BAKESHOP

Bakeshop, in Midtown, is a self-described 'true boulangerie and patisserie.'  Upon entering, all of the pastries and desserts are immediately visible and the smell of butter is in the air.  There are several types of pastries that you can help yourself to and a dessert case with other cakes and tarts. 

The croissants looked great so I sampled an almond and almond-chocolate kind (butter and chocolate versions are also available).  The croissants were flaky and delicious topped with a sugary glaze.  I preferred the almond as the almond-chocolate was a bit too sweet.  The croissants are very rich and at $2.75, not cheap.  I was happy to share one and save the other for the next day.

I returned to Bakeshop one day around lunchtime and decided to try one of their sandwiches.  It was a choice between a grilled cheese or a vegetable panini (essentially a fancier grilled cheese).  I chose the panini which contained mozzarella, roasted red peppers and balsamic vinegar between slices of ciabatta ($7.50).  The bread was toasted nicely but the balsamic flavor was quite strong.  I found the sandwich to be nothing special and not worth repeating. 
I got a loaf of honey whole wheat bread and a pecan, apricot, white chocolate scone to go.  The bread was very chewy and flavorful.  The scone turned out to be a triangular cookie, not a traditional flaky scone, and definitely a waste of money. 
I'll probably go back to Bakeshop if I'm in the area but not for lunch.  The long tables inside are close together and can get crowded quickly.  In warmer weather there is also seating outside, next to a fountain, to enjoy a coffee and croissant. 

Urban pL8

It had been a while since I had a good, vegetarian meal at a new restaurant.  Finally I got the chance to visit Urban pL8 over on Huff Rd.  Despite the goofy name, I liked Urban pL8 as soon as I walked in.  The space is modern warehouse (like so much in the Westside) and the menu includes local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients.  Urban pL8 serves meat and seafood but includes several vegetarian options.  

The soup of the day was spicy corn chowder.  I normally stay away from creamy soups because they fill me up too quickly.  However, the server mentioned it included sriracha, a popular Asian-like chili sauce, and I decided to order a cup.  Turns out that was a good decision.  The chowder had small bits of celery and carrots along with corn kernels.  The chili (which may be too spicy for some) cut right through the cream and I thoroughly enjoyed being warmed up by every drop.

My main dish was not as successful as the soup.  I got the 'veggie burger' (different from the nut burger also on the menu) which was primarily a pinto bean patty.  While it was tasty, it also supposedly included shitake and jalapeno but the beans were the overriding flavor.  My main problem with the burger was the lack of texture.  The bean burger was too mushy to stand up to the bread.  It would have been better off being served as a bean cake accompanied by a more substantial side salad.  The day I was there, I also had a bite of the 'stir-fry brown rice with vegetables.'  The flavor was fine but the rice was al dente - not good for rice.  I would have asked for another dish if I had ordered that, since that is such a fundamental error by a cook.  However, my friend had been there before and said that this was not a usual problem.
Despite a few glitches, I will return to Urban pL8, assuming they can buck the trend of recent closings of restaurants I have visited (Dynamic Dish and Noon Midtown).  The service is friendly and I appreciate their approach to food and cooking.  And I want to try some more of their soups!

Vegetarian Heaven

I have thought many times about what kind of restaurant I would open if I had the chance - a small neighborhood cafe serving only a few options, which changed daily, plus a couple of freshly baked cakes for dessert.  When I walked into Dynamic Dish, my dream restaurant was realized but the food turned out to be even better than I had imagined.
I met a good friend for lunch there so I got to try several dishes.  Between us, we had the white corn soup, oyster mushrooms and collards, plus a almond-scallion cream cheese sandwich.  The best thing I tried were the oyster mushrooms which tasted of caramelized tamari and garlic.  The accompanying collards were steamed and bright green instead of dark, green mush that is usually served most other places.  The sandwich was a close second.  The delicious almond-scallion cream cheese (I will be trying this at home) was topped with sliced bosc pear, basil, and fresh cranberry sauce.  There were bits of crunch from the almonds and sweetness from the pear - very tasty!  The white corn soup had bits of potato and was topped with pumpkin seeds and chives.  It was very complex and I had a hard time identifying the flavors (some sort of curry blend?) but this was not a typical, sweet, corn soup.  It tasted good but there were a bit too many pumpkin seeds getting in the way of everything else.
Dyanmic Dish is not located on the best of streets but at lunch time safety was not a concern.  Some people have issues with the portion sizes and prices.  The portion sizes are small to medium and the prices are that of a mid-priced restaurant - the soup was $6, veggie plate was $8 and the sandwich was $10.  You'll probably spend $15 to $20 on lunch but you are paying for pristine vegetables and very creative cooking.  I think of Dynamic Dish as 'gourmet vegetarian' and I am happy to splurge for an exciting meal on occasion.

