Mustard Seed Market

To finish off my vegan month of food, I’ll show you what I do when I find a restaurant that serves vegan food. I go nuts!

We found this gem of a restaurant in Akron, Ohio, where we attended a wedding this weekend. I  made Roger take me back twice–total of three times–so we could try everything on the menu that was vegan.

Plus, look at the view.  The people watching was fantastic.  Health-food store shoppers take their time.

This was a plate of Mexican-spiced quinoa nachos in a cheesy cashew sauce. The olives were a bit…canned…but the quinoa, chips and sauce were deliciously crunchy and melty, etc.  I try to love vegan sour cream, but I don’t for the same reasons I don’t like dairy sour cream.  Taste.  Texture. I would have made an avocado cream, mixing lime juice and avocado with the s.c.

The tempeh reuben was fine, too.  Also nicely spiced and the tempeh wasn’t too thick.  One of the better tempeh reubens I’ve had.

I’ve never had much luck with this kind of a kale in a raw salad.  It just tastes like I’m a grazing animal.  The dressing was fine, but the chewy kale and raw onions–not so much.

This is the kind of dish that turns non-vegetarians right off. Calling it a steak?  It better taste pretty amazing.  But it tasted like–surprise!–a big slab of steamed cauliflower.  I would have breaded it and roasted the bejesus out of it.  Very nice tomato sauce and greens and grains below, but the cauliflower was unremarkable.

This was my favorite.  A risotto cake with vegan goat cheese in the center served on a bed of sauteed spinach all swimming in a creamy tomato sauce. I’m going to have dreams about that sauce.  I won’t rest until I’ve replicated it!