The Veggie-Vegan Project: Deagan's Kitchen & Bar

For the fourth installment of The Veggie-Vegan Project, I turned to a friend and fellow food blogger, Jill, who through the Meetup group she managed, Cleveland Eats, taught me about this month's dining hotspot, Deagan's Kitchen & Bar. It turned out that Deagan's offered a daily specials menu and on Wednesdays, not only could you order from their regular menu, but also from a specially prepared list of both vegetarian and vegan based dishes. While I was originally supposed to join the Cleveland Eats group when they originally went back in February, unforeseen personal circumstances kept me from that night.

So, to rectify the situation, this past Wednesday, myself, Eric, Paul, and Edsel descended upon Deagan's around 6:30 PM to sample some of the veggie-vegan treats off the menu. Deagan's was located at 14810 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, OH 44107 and can be reached at 216-767-5775. They have a website as well. There was a street-side entrance and a rear entrance behind the building where additional parking was located. I happened to park in a parking lot across the street from Deagan's and walked the five minutes to discover the front entrance:


Once inside, my eyes quickly adjusted to the dim lighting of the bar area. It turned out that the hostess stand was at the opposite end of the restaurant and as I started walking in that direction, the hostess must have spotted me entering the restaurant from Detroit because she began walking towards me. After requesting a table for four, she sat me at a nice out of the way table by the window in the front of the restaurant.

Here were photographs of Deagan's regular dinner menu:




What impressed me about Deagan's regular menu was that even on a regular non-Vegan night, there were still a handful of options from which to choose. The special dining menu for the evening obviously added a few more choices:


After our group fully assembled and received our round of drinks, we decided to start off the evening with some shared items. First up was the Ponzu Marinated Tofu with Soba Noodle Salad:


The tofu had been coated with a type of starch before deep frying resulting in the tofu having a nice crispy exterior while still maintaining a soft interior. The ponzu marinade, typically comprised of soy sauce and yuzu (a Japanese citrus) added notes of citrus, salt, and umami. The soba noodle salad had been dressed lightly and the flavors worked quite well together. All in all, this was a really tasty appetizer.

Our second appetizer was off of today's specials menu, the Sundried Tomato Hummos:


While red in appearance, that was about as close to tomato as this hummos got. That's not to say it tasted bad, but there was almost no discernible acidic bite from the sundried tomatoes. There was, however, an abundance of cumin, which besides the tahini, were the primary flavors. I'm not personally a fan of cumin in hummos, but I know that enough restaurants offer it that way to know that it is not an unusual ingredient. The pita wedges that came with the hummos went from soft and pliable to stiff and a bit stale. I'll give Deagan's the benefit of the doubt and admit that the stale wedges might have been the ones sitting on top exposed to the air. If you are interested in hummos, I would recommend you order this. If you are interested in sundried tomato hummos, I'd say skip it.

Our final appetizer, the House Roasted Nuts, was an immediate hit at our table:


Finished in fresh rosemary and just a touch of spice (from cayenne pepper, I'm guessing), these were tasty, herbaceous, and spicy, all at the same time. Additionally, at the cost of only $4, this would make a killer bar snack. The dish contained cashews, marcona almonds, walnuts, and pecans which had been toasted to bring out all of the nut oils which made them even more tasty. Unless you have nut sensitivities, this is one appetizer sure to please your palate AND your wallet.

Our starters out of the way, we next moved on to our entree portion of the meal. As with many other modern restaurants, Deagan's offered various sized food options. There were appetizers, small plates, large plates, and sides. Since I had already eaten quite a bit during our appetizers, I decided to go with a small plate and a side for my dinner tonight. For my small plate, I choose the Crisp Eggplant with Ricotta, Arugula, and Stewed Tomatoes:


This was as tasty to eat as it was to look at. The eggplant had been rolled around the ricotta filling, almost involtini-style. The breading on the eggplant was crispy and not greasy, the filling was cheesy and delicious and the acidity from the stewed tomatoes worked well against the fatty components of the dish. The only item on the plate that didn't really bring its party hat was the arugula. Usually nice and peppery, tonight's version was sort of bland and lifeless. It wasn't a question of freshness, just that this particular batch didn't add anything to the dish.