Breakfast For Dinner

I usually don't go out for breakfast, unless I am traveling, because I like simple breakfasts and rarely feel like I get my money's worth (two eggs cost how much?).  I heard that West Egg Cafe on the West Side serves breakfast all day and decided to give it a try for an early dinner.  West Egg also has a lunch and dinner menu but the breakfast offerings sounded better.  I went with the Black Bean Cakes and Eggs - fried eggs served over two black bean patties, topped with chipotle salsa and sour cream, all accompanied by pan-fried potatoes.  Service was a little slow the night I was there so I was fairly famished by the time I received my meal.  I unearthed a black bean cake and took a bite.  It was heavily spiced with cumin but when combined with some egg and salsa, the spice was tempered.  The smoky chipotle salsa added flavor but not heat and the small dollop of sour cream was just enough to add a bit of richness to the dish.  The potatoes were nicely crisped with some red onions and properly seasoned.  The portion did not seem huge but I was quite full by the time I was done.  I wasn't expecting a great dinner but I was pleasantly surprised - and at $7.50, it was much cheaper than most dinners out.  West Egg has a great modern industrial space that fits in with the West Side aesthetic and seems like a fun place to stop off for a coffee and a snack even if you're not up for breakfast all day. 

Southern Farm to Table

Farmstead 303, a Southern-style restaurant, recently opened in the Old Decatur Train Depot space.  It embraces the 'Farm to Table' concept that is now trendy among restaurants.  I am a proponent of eating locally and was excited to eat at Farmstead even though Southern food is not historically vegetarian friendly.  However, this is 2010 and in Decatur so I figured I'd be okay.  I went to dinner there on a Tuesday night.  The decor was modern country (lots of dark wood and wrought iron) and there were lots of young families dining.  True to it's Southern-style, a lot of the appetizers were fried (blue cheese grits, onion rings and cauliflower) and most people around me were having fried chicken as their main dish.  There were two vegetarian options for the main course, a mushroom spinach stroganoff and the vegetable plate.  The stroganoff didn't appeal to me so I went with the vegetable plate.  I find the vegetable plate, when offered at restaurants, to be a lazy solution to appease vegetarians.  This isn't a well-conceived dish but a cobbled together plate of sides - what you end up with at Thanksgiving when you're the only vegetarian present.  Despite my misgivings, I wanted to see if the local vegetables would shine enough to alter my opinion.  There was certainly a variety - sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, squash casserole, turnip greens and collard greens all on one plate.  The turnip greens turned out to be the best testing vegetable - fresh and mildly bitter.  Everything else was a bit off.  I was looking forward to trying the squash casserole but it was under-seasoned and flat.  The peas also needed a bit more seasoning and the sweet potatoes were leaning toward dessert in terms of sweetness.  I felt good about eating so many veggies but I was not full and ate a couple of bites of my son's mac'n'cheese, which tasted so-so.
I really want restaurants who support local farmers to do well but Farmstead needs to improve some of its basics.  The cornbread offered at the table was dry and tasted more of egg than of corn.  There was only one soup offered and it wasn't vegetarian.  When it's cold, I like soup - or a bean stew of some sort would be nice.  Local vegetables are fabulous on their own but a chef should be able to add some creativity to make a proper main course.  I know I didn't try the stroganoff, so maybe I missed the good stuff.

$1 Tacos - Deal or No Deal?

On Wednesday nights, Pozole offers tacos for $1.  The tacos are small but even if you order three plus a side of beans and rice, you still spend under $5.  Of course, you will probably spend your savings on a margarita, which is actually quite decent.  Shame the same cannot be said for the food.  The only vegetarian taco is a potato and cheese.  Even though this sounds like a carb overload, in the past I have actually enjoyed this option.  The potato was creamy and spicy topped with a bit of cabbage.  I'm not sure what has happened in the couple of months since I last ate here but everything I tried was bordering on awful.  The potato pieces were cubes of roasted dryness topped with some shredded cheese and cabbage in a flavorless taco shell.  The beans and rice were not as dry but still bland.  I also tried the house chips with three salsas.  The pineapple salsa looked like it had been sitting around for days.  The tomatillo salsa was mild and glutinous while the red salsa, which tasted the best, looked like diluted ketchup.  Thank goodness this was a cheap meal.  I think I need to find a new Wednesday night bargain.

Falafel Fixation

My  favorite veggie 'burger' is a falafel.  Falafels are Middle Eastern in origin but are popular all over the world.  These spheres of goodness are made from soaked chickpeas (or fava beans) which are ground, combined with spices, and fried.  From the name, Falafel King in Emory Village seems like an obvious stop for a falafel sandwich.  It is run by an incredibly sweet Korean husband and wife team who cook falafels to order - which may not be fast enough for some.  The place is tiny and packed at lunch.  When you walk in, you realize that surprisingly there is also sushi and other Asian elements on the menu.  A strange combination but it works.  I honestly haven't had too many things on the menu because the falafels are so good.  I sometimes have the seaweed salad in addition to my falafels but this time I just opted for a sandwich ($3.95).  I was delivered a soft, white pita stuffed with six round falafels, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber.  The interior of each falafel was moist with a hint of cumin but the best part was the crunchy, grease-free outside that came from being perfectly fried.  Falafel King also provides a spicy sauce which adds some needed moisture to the pita and gives the sandwich a nice kick.  The sandwich didn't last long but it was just what I wanted.  Platters with a choice of two sides are also available for a few more dollars.  This isn't the best food ever but eating here gets you your falafel fix and supports a great small business.