Through the eyes of a vegetarian
by Mindy Messenger
The Daily, November 9, 2004
Being a vegetarian or vegan has it's tough moments. For some people, it's the desire to cheat and sneak in a burger, for others it's trying to find a decent restaurant that won't include a hidden chunk of meat with your phad thai. Fortunately for vegetarians and vegans at the UW, Seattle is one of the more veggie friendly cities in the US. And the Ave is no exception to the selection of vegetarian and vegan cuisine.
Flowers Bar and Restaurant
Although Flowers doesn't cater strictly to vegetarians, this hip restaurant-by-day, bar-by-night has long been a favorite with both meat-eaters and vegetarians.
Located on the lower regions of the Ave (on the corner of NE 43rd St), this is the place where tofu-hating carnivores can take their vegetarian sweeties for a satisfying meal on both ends of the spectrum.
The restaurant turns smokey after 3 PM when patrons are allowed to smoke, so if that bothers you, visit for lunch. While Flowers is arguably not host to the most romantic decor, it certainly wins props for the well-lighted space, excellent "people watching" windows located on the corner of a busy intersection, and the judicious use of eclectic furniture.
For $7.50 during the hours of 11 AM to 3 OM, you can enjoy their popular all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet. While there are cheaper vegetarian buffets (see Araya's below), the food is hot, fresh and enjoyable. The selection is also different from the standard menu items not featured in the buffet.
Though the vegetarian buffet is their biggest draw during the restaurant hours, my favorite food would have to be their small selection of vegetarian sandwiches offered on the lunch menu. The lunch menu is a mammoth listing of every conceivable type of "fancy" sandwich exploding forth from two pieces of crusty artisan bread.
Although their vegetarian sandwich selection is small in comparison to their meat selection, it does not mean it's meager. In fact, every vegetarian sandwich I've had at Flowers has been well made and satisfying. Not to mention these sandwiches are big.
So big, in fact, I've found the best way to enjoy them is by going with a friend, ordering two sandwiches and dividing the spoils. That way, you get to sample two great sandwiches and you won't leave full but feeling bored by having to eat one entire monster of a sandwich by yourself.
Araya's Vegetarian Place
If you're vegan (or even just vegetarian), then Araya's is your friend. There's something to be said for being able to sit down in a restaurant and scrutinize every single menu item without having to scan over the various meat dishes.
With the tranquil and elegant temple-esque interior, not to mention the soft lighting during the evening hours, Araya's is a perfect place on the Ave for more romantic needs.
Though the prices run slightly higher than the standard Thai restaurant on the Ave, I find the piece of mind I gain from knowing I won't unwittingly take a bite of steak or pork that accidentally hopped into my food is worth the extra fifty-five cents.
The food is also comparable in taste and quality with the more notable Thai restaurants on the Ave., such as The Thaiger Room or Thai Tom's.
The phad thai seems to be heavier on the rice vinegar than other Thai restaurants, causing the dish to taste a bit sweeter. Their strongest dishes seem to be any of the curries, though spice-haters be forewarned: they will be spicy even at "one star". Also notable is their Thai iced tea—both the vegan option with coconut milk and the vegetarian option with cream are excellent.
My one complaint is that rice is not included with any of the dishes. However, at one dollar extra, you get a bowl of either white or brown rice substantial enough to split between two people.
The best thing about Araya's is their all-you-can-eat buffet. During buffet hours (11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily), you can drop a mere $5.99 for unlimited salad, a sampling of their most popular dishes, spring rolls, rice, and deserts. If lukewarm food isn't your thing, then get there during the beginning of the buffet as the food does tend to cool down to a mediocre temperature during the later half of their buffet hours.
Silence Heart Nest
Upon entering this oft-overlooked restaurant, the first thing you might notice is the strong smell of various Indian spices mingling together. Combine the smell of spices with the clean and cheerful orange, white and vibrant blue interior, and Silence Heart Nest becomes an inviting oasis hidden amongst the grittier side of the Ave above NE 50th St.
The restaurant is run by followers of the New Age spiritual guru Sri Chinmoy. Knowing this made entering for the first time intimidating, but the waitresses were the nicest waitresses IÕve ever met.
With different selections of three curries each day, and a large variety of dressings, the food offered at Silence Heart Nest is the most customizable food I've ever come across. There is only three choices for appetizers: a chutney plater served with two Popados, samosas and chapatti. The chutney sampler and samosas both ran at $3.75, making the chapatti at a mere $1.95 the only choice for those with a thin wallet.
The chapatti is a wheat Indian flat bread served with ghee (clarified butter that is healthier than butter and said to enhance flavors). I'm not convinced on the flavor-enhancing ability of ghee, so I recommend dropping a little extra for a side of chutney to go with the bread.
Although seasonal, the pumpkin ravioli was amazing. Topped with a simple oil-based sauce (probably ghee) and a light garnishing of parmesan, the combination of pumpkin and ricotta cheese inside the ravioli stood on its own.
The sizes are comparable to the substantial portions generally offered on the Ave, but you won't gorge yourself when you clean your plate.
Pizza Pi
It's hard to make good vegan pizza, but Pizza Pi has succeeded. There's more than fake cheese to these pizzas, so if you hate vegan cheese you may still find yourself pleasantly surprised.
The "garlic sauce favorite" is arguably their best pizza. It's topped with a wonderful garlic concoction for sauce and loaded with spinach, black olives, and fake sausage.
If none of the preselected combinations sound appealing, it is easy to create your own pizza with a decent sized list of veggies and fake meats for toppings. You can also order vegan calzones that come with a side of garlic dipping sauce.
The crust, however, makes the pizza less than stellar. It was flat and almost stale like an odd combination of pita bread and naan. It lacked the combination of crisp and doughy crust that any good pizza will possess.
And although the bread sticks are made out of the same material as the pizza crust, they are a must. Pizza Pi takes their bread sticks farther than most places by offering a choice between garlic or marinara sauce for dipping.
Although it seems that the garlic dipping sauce is the same sauce used on some of the pizzas, it tasted a bit odd with just bread sticks. The marinara sauce was a strong, basic sauce that puts the sauces offered by cheap pizza joints like Pizza Ragazzi and Pizza Time to shame.
The prices are expensive for a university-area pizza place, but if you're vegan and have a hankering for pizza, it's probably worth the cash. Vegetarians who like real cheese might want to save their precious pocket money and go elsewhere.