For my side, I decided on going with the Truffled Cream Corn:


Even before this dish was placed on the table, I could pick up the heady aroma of truffle oil. While truffle oil usually makes everything better, in tonight's case, it really couldn't do much for the cream corn itself. While definitely containing cream, the sauce was too thin and instead of coating the corn, in reality it was closer to swimming in it. The corn itself, while I understand that this is March and not August, didn't offer the level of sweetness I've come to expect even in frozen corn kernels. It was also lacking just a tiny bit in the salt department as well. I think, in the end, what hurt this dish the most was that the corn itself, just like the arugula had been, was too flat in flavor.

My dining companion, Edsel, ordered the Potato Gnocchi from the daily specials menu:


He graciously let me have a bite of his dish and while the gnocchi were tender, they had almost no resistance to them, making them too soft. The flavor of the sauce, however, was quite good, although the peas were a bit on the starchy side. In fact, both Paul and Eric had ordered the Griddled Polenta which came with mushrooms and peas and each of them also noted how starchy the peas were, too. Surely a sign that they were used before being ripe enough.

On the whole, Deagan's had some hits and some misses. All of us agreed that we would come back for another meal, but I don't think this initial impression lived up to the hype that the restaurant had been given by others. The one item that impressed all of us tonight was the variety of vegetarian and vegan options available at a restaurant which definitely serves its fair share of meat-based dishes. The bill was also equally as impressive. The dinner for the four of us with six cocktails/beers and tax came to a very reasonable $90.

Would I recommend Deagan's Kitchen & Bar? Yes, I would. Although some of the ingredients tonight weren't at their peak, the only major food execution error that I saw tonight was the overly creamy cream corn. With the availability of better produce available just around the corner, I'm hoping that the flat tasting and starchy vegetable problem will correct itself soon enough. One thing is for certain, if you are looking for vegetarian and vegan options, you won't be disappointed in your choice selection.

The Veggie-Vegan Project: Happy Dog

After the first two meals of The Veggie-Vegan Project at Schezwan Garden and Flaming Ice Cube, I was beginning to come to the understanding that while restaurants specializing in this type of cuisine were not universal, the level of cuisine had been greatly elevated since I first had it many years ago. I guess that's not a totally accurate statement. Having eaten at The Vegiterranean in Akron, I knew that truly tasty vegan cuisine was possible, but I assumed that in order to get food at that level, one must empty the wallet of a significant amount of cash.

Tonight's third entry into the project at Happy Dog would prove wholly otherwise. Happy Dog is owned by Eric Williams, the owner and chef at Momocho Mod Mex. As such, I knew that the food would be good. I just didn't realize HOW good. The concept of Happy Dog was simple: offer lots of great bottled and on-tap beers, a choice between a 1/4 pound all-beef hot dog or vegetarian Italian sausage on a poppy seed bun with an impressive list of toppings. Additionally, to accompany your dog, you could get either fries or tots, again with an impressive list of toppings and dippers. While I've had and enjoyed the Morningstar vegan corn dogs in the past, I have to think my enjoyment was due as much to the cornbread exterior as it was to the liberal use of ketchup and yellow mustard. As with so many vegetarian and vegan substitutes, had the dogs been plain, I don't know that I would've loved them. Having heard others rave about the vegetarian dog at Happy Dog, I was curious to see what I'd find here.

Happy Dog was located at the corners of West 58th and Detroit, or more specifically at 5801 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102 and can be reached at 216-651-9474. Parking was either in a small lot on West 58th just south of Detroit or along the street. I easily found a curbside parking spot on West 58th Street just south of the bar and proceeded to walk the two minutes until I got to the front door:


Once inside, the first thing that struck me was the decor: it was a bar. To the right of the front entrance was a dais where musical groups or DJ's could spin the tunes, directly across was a large, impressive looking bar with many taps, and everywhere else were pretty basic tables and chairs. And as with most bars, it was also quite uniformly dark inside. The thought occurred to me that Chef Williams kept Momocho very dimly lit and apparently the theme continued with Happy Dog. Then again, it was a bar, and very few bars are well lit. I knew the lack of illumination would give me a chance to break out the low light photography skills on which I've been working for the last couple of months.

