CHOW ON THIS

It seems that between the two of us K and I are slowly working our way through every vegan and vegetarian restaurant in the city. I think this is partly accidental, but our awesome Sacred Chow Night on Wednesday was most certainly planned (and discussed thoroughly and excitedly) in advance.

I don't think K has quite reached a verdict on SC yet, but I would definitely give it more than a few mmms (if we were still "mmm"-ing things, of course). I don't exactly understand where the name originated, but no matter. What DOES matter is that the food is delicious, and the atmosphere isn't too shabby either.

The place is wedged into a cute little block on Sullivan Street, also the home of the adorable V-Bar (a shoutout to my friend A, who worked and often still works there). It's accented with a brick-walled narrow interior, dim lighting, stray Christmas lights and Eastern decor. Totally typical, but still totally cute.

One thing I wasn't impressed with was the service. Our waitress was slow to approach us and take our order, even though there were very few customers. She also seemed bored and almost haughty, although she did kindly provide her opinion when I was torn between the Tempeh Rueben and the Roasted Black Olive Seitan Hero. Unfortunately, she also failed to notice (or at least care) when I pulled one of my classic moves and knocked over K's salad dressing (sorry again, K!). Granted, we didn't ask for napkins (why DIDN'T we do that?) but she was oblivious to the point that she plopped the dessert menu right into the dressing on the table and didn't seem to realize that I was cleaning it off while she was listing the dessert specials in her monotone. Harrumph.

Well, now that my complaints are out of the way, let's move on to the best part of the experience: the food. I ultimately settled on the Roasted Black Olive Seitan at the waitress's recommendation, and I'm happy to report that she finally did something right. Served on a delicious, warm, toasted baguette, my seitan was so heavenly I devoured it before any picture-taking could commence. Olive seitan with Dijon vinaigrette and mixed greens is one of my new favorite things in life, friends, although I wasn't that impressed with the side of slaw. I won't hold that against them though, since I'm pretty underwhelmed by coleslaw generally.

The half-pitcher of sangria we ordered (for only $15!) was also up to snuff and served as a nice prelude to the Johnny's visit we would make later. I tried to entice K into ordering one the desserts, which I've heard are amazing, but somehow she managed to resist yet again. One day, K...

Ultimately, I would say the experience was a good one. My food was great and our bill didn't cause me to have a stroke, so all was well. I would definitely become a repeat customer, if just to try the desserts! And maybe get a picture next time...