownies are the best vegan brownies I've tried so far. I hadn't had coffee cake in the 10 years I've been vegan, so it was a nice treat, and it was also fantastic.
I really liked that their products were nice and moist. A lot of the time, store-bought baked goods are dried out, but these were perfect, even several days into the conference.
The only other store-made vegan baked goods I've had that compare was something I had from Vegan Treats.
I went here with a large group of ten and they gracefully accomodated us, despite the fact that we had no reservation. The service was good, and the food was all tasty, but nothing blew me away. In general, the food erred toward the sweet side, and I would've liked more emphasis on savory flavors.
Also, all dishes come with brown rice, though jasmine rice can be had for extra. I don't really like brown rice, and it's nutty flavor is intrusive in Thai food, especially the curries. They should offer a choice of jasmine or brown for no charge.
Ten, ten, ten!
A friend of mine who lives in Bethlehem brought me a peanut butter bombe from Vegan Treats, and it was amazing. The mousse was lighter than other mousses I've had, and had a wonderful fluffy texture, with a very rich taste.
I hope I get a chance to have more of their creations in the future.
Yum, vegan cheesesteak.
Basically, Gianna's is vegan junk food heaven. The Strawberry Paradise cake I tried had a wonderful light icing, and the cake was moist and rich. The Chocolate Cookie Dough Cake was also good, though the icing was a little too oily to be perfect.
The most annoying thing about the restaurant: no free water. The only drinks they have are for sale, so if you want water you have to buy a bottle. That's just weird. And I could've done without the radio tuned to a station that played Guns'n'Roses, though I guess there's a certain nostalgic "charm" there.
Wow, Horizons has some really fantastic food. I went there with my wife, my parents, and my aunt, and we all were raving about the food we had. This is especially impressive, given that my parents and aunt are not vegan, and were a little wary of what the food might be like. Afterward they were all talking about what they'd order next time.
Everything I tasted was really good. The entree I ordered, the grilled seitan, was delicious. I also loved the hearts of palm "paella", which was grilled rice cakes, not traditional paella. The Jamaican BBQ seitan appetizer was also excellent.
For dessert, I had the chocolate mousse, which was wonderfully rich. I wish they'd had a chocolate cake dessert, but this was nothing to sneeze at.
A previous review suggests that the restaurant is not vegan, just vegetarian, but I'm pretty sure it's 100% vegan now. Maybe they used to be just vegetarian.
The inside of the restaurant is quite nice, and the tables are not too close together. The latter fact means that they don't have a lot of seating, so reservations are highly recommended. In particular, they can't handle many groups of more than four people, so plan ahead.
I give this place points for being pretty vegan-friendly, but unfortunately the food just isn't that great. They have vegan soy cheese and soy sour cream, but neither one is very good. The soy cheese is some sort of store-bought non-melting slightly weird-tasting stuff. The soy sour cream is just whipped tofu with not much flavor.
The burrito I had was decent but not terribly flavorful. I also got vegan nachos which were ok, but the not-so-great soy cheese really brings them down. They'd be much better with some sort of nutritional yeast based sauce.
This place has a good selection of vegan food, and some really tasty dishes. I particularly enjoyed all the appetizers we tried, the fried onion, lentil crisps, and the fried tofu, which is lightly battered with lentil flour and cooked so that the batter is crispy but the tofu is soft inside. Yum.
The tomato curry tofu was also quite good.
This place has good food, and given how cheap it is, it's a great value. Vegan options include the falafil, hummus, salads, delicious grape leaves, and a wonderful dish of sauteed spinach, black-eyed peas, and bulgur wheat I cannot remember the name of.
I miss this place so much. The food here is always excellent, flavorful, and perfectly prepared. The menu is relatively small, and there aren't a huge number of vegetarian selections, but they do have more than many Italian restaurants, and everything they have is just amazingly good.
This place is truly a Pittsburgh gem.
Bleah, large portions of Americanized, way-too-sweet, bland food. The scallion pancakes are okay, but everything else I ever had here ranged from bad to tolerable. It's always packed, but I have no idea why.
There are certainly better places in Pittsburgh. Check out the Spice Island Tea House instead.
The food here isn't all that special, but I really have to give them high marks for fantastic service. On one visit we ordered vegan pizza and asked for spinach on it, not realizing that wasn't normally an option. One of the guys working there actually went to a nearby market and bought a bag of spinach to put some of it on our pizza!
And I've had similarly helpful experiences on other occasions. They also have french fries, for which I have a great weakness. French fries and vegan pizza, the dinner of champions!
The vegetarian dishes here are quite good, especially the vegetarian yellow bird and vegetarian dumplings. I haven't been there in a while, so I haven't tried their newer mock meat items.
I used to visit Pittsburgh quite often, and I always made multiple trips to this restaurant while I was there. The prices are very reasonable and the food was always good, plus there's a nice selection of vegan entrees.
Most of the food here is average, but I always thought their ma po tofu was excellent. Just make sure to specify that you do not want meat in it. They can also make vegan vegetable and tofu soup if you ask, and it is usually pretty good.
This place has some fantastic Cantonese food. I'd recommend staying away from the Americanized stuff, like the General Tso's Tofu (which is insanely sweet) and ordering something authentic like the Salty Tofu, which is deep fried tofu with bits of fried garlic and hot pepper. Yum!
They often have pea pod tips and water spinach, though these are both seasonal. Order the water spinach with tofu sauce, which is a pungent, fermented tofu paste. It sounds weird, but it tastes great.
The food here is good, though I often found myself adding salt to it. It is extremely vegan-friendly, and they always have vegan desserts. They also have a great selection of teas, and the Sunday brunch is worth a trip.
I ate here several times when I was in Montreal two years ago. All the food I had here was quite good, and the selection was wonderful.
Too much mock meat in the teppanyaki set meal we got, but the food was tasty. I particularly enjoyed the bean sprouts, which were cooked with lots of black pepper.
I've been here twice, once four years ago and once this past August (2004). I enjoyed it quite a bit both times. The food is creative and interesting, with a greater variety of flavors and spices than can be found in many Taiwanese vegetarian restaurants.
On my most recent visit, I had the "Ma Po Curry", a curry-flavored Ma Po Tofu dish. It was quite tasty.
The service was excellent, with many water refills. I also really enjoy the interior of the restaurant. It's almost all wood, and it's very relaxing, especially in contrast to the mostly concrete city of Taipei.
Yum, vegetarian curries. I tried the Yellow Curry Chicken, which used a really tasty breaded mock chicken. The curry was quite good, with a variety of flavors. My wife's dish, a spicy coconut broth noodle soup, was quite good, but with way too much weird mock meat (a general problem in Taiwan).
I also didn't like the fact that all the dishes come with a fixed set of side dishes. I would've preferred to mix and match things myself.
The food was pretty good, and it came out very quickly. It's not the best Thai or Chinese I've ever heard by a long shot, but I do appreciate the clearly marked vegan options. It's near the University of Houston, which is convenient, and if you're in the area it's worth checking out.
It also worked well for my group, since I was the only vegan, and the others I was with wouldn't've wanted to go to an all-veg restaurant.
Nov 5 05
The fresh rolls without egg are quite good, and the various curry dishes I had were tasty. It's not the best Thai food I've had in my life, but it was good and the separate vegetarian menu means it has a lot of choices, which is a rare thing for a Thai restaurant.