Seeing as I arrived an entire hour before the scheduled start of dinner, I sauntered up to the largely unpopulated bar, sat down, and proceeded to order a pint of Left Hand Milk Stout:


A handcrafted beer from the Left Hand Brewing Company out of Longmont, Colorado, this glass of wonderment combined the sharp bite of your typical stout with a creaminess that did much to sooth out the bitter notes. This was an easy to drink beer and while I did have water with dinner, it was a wonderfully tasty pre-dinner beverage to consume while waiting for the rest of the diners to show up tonight.

According to my fellow Veggie-Vegan Project co-founders, Paul and Eric, Wednesday nights were usually pretty slow. Tonight, however, with a single party of thirty occupying the entire east side of the restaurant, the other available tables began to fill quickly. We soon found ourselves staking out two tables right by the front door in anticipation of the rest of our party. Additionally, while Wednesday's were usually pretty quiet in terms of noise level, tonight Happy Dog had booked a DJ and our table happened to be located right in front of one of the speakers. Suffice it to say, easy conversation was a bit difficult.

After sitting down at our table, I noticed that at the center of each was a long, slender pad of paper. It turned out to be the menu. On one side was a list of hot dog choices and a whole lot of toppings:


On the flip side was a list of sides, which consisted of French fries or tater tots, a list of toppings for said side, and a list of dipping sauces:


In addition to the menu, there was a laminated piece of card stock that offered up helpful suggestions of combinations for both the beef dog as well as the vegetarian Italian sausage:


While all fifty condiments were available as toppers for your dog at no additional cost, toppers for the fries and tots were a reasonable $1 each. While I could've made up my own list of toppings for my dog, I decided to go with one of the recommended combinations for my first visit. Each person filled out their own order request (much the way you used to do at sushi restaurants) and handed it to our server.

Even with the packed crowd tonight at Happy Dog, it wasn't very long at all before our dogs arrived at the table. Here was a shot of mine:


This was a Fieldroast Vegetarian Italian Sausage on a poppyseed bun topped with my choice of caramelized onions, sriracha hot sauce, pineapple-ginger chutney, cucumbers, and French Brie cheese. While I started eating the sandwich with my hands, halfway through I realized that I would need to finish with knife and fork. I did manage to take a bite of the Italian sausage first and discovered to my delight that the flavor and texture of this meat substitute was pretty darn close to the real deal. It wasn't quite as fatty as the meat-based version, but had I gotten the sausage plain, I would've enjoyed it the way I do with most Italian sausage sandwiches, a nice layer of peppers and onions or sauerkraut and a squirt of yellow mustard.

The toppings worked quite well together and provided a nice balance of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. The cucumber effectively cooled some of the sriracha's heat and the subtle flavor of the Brie cheese added a creamy texture to each bite without overwhelming anything else. I should also note that the poppyseed bun was immaculately fresh and honestly, the only thing I think could've been improved upon was if the bun had been toasted.

After dropping off our dogs, the food runner soon made her way back to our table with fives dishes of tater tots and a multitude of dipping sauces:


I decided to get my tots topped with Smoked Gouda, thinking the slightly smoky flavor would go well with my dipping sauce, the Oaxacan red chile and chocolate mole. I was right. Texturally, the tots were perfectly fried, crispy on the outside without being greasy and light and fluffy on the inside. The soft Gouda added a creamy contrast and the slight smokiness added an additional layer of flavor. The mole was everything a good Mexican mole should be: spicy, sweet, floral, and complex. It very much reminded me of my last visit to Momocho. Needless to say, the pairing with the tots was a marvelous choice.

Our meal now at its conclusion, we asked our server for the check. With my pint of beer, sandwich, tots, and the addition of the Gouda as a topper for the tots, my bill came to $13 before tip and tax. And $4.50 of that was for the beer. For $8.50, I had just eaten an incredibly tasty and inexpensive vegetarian meal. As one of the other diners pointed out, you just can't beat that kind of value. I would have to agree with that sentiment.

Those who do not enjoy a sometimes loud and noisy bar environment might find that this would be enough to keep them away from trying the food at Happy Dog. While I do enjoy being able to hold a conversation with someone next to me without having to raise my voice or cup my ears, the great beer selection and more importantly, the stellar vegetarian options make returning to this bar a real no-brainer for me. Whether you avail yourself of the vegetarian options or not, with so much from which to choose, you simply cannot go wrong. Highly recommended.

