I must admit, I was skeptical. Yet I love trying new, different, and weird food, so I knew it would only be a matter of time before I ventured forth. Today, my cravings for more traditionally greasy cuisine led me to their door, and the results were..satisfying. At least, at first.
The dishes are all vegan takes on traditional greasy spoon fare. "Fish and Chips". "Unchicken and Waffles". "Bacon Cheeseburger". To be clear: the quotation marks are from their menu, not placed there by me. You've never seen a menu with so many quotation marks in your life! I am well aware I am in a vegan restaurant, there's no need to worry that I will confuse a vegan entree with the real meaty deal. A restaurant that serves meat doesn't call a veggie burger a "hamburger"; it's simply understood.
In any case, a lot of the options looked enticing, and I had a hard time deciding. Would it be the Hot Roast "Beef" Sandwich? The Southern combo? Chili "Cheese" Fries? Ultimately, my girlfriend and I settled on the Shiitake Fried "Clams" (deep fried and breaded mushrooms) as a appetizer. We followed with the Unchicken and Waffles for her and the Southern Combo for me (more on that momentarily).
As our app arrived, it looked very delicious and very much like deep fried clams. But my girlfriend and I disagreed on the result. I quite enjoyed it, as I was aware it would be mushroom inside and could enjoy it as a passable imitation of a delicious meat dish. But she did not read up on it, and did not realize it was a mushroom, resulting in a bit of a letdown. This is the big problem with vegan restaurants: if you don't know what the base of the food is (e.g. soy, lentil, tempeh, etc.), your mind has an expectation that it will taste similar to the food it is imitating. It does not. Ever. Except for maybe the first couple of bites, then your stomach starts to shriek. It knows you're trying to trick it, and it is not happy about it!
We received our meals shortly thereafter. Unchicken and waffles is a meal of deep fried and breaded soy sticks (like chicken fingers) with corn waffles, collard greens, sweet potato mash, and covered in what the menu calls (quotations mine this time!) "Spiced syrup". Notice they don't say maple anywhere. My meal was faux chicken strips, also with collard greens, and a side of mac 'n "cheese" (theirs again!).
What can I say about this meal? It was all about the first bite. As I said earlier, you can initially trick your taste buds into thinking you're actually eating what the meal pretends to be, but the illusion is quickly shattered. Nonetheless, the faux chicken on both our plates (essentially the same thing on both plates but one had syrup) were surprisingly crispy and tasty. Just like chicken, but different. You'd have to try it for yourself, but it's like someone prepared a dish of food based on your description instead of a recipe. Not quite right.
The side dishes were all passable, but except the collard greens (the only side not pretending to be something it's not) we quickly grew tired of them. I enjoyed them all, and was quite satisfied, but wouldn't want to eat them again. But they make good once in a lifetime flavours.
Perhaps I exaggerate slightly. But were I a full-time vegan, it would be the type of place I would only visit sporadically, as I feel I would quickly grow tired of the menu. Besides, after we had finished our food, both of us felt bloated and seasick. I suspect this was due to the sameness of flavour and texture that dominated the meal. The food left you with a greasy feeling that made the smell of other dishes arriving at other tables not just unpalatable, but nauseating. If you are a vegan, your restaurant options are severely limited. This restaurant is a godsend in that you can fulfill a craving without indulging in animal product. But I doubt this will convert many doubters.
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