The Veggie Cafe

I finally--finally!--made it over to the Veggie Cafe for lunch this week. It's quite a haul from West Nashville to their location in Inglewood, but this all vegetarian/vegan enterprise is something I certainly want to support. Though I almost missed it since I didn't see a sign. But that's not really the point of this post.

I started looking over the menu--it's nice to read a menu and be able to look at everything and know it's something I can eat--to choose my lunch. Frankly, I wasn't up for a veggie burger. I can have a veggie burger at home. I was hoping for something a little more creative. The special of the day was veggie loaf. Um. First off, I don't like meat loaf, so if it's made to be reminiscent of meat loaf, I'm not interested. Though I was happy to see butter beans as a vegetable item since I love them and most restaurants season them with critter juice. So I kept looking. I think there was a stir fry, too but that wasn't ringing my bell, either. So I did the smart thing and asked the guy working the counter what he thought.

He cheerfully (everyone there was really cheerful, but not overly so) recommended the TLT--tofu/tempeh-lettuce-tomato. I've only prepared tempeh at home once and I'm not great with it, but he said it was his new favorite thing on the menu. So I asked more questions. The lettuce--is it iceberg or leafy green? Leafy green, he said with a bit of a pshaw that indicated, "Hey, we serve healthy stuff--of course we don't serve iceberg lettuce" and that, of course was the right answer. So I chose the Tempeh-L-T on nine grain bread (I ordered mine lightly toasted) with extra lettuce, a schmear of dijon mustard and a side order of slaw.

And he was right--this sandwich is good. This was not the Wild Oats tempeh that I had at home. This was really, um, meaty and hearty and very tasty. A little crumbly, but that was not a bother at all. I got a nice stack of lettuce and the bread was perfectly toasted (just enough to take the moosh out of bread and give it some warmth). The slaw that came with it is hard to describe. It was cabbage only and vinegary but also creamy but not mayonnaisey. Perhaps this is the result of using vegan mayonnaise? I'm not sure, but it was good. Tasty and not bitter or too tangy. I cleaned my plate.

They're still working out the kinks of having opened a brand new restaurant that's unlike any other place in town, I think (mostly supply issues), but I did not have to wait very long for my food (which is a good thing during weekday lunch hours) and the service was excellent. Unfortunately, I'll only be able to go back on the weekends since I start a new job Monday that will require me to be in the next county for most of my day, but I do plan to go back. I'm curious about the Sunday brunch.