The Veggie-Vegan Project: Flaming Ice Cube

For the second installment of The Veggie-Vegan Project, my previous compatriots, Paul and Eric, suggested we convene for dinner at a recent addition to the Cleveland scene, Flaming Ice Cube restaurant. This location opened up only midway through 2010, with the original being located in Boardman, Ohio. As Paul works in downtown Cleveland, this has been a lunch go-to spot for him ever since it opened and as far as he knew, it was one of the only 100% vegan restaurants that was in the area. In a rather odd twist, Akron actually has two vegan restaurants that I can think of off the top of my head: the obviously much more famous Vegiterranean, but also a newer addition, Mrs. Julie's Kitchen. Clearly both will be fodder for future stops on this project.

Flaming Ice Cube was located at 140 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44114 and can be reached at 216-263-1111. Parking was wherever you could find it. My dining companion Edsel and I ended up parking in the lot next to the Marriott and walking to Public Square. What I would advise you against doing, gentle reader, is not using Google Maps to help you find the restaurant. We tried this last night and it had us simply circumnavigating the block where the Key Bank building stood. The restaurant was actually directly south of the large monument on the square and just east of Tower City.

Here was a photograph of the front of the store:


Once inside, Edsel and I joined Paul and Eric at a four top near the front door. While it was busy, it wasn't crazy, even for a Friday night at 7:00 PM. As I would surmise that most of their traffic probably arrives during the business day, it didn't surprise me that the restaurant wasn't packed. After seating ourselves, I began the process of photographing the menu:









In addition to the menu, there was also a daily specials board which listed the sides and soups for the day. I was so intrigued by one of the soups listed, a Stuffed Pepper soup, that I had to order a bowl in order to satisfy my curiosity:


Here was a closer look at the soup:


I had assumed that the soup would be similar to the meat-laden version sans ground meat. When I went to taste it, I was happy to discover that not only were the flavors pretty much spot on compared to the version with which I am familiar, but there was a texture in the soup that very much resembled ground meat. Had I not known that this was a vegan version, I would've simply assumed that it had ground meat in it. The seasonings were expertly done and there was a subtle, yet welcome, kick from the addition of cayenne chili. The soup was definitely hearty and filling and the only real criticism I had was that some of the rice grains weren't fully cooked and as such were just a tiny bit crunchy.

The menu was broken down into salads, sandwiches, panini, wraps and burgers, and while I would normally order a "plain" burger to test out the mettle of the kitchen crew, tonight I decided to order one of the veggie burgers, the Pizza Burger. Each burger came with one of Flaming Ice Cube's homemade sides; I choose the Sweet and White Potato Salad:


The homemade veggie burger patty had been griddled and topped with dairy and soy-free cheese, faux pepperoni and each bun half had been toasted and coated with the from-scratch marinara. Here was a side shot of the assembled burger:


Eaten as a whole, this was a fairly tasty and definitely filling burger. Unlike the soup, I could tell that I was eating a veggie patty and not a meat patty because the texture was a bit looser. Not that the patty crumbled (as has happened with other veggie patties I've had in the past), but had I been blindfolded and someone put this in front of me, I could've picked out that it wasn't a beef patty. The marinara sauce added a nice sweetness and acidity. The faux pepperoni had just a bit of spiciness to them, but it lacked the chewiness that I've come to appreciate from the real deal. The only disappointing part of this sandwich was the bun, as it just wasn't sturdy enough and kind of fell apart as I progressed through the sandwich.

After tasting my sandwich, I turned my attention to the small black cup of potato salad:


For the second time during tonight's dinner, I was again stymied at how delicious and non-stereotypically vegan this tasted. The potatoes were cooked to the perfect texture, being both creamy and tender and the mustard-vegan mayonnaise dressing made for a nicely dressed side. As I rolled the flavors around in my mouth, I also began picking up hints of clove, and Edsel suggested that the chopped pickles that had been incorporated into the potato salad might have been brined using cloves. In all, this was a very tasty side that I would have no qualms ordering again.

Because my sandwich only came with one side dish, I decided to order an extra cup of the other homemade side for tonight, a Black Bean and Corn Salsa:


In addition to the usual suspects of tomatoes, garlic, cilantro and lime juice, the black beans and sweet corn were joined by a bit of earthy cumin. The salsa hit all the right notes on my palate, but conceptually as a dish, it felt a little weird eating this with a fork; freshly fried corn chips would have made this a real winner.

