For the purposes of full disclosure, I’m a meat eater. Always have been, likely always will be.
There’s nothing quite like a juicy steak, fried chicken or crispy bacon. I could keep going, but you catch my drift. Meat is something that I’d find hard to live without, but at the same time I understand there are lots of people out there who don’t feel the same way or get a similar enjoyment out of eating meat. Some people just don’t like it.
And if I’m being completely honest, I’ve never really ventured into the world of vegan eating – that is until last week when I stopped in for lunch at Willows Plant-Based Eatery on South Main Street.
It came to be after an office discussion and a proposal for me to step out of my comfort zone a bit when it comes to food. I’ve gotten better, but some may consider me a fairly plain eater.
When I walked into Willows, there were a few tables occupied, but it was an hour before closing on a week day afternoon, so I didn’t expect it to be packed.
I took a small table by myself and after Nikki filled my water glass and handed me a menu, I starred at it for quite a while.
She could probably see on my face that I was a bit lost and offered to help. I explained I had never eaten vegan before and wanted to try something new. She told me that everything is organic and vegan and I told her there were a couple dishes had caught my eye, both made with peanut sauce. But the final decision came down to a simple parameter I had set for myself. My meal had to include a vegan protein – like Tofu or seitan, which I learned is a meat substitute.
So I went with a hearty bowl called the Supa’ Fly. It was made with seared Tofu, Pad Thai noodles, carrots, onions, cabbage, spinach, basil and peanut sauce.
It came in a bowl (obviously) and was beautifully put together, as you can see from the picture. The care that went into this presentation was evident and almost looked too good to eat. But that’s what I was there to do, so I grabbed my knife and fork and dove in.
First thing I went for was some peanut sauce drenched noodles. The peanut sauce had great flavor and the noodles were cooked perfectly. I got a little crunch of onion, which was mixed in nicely. Then was the moment of truth: Tofu time.
I had eaten Tofu once in college because everybody tries things once in college, but I don’t really remember it all too well because come to think of it, college now seems like a really long time ago.
Anyway, it’s hard to describe what Tofu tastes like. It had a nice sear on the outside, but really just took on the many tasty flavors the dish consisted of. The fresh spinach was a nice addition, and the crunch of the carrots and cabbage balanced the sauce covered noodles.
I cut up the Tofu, and much the same way I do it with a chicken stir fry or spaghetti in meat balls, I grabbed a little bit of Tofu with each bite.
And about half way in, I was getting full. So I took the rest home for my wife to try (and yes, she very much enjoyed it, too), and grabbed a peanut butter, chocolate chip and coconut cookie – also vegan – on my way out. It was yummy.
In addition to the hearty bowls, there’s also soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and what Willows calls light plates (appetizers). There’s also smoothies and freshies.
Now while I’m not quite ready to make the major switch to all vegan eating, it was definitely a tasty meal.
There’s a few other things on the menu that intrigue me, as does the entire process of vegan cooking. But that’s a story for another day.