With the main portion of dinner now complete, we now turned our attention to the dessert offerings. While Paul and Eric opted to split one of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars, Edsel and I decided to split a slice of their walnut encrusted Carrot Cake:


First, what I liked. The sweetness was controlled. The flavor was decent. The faux cream cheese frosting complimented the cake well. Second, what I didn't like. The cake itself was very dense. While there was some hint of traditional carrot cake spices, it wasn't strong enough (i.e. cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.). By examining the cake, it was obvious that there was carrot in it, but no real carrot flavor came through in the finished product. Of all the problems, the biggest was probably the density issue. Solve that and the others would simply be minor quibbles.

In the spirit of sharing, Paul cut off a small piece of his Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bar for me to taste:


In addition to the chocolate and peanut butter, vegan marshmallows and a crunchy cereal were used to create this homage to a dressed up Rice Krispies treat. It was chewy without hurting my teeth and the prominent flavors of the main ingredients worked well together. I am particularly glad that chocolate is not verboten to vegans as that might very well just be a deal breaker for me.

Since I decided to put the piece of carrot cake on my check, with tax and tip my grand total came to slightly over $20. My sandwich with one side, however, was a very affordable $7. Having dined at the Flaming Ice Cube tonight, I can definitely see why Paul goes here quite often to pick up lunch and return to his office. For vegans looking for another dining option and for non-vegans who just like to shake things up a little, the Flaming Ice Cube restaurant offers a tasty and diverse assortment of menu options that will please your taste buds and your wallet. I definitely recommend that you give them a try.

The Veggie-Vegan Project: Szechwan Garden

I do not think that I will surprise anyone who regularly reads this blog to know that I am an omnivore. Sometimes it feels more like a carnivore than an omnivore, but as I have gotten older and been exposed to fresh, in-season vegetables cooked properly, I have expanded my range of tastes exponentially since childhood. I have considered adopting a vegetarian diet on and off over the years and while there has been convincing evidence presented to me through friends, movies, and books to support this decision, I know that I could never become entirely 100% vegetarian or vegan because of one particular food: Bacon.

While I could set here and wax on endlessly about this bit of porcine goodness, the point of this particular blog post is to point out that when it comes to vegetarian options (or even more to the point, vegan) when dining out at a restaurant, often times the selection goes from bad to almost non-existent. I was recently talking with an old Stow friend of mine, Paul, who happened to fall somewhere between the vegan and vegetarian monikers and I thought it would be a nifty idea to go out to eat every so often at a restaurant that is either 100% vegetarian/vegan or has a sizable portion of the menu dedicated to this type of cuisine. I've always loved a good vegetarian/vegan meal when done correctly, but the problem that I have had in the past (as I'm sure many people who have already adopted this kind of diet) was that I never knew any good spots.

Thus, The Veggie-Vegan Project is officially born. As The Lenten Project was designed to highlight various churches and clubs serving the Lenten classic, fried fish, the purpose of The Veggie-Vegan Project will to highlight various restaurants in northeast Ohio where you might be able to get a good vegetarian or vegan meal. Initially, I'll be expecting to dine out at least once a month at a different restaurant, but if the project gains momentum, don't be surprised to see more than one posting per month.

Our inaugural dinner turned out to be at a little Chinese restaurant in Lakewood called Szechwan Garden. While the menu isn't 100% vegetarian, looking over the menu on-line, I realized that the non-meat dishes that were being offered sounded very tasty and even somewhat authentic. Szechwan Garden was located at the corner of Detroit and Giel, specifically at 13800 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44107 and can be reached at 216-226-1987. Parking was in the small lot directly surrounding the building or on Giel.

Here was a shot of the marquee at the front of the building:


One inside, I joined my dining companions for the evening, Paul and his partner Eric. The nice thing about Szechwan Garden's menu was that they completely separated out the meat portion of the menu from the "Zen" portion. Since these posts will be focused on the vegetarian options at a restaurant, I've only included the Zen portion.






I suppose it wouldn't be a proper visit to an Americanized Chinese restaurant without the obligatory photograph of the hot mustard and sweet and sour dipping sauces at our table:


I didn't try the sweet and sour sauce today, but the Chinese hot mustard sauce was pretty much on par with every other Chinese restaurant at which I've ever eaten. Tonight we decided to start with what would appear to by somewhat oxymoronic, the crispy fried chicken:


This was actually a wooden dowel rod with some of the Zen "chicken" on it and wrapped in a yuba bean curd skin before being fried. Taking on the appearance of a chicken leg (or drumette if you prefer chicken wings), the little meatless morsels had a very interesting crunchy outside and a slightly spongy, but not offensive chewy inside. While of course it didn't TASTE like chicken, the playfulness of the dish and the nicely fried yuba skin made this a very enjoyable way to start out dinner tonight. I paired my portion with some of the hot mustard and managed to clear my sinuses in addition to filling my stomach.

The other appetizer we chose to split was the Peanut Sesame Noodles:


I was a bit surprised that the noodles (which were below the peanut sauce in the above photograph) did not come dressed. Fortunately, with the two spoons provided, it took me all of about three minutes to carefully toss the noodles on the plate until they were evenly coated. I had asked Paul at one point if he thought that the Zen menu was not just vegetarian, but also vegan. He was tempted to say yes until he saw the yellowness of the noodles in this dish and I think we both agreed that eggs had been in the list of ingredients. Regardless, this dish was excellent. The peanut sauce was nicely balanced and seasoned properly and the only real complaint I had was that the ratio of sauce to noodles was a bit high and the sauced noodles were a bit "gloppy."

For dinner, we decided to go with family style service and each person ordered an entrée that appealed to himself, although there was certainly discussion among the three of us so that there wasn't any overlap. Fortunately, as our server started bringing plates to the table, he dropped off a very large bowl of steamed white rice to share:


Rice now accounted for, we moved onto the main courses. First up was the General Tso's Zen Chicken:


I suppose to be a truly fair comparison, we should've ordered the regular General Tso's Chicken to make sure that the flavors (other than the chicken, obviously) were the same. While this was a good dish, the sauce was unlike any other General Tso's sauce that I've tasted. Nodding to the fact that this dish is more of an Americanized Chinese dish, I was missing the flavors that made it a classic: spiciness, sweetness, and tanginess. The Zen chicken, while it was clearly visually not chicken, had a texture to it that somewhat reminded me of chicken meat. As Paul and Eric both noted (as they've had this dish before), the sauce was rather flat and uninspired today.

Next up was a dish whose menu description I found particularly delightful, the Vegetarian Peking Pan-Fried Noodles:


The description on the menu waxes on beautifully about this dish: "A riveting combination of vegetables nestled in quasi-crispy pan-fried noodles." In fact, many of the dishes on the Zen menu have this flowery, over-the-top quality to them and that actually made the menu kind of fun to read. Our second noodle dish of the night, Szechwan Garden's version of this Chinese classic consisted of a bed of noodles that had been boiled and then pan-fried in the wok. A healthy topping of stir-fried vegetables and a rich brown sauce completed the dish. Flavors were good and seasoning was spot on. The crispiness from some of the noodles and the vegetables balanced nicely with the creamy sauce and the softness of the non-fried noodles.

Our third, and final, entrée for the evening was probably my favorite of the evening, Eggplant in Hot Garlic Sauce:


We had asked for this dish to be prepared spicy and while it didn't have a blow-your-head-off kind of chili heat to it, I would consider it to be medium. The combination of the slightly sweet and tender eggplant and the slightly pungent garlic sauce were a match made in heaven. There were other vegetables in the mix as well such as green peppers, carrots, and water chestnuts, but truly the eggplant was the star of this dish. Between this dish and the Sesame Peanut Noodles, I was a completely happy man.

While there were only three of us tonight, the amount of food we ordered could've easily fed four as we had a considerable number of takeout containers that left the restaurant with us. Including tax and tip, tonight's meal was $20 per person. Some of the dishes I could take or leave, such as the General Tso's Zen Chicken, but there was also plenty that I found tasty and delicious. I don't know that I would ever crave a chicken meat substitute and there was much discussion at our table tonight about whether that belonged in a proper vegetarian/vegan diet, but I will say that the purely vegetable dishes tonight were quite rockin' and I highly suggest you give them a try the next time you are in the mood for a vegetarian meal.

I'm glad that the inaugural meal at Szechwan Garden of The Veggie-Vegan Project went so well tonight and I'm looking forward to next month's installment, wherever that happens to be. If you are interested in joining us, gentle reader, simply send me an email and let